The Ogre

For the sake of convenience and, of course, to reach wider audiences, this modest made-for-TV horror flick got released as a second sequel to the hugely popular "Demons"-franchise. Apart from the fact that Lamberto Bava directed them all, there aren't any similarity between "the Ogre" and the previous two "Demons" films. "Demons" (as well as its dull sequel) is a gross and outrageous splatter flick, whereas "The Ogre" is an attempt at an atmospheric spook-tale.

The amount of bloodshed and hideous make-up effects in this film is very limited (also because it's a TV-production), and bad-boy Bava even attempts to insert some style & subtlety. The plot isn't very convincing and contains a few holes, but still the premise is interesting enough to hold your attention for a good 90 minutes. We're introduced to a female horror writer who keeps having the same nightmare ever since she was a little girl. 22 years later, she and her family are spending a vacation in an ancient Italian mansion and this setting strangely resembles the one in her dream; - especially the ominous cellar. Events identical to the ones in her nightmare start to come true and it seems like there really is a monster living in the cellar.

This creature is an "Ogre", but he has nothing in common with Shrek! The film offers a little bit of suspense, but could have used a lot more action! There are too many overlong and pointless scenes in which the heroine just walks though the mansion, but even though the ominous music gets louder, nothing happens! The acting is fair, and Virginia Bryant definitely is a fine looking lady (there's a bath-sequence to confirm this statement).

The Demons series takes a turn in storyline with "Demons III: The Ogre", a made-for-TV film from 1988 which has nothing to do with the first two films.

The film begins in Portland, Oregon where we see a little girl having trouble sleeping during a thunderstorm. She gets up to look around for her mother in what looks like some huge old style castle. The little girl makes her way down to the creepy basement where she sees some sort of a cocoon type thing growing on the ceiling. All of a sudden, a creepy hand punches out from the cocoon and the monster emerges, getting ready to attack the little girl. Just kidding - it was all a dream. The movie then switches to a couple with their son driving in Italy heading towards an old castle they've rented for a vacation. The mother (Cheryl) is a famous horror novelist, and pretty soon we realize that she was the little girl from the opening scene.

As time goes by, Cheryl starts exploring the castle and it becomes evident that it is the same one from her dreams as a little girl. One day while she explores the basement, we notice that the cocoon from her dreams is there, except open up with no monster inside. When Cheryl tells her husband, he of course doesn't believe her and thinks she's imagining things. Eventually, the Ogre makes an appearance, killing the babysitter one day while the parents are out in town. With the Ogre now roaming the castle halls, Cheryl gets her much anticipated confrontation with the monster and will have to try and survive.

The movie runs extremely slow, probably the weak point of the film for me and a reason why I didn't like it more. It has a calm, almost trance like feeling for the early part of the movie as we meet the family and get introduced to the town in Italy. The Ogre itself didn't make a real appearance and kill until around the 1 hour and 10 minute mark. The Ogre (or Demon) looked pretty creepy, it's just unfortunate we didn't see more of him throughout the film. Perhaps it being an Italian made-for-TV film is what caused the lack of airtime for the ghoul (and also the lack of kills/gore). And don't get me started on the rushed ending.

Demons III: The Ogre is a sequel to the original two films in name only, which I knew heading into it. Overall, it is an average/ok monster movie set in a creepy old castle in Italy. The story is a good one, and the acting by our final girl was good, but it all moved too slow and wasn't as scary as it could have been.

5/10.

This movie did take a while to get going, there are far to many subs plots in this movie, they focused on to many other things in the first 20 mins of the movie.

That where the thing start to really happen, it maybe little over the top and silly at times, which I wish they explained that scene.

I did enjoyed second part of the movie, a bit more then first half, I enjoyed the transformations was decent but not as good as the first.

I didn't really find this movie that gory, no were near as gory as the first and some of effects looks a bit off however there were some decent effects here and there.

The acting was not that great, I just found that fighting scenes with demons just silly not even funny.

5 out of 10

A family with mom Cheryl (Virginia Bryant) who is a horror writer, father Tom (Paolo Malco) and son Bobby (Patrizio Vinci) are off on a vacation and mom can write another horror epic. They visit an enormous, spooky mansion to stay. I could tell quite early she is making quite a bit of dough off her creepy tales. Anyways, her nightmares start becoming reality on this trip.

I personally do not quite get the low rating on this site. Sure, it is not one of the best horror movies of the 80s or 1989 for that matter or one of director Lamberto Bavas best work. But to me, it was a passable horror flick with an effective score from Simon Boswell.

For some reason (likely to cash in on Bavas previous work) they changed the title to Demons 3. They should not have done that. This has zilch to do with DEMONS 1 or 2. I knew this going in so I was not waiting for the connections to those movies or hoping one would come along. I watched it as a stand alone movie. No where near as gory as those films either. At times I was getting a HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY feel, but maybe that was because of Malco being in both pictures as the father in the new haunted house. Not to mention I did find the ending to be a little weak and almost TV-movie-ish. In the end though, just made the grade for me.

The American writer of horror novels Cheryl (Virginia Bryant) is a woman that has been tormented by nightmares since she was a child. She rents the Trifiri Villa in Italy with her husband Tom (Paolo Malco) and they travel on vacation with their son Bobby (Patrizio Vinci).

On the arrival, Chery befriends the local Ann (Sabrina Ferilli ) that offers her younger sister Maria (Stefania Montorsi) to babysit Bobby in order to allow Cheryl and Tom to have dinner with her.

Cheryl is writing her latest novel about an ogre that horrifies her in nightmares since her childhood and soon she finds that all her fears are coming true. Further the house is surrounded by orchids that attract the ogre and his victims. Now Cheryl has to convince her skeptical husband that they are in danger and must leave the place.

"La Casa dell'Orco" a.k.a. "Demons 3 – The Ogre" is an average horror television movie by Lamberto Bava but never the sequel of "Demons 2". Tom is an unpleasant character that does not support his wife and even throws away in the garbage parts of her novel without any respect for her work. The music score is great but the plot has a silly conclusion. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Demons 3 – O Ogro" ("Demons 3 – The Ogre")