Demon Wind

From its fiery opening credits, we know that DEMON WIND means business!

Cory (Eric Larson) and his friends are led to an old shack in the middle of nowhere. This has something to do with Cory's dad and a series of nightmares. From the weird gas station to the creepy diner, we can tell that DW is attempting to build an atmosphere of doom like EVIL DEAD.

Does it succeed? Hmmm.

Unlike this film, EVIL DEAD had a definite gloom-factor that hung over the entire project. Unlike EVIL DEAD, this movie has a karate-kicking magician! Sort of dull at first, upon arriving at the aforementioned shack, it all hits the fan! Actually, some scenes are reminiscent of something Sam Raimi might have done: a scary journal, squawking demons, squirting goo, etc.

There are also seven sacred daggers, like in THE OMEN, and some unmistakable NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD moments as well. All leading to the big finale, starring Satan himself, covered in corn syrup and mashed potatoes!

With the proper amount of intoxication, and the right group of friends, this could make for one transcendent viewing experience!...

"Demon Wind" shows some imagination in the early going...but by the last 20 minutes or so it has become an insult to anyone's intelligence. It has some OK (for the budget) special effects and some eerie moments (the best is easily the one involving a door that, at first sight, appears to be leading...nowhere), but just like the characters do battle with an army of demons (or are they zombies? They sure walk and moan like zombies), those good points do battle with the mostly laughable acting and an inconsistent, often moronic script...and they lose. (**)

Only here and watched this because I was playing High on Life. Didn't know this even existed.

Comical watch. Granted I was watching it with the added dialogue from the game but it was so worth it.

The acting in the film is typical 90s B movie acting with a questionable storyline but still gets laughs. Not sure if that is the script writing or the delivery. Or the additional commentary provided by the game. I don't think I could watch this as it is, as I know I would struggle with the pacing and general progression and predictability of the storyline.

Did load up imdb as I needed to check whether I actually knew the actors.

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... : )

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.