October 4th marked the 30th anniversary of the release Lamberto Bava’s totally rad horror film Demons. It’s didn’t see an American release until 1986, but the original Italian release was 1985 so we’re counting that as the actual release date. Co-written by Dario Argento himself (and co-starring his daughter Fiore), Demons is a blast from beginning to end. It is quickly paced, gory as hell and has a great sense of humor about itself. In other words, its fucking awesome, so I thought I would write a short piece paying tribute to this 80s classic.
Demons has a rather simple plot: a bunch of people get invited to a secret screening of a new movie about to come out. Final girl Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) and her friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo) skip class to attend the film (skipping class is treated as the “they had sex” moment of the film) and, predictably, a bunch of demons start possessing and attacking the audience members. Is use the word “predictably” as a compliment, as Demons knows exactly the type of film it wants to be and doesn’t pull any punches.
There are a wide variety of characters attending the screening, but the most memorable are probably Tony the pimp (Bobby Rhodes) and his two prostitutes, Rosemary (Geretta Geretta) and Carmen (Fabiola Toledo). To merely list off Tony’s hilarious quotes and one-liners simply wouldn’t do them justice. They have to be heard to get the full effect. Luckily, YouTube user fleshtrashheat has done a supercut of his best lines from both Demons and its sequel (Rhodes plays a gym teacher named Hank in Demons 2. Just go with it.):
I have seen Demons a handful of times, but I was actually able to watch it on the big screen a few months ago. Let me tell you, there is nothing more meta than watching Demons in a movie theater. It is the absolute best way to watch it, and the crowd reactions amplify the film’s effect. Adding to the meta factor is the fact that the characters are watching a movie about a group of teenagers who find a mask that turns one of them into a murderous demon. This same mask is the one found and worn by Rosemary before she gets all demon-y.
As is expected from a film titled Demons, the gore is top notch. Weirdly enough, I find the film to be less and less gory each time I watch it. It must be a desensitization thing, because a first viewing inspired gags from this writer. That may be due to the incredibly grotesque scene in which Rosemary (Demons’ patient zero) has a lot of pus explode out of her face (and you all know how I feel about pus), but either way the practical effects are truly inspired. It’s one of those movies that make you lament the lack of practical gore effects in many of today’s horror films. See below for the scene in question.
Of course, no discussion of Demons would be complete without mentioning the awesome rock/metal soundtrack. While it features songs from Billy Idol, Mötley Crüe, and Accept, the true standout is Claudio Simonetti’s score. My personal favorite is the title song “Demon” which samples from Peer Gynt’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.”
The film ends on a downer, with final girl Cheryl transforming into a demon and being shot and killed, leaving final boy George to drive off into a transformed world that has been overrun by demons. It’s a shame the sequel never followed up on this plot point (it sort of retcons the first film and acts as another Demons, this time taking place in an apartment building), because that would have been a lot of fun to see. Granted, that would also have required a much larger budget, so I understand their reasoning for going in a different direction with Demons 2.
Demons is a particularly clever film that knows how to have fun. There are plenty of winks to the audience and standing ovation moments. If you haven’t seen it yet, seek it out immediately and give it a watch. You won’t regret it. Totally unrelated but also a bit of fun trivia: the building used for the exterior shots of the theater is now a club called Goya in Berlin that hosts horror conventions. Might be a good vacation destination if you ever find yourself in Berlin.
What are your thoughts on Demons? Are you as big a fan of it as I am? I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of how completely awesome this film is, so share your thoughts and memories on the film in the comments below, or feel free to Tweet me!