Friday, October 12, 2007

Demons

(1986) *



Produced (but not directed) by Dario Argento, Demons is an Italian midnight movie that spawned several sequels. Two girls are attending a free screening of a movie about Nostradamus. Also in the audience are two guys who are hitting on them, a cranky man who keeps saying "Shhhh!" and a pimp with two hos. When one of the ho's cheek starts bleeding profusely she rushes to the bathroom only to transform into a frothing "demon" (a zombie for all intents and purposes). The moviegoers are trapped in the theater and violent carnage ensues.

Q: Can this premise sustain an entire movie?

A: Possibly, but it didn't here.

Clearly focused only on the gore, Demons is frankly awful. It fails on every level imaginable and probably other ways that I haven't even considered. I've likely put more effort into this review than they put into the script. They finally escape the theater, run around the streets for a while and then go back in the theater!? Like the Zombie series, none of the sequels have anything to do with each other and are linked together for the sole purpose of repackaging crap. Fool me once...

3 comments:

Whirlygirl said...

I will be reviewing a number of Italian horror films shortly, and I will definitely avoid this one. It sounds ghastly! Luckily, most of the films I have chosen are from the 70's, which JPX tells me is the "golden age" of horror, so hopefully that holds true for the Italians.

Octopunk said...

Oh, Whirlygirl, you can't believe that guy.

I think I saw Demons II because I remember seeing a twelve-year-old Asia Argento in it. I was fooled because it had the same director as the brilliant Cemetary Man.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Look forward to the Italian horror Whirleygirl.. I would recommend avoiding Bava films. He gets a lot of credit but I have yet to see a good movie by him. You should go for the good Argento flicks - Suspiria, Deep Red & the Bird With the Crystal Plumage.

DAMMIT! I totally did fall for it again. I bought another Rite Aid selection called the Church and it's produced by Argento and boasts the Cemetary Man director. On closer inspection I learned that it was also known as Demons III. AAAAaaaaarrrggghhh!!

Malevolent

 2018  ***1/2 It's 1986 for some reason, and a team of paranormal investigators are making a big name for themselves all over Scotland. ...