Demonicus

I rented this one to see Vanesa Talor one more time. She can act, but doesn't get a chance in this clunker. The opening sequence is an elaborate crane shot of mountain landscapes. Must have come from a stock archive, because the movie is shot direct to videotape. The production values make _Blair Witch_ look professional. There's a really cheesy animated statue, but no other effects worth noting. This movie is bad, but not amusingly so. The players would do well not to mention it on their resumes.

In watching any movie, I demand something for my time. Plot is usually too much to ask, but an ending I can be satisfied with is almost mandatory. I can even over look the ending, if getting there was a lot of fun (you know what I mean!).

This movie had nothing. It was not even a weak gore fest. One of a group of students on a hike (the reason for which was never explained) is possessed by the soul of a demon gladiator (again, poorly if ever explained) and goes around killing his friends and cutting off their limbs (again, poorly explained) until we get to the end, which is not explained. <sigh>

As for acting and effects, this movie had the usual potential. A few extra snips of the scissors, a few more moments of shooting, and _some_ thought as to WHY all this was happening would have gone a long way to making it a legitimate entry into the late-night horror movie lineup.

As it was, all I can say is I wasted my time (buying <ouch>) and watching this movie. I can't even think of a reason to rent it.

This is simply the funniest movie I've seen in a long time. The bad acting, bad script, bad scenery, bad costumes, bad camera work and bad special effects are so stupid that you find yourself reeling with laughter.

So it's not gonna win an Oscar but if you've got beer and friends round then you can't go wrong.

For some reason, various young couples hiking through the Italian Alps split up to see who can reach their campsite designation first. James (Gregory Lee Kenyon) enters a cave, finds a skeleton of an ancient demonic gladiator and becomes possessed by the spirit of "Tyranus" when he puts on a helmet belonging to the corpse. He then spends the rest of the film running around in the woods hunting down his friends and hacking off their limbs to add to some stew to bring the undead "Demonicus" back to life. This shot-on-digital Full Moon release is stupid, senseless, has terrible acting and sound and the (Los) Angeles National Forest is a poor substitute for Italy. However, it's pretty high on the unintentional laugh scale thanks mainly to the overwrought lead performance. Whether bug-eyed running around in cheap-looking armor brandishing a sword or spouting neurotic Latin gibberish about demons and resurrection, Kenyon's ridiculous facial expressions and awkward line delivery must be seen to be believed. Oh well, at least he's not boring like most of the rest of the cast.

This low-budget project just doesn't have the sense of fun that it should have. Any enthusiasm or wit behind the camera (or in front of it, for that matter) just doesn't show. It appears more and more hapzard as it goes on. Low budgets and quick wrap times considered, this one just offers wasted potential and no energy. Not one of Charlie Band and company's better efforts, particulary disappointing, since it's one of his few slasher-style efforts.