Demons

I like to think about older movies I'd love to see on the big screen. I'm lucky enough to live near a place that tends to do at least one classic movie screening a week. It's something they started to do more when COVID-19 was affecting new movie releases, and I think they've just kept with it because people understandably flock to them. I've been fortunate enough to see a bunch of Kubrick and Miyazaki movies on the big screen, as well as other films like The Wild Bunch and The Godfather. I'm still holding out hope they'll screen some Sergio Leone or Akira Kurosawa one day, because both seem like no-brainers.

Anyway... I tend to think about how great epic, lengthy, big-budget movies would look on the big screen, but it's less common for me to watch a small-ish movie and feel a little sad I couldn't see it at the movies. But Demons is the rare movie that is fairly simple/low budget that I imagine it would be even better if watched in a cinema. This is because the premise is essentially people inside a cinema needing to survive hordes of demons that attack while they're watching a new horror movie. Cool visuals, ludicrous gore, and cheesy performances ensue, with all proving to make this a fairly fun movie.

It would be more impactful if watched inside a cinema, especially with the early scenes where people don't know whether the screams they're hearing are real or part of the movie they're watching. Divorced from the ideal viewing experience, this is still a very entertaining and no-nonsense Italian horror movie that's frequently silly but also never boring. It's probably not for everyone, but it was a good movie to watch on a Friday night that never proved too challenging or mentally taxing.

Lamberto Bava's "Dèmoni" aka. "Demons" of 1985 is a gory, stylish and very entertaining horror flick written by the master, Dario Argento. I'm sure getting acknowledged in Horror cinema wasn't easy for director Lamberto Bava , being the son of Mario Bava, beyond doubt one of the all-time greatest horror geniuses in motion picture history. Expectations must have certainly been high. But although Lamberto Bava does certainly not manage to reach his father's brilliance, "Demons" is definitely worth watching.

Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) is given free tickets for a sneak preview by a mysteriously dressed man at a Berlin subway station. Accompanied by a friend, she goes to see the movie at the eerie-looking 'Metropol' cinema. Before the film starts, a woman scratches herself on a creepy silver mask in the waiting hall. The film, which turns out to be a Horror flick tells the story of a prediction by Nostradamus, connected with a demonic mask.

The plot is not that original, but the film is made in a very stylish manner, with a good cinematography, and great color play in the tradition of Mario Bava and Dario Argento. The gore is intense, lots of slicing, stabbing cutting and biting. The cast may not be phenomenal, but Natasha Hovey delivers a good leading performance and there are a bunch of funny characters, such as a black pimp named Tony (played by Bobby Rhodes) and the two hookers he is accompanied by, as well as a strange blind guy and his wife and a very strange usherette. The main part of the score was composed by Claudio Simonetti of the great Progressive Rock band Goblin, whose ingenious soundtracks have also complimented many of Dario Argento's movies.

Being a huge fan of Dario Argento, I must say that "Dèmoni" does definitely not live up to most of the movies Argento directed himself. Nevertheless, it is an extremely entertaining Horror flick that doesn't scant with blood and gore, and especially the gory sequences are very stylishly made. If you expect the quality of Argento's or Mario Bava's masterpieces, you will probably be disappointed. Just expect a very stylish, gory and extremely entertaining Horror flick, and your expectations will easily be fulfilled. Recommended. 7/10

Michele Soavi as the man with the half human half metal face!!! Fun times. The plot is filled with holes, like why do some people take so long to turn when others it takes seconds, and what was up with thee usherette being so menacing..she did squat. Over 30 or so people get trapped inside a really creepy theater after they are all given free movie tickets. When a very annoying prostitute puts on a demonic mask on display in the lobby, within fifteen minutes later she has pus bubbles exploding from her face, and is attacking her other prostitute friends. One by one people are transformed, as gory as any italian horror movie can get. The direction is actually really good and Lamberto Bava goes all out on colors and angles (which horror italian director doesn't)and the soundtrack goes well with the eighties look. I also really had fun times with the 4 punks snorting coke outside the theatre, but they really added nothing to the plot and at times just seem to be there to fill time, without a doubt though the gore is the highlight of this flick. Throats getting ripped open, scalps getting teared off, puke and pus splatter continuously,a huge tongue sliding out one of the demons mouth, demons getting hacked with a sword, the most gruesome scene is definitely the blind man getting his empty eye sockets gouged out..HARSH. The characters are so hard to tell apart and we don't evn see some of the patrons faces. I don't remember any characters really except the coolest "pimp" Tony, the sexy usherette, the four punks and the "GEORGE" character (mainly only cause i recognized him from OPERA), but this movie obviously isn't meant for character development.

So all in all I give Demons **1/2 out of **** It's really cool, but only worth watching for cool visuals, soundtrack, and gore.

Watching "Demons" I came to the conclusion that, no matter how many of the "Scream" films they make, nothing compares to this horror flick!. I'm not saying it's the greatest horror flick of all time. But it certanly entertains, and scares the hell out of you. Even after several viewings. The setting for the film is just right.The music terrific too! honestly I've seen this flick like 1000 times. And it still freaks me out. I've not seen parts 3 or 4 yet but from the reviews I've heard, they sound pretty interesting, so I'm certanly going to track them both down. For those of you who think that the 90's versions of horror films are the only saving grace to this genre, do yourself a favour catch a few of the 80's horror flicks like "Demons" they are what horror movies should be!

In West Berlin, a stranger wearing a mask randomly distributes tickets for the reopening of the Metropol movie theater on the streets for different persons, including a blind man. Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) gets two tickets in the subway and invites her friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo) to skip their music class and go to the movie theater to watch the film. The viewers come to the restored Metropol without having any information about the film they will see in the advance screening. While waiting for the beginning of the preview, a woman sees an exposed promotional mask of a demon and accidentally scratches her face with the object. When the film begins, the foregoing woman transforms in a monster in the same way it is happening on the screen with the characters of the film, in a kind of weird connection. She attacks the audience, and each viewer that is infected by a monster, is contaminated and transformed in another monster, threatening the rest of the defenseless persons. Sooner the survivors realize that they are trapped in the locked building.

The first time I saw "Demons" was in the mid 80's. I recall that it made me feel very uncomfortable. Then I saw this film many other times on VHS and today (04 November 2010) I have just seen it on DVD. This claustrophobic and sick film is a scary horror movie indeed. The story recalls "The Night of the Living Dead", only using gruesome demons instead of zombies. The disgusting make-up and special effects are excellent and compensate the weak performances of most of the cast. Bigas Luna used part of this idea in his 1987 "Angustia". The music score is awesome and this movie is only recommended for fans of trash-movies and is a classic in the genre. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Demons – Filhos das Trevas" ("Demons – Sons of the Darkness")