On set
One writer, director and editor
Josh Lobo wrote, directed and edited the film himself, and the whole story plays out in a single house over one night, a set-up shaped by the small budget.
The story
About I Trapped the Devil
A married couple turn up unannounced to spend Christmas with the husband's estranged, reclusive brother, and find his house boarded up and glowing with fairy lights. He tells them he has the Devil locked behind the basement door, and over one long night they have to decide whether he is ill, dangerous or telling the truth.
The CineClaus verdict
A small, patient horror film that borrows Christmas mostly for its lights.
Josh Lobo wrings plenty from a single house over a single night, with fairy lights strung through the gloom like a warning rather than a welcome. The opening is slow and the payoff divides opinion, so come for the atmosphere and the steady tightening of the screw, not a big finish.
Suited to viewers who prefer their dread whispered, and who find tinsel slightly sinister anyway.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: keep children well clear: sustained menace in a boarded-up house, a locked basement door at its heart and a violent final act.
Content advice & accessibility
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official 15 certificate, and never looser than it.
