creature feature: Nat, the Devil-Child of 11/11/11

I know the flick only recently came out, but I was so effected by the creepy, haunting and fearsome Devil-Child at the center of Keith Allan's 11/11/11 - portrayed by the talented Hayden Byerly - that I wanted to write-up a creature feature on the kid while these impressions were still freshly scarred on my feeble psyche.

Devil Kids are nothing new - The Bad Seed, Village of the Damned, The Exorcist, Demon Seed, The Good Son, Children of the Corn, The Omen, Godsend, Joshua, every other episode of "The Twilight Zone," and Curly Sue - in fact, it's probably a safe bet that ever since the first child was born (however you believe that may have happened), people have had the idea of these little bundles of Heaven being sent straight from Hell. 

Too often, however - in my opinion, of course - the kids they cast in these roles are already hella creepy: Patty McCormack? Harvey Stephens? Linda Blair? Macaulay Culkin? There's a motley pantheon of frightening, frightening children if I've ever seen one. But the actor portraying "Nat" in 11/11/11 is not that scary-looking, on the surface, at least. Hayden Byerly's just a nice, normal kid, the kind you find everywhere in this nice, normal country of ours. And that makes him MUCH creepier; from mugs like the other kids, you expect some evil goings-on, but with Byerly, you don't, you can't - seems like the cruelest thing the kid's capable of is eating the last slice of pizza without asking if anyone else wanted it - and so when he goes total freaking demonic on you, the effect is far more chilling, because he's the Everykid, not the wonky-eyed, ghoulish sort. Even his name is nice: "Nat." I knew a Nat in grad school, and he was a genuinely sweet and gentle guy. You never expect the rebirth of Satan from a Nat. No way.

So then right off the bat, advantage Nat. Now let's get into what he actually is: according to the movie and the handy "How to be a Demon" book neighbors keep passing on to him, "the Devil will be born on 11-11-11." The Devil. THE Devil. Not the Antichrist like Damien (a human destined to lead public opinion and an ally of the Devil), or possessed by a demon like Regan in The Exorcist, but the ACTUAL Devil, Lucifer, The Fallen One, pitchfork-n-horns DEVIL. And with him come all the horrors and powers of Hell. That's really all you need to know about that. Again, advantage Nat.

What I found coolest about 11/11/11 and Nat, however, was that the boy's greatest (albeit unrecognized) ability was that of inspiring vicious loyalty. Nat doesn't transform fully until near the end of the film, on his birthday, so most of the movie's violence comes from those intent on delivering the Devil in Nat. First rule of unleashing a Biblical Apocalypse upon the whole of humanity? Never do the dirty work yourself. Damien kinda knew this, but Nat is so powerful and so important, he doesn't have to know it, it's the job of others to just handle that shit. 

So then when you look at the kid's bulletpoints:

• deceptively creepy
• the ACTUAL Devil, not just his tool
• no heavy lifting

...there's really no doubt whatsoever that Nat Vales is the freakiest, scariest, most powerful Demon-Child in cinema history. Or at least in Asylum history. Or at least in this blog's opinion. Today. Judge for yourself if you haven't seen the film, on DVD now, or if you have, watch it again with these things in mind. Either way, just watch it.

11/11/11 on DVD Today!!!

Whew, seems like every time I turn around there's another Asylum movie out. It's still shy of a month since A Haunting in Salem was released on DVD, and since then we've seen the DVD release of 3 Musketeers and the TV premiere of Zombie Apocalypse. Plus, Born Bad hits DVD a week from today, and the mysterious found-footage film Amityville Haunting comes out in December. 

But all this is a side-note to what's happening today: the DVD release of apocalyptic thriller 11/11/11. 

I posted my thoughts on this one last Friday, and strongly encourage anyone who enjoys creepy kids, cultish behavior, twisted suburbia, decapitations or Satan to rush right out to wherever you procure movies these days and gets your hands on this fine film.

For fans of The Omen, The Exorcist, The Stepford Wives, Rosemary's Baby, The Seventh Sign or the "Twilight Zone" episode, "It's a Good Life."

observation notes: 11/11/11

With a lot of Asylum-attention this week focused on Saturday night's SyFy premiere of Zombie Apocalypse, not a lot has been said about the other Asylum film out in the next few days, the apocalyptic numerological thriller 11/11/11, directed by Keith Allan and written by Allan & Kiff Scholl. Allow me, then, to talk about it, as I have just seen it.

Plot-wise, 11/11/11 concerns a set of parents, Jack (Jon Briddell) and Melissa (Erin Coker), who become increasingly alarmed at their son Nat(Hayden Byerly)'s erratic and violent behavior. And they have every right to be: seems Nat isn't just acting up, he's the key to the whole freaking Apocalypse, which is nigh, people, and only two weeks away in real time - 11/11/11, the kid's birthday. Helluva set-up.


As usual, I'll refrain from spoilers, but suffice it to say, what we have here is a taut, well-paced, dramatic, suspenseful, sinister and bloody thriller of Biblical proportions, literally. It's a film that opens with a bang - several of them, actually - and ends even more explosively. Think equal parts The Omen, The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby; a heady cocktail, believe me.


The cast has a lot to do with 11/11/11's success: whether principles or supporting, most everyone here brings their A-game. Briddell plays the father as concerned to the point of angered frustration, a powerful but helpless man, and is appropriately tortured. Coker as his wife - though bedridden much of the film - is the fragile heart of the story, delusional with fear and medication and burdened by an unbelievable truth she shares alone. But it's Byerly as the son who practically steals the show. He's stoic, soft-spoken but rigid, not sheepish, plain-faced and pensive until he needs to erupt and then the boy's a true devil. Kid's got chops, and they're on full display here.

Then there's the deep supporting cast, the characters who make up the neighbors and townsfolk with an eerie interest in the boy's upcoming birthday: Tracy Pulliam as bossy, busy-body realtor Janice; David Bertolami and Rebecca Sigl as Chris and Sarah, the too-nice neighbors with spooky lingering stares; Nicholas S. Williams as Mick, the mentally-challenged truth-speaker; Greg Wall as Mike the janitor; co-screenwriter Kiff Scholl and Melissa Wintringham as over-perky joggers Brian and Marie - this one really is a team effort, with everyone turning in convincing performances. 


The two standouts of the supporting cast, in my opinion, have to be Madonna Magee as Annie, the creepy-kooky stalker old lady next door with a heart of gold, a load of hard-earned wisdom and a touch of good, old-fashioned madness; and Aurelia Scheppers as Denise, the "nanny" and the film's sultry femme fatale - think a smarter, more dangerous Megan Fox.


Add to this fine story and these stellar performances the once-again spot-on musical score of Chris Ridenhour (really, this guy, like Asylum productions in general, gets better every film. I want a box set of his scores) and sweeping, approaching-epic direction of Allan, and it all equals a thrilling, brutal, convincingly-frightening and horribly plausible film - numerically and Biblically speaking - well-executed by all. 

In all honesty, I really liked the crap out of this one; it's one of my favorites of the year, I think. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself this Tuesday, November 1st, when 11/11/11 hits DVD, just in time for you to get your affairs in order. I'm kidding. I hope.

11/11/11 Trailer Released

Keeping the news coming in this busy Asylum week - already we've gotten Celebrity Sex Tape info and stills, as well as Air Disaster details - just this morning The Asylum posted the trailer for the upcoming apocalyptic thriller 11/11/11, out 11/1/11 - a few days after the Zombie Apocalypse premiere on SyFy (10/27) and the DVD release of Jared Cohn's Born Bad (11/8) - and this one looks to be a gripping, intense, cerebral drama. Dig the trailer, courtesy of You Tube:

11/11/11 stars Jon Briddell, Hayden Byerly and Erin Coker, and is directed by Keith Allan from a script by he and Kiff Scholl.

Details for 11/11/11 !!!

So, part one of the big news today is that The Asylum has released info on their latest production, 11/11/11. The film, a horror-thriller is described as:

"Jack and Melissa are frightened by their son's bizarre and violent behavior; they soon learn that he is the gateway to the Apocalypse, and it will happen on his birthday, 11-11-11."

The film is being directed by Keith Allen, who, if I have the right guy, has one credit on IMDB, for acting in the upcoming 3 Musketeers. Mr. Allen also wrote the script, along with one Kiff Scholl, who has quiet an extensive resume as an actor - including appearances in "Reno 911" and "Criminal Minds" - and has one other writing credit for a funny film (I've actually seen it, not just blowing smoke) entitled Scream of the Bikini, which he also directed.


As for the cast, it includes Jon Bridell - Hot Wax Zombies on Wheels, Hatchetman, The Millennium Bug, Midnight Movie - Hayden Byerly, the bizarre little dude in question, and Erin Coker, another newcomer.


This one's set to bow on DVD November 1st, right smack in the middle of what's gearing up to be a busy and awesome Asylum fall, what with A Haunting in Salem, 3 Musketeers, Born Bad, Dragon Crusaders and 11/11/11 all getting released within a six week period. Awesome!


And speaking of awesome, this is only part one of the big news...come back in about half an hour for GIANT NEWS!