Le Souffle maudit

This was kind of a fun one... In a way it sort of reminded me of the strong Retro, offbeat feel of 'Phantasm', which is one of my all time favourite Horror films.

But... sadly, the way it is made is considerably poorer than that iconic film. The acting is pretty bad, and I mean pretty bad... Great hairstyles though!

There are a lot of rather cool Retro practical effects which are fun. And, I love the little touches like when we are looking at the bare front of the house that is left and then the way they show them as they walk in the door (I don't want to give too much away, especially with one of the better effects... 😊

But, both storywise and scriptwise, the movie really does go downhill after a while, even though it didn't actually start very much 'Up' the hill to begin with.

The reference to 'Phantasm' is mainly due to the camerawork and the way the director had things kind of come out of the air at you. I really did like the camera direction and it did add to the disjointed atmosphere.

But, ultimately, it really isn't enough to hold this story together, and it isn't quite creative enough to be really offbeat like 'Phantasm'

So, what you have, really, is a moderately fun, very Retro Horror film that is entertaining in a 'Sit back and laugh at it' kind of way. With some scattered, fun effects (and some pretty lame ones too) here and there.

Feeling somewhat generous and a tad nostalgic, I gave it a '5'...

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Just a note as to how I do my reviews... I usually don't repeat the basic plot since almost everyone else does that. And, you can get the basic synopsis from a bunch of other places, to me that is a waste of time, and I feel honestly just doesn't really tell you anything that helpful. So, what I concentrate on in my reviews is hopefully putting across whether I think it is a Good film, or if I think that it is an Entertaining movie and what I feel it's strengths and weaknesses are in the way it is made.

That way, Hopefully it will be of more benefit and actual be of some help to others as to whether I feel the movie is worth watching (and also perhaps what 'Type' of film it is and what type of people may enjoy it)

My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

Absolutely awful movie. Plot holes are followed by plot holes. Followed by awful effects and even worse acting. I know it was probably meant to be as cheesy as it came out but for a 1990 movie its just horrendous and hasn't aged well

Now onto the best part: came across that movie just because its featured in High on Life game, that came out recently on the XBOX

The game is made by the Squanch team who are behind the Rick and Morty show.

What makes this movie remotely watchable is the commentary that was added in. Demon wind can be watched in one of the respawnable locations and one of them happens to be a cinema. It has 3 watchers already in it and who provide a 90 min long, non stop, commentary

Go and play the game and go and watch the movie🙂

Demon Wind (1990)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Corey (Eric Larson) wants to know what happened to his grandparents so he takes a group of friends out to the grounds where they died. Even though a local warns the kids not to travel there, they do it anyways and sure enough they unlock the secrets, which includes demons.

Charles Philip Moore's DEMON WIND is a rather interesting horror movie that has a lot of good things about it but also some bad things that really keeps it from being better. Going back to the 1970s there have been countless movies about people going onto sacred ground and having to battle a variety of evils. The evils here are some demons with a connection to Satan and whenever the movie is focused on them it's quite entertaining.

The biggest issue with this film is the fact that it runs way too long. At 97-minutes the film really do seem to last at least fifteen-minutes too long and it also didn't help that there were a lot of slow moments. The pacing is another issue as it just moves way too slow and this isn't helped by the extended running time. In all honesty this here was the biggest issue I had with the film and sadly it brings down the good moments.

Where the film does succeed is with its make-up and costume design. I've seen a lot of low budget movies in my life but there really aren't too many out there that contain as good of costumes as this film does. I was really impressed with the look of the demons and we're also given some pretty good bits of blood and gore as the demons rip into people. The make-up team certainly deserves a lot of credit for their work here and it's what keeps the film entertaining.

The performances are also decent for this type of production and best of all is that the cast at least make for some good characters to keep you interested in them. DEMON WIND isn't a complete success due to the issues I mentioned but if you're a fan of the genre then it's worth watching.

Man oh man. This is a real treat.

I enjoyed this one. It has it all. and I aint lyin' neither. There is plenty of gore and there is ALWAYS something to laugh at. The film makers really should have gone for straight comedy.

I needed a good laugh. I've been getting a little burned-out at the job, having some girl trouble, and the whole week's just kinda sucked. This puppy just sorta jumped in my hand at the video store, so I bought the damn thing. I paid a wopping $2 for it and now it's forever stuck in my library of b-movies.

Here's the "plot". This guy (I can't even remember his name) has been having the sick, disturbing dreams and he thinks that if he calls up a bunch of his idiot friends and drags them to his dead grandparents' former home, then he will somehow find the meaning of life or some stupid thing like that. It turns out that the place is like a gate to hell, or something like that and a bunch of demons (who sound like a broken toy)show up and start killing everybody.

Yep, it's that stupid, but funny as hell to watch. Talk about some funny scenes. The two magician guys (who look an awful lot like a poor man's Sigfread and Roy) cracked me up. I loved their mullets and there is something a little homoerotic about the way they interact with one another. (am I the only one who noticed that?) Of course one of them is a kung-fu expert and he does kick a mean empty beer-can. I also liked the one over-bearing boyfriend who kept saying "that's why I keep her around." That was a howler. I found the old man at the gas station quite hilarious. His "warning" had me on the floor, wallowing in laughter (I'm sure if someone had walked in my room, they would have thought I was having some sort of convulsions.) Just his "there was BLOOD EVERYWHERE!!!" makes me giggle when I think about it.

The gore effects are pretty decent. The zombies look like they just finished smearing a jar of vaseline on their faces and regurgitated that big bowl of oatmeal they had for breakfast. Oh yeah, did I mention that their voices all sound like the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse with a slight electronic edge?

Well, I hope at least one person out there enjoys this work of art as much as I did. It takes raw talent and skill to make a film this funny. I really hope to meet the director some day. I'd also like to meet the guy who says "that's why I keep her around". That guy really cracked me up and I cracked open a beer simultaneously with his death scene. It's a shame the magical/ambiguous duo didn't stick around too long. They were the coolest ones in the group.

Well, I'm done reviewing this beauty. I'd just like to give a SPECIAL THANKS to the writers for coming up with that line "that's why I keep her around", the director for steering this whole thing in the right direction, the guys with the mullets, their hair-stylists, and the old man who gets to say "there was BLOOD all over the floors, all over the walls, there was BLOOD EVERYWHERE". I'd also like to thank that one girl who got killed in "Slaughterhouse". She's almost as talented as the old man and I'd like to see her in more stuff like this. She can fake a scream and die with the best of 'em.

One more thing: Lou Diamond Phillips is listed in the credits, but If he was in it, I must have missed him. Hmmm, maybe he was ducking behind a tree or hiding in the fake fog.

Ah, Demon Wind. I've seen this movie so many times I can actually quote it now! Cory and 9 of his friends travel to his grandparents' farm to figure out what happened to them decades earlier. What proceeds is a virtual remake (or ripoff)? of Evil Dead. One by one, the friends either become possessed by the demonic force that has inhabited the land or are killed by the demons and in turn become possessed. The special makeup effects were rather poorly done, but remained effective on a cheesy level. The director did quite well with maintaining a dreadful atmosphere. Demon Wind is high on the suspense, that's for sure. The acting was from the cast was very convincing for a film of this type. The ending was definitely lifted (or "inspired", if you will) from Night of the Living Dead, but not as effective as that film was. It also left it open for a possible sequel. Let's pray we do see a sequel! Demon Wind is a nice time waster. I don't believe it has ever been legitimately released on DVD, but you can bet the VHS and bootleg DVD's are floating around on ebay or ioffer. Check it out.