What is there to say about Lamberto Bava's 1985 cult classic, Demons, other than the fact that it is bat-shit crazy and an incredibly gory and fun bit of badly dubbed Italian horror?
Demons opens as a creeper in a silver mask approaches a young woman at a subway station and hands her a free ticket to a special screening in a renovated movie theatre. She manages to get an extra ticket for her girlfriend, and so they skip class to see what the fuss is all about. Once they arrive at the theatre, they find that the place is full of horror movie memorabilia, including a few silver masks - much like the one worn by the creeper at the start of the film. Before long, the theatre is packed, and the two young ladies have been hit on by two horny frat boys - both of whom proceed to follow the two girls into the screening room to sit beside them.
Meanwhile, two hookers and a "Shaft"-wannabe pimp arrive. One of the hookers attempts to be cute by putting on one of the silver masks, and ends up nicking her face in the process. They think nothing of it, and find their seats.
The movie within a movie begins, which happens to be about a bunch of curious teens who stumble upon the tomb of Nostradamus and find a sacred mask. We find out that whoever places the mask on their face becomes vulnerable to demonic possession. As chaos ensues on the big screen, so it does in the theatre as well, with art imitating life. The movie itself seems to be cursed. The aforementioned hooker runs to the bathroom, only to find that the tiny cut on her face is pulsating. Soon, blood and pus begins to run out, and she undergoes a horrific transformation. She infects a few people, and they too become blood spewing, bile vomiting creatures from hell.
Soon, the audience erupts into a frenzy, and as they attempt to escape, they find that the exits have been bricked up. As several other patrons turn into Satan's spawn, it is up to Mr. Pimp and one particular college frat boy to save the day. All the while, Billy Idol, Saxon, and Go West blares away on the soundtrack. Added to all of the other mayhem, we are treated to a subplot involving a group of delinquents who rock out to "White Wedding" while snorting cocaine through a straw from a Coca-Cola can. They, too, will encounter the demons - but everything leading up to that is pretty fantastic. Especially the dialogue.
Demons is a hoot. I absolutely enjoyed every single moment of it. It makes no sense whatsoever, but who cares? They don't make them like this anymore. That sounds like a cliche, but they really don't. There isn't one dull moment to be had. The film was produced and co-written by horror master, Dario Argento, and you can see how his influence made its way into the film. The lighting is very colorful and inventive at times, and the gore factor is extremely over-the-top. However, it isn't all high camp. There are some genuinely creepy scenes here.
Synapse has released Demons on Blu-ray. The transfer is gorgeous and the sound mix does not disappoint. This is a bare-bones affair, in that there are no special features other than the theatrical trailer. In any case, this is a Blu-ray that every horror fan should own! Do not miss out on this.
Demons opens as a creeper in a silver mask approaches a young woman at a subway station and hands her a free ticket to a special screening in a renovated movie theatre. She manages to get an extra ticket for her girlfriend, and so they skip class to see what the fuss is all about. Once they arrive at the theatre, they find that the place is full of horror movie memorabilia, including a few silver masks - much like the one worn by the creeper at the start of the film. Before long, the theatre is packed, and the two young ladies have been hit on by two horny frat boys - both of whom proceed to follow the two girls into the screening room to sit beside them.
Meanwhile, two hookers and a "Shaft"-wannabe pimp arrive. One of the hookers attempts to be cute by putting on one of the silver masks, and ends up nicking her face in the process. They think nothing of it, and find their seats.
The movie within a movie begins, which happens to be about a bunch of curious teens who stumble upon the tomb of Nostradamus and find a sacred mask. We find out that whoever places the mask on their face becomes vulnerable to demonic possession. As chaos ensues on the big screen, so it does in the theatre as well, with art imitating life. The movie itself seems to be cursed. The aforementioned hooker runs to the bathroom, only to find that the tiny cut on her face is pulsating. Soon, blood and pus begins to run out, and she undergoes a horrific transformation. She infects a few people, and they too become blood spewing, bile vomiting creatures from hell.
Soon, the audience erupts into a frenzy, and as they attempt to escape, they find that the exits have been bricked up. As several other patrons turn into Satan's spawn, it is up to Mr. Pimp and one particular college frat boy to save the day. All the while, Billy Idol, Saxon, and Go West blares away on the soundtrack. Added to all of the other mayhem, we are treated to a subplot involving a group of delinquents who rock out to "White Wedding" while snorting cocaine through a straw from a Coca-Cola can. They, too, will encounter the demons - but everything leading up to that is pretty fantastic. Especially the dialogue.
Demons is a hoot. I absolutely enjoyed every single moment of it. It makes no sense whatsoever, but who cares? They don't make them like this anymore. That sounds like a cliche, but they really don't. There isn't one dull moment to be had. The film was produced and co-written by horror master, Dario Argento, and you can see how his influence made its way into the film. The lighting is very colorful and inventive at times, and the gore factor is extremely over-the-top. However, it isn't all high camp. There are some genuinely creepy scenes here.
Synapse has released Demons on Blu-ray. The transfer is gorgeous and the sound mix does not disappoint. This is a bare-bones affair, in that there are no special features other than the theatrical trailer. In any case, this is a Blu-ray that every horror fan should own! Do not miss out on this.
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