Skip to main content

Demons (1985) - Dario Argento


Right off the bat I am intrigued by the soundtrack featuring Motley Crüe, Rick Springfield, and Saxon among others. The story is neat. Dario Argento wrote and produced this and he hasn't disappointed me yet. This is the perfect midnight feature. It's gory and full of vintage flair and evil. 

Demons spread like a disease in a strange little theater that traps it's visitors inside during a "special" showing. Slowly moviegoers start turning into Demons. Murdering each other in grotesque ways while speed metal provides the tunes. It's survival mode as a group of people fight for their lives.

The survival part of the movie is really great. It's reminiscent of Romero's Dawn of the Dead film, just not as good. The characters are fun and original. The dubbing is horrible, but that's more of a charm. Lamberto Bava sets a good tone and keeps the movie interesting throughout.

This was my first Brava feature. It helped that Argento wrote and produced it. The movie has a few tropes that are really commonplace, but they don't become annoying. It works really well even with questionable effects. It develops it's characters really well.

If you haven't seen an Italian horror film this is a pretty decent one to start with for seasoned fans. It's fluid and entertaining. It has good characters and a decent story. This perfect for a late night horror movie marathon or dissecting with friends. The overlaying Zombie movie feel should be pretty easy for casual fans to enjoy. As long as the are not too offended with the low-budget effects and production. This might be a bit of a horror movie for horror fans. This is not a date movie. 

Director: Lamberto Brava
Country: Italy
Studio: DACFILM Rome
Did ya know: A poster for Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) is visible in the lobby of the theatre: it's the title of writer/producer Dario Argento's third film. In Germany this was released as sequel to the second film which was released as the first part.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail.  Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills.  The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's 
1 comment
Not scared yet? »

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »

Inseminoid (1981) - Norman J. Warren

What can be said for mindless schlock pictures like this one. They were pumped out in droves during the eighties. Inseminoid !? give me a break! It sounds like some pre-pubescent teenage boys came up with the title. On the plus side the movie isn't horrible to look at and it has a decent amount of gore. If you can separate yourself from the political incorrectness, then you might have a perfectly decent Sci-Fi Monster Feature.  A research team exploring caves on Jupiter accidentally awakens an ancient alien that rapes and impregnates one of the team members. She suffers from terrible shock and trauma, leading to a complete mental breakdown as her pregnancy accelerates faster and faster. Feeling threatened she decides to kill anyone she deems a threat. Can the rest of the research team survive or will they all become victims of INSEMINOID! Apparently this movie had a million dollar budget. That's really shocking considering the outcome of the picture. The acting
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »