Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Preposterous good vs. evil tale has graphic violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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The Devil Conspiracy
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE DEVIL CONSPIRACY, art student Laura (Alice Orr-Ewing) is studying in Italy. Her friend, Father Marconi (Joe Doyle), gives her special access to a museum so she can see and sketch a statue of St. Michael defeating Lucifer. The museum is also hosting the Shroud of Turin, which is said to be the cloth that Jesus wore when he died (his blood is said to be on it). Mysterious intruders break into the museum and steal the shroud, kidnapping Laura and killing Father Marconi in the process. Then St. Michael returns to earth and takes over Father Marconi's body and heads out after the thieves. Meanwhile, a secret organization of Satan worshippers, led by Liz (Eveline Hall) and evil scientist Dr. Laurent (Brian Caspe), has found a way to build new life from centuries-old DNA, and they hope to use Laura as a host for the next Jesus. Lucifer himself (Joe Anderson) hopes to control him. Will their wild plan work?
Is It Any Good?
This horror/thriller starts with a preposterous idea and runs with it full-steam ahead. The Devil Conspiracy takes itself dead seriously and is burdened with poor filmmaking that's often too dark or too noisy. The result is an irritating mess. The production values are decent, with clearly professional design elements and performances, but somehow the movie feels like a captainless ship. It seems more urgently concerned with getting across its message (love is stronger than hate) than with telling a good story. The worst part about the whole concept is that everyone needs to wait nine months for the new Jesus to grow inside of Laura's uterus, and so the writers need to find ways to stall all of the action for long stretches. Not to mention that it's difficult to be entertained given Laura's cruel, violent, and invasive treatment. "You have no idea what suffering means," one character says during the climax. They might have been talking about The Devil Conspiracy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Devil Conspiracy's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How much of the violence is directed toward women? How does that affect its impact?
Do you think this could be considered a faith-based movie? What messages ultimately come across?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 13, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : April 4, 2023
- Cast : Alice Orr-Ewing , Joe Doyle , Eveline Hall
- Director : Nathan Frankowski
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Samuel Goldwyn Films
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Faith ( Christianity ) , Family Stories , History , STEM ( Science )
- Run time : 111 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong violent content, some gore and language
- Last updated : September 6, 2025
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