Night of the Demons
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Movie Reviews of Night of the Demons
Movie Review: If you question the details, you're missing the point.
Summary: 4 Stars
I really struggled with how to rate this film. In cinematic terms, it really should be a 2. Bad script, inexplicable story, high school acting, slightly better than amaturish camera work. But then you watch it and amazingly, you have a good time (at least I did). So I add another star for the "fun factor". Now, this is a DVD. So what is that worth? A pretty fair production with good quality picture. So, add another star.
That's how I got to 4 stars. I can't add a fifth star. That's just not fair to the truly good horror films out there (I'm talking "Alien" 5 stars). Now you might ask; "Alien" is only one star better than "Night of the Demons"? Well, no. Not really. "Alien" is, at least, twice as good as "NOTD". But don't forget the entertainment value of this film, (which is why people supposedly make these things). So lets get to the point. Here is a list of points that cause me to really enjoy this film/DVD:
-There is a plot, a story, even a tiny back story. It's all very clumsy and fairly pointless. The writers don't really try to explain anything too fully. Why fill our heads with all that mess anyway. The goal here, apparently, is to build a scaffold upon which many cool and scary moments can be thrown together.
-Nudity is frequent enough. In the extras, it is mentioned that the nudity had a point and was not there as exploitation. YEEAAH, RIIIGHT. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they exploited the actresses. But there was very little point to it. But that's entertainment and sells tickets/DVDs. We all know that's why it's in this film, and WE LIKE IT!! It does add some very crazy moments to the film too.
-The acting was just bad enough that you chuckle inside. Nobody is taking this too seriously and it pays off. Unbelievably, I actually started liking some of these poorly pieced-together characters, and you know very early who's going to get it.
-Camera work and edditing were pretty OK. Very cliche angles and trick. This really worked well for me. It takes about 10 seconds into the film to realise: "I'm watching a teenage, nudy, monster, horror film from the 80s". Knowing this, anybody who lived through that era totally is on board with this style of film. Some pretty effective scenes too. The dance scene is pretty creepy for instance. You actually question whether or not you're seeing things right.
-The sets/funeral home were surprisingly pretty good. This is a great spook-house and it works very well for this film. I think the settings inspired alot of the films story/scenes(just seems that way to me). All the set-pieces were pretty memorable and effective. I've seen this film twice and I remember most of the rooms in the funeral home and what happened in them. Not bad with my poor memory.
-Overall, this is honestly a scary movie. I like the characters the bad actors are playing, I forgot about the wide open story/plot(or lack there of). I liked the cliche camera work in a nostalgic sort of way. I thought the sets were really creepy. I liked how the film never took itself too seriously with many goofy one-liners. I liked the makeup and gore affects (actually pretty good job there). I enjoyed the pointless, yet bizarre nudity.
In the end it all comes together in the surprisingly scary, tacky, visually effective, wierdly charming cheese-fest. Even the clumsy attempt at a "Creep Show" like ending was pointless fun. It seems that the film makers basically made a film with as many of their favorite horror movie bits and pieces thrown together so that they could have a film with all the stuff they liked. It worked for me.
I don't know if I'm making any sense of this. I can't defend this film artistically. The point is this is a pretty cheap, scary horror film with just enough plot to hold it together that I happened to enjoy quite a bit. Go figure.
Movie Review: CHEESE CHEESE AND MORE CHEESE!
Summary: 4 Stars
I would say that one should watch this movie for the awesome animated title sequence, even if they have no intention of watching the rest of the film. That was what I was planning on doing when I found this old polished turd on Hulu a good sixteen years after I saw it on cable TV. But it just sucked me in, and I remembered why I liked it so much to record it on VHS, and why I tape-recorded the music of the opening sequence.
First off, if you are a serious horror fan that likes really frightening movies then maybe this is not for you. This movie is cheesy... really cheesy... I mean REALLY REALLY CHEESY. And the funny thing is, it's not the special effects. The special effects are great, and well done. You see the work of excellent makeup artists, who really know their craft, great crafted props, and a rather disturbing scene with a lipstick tube. The cheese comes around with the somewhat mediocre acting, canned sound effects, terrible synthesizer sounds for added shock value, and awful one-liners. You begin to see rather ridiculous stereotypical personalities from the moments the opening credits stop rolling. Stooge is a fat and pig-headed rock n' roll bully, who is adequately represented with his cheap-ass pig nose costume. And Stooge's first victim of his personality and a drive-by mooning, not counting the others in the car with him, is another ridiculous stereotype... The unnamed old man, who is convinced that all teenage kids are rotten and going to hell. There's a lot more I could say about the others in the medium-sized group, but let's just say that almost all the major characters in this movie have some sort of vice and you will end up waiting to see "who gets it next".
The premise is simple: A simple Halloween party being thrown by the typical goth girl, who everyone thinks is weird and that "Halloween is like Christmas for her." The party is at an old abandoned mansion that used to be a funeral home, until one of the owners killed their entire family inside and then committed suicide. Don't worry, the whole backstory is introduced by one of the partygoers, as though he was reading verbatim from a script. One by one, the guests are killed, possessed, or mutilated then killed. Wash, rinse, repeat. The movie does start to fall apart once most of the cast are killed off, with lots of running around and girly screams, but you got this far. Why not go all the way.
Oh and the sour old man gets it too.
Movie Review: Horror Review
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall, this is one of those late 80s horror films with cheap actors and low-budget settings. But, the script did not need high-paying actresses like Julia Roberts or Susan Sarandon in order to be successful. The film is trictly about the average horny teenagers who are looking for a cheap scare for the Halloween night at an abandoned parlor home. It was the sight of a gruesome massacre, according to the story. Apparently, the house is POSSESSED and the spirits living inside of it are considered demons. So, here comes the spirited crowd of partiers with a willingness to raise some hell. And, of course, you can predict the storyline as of what happens. The only thing that I can say is useful out of these B-horror films, just as I commented on "Puppet Master" and "Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives", is that these movies provided some hintful ideas for women who might be having some sexual difficulties regarding getting their mates "in the mood" as frequently as they are. If you women are experiencing that problem or would like to spice it up, then pull out your debit card and order some horror flicks mentioned. Some of the best ideas have been pulled out from these films, not Playboy pornography. One peculiar scene is where two lovers are getting it on in a coffin. Out of all the women I have personally dated, maybe only one or two would be possibly open-minded enough to elaborate in some different settings for sexuality. Key word: POSSIBLY!
So, take a glance at some of these horror films. You might catch an idea. But, in reality with all due respect to the fellas, I don't think the majority of us will get very lucky. As my father always said, "Only in the movies!"
Movie Review: "Run Judy Run!" "See Judy Run!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Underated B Horror This is a pretty funny and surprisingly solid B Horror Film. The story is by the numbers, and the acting by now seems a bit dated, but when the fun starts in the house, the film takes a creepy turn.
A group of kids hang out at the abandoned Hull House on Halloween night. Hull House is a house possessed, so the demons that inhabit it are pure evil. They kids have their party until someone decides to play around and summon the demons. And one by one they begin getting posessed by a demonic forces.
It's up to Judy to out live, and out last her demonic attackers.
Amelia Kinkade plays Angela. Watch for her creepy dance sequence. It's pretty memorable and what happens right after elevates Amelia's character, Angela from B Movie character to a horror powerhouse like Freddy and Jason. But unfortunately the 2 sequels that followed are inferior and wound up botching her character. Linnea Quigley does something very interesting with a tube of lipstick. And the gore effects are pretty cool.
It's a solid film that is finally getting the DVD release it deserves. If you are a horror fan you'll be happy to own this little known film. It brings back memories of the golden days, when horror had it's own full fledged section in video stores with hundreds of titles to choose from.
Movie Review: Cheesy horror fun
Summary: 4 Stars
Night of the Demons could easily fall into the category of forgettable, cheesy, 80's horror films, but it manages to deliver on most accounts despite it's flaws. Taking a well worn plot, a group of teenagers have a Halloween party in a supposedly haunted house and awaken the demons lurking within, Night of the Demons ends up being a pretty fun ride. One by one the teens end up becoming possessed by the evil spirits until it's down to a handful of survivors who survive the night, and there's gorey mayhem in between to boot. 80's scream queen Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead) is here in quite a memorable role, including the memorable use and hiding of her lipstick. For a low budget horror film, Night of the Demons still manages to pack in a good amount of nicely done gore effects, which are reason enough alone to check out this hidden little gem. Since the DVD is from Anchor Bay, you can expect a decent amount of extras to be found, including commentary by director Kevin Tenney (Witchboard), trailers, and an interview with Quigley about her work on the film and career frequently getting naked in horror films. All in all, though it may be cheesy, Night of the Demons still manages to pack enough goods for some horror fun, and don't forget to eat your apple pie.