Retro Review: Demons & Demons 2 Double Feature Friday

Years ago I knew a guy who lived in the same apartment complex in San Diego.  He had these VHS tapes full of horror films, things I had never seen and I remember finding one labeled, “Demons and Demons 2“.  I was intrigued, he of course let me borrow the tapes as long as my mom was ok, I was a 10 year-old kid at the time.  I will never forget the impact Demons had on me and even more so, Demons 2.  Oddly enough, back then, my horror world was Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers.  Demons opened my eyes to an entirely new world of horror and it was only 1990.

Lately, I have been big into Italian horror, it all started last summer when I stumbled on to Lisa and the Devil, a Mario Bava horror film.  Eventually I saw a few more, including Bay of Blood or as I refer to it, Twitch of the Death Nerve, which is an amazing slasher and I honestly wouldn’t say no to an update or remake to that one.  But, if that ever happened, tread lightly, it is a masterpiece of horror.
I looked into my extensive horror collection to pick out some other Italian horror films and I came across two, both Lucio Fulchi films, Zombi 2 and City of the Living Dead.  But I needed more, so a friend sold me his DVD copies of Demons and Demons 2.  Not to be outdone, I ended up with the Beyond and House by the Cemetery as well.

Demons (1985)

I sat down and watched the Demons movies again, for the first time in possibly 20 years.  That is too long, but I could never get my hands on a copy, now I have them all to myself.  The DVDs are great, but I would suggest to anyone, upgrade to Blu Ray, the DVDs, especially Demons, look rough.

Demons is a strange movie overall, like most Italian horror films.  I love the intro, this film may be directed by Lamberto Bava and not Argento, but the first scene on the train takes me back to Suspiria or Inferno.  With a mix of stunning visuals and good bizarre music, it feels like Argento had more influence that just writing the story.  We also see a man with a half metal face who is handing out fliers to a movie event.

When we get to the movie theater, the movie takes off.  We see life(inside the movie) imitating art.  There is a girl who tries on a demonic looking mask and cuts her cheek.  When they watch the movie, the same thing happens.  The girl with the cut eventually turns to a Demon and everyone in the theater is locked in.  Trying to imagine how messed up being trapped in a theater and being hunted by Demons who want to tear you apart, it hard to do.

This film does not disappoint, all the way to the end of the movie.  The gore is on full display and that coupled with great effects and make-up, it turns into a fun horror movie.  Yeah, fun.  So do I recommend this, yes.  Lamberto Bava brings giallo horror together with great effect.  It is a good mixture of Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulchi.  Demons is a love song to the movies that came before it.  Demons does feel like Bave channels Fuchi and Argento, even if it is written by Argento.  Buy this, it belongs in your horror collection and do yourself a favor, but the Blu Ray.

Demons has a 6.7 score on IMDB.com, I give Demons a score of 7.6.

Oddly enough, here it is on YouTube.com

Demons 2 (1986)

Demons 2 takes place in a world where the events of the first film actually happened.  It takes place in a high rise apartment.  This one gets a little weird, but still it works in many ways.  I remember the story was better when I first saw both films.  But they work well together.

So the people in the high rise are watching this movie based on the events of the first movie.  A girl, Sally is having her sweet 16 party and she throws a fit about some guy who is coming to her party.  She locks herself in her bedroom and watches the Demons movie that is on television.  While watching a demon attacks her from inside the TV.  She walks out to see the people at her party and transforms into a Demon.  There is a great part when her demon teeth come in and pop out her human teeth, it is terrific.

That is the finished product of Sally turning.  The rest of the film and most of the film mirror the events of the first.  There are some great scenes with a bunch of body builders and everything the parking garage.  It is great because you never know who will turn into a demon.

Demons 2 has a 5.9 score on IMDB.com, I give Demons 2 a score of 7.8.

The second movie is on Youtube as well, but it belongs in your collection.  Again I say, go with the Blu Ray.  I own the DVDs for both, but I have no issue with having two copies of these movies.

The ending is kind of interesting and it feels like it could have lead to a good sequel.  The problem, many sequels were made and three of them were labeled “Demons 3” in America.  This image below is from Wikipedia and it shows the different sequels to Demons.

Awesome movies and I suggest them to anyone.  It has been 30 years since their release, so yeah, the have the classic status from me.  Great movies that still hold up and you can have a lot of fun with.  It is ok to have fun with horror films.