The Devil’s Candy (2015) Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set Review
The Devil’s Candy (2015) Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set Review
Get a taste for The Devil’s Candy with Sean Byrne’s (The Loved Ones, Dangerous Animals) ‘heavy-metal horror opus’ (Variety), arriving in a delectable new Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set on 25 May 2026, courtesy of Second Sight Films.
The second feature from the Australian writer-director rocked audiences to its core on its release in 2017, and now, horror fiends can feast on the new Limited Edition Box Set stuffed full of special features including interviews with cast and crew, an audio commentary with Sean Byrne, a 120-page book full of new essays and much more. Please see the full list below.
Struggling artist, Jesse (Ethan Embry – Empire Records, Can’t Hardly Wait), loves heavy metal, painting and most importantly his family who enjoy a happy and quiet life, but when he, his wife, Astrid (Shiri Appleby – UnREAL, Roswell), and daughter, Zooey (Kiara Glasco – Copper, Bitten), move into their dream home, things take a sinister turn.
There is a clear lineage between The Devil’s Candy and The Amityville Horror, both drawing on the familiar horror premise of a young family lured into a suspiciously affordable home burdened by a violent past. As with that earlier film, domestic stability quickly erodes: financial strain traps the family in place while the father begins a slow psychological unravelling, blurring the line between external menace and internal collapse.
Where the film distinguishes itself is in its quieter, more minimalistic passages. Byrne shows a confident restraint in sequences that rely less on dialogue and more on atmosphere, allowing unease to simmer. However, this strength is undermined by technical shortcomings—most notably, scenes so dimly lit that even in high resolution, key visual details are obscured. Suspension of disbelief is further strained in moments of implausibility, such as characters emerging inexplicably unharmed from an inferno of considerable intensity. The heavy metal–infused soundtrack, while thematically appropriate, is deployed with such frequency that it risks becoming more intrusive than immersive.
Ethan Embry brings an affable, almost Matthew McConaughey-like quality to the role of Jesse Hellman, a struggling painter whose easy charm offsets some of the character’s more frustrating decisions. Even as Jesse’s negligence—most notably a pivotal lapse involving his young child—sets much of the narrative in motion, Embry maintains a likeability that complicates the film’s moral stakes. In contrast, Pruitt Taylor Vince delivers reliably unsettling work as the antagonist, drawing on a career that includes memorable turns in Identity and Jacob’s Ladder. His presence injects the film with a level of menace that the script itself struggles to sustain.
Despite its promising ingredients, The Devil’s Candy ultimately feels underdeveloped. Director Sean Byrne appears to rely too heavily on performance and premise, as though the mechanics of horror will emerge organically without sufficient narrative or stylistic precision. While moments of genuine eeriness do surface, the scares lack the cohesion and escalation necessary to leave a lasting impression.
This is particularly disappointing given Byrne’s strong debut with The Loved Ones, a film that demonstrated a far sharper command of tone and tension. Though Byrne would later regain his footing with Dangerous Animals—featuring a ferocious performance from Jai Courtney—The Devil’s Candy remains a missed opportunity. The ideas are undeniably present, but like an undercooked meal, they never quite reach their full potential.
Special Features
New 4K Producer restoration
Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
Audio commentary with Director Sean Byrne
Into the Fire: a new interview with Director Sean Byrne
Those Fragile Things: a new interview with Actor Ethan Embry
Devil in the Details: a new interview with Director of Photography Simon Chapman
The Cutting Room: a new interview with Editor Andy Canny
A Big Step Forward: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock
Behind the Scenes: VFX
Sean Byrne’s Short films: Advantage Satan and Work?
Limited Edition Contents
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Huan Do
120-page book with new essays by Anton Bitel, Reyna Cervantes, Becca Johnson, Joe Lipsett, Mary Beth McAndrews and Zoe Rose Smith
6 collectors’ art cards
