Demons

This is tacky Italian horror. It is one of the better Italian horror films although still sat down near the bottom of films in general. It just suffers badly from a god-awful production value. It also felt like they just shot as much as possible and then botched a film together with their footage. The scripting is terrible. On the plus side it is nice and gory. Not particularly engaging. At times it was comical and at others dull. If it wasn't gory then this would be totally pointless. Mercifully fast pacing holds attention.

If you love gory horror flicks I am not sure why you haven't seen this classic. From Lamberto Bava comes one of his most memorable films and a total must-see for the gore hounds.

Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) is given a ticket to the new theatre called Metropol by some creepy dude (Michele Soavi) with a mask that's a mix between PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and THE TERMINATOR. So, Cheryl takes her friend Kathy (Paolo Cozzo) so they can skip class and watch a movie. Within the theatre there is a mask that through a pimp named Tony (Bobby Rhodes in a role that is downright hilarious) and his two prostitutes Carmen (Fabiola Toldedo)and Rosemary (Geretta Geretta) we see Rosemary get cut by the mask. Uh-oh!!! Soon violent, starving demons take over the theatre by storm.

Amazingly gory and not for the weak stomached. The acting is so bad it is memorable, which is much like the film. Another funny note is one of the people in attendance at the theatre is a blind man named Werner (Alex Serra).

The demons were created by Sergio Stivaletti. The music is awesome with a score by Claudio Simonetti and soundtrack that includes Billy Idol, Motley Crue and Accept to name a few. Written by Dario Argento (who also produced), Bava, Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Ferrini. Must say it is sort of a paper-thin story, but it sets everything up nicely for the great and bloody effects done by Stivaletti.

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")

For an 80s gore-fest, you couldn't want anything more. This is another one of those "kitchen sink" movies that's in the same vein as "From Dusk Till Dawn". Put the same scenario in a movie house, back in the 80s, substitute the vampires with demons, and you pretty much get the picture. You can definitely see the influence here. With that said, if you liked "From Dusk.." and don't mind dubbing, then you should be right at home with "Demons".

There isn't a whole lot there in the way of plot. Some random folks are invited to a screening in an old movie theater. As the movie that they are viewing gets more and more violent, real life starts to imitate art and pretty soon, they discover that they are locked inside and what we're watching becomes a survival flick. That's pretty much it.

As far as gore, there is PLENTY of the red stuff with enough eye-gouging, throat ripping, and blood spurting to satisfy even the most ravenous gore hound. To say much more would give away a lot of the surprises, but it's well worth a rental. Check it out.