‎The Devil's Rock (2011) directed by Paul Campion • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

The Devil's Rock

2011 Directed by Paul Campion

War is a Bitch

Set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day, two Kiwi commandos, sent to destroy German gun emplacements to distract Hitler's forces away from Normandy, discover a Nazi occult plot to unleash demonic forces to win the war.

Craig Hall Matthew Sunderland Gina Varela Karlos Drinkwater Jessica Grace Smith Luke Hawker Nick Dunbar Jonathan King

83 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by mook ★★★★ 3

WW2 Horror from New Zealand with Nazis dabbling with the occult on the Channel Islands...

As a film on the Horror Channel that I had never heard of I wasn't expecting much from this but it was surprisingly good. With a low budget this concentrates on a slow-burning plot and character driven story with minimal actors and locations.

Worth a look. 8/10.
Review by RanchoTuVu ★★★ 2

After hearing shrieks from inside a Nazi gun emplacement on one of the Channel Islands, two New Zealand commandos tasked with destroying the emplacement to make way for D-Day, enter said emplacement setting in motion a claustrophobic and kind of talkative film that eventually gets around to the plot of the Nazis desperation recruitment of the forces of Hell in order to win the war. Once inside they discover signs of gore, but whose guts are they, since D-Day is yet to commence? It's pretty good once it gets going with the introduction of the Gina Varela as the demon who can take the form of any soldiers' wife or girlfriend as a means of killing them in fairly horrific…
Review by Invincible Asia ★★★½

The Devil’s Rock is a New Zealand horror chamber piece that follows two commandos tasked with destroying a Nazi machine gun placement on the eve of D-Day. They only stumble upon a single Kraut but as always the Nazis have been toying around with the occult, making the whole operation pretty unpleasant for all three.

The Devil’s Rock has a sweet focus on tension building and a creepy atmosphere, making the most out of its small scale setup and the few moments of gore are great thanks to director Paul Campion’s WETA workshops experience.

The film is at its strongest when the Kiwis and Fritz are battling for the upper hand and the supernatural is just hinted at, lurking in the shadows and preparing to bring doom upon the humans, but The Devil’s Rock makes for an atmospheric and enjoyable watch from start to finish nevertheless.
Review by Adam Cook ★★½

For a first time horror feature, and low budget one at that, The Devil’s Rock is pretty accomplished. Directed by Paul Campion, a former effects artist for Weta, this Nazi occultist three-hander achieves what many bigger genre films don’t - a competent story with a strong emphasis on mood and atmosphere. Two commandos are sent on a mission to destroy a German gun emplacement on the eve of D Day, however once inside they discover dead Nazis, a demon and a plot that could change the course of the war forever.

Nazis and the Occult go hand in hand in the horror genre but The Devil’s Rock stands out from the crowd thanks to maintaining a narrow focus. Much of…
Review by Countess Anya Sanguina ★★★½

When it comes to World War II Horror films one tends to think about Nazisploitation films that generated around the Grindhouse Era, like Ilsa She Wolf of the SS, Women’s Camp 119, Shock Waves, Oasis of the Dead, and The Frozen Dead. Recently Nazi films have been making a comeback and this low budget film, The Devil’s Rock, has surprisingly popped on the WWII Horror list.

The Devil's Rock was a lot better than what I was expecting, it holds your attention from the moment it begins. Two Kiwi commandos reach the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day to sabotage German gun emplacements to get Hitler's focus away from Normandy. During their mission, they stumble across a demonic…
Review by Arnold Furious ★★★

#10 of the 2014 Halloween Season

So it's 1944 and the Nazi's have been up to no good (those wacky pranksters). On a routine sabotage mission to the occupied Channel Island of Burhou two New Zealand soldiers encounter an occult experiment to harness the power of Hell itself. It's a set up that results in simplistic but well-written scenes, contained within a single structure. The film lives and dies on performances then, with three central characters. The best of which is Gina Varela, who takes on the sole female role with aplomb. The weakest of the three leads is Meyer, played by Matthew Sutherland, delivering his dialogue in the least Germanic way possible. I'm never convinced by his character nor his motivations. That said, considering the lack of budget and the lack of actors, this is a well-made self-contained horror.

Recent reviews

Review by dshie24601 ★★★★

Good film
Review by stauffera ★★½

44/100
Review by RanchoTuVu ★★★ 2

After hearing shrieks from inside a Nazi gun emplacement on one of the Channel Islands, two New Zealand commandos tasked with destroying the emplacement to make way for D-Day, enter said emplacement setting in motion a claustrophobic and kind of talkative film that eventually gets around to the plot of the Nazis desperation recruitment of the forces of Hell in order to win the war. Once inside they discover signs of gore, but whose guts are they, since D-Day is yet to commence? It's pretty good once it gets going with the introduction of the Gina Varela as the demon who can take the form of any soldiers' wife or girlfriend as a means of killing them in fairly horrific…
Review by Sean Frost ★★★

I’m a sucker for wartime horror, and this one mostly delivers. Its twists are obvious but well executed. Decent bit of gooey low budget film-making.
Review by John Shipley ★★★

One of those movies with the horrible cover art, but really it's pretty good. Not perfect, but the concept is great: two British commandos land on a channel island to destroy a Nazi gun emplacement before D-Day, only to find that the SS officer in charge has a demon chained up in the gun turret. Definitely an under-achiever, but not entirely stupid, either.
Review by Ragman ★★★★

Great low budget horror movie set on the eve of the D-day invasion, off the coast of Guernsey Channel Islands. Intresting story with imaginative blood letting and gore.
Review by Chris ★★

Pacing, more than anything, really kneecaps this film. What could be a crazy fever dream dash through the dark arts feels about twice as long as it should be...which for a 80ish minute film is a Problem.
Review by Gabe Martin ★★★½

Pretty decent WW2 / horror flick.

New Zealand commandos take a kayak to one of the Channel Islands to prep the D-Day invasion. They find the natzee bunker and kill some natzees and hear a woman screaming ... but it's an evil ploy by and evil succubus demon thing.
Review by preisman ½

Garbage. And not the trashy garbage horror I love, just regular run of the mill garbage.