Dead of Summer - The Devil Inside - Review: "Awful Mother's Club"

I initially thought this week’s episode was going to painfully slow, but they kept the energy up and some of the reveals were kind of interesting. Anyone who is into horror movies knows that when they do the scene in which everyone breathes a sigh of relief because the scary stuff is over it means the scary stuff is NOT over.

We finally get to learn more about Jessie. I did not like this character when we first met her. In fact it’s only since The Dharma Bums that I’ve begun to like her. She really won me over sticking with Garrett as he was digging up body parts and blood around the camp.

Jessie, we find, was a young woman determined to get herself out of the ghetto and into college. Her Mom seems to be supportive; helping her out in her own misguided way. But it’s soon obvious that Jessie is being sabotaged by her mother.

The height of this is conveniently being late getting home to take her daughter to the interview she’s been practicing for since she got the appointment. It was obvious that that was an intentional accident. Jessie manages to nail the interview despite her mother and gets into Northwestern.

Under the pretext of celebrating Jessie’s success, her mom gets so drunk that she reveals the truth of how she feels to Jessie. Unfortunately, Jessie still gets into the car with her mother behind the wheel. After the inevitable accident she talks Jessie into getting behind the wheel and taking the blame.

I gotta wonder though…did the cops even bother to do a breathalyzer test? (I know the had them in 1989.) I do think that Jessie’s mother does realize (or at least suspect) that she lost her daughter that night. Jessie receives a call from her mother who is concerned because she hasn’t heard from Jessie since camp started. I have no sympathy.

In the present, Deb announces that she’s closing the camp. She has two days before the state police release the news about the murders and all hell breaks loose. She wants to get the kids home before it does. The state police have declared the situation over. (They are obviously unaware that they’re living in a horror flick.) Garrett is still under investigation. I expect him to be cleared but I don’t think the shooting would meet the 21st century definition of a good shoot.

As the counselors try to figure out a way to make the last day at camp fun for the kids there’s an unexpected eclipse. I think it was safe for them to look directly at it because it was a magical eclipse and not a normal one. During the eclipse Jessie gets a visit from Cricket. (I loved her makeup.) Cricket tells Jessie that the only way to end this is to throw Holyoke’s bones into the lake and that Jessie is the only person who can do it. Cricket tips Jessie to the fact that everyone is going to try to convince her that she’s being tricked but that she should trust herself. Jessie decided to confide in Amy and, once again, I’m certain it’s NOT Amy talking. It’s the demon.

Garrett has come to his own conclusion that it’s not over. His Dad mentioned the unscheduled eclipse in his journal. (These entries have been right on the money so far.) Garrett is certain that (a) it’s not over and (b) Amy is possessed.

I do love characters who, when faced with the unpleasant or unbelievable realities of a situation they accept it and act accordingly. Garrett was the last to believe but, having glimpsed the demon he’s not wasting time with denial.

Jessie accepts her responsibility and enlists Garrett to help her get to the bones. Joel still believes that Holyoke is the bad guy and comes up with his own way of settling things. He decides to burn down Holyoke’s cabin. Deb seems to have an inkling that something isn’t right but can’t put her finger on it and no one will tell her what’s going on. She finally demands to know.

Jessie goes to the morgue. Luckily, Damon doesn’t experience his “immortal” moment until after she’s collected Holyoke’s bones in an easy to carry bag. When he tries to scare her she takes off with her prize in hand. Joel covers the cabin with gas but is distracted by Holyoke providing him with a text about the demon that’s been summoned.

Joel still believes that Holyoke is behind everything. For some inexplicable reason, Joel tells Alex that Jessie and Garrett are giving Amy a demon test. Amy, of course, has already passed the test when Alex dashes in to stop it.

It’s all a lot and Jessie is trying to figure out who she’s going to trust. Drew gives her some great advice; the same advice Cricket gave her. Trust yourself.

Jessie does and tosses the bones into the lake. When the bones hit the water it’s suddenly night and Jessie and Joel are shown the truth about Holyoke and the bodies we saw in the lake during the pilot. As I have said since early in the season Holyoke is innocent. He didn’t kill his flock the demon Malphos’ acolytes killed them. They banked on the assumptions of the community to condemn Holyoke. Holyoke tells Jessie and Joel that they have to work together in order to save everyone. Holyoke declares he will save Amy. Um…apparently the completion of the possession has changed Holyoke’s mind about killing Amy. Now he’s planning to save her.

Demon Amy finally reveals herself and kills Joel. Garrett empties his gun into Amy. Amy pops right back up. Is she really still saveable at this time. Holyoke seems to think so. He grabs Amy and disappears. (Deb wisely decides the kids should leave now. Hopefully he’s not too late. They hear her screaming from inside of the cabin and rush in to find out what’s happening. Holyoke steps and brings the exorcism (?) to order.

We’ve still got two episodes to go. Did anyone else notice that the bag Amy had Holyoke’s bones in went from the morgue’s blue back to something appropriately creepy looking?

What did you think of the episode? We still have a killer to unmask. Who do you think the unknown killer is?

About the Author - Prpleight

Prpleight is a screenwriter and senior software engineer with solid geek cred. When not writing code, screenplays, or watching TV (sometimes she does all three at the same time), she uses her broadsword Bessie to battle evil. She's been a frequent contributor to the SpoilerTV discussion boards for several years now.

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)