Demons - Movie Review

Demons – 1985 – 88 Mins

"You ain't worth shit!" - Tony the Pimp

What’s it About?

-The Synopsis-

A strange man in a metal mask scours the streets handing out free tickets for the premiere of an unknown film showing at a once abandoned cinema. An audience made up of interesting characters from all walks of life attend and soon enough these absolute strangers must work together to survive the demonic terror that is unleashed upon them. Will love interest George and Claire and the other patrons survive, or will they fall victim to the demon hoard?

-The Plot-

AVOID FOR SPOILERS

The film opens to Cheryl, a young student taking the subway into Berlin as some powerful 80s Italian prog rock plays over the opening credits. Upon exiting the subway she is stalked by a strange man with a half metal face - as the exact same powerful 80s Italian prog rock from the subway ride plays once again. Upon catching the shaken Cheryl, we discover this creepy copper stalker is in fact a creepy promotions guy, handing out free tickets to a screening of an unknown movie in the city that night. Cheryl takes a ticket and another for her friend Kathy who’s waiting outside (with a strong perm) and together they decide to skip class and go to the theatre instead.

At the cinema the guests begin to arrive, greeted by an usherette wearing what looks like the “sexy” version of Buddy the Elf’s costume. Among the guests are our main characters; there’s Ruth and her takes-no-shit husband Frank, there’s the hormonally crazed teen couple Tommy and Hannah, blind man Werner and his seeing-eye daughter/niece/whatever Liz, Tony the pimp and his escorts Rosemary and Carmen, and then there’s George and Ken, two guys who see their chance to score when they notice Cheryl and Kathy struggling to get a can of Coke out of a vending machine. As this higher class Beavis and Butthead duo make their move on the girls, Werner uses his Daredevil skills to sense the evil emitting from the “prop” mask hanging from a motorbike handlebar. Rosemary has meanwhile decided to try it on, cutting herself in the process as the usherette looks on menacingly.

Once everyone’s seated (with George and Ken making sure they’re seated next to Cheryl and Kathy) the movie begins, opening to some motorbikes and Motley Crue. During the movie one of the characters cuts his face on a mask just as Rosemary’s own cut begins to bleed again, an indicator to the viewers that shit is about to be taken up a notch on the demon front. Rosemary goes to the bathroom to fix her face up, only to watch on in horror as the cut pulsates and explodes puss and goo all over the mirror. After a while Carmen decides to investigate, leading her to the discovery of poor Rosemary who is now in demon form scratching up the walls in a toilet cubicle. She proceeds to slash Carmen’s neck as she rushes out, cueing an intense escape scene to some, you guessed it, powerful 80s Italian prog rock.

This is the point in the movie when the real magic begins. A mortally wounded Carmen rips through the cinema screen to the audience’s horror, meanwhile upstairs demon Rosemary gets to work ripping out Werner’s eyes, a seemingly unnecessary act that leaves any dreams of cataract correction surgery firmly in the gutter. Carmen slowly and painfully transforms into a demon, a transformation which features some of the most unique and disgusting practical effects ever put to cinema, before proceeding to pounce and rip Frank’s throat open. Cue Danish metal band Pretty Maids and chaos ensues. The audience lose their collective shit and run for the front doors, only to find they’ve been walled up inside the cinema. Luckily Tony is on the case to loudly suggest they try the emergency exits, which too, are of no use. Tony quickly takes control of the situation once again, as pimps are known to do, and decides that the movie is to blame for all this demon tomfoolery, so decides the group will find the projection booth. Upon breaking into the projection booth however, everyone is stunned to discover the film is unmanned, run by… an automatic projector. (Let ‘em off, it was 1985, guys.) So in true mob fashion the only logical thing to do next is, as Tony puts it, “smash everything”.

From this moment on all scenes of demon survival and peril are intercut with footage of four cokeheads driving around in a car listening to Billy Idol, snorting cocaine from a can of coke, which I believe is the stupidest yet most outstanding visual gag ever put to cinema ever. Their relevance to the plot is left completely open to assumption, during which time even more of the main cast is killed. This includes Tony, leaving Ken to take control of the group, apparently, as they blockade themselves in the upstairs gallery. Finally the cokeheads’ relevance is revealed as they are chased by the police into an alleyway behind the cinema (“it’s a dead end”, pay attention to that). Double blind demon Werzel exits through a door (“it’s a blind alley”…fantastic double foreshadow), while the coke-punks find said door and run inside. Werzel attacks two perfectly well sighted and helpless police officers, while the sound of the coke heads fucking about downstairs is mistaken for the sound of rescue by the survivors upstairs. They proceed to remove the blockade which allows the waiting demons full access to them, led by demonically reanimated Tony who now leads the demon horde, as pimps are known to do. More metal, more bloodshed, more reasons to love this movie.

The skirmish between the demons and bewildered survivors-no-more leaves only Cheryl, George, Kathy and Ken alive. This quickly changes when Kathy turns and is swiftly dealt with by Ken, however not before a demon bursts out of her back and scratches him, fleeing the scene. As he too begins to turn, Ken hands George a samurai sword (I should have mentioned earlier, there is a samurai sword kicking about in the foyer.) and asks him to kill him, which he does. George is now leader of the pack. As the demons close in, Cheryl is forced out into the theatre where the demons surround her. Seemingly, all is lost. Suddenly, George comes blazing through the doors, revving the motorbike, sword in hand. With a scream of Cheryl’s name, he races to her rescue, she jumps on the back, and then together they proceed to go to town on every Demon within their field of vision, all to Accept’s head-banging and fantastically named Fast as a Shark.

Upon ending the lives of all who oppose them, George holds Cheryl in a loving embrace, but there’s no time for romantic subplots, because the ceiling is starting to crack. Through it falls a helicopter, which upon inspection holds a winch, and a harpoon gun. Using these tools George is able to winch himself and Cheryl to the roof and to safety, only to be attacked by the aluminium two-face from the start of the film. A scuffle ensues and metal face man is impaled eye-first onto a gnarled, rusty pole, and all is well again.

Fuck, all is still not well.

It turns out the demons have somehow heralded in the apocalypse and are running amuck in the city, and you know there’s some heavy metal playing right here. Cheryl and George flee into the streets, where a dude in a jeep pulls over and lets his small children fire off a few rounds with high power rifles at the demons so our two heroes can climb aboard. The man details his plans to escape the chaos and “start a new life”, an alarmingly quick response to events that can only have been happening for a couple hours prior. Cheryl and George look on, unsure of the future ahead of them.

Suddenly Cheryl turns into a demon out of nowhere, and a ten year old boy with a sandwich in his mouth blasts her the fuck away and off the back of the jeep. The credits roll as her body lies there in the road, fires burn, powerful 80s Italian prog rock plays, the end.

SPOILERS END

In Review

It goes without saying that any film with Dario Argento’s named attached should be nothing short of weird and/or wonderful, provided it was released in the 70s or 80s. During those two decades Argento was the name in Italian horror and released such much loved titles as Suspiria, Deep Red, The Bird with the Crystal Plummage, and Inferno. Though a director by trade, Argento has produced a number of films that have proven to be just as popular as his own works, one of which being Lamberto Bava’s 1985 film Demons.

The decision to create Demons came about when Bava decided he’d had enough of the slasher genre that was at its peak in the 80s, stating he wanted something “with more energy” and not just “kids running around with knives”. The film was shot in both Germany and Italy; the interiors were shot in an actual abandoned cinema which exists as a bank today, while the exteriors were actually of a club called Goya, which can still be visited today and holds horror conventions due to its connection to the movie.

When weighed up Demons is by far the most entertaining movie either Argento or Bava has ever been involved in, and almost 30 years later that level of entertainment hasn’t slipped one bit. How entertaining Demons is to you really depends on what you class as entertaining though. If a plausible plot, down to earth characters, and slick special effects and pacing are a necessity in your film preferences then Demons is probably not for you. However if you're the type of movie goer who can suspend all disbelief and logical thinking, and be drawn in by a parade of insanely gory practical effects, over the top acting, and a pumping and often poorly timed heavy metal soundtrack, then Demons is definitely for you.

It’s difficult to decide exactly where to start when praising Demons. No singular aspect really outweighs another, and there are then so many aspects of it to laud over. For now though we’ll start with the plot, which is quite possibly one of the most bat-shit insane plots you could ever hope for in a movie. You see, films like Demons operate in an “anti-logic” universe, meaning things you would normally expect to happen almost never happen. A lot of films today pride themselves on at least trying to be realistic, or as accurate as can be to any aspects they cover. This can indicate a lot of research and consideration has gone into their filming, which is nice because it indicates actual thought and planning has gone into these films, but in turn can greatly diminish the enjoyment of the plot. This attention to detail can result in films that can come across very bland and predictable, as the audience can usually guess what is going to happen based on how reality works; what would make sense to do, what outcome would appeal to the mass audience represented in multiple test screenings, etc.

Demons meanwhile is not held back by such flimsy notions of “realism” and “logic”, allowing it to do essentially whatever it pleases at the expense of completely disregarding the audiences’ predictable comfort zones, and the outcome is glorious. There are so many moments that hit you out of nowhere, simply because you cannot see them coming. The entire subplot with the coke heads is almost impossible to relate to what’s going on inside the cinema, and the eventual outcome isn’t even that outlandish, but you can have a lot of fun wondering what the fuck their relevance is to anything. If you ever find yourself questioning elements of the film based on how things should work, you’re setting yourself up for a bad time and you’ll miss out on the magic and charm Demons has to offer. When the film presents you with a curve ball, which it will, your reaction must be “okay and where are we going next with this?” or you’re going to be left behind.

Next up are the characters, all of whom are larger than life and acted so over the top that it’s almost impossible to dislike a single one of them. To describe them best I’d say it’s as if the filmmakers were able to unleash the demons inside a Sims game, then captured the outcome of the bumbling AI of the Simfolk dealing with the carnage and psychological damage of a demon apocalypse. A personal favourite of mine is Frank, the gruff married man who’s brought his wife out for their anniversary to watch a mystery film in a once derelict cinema - clearly thinking economically with this romantic efforts. What little nuggets of screen-time he gets are all golden moments of the film, simply down to how blunt and unforgiving his dialogue and deliveries are, most notably the pure venom in his utterance of the “shut up”s aimed at his wife. Take special care to notice his response to the grisly scenes in the film he’s watching - the entranced look on his face as he takes off his jacket is priceless, as though he’s getting a little too involved in the gruesome murders he’s seeing on screen and has to cool down.

The crowd favourite however is Tony the pimp, who has just as many stand out lines as Frank, though much more screen-time and a fantastic suit and facial hair to boot. When the going gets tough Tony is straight on point, all day, every day. There is no fucking with this man. In a scene where George calmly and politely informs Tony he will not assist him in getting rid of a corpse, Tony briskly informs George he, “ain’t worth shit”, before shanking the fuck out of a demon that tries to get the jump on him while his guard is down. A rookie mistake for this unfortunate demon, as Tony is always on the ball.

The soundtrack also deserves a loving mention, which is so delightfully metal that it correlates perfectly with the overall “that’s pretty metal” tone of the film. Argento is no stranger to a respectable metal soundtrack, although according to him Lamberto is just as much a fan of the genre and just as much guilty for its usage in Demons. Amongst the most fist-pumping, head-banging metal you could ask for, there is also an original score written by legend of Italian horror soundtracks, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin fame. Simonetti has contributed to a number of famous Italian horror soundtracks; including Suspiria, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Phenomena, and the more well-known American film Dawn of the Dead (which incidentally was a film made possible with Argento’s help). The often bizarre and plentiful usage of this music in Demons is a real cherry on the cake, from the opening track starting up a second time and almost a minute after its initial play through, to the flawlessly timed guitar solo that compliments George and Cheryl’s loving embrace at the climax of the film. The scene ends up looking like it’s been ripped straight from the music video; I love it and so will you.

Finally, there are the special effects. Video nasties, exploitation films, and every Italian horror movie released from the start of the 70s to the end of the 80s were all renowned for some of the most graphic content put to cinema, and Demons is top of its game with its gore-laced practical effects. Practical effects are often scoffed at for looking outdated and fake given new technology, however in the right hands practical effects can hold their own against the polish of computer effects – after all in the end we always know that what we are seeing isn’t the real deal. There’s just something special that leaves you in awe at the carnage in Demons, and that’s the imagination, planning, time, and heart that have clearly gone into filming it. Not to discredit the artists behind computerised effects or say that they aren’t created with imagination and heart also, but with CGI you’re safe in the knowledge that your footage can only get better over time as you can continually edit it. Meanwhile with scene like those in Demons you have to nail it the first time round or the scene is ruined. Once you’ve ripped open a dummy’s neck that neck is done with, it won’t go back together any time soon, and chances are you’ll just have to start from scratch. With that in mind, the transformation of Carmen is a standout triumph of old-skool effects, which showcases some pretty brutal and clever visuals, a lot of which I’d say holds up well even today. A few scenes look a little daft, granted, but the ones that nail the landing are marvels that will stick with you for weeks.

I could easily go on reeling off reasons to watch this movie, but hopefully the above ass-kissing you have just witnessed has piqued your interest. The appreciation is clearly not a one off for me and a few other diehard fans either, as Demons appreciation can be found the world over. Straight off the bat there’s the statistics - Demons was Lamberto’s most popular film and the director stated that “at least 500,000 people saw it” in Italy alone on release. In recent years the film has shown up on a few cult film listings here and there, but possibly its greatest honour is the homage in the Playstation game Silent Hill. The game’s cinema is named, with an identical logo, the Metropol, and posters for the film can be seen on some of the walls. When other film references in Silent Hill include the likes of Silence of the Lambs, Village of the Damned, and Kindergarten Cop, I’d say that’s a damn high honour.

The creation of the film is credited to the combined efforts of Argento and Bava, but it was a guy called Dardano Sacchetti who wrote the original story, and Franco Ferrini who did the majority of the screenplay. Sacchetti is behind a lot of great Italian horror and exploitation movies; he wrote Argento’s Cat O’ Nine Tails, Bava’s Blastfighter, almost every Fulci zombie flick, and even worked on Bay of Blood, directed by the Godfather of Italian horror and Lamberto’s father – Mario Bava. Ferrini’s back catalogue is just as impressive, having worked on a number of Argento productions including Phenomena, The Card Player, and Opera. He also wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed Once Upon a Time in America starring James Woods and Robert Di Nero.

The cast is played by a great set of actors who have appeared in a lot of other notable additions to the Italian exploitation and horror genres, and some have even shown up in some surprisingly big name films. The film’s strongest cast member is Michele Soavi, who played both the metal face guy and the movie within a movie’s Jerry. He’s turned up in a number of Italian horrors, honourable mentions being Tommy Fisher in City of the Living Dead, Pete in Blastfighter, and Burt in the Italian faux sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien, Alien 2. Lino Salemme who played cocaine enthusiast Ripper turned up in Demons 2 as a security guard, but upped his game when he appeared as The Accuser in The Passion of the Christ. Urbano Barberini, who played the reluctant hero George, tops this even further however, as he went on to score a role as that guy who played cards with Bond that one time, Tomelli, in Casino Royale. Other notable “oh it’s them!” actors and credits include Nicoletta Elmi (The Ushurette) playing Olga in Deep Red and the daughter in Bay of Blood, Geretta Geretta (Rosemary) as Chocolate in Rats: Night of Terror and Koster in “Terminator 2” (another shameless faux sequel), and Argento’s own daughter Fiore Argento (Hannah), who played Vera in Phenomena and Lucia in The Card Player.

Sequels?

Demons was subjected to a number of sequels, but anyone who has sought them out will have noticed almost all of them have no relevance whatsoever to Demons. This is because when films such as Demons were distributed around the world, certain countries’ distributors would change the title to tie the film in with more popular series to garner more interest and revenue. So allegedly Demons has 8 sequels, and only one of them, Demons 2, is legit. The other 7 films are demon or zombie films that have used the Demons name to sucker a few chumps, usually due the most minute of connections. Things get even crazier with the Demons “series” as there is Black Demons which was shipped as Demons 3, however a Lamberto film called The Ogre was also sold as “Demons 3 – The Ogre” to the US market. There’s then the third Demons 3 would-be sequel, actually titled The Church, which was intended to be an official Demons sequel, though director Michele Soavi (that Michele Soavi) confronted the producer Argento about this, wishing to make it a standalone film. Soavi has found himself tied to more faux Demon sequels than any other cast or crew member, having acted in The Black Cat (Demons 6), and directed The Church and The Sect (Demons 4) and The Cemetery Man (Demons ’95).

Watch if You Liked

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Easy to Find?

Very easy. DVD copies of the film can set you back a mere pittance, whereas a blu-ray copy will set you roughly £10 back. There is also the option of dropping £35 for the steelbook collector’s edition of Demons 1 and 2, which depending on your devotion to these two films may seem a reasonable price given the booklet and special features you receive. Although Demons pops up on such services as Prime Video, it sadly has not found a home on Netflix yet.