After the events of the first movie, both Henry Frankenstein and his monster are presumed dead. However, both creature and creator are revived and looking to move on with their lives. Henry seems to see the error of his ways and denounces his pursuit of the secrets of the creation of life... at least until he is visited by Dr. Pretorius, who has had some success in the field of Mad Science in his own right.
In the meantime, the monster faces rejection at every turn and, after a murder or two, is hunted into the woods where he stumbles upon the cabin of an old blind man. Enchanted by the man's playing on the violin, the monster goes into the house, where he is greeted joyfully by the blind man. Over time, both man and monster find happiness in their friendship and the blind man teaches the monster to talk in rudimentary words and phrases. All is well until some strangers find them and try to kill the monster that has terrorized the countryside.
Separated from his one friend, the monster sets out to find another, which he does in Dr. Pretorius. Pretorius promises the monster that he will make him a new friend - a mate - and tells him he needs Henry Frankenstein to make it happen.
Soon, Frankenstein is forced to return to the laboratory to play God again. Will Henry be able to save his wife from the monster he created? Can the monster find happiness with the bride created for him? Or is tragedy the only destiny for those who try to become gods by creating monsters?
The Bride of Frankenstein is another marvel of classic cinema. The elaborate sets, full of lightning and sparks and fire, are fantastically impressive, as is Boris Karloff's monster makeup. James Whale pulls out all the stops, like giving us crazy Dutched angles on the wild-eyed mad scientists as they throw sparking switches and pull giant levers in the climactic set-piece. And the screenplay blends horror and tragedy with a bit of humor, telling an effective, thought-provoking, affecting story.
While only one viewing each isn't enough for me to say (as many have) that Bride is better than its predecessor, Frankenstein, it is certainly a very worthy sequel. These films are iconic and legendary, and should be required viewing for pretty much everyone, not just horror fans. I'm glad I have finally seen them for the first of what will no doubt be many, many times.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Poltergeist (1982)
Steven and Diane Freeling and their children, Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne, live in Cuesta Verde Estates, a massive neighborhood of nice, affordable, lookalike houses developed by the company Steven works for. They are a typical American Spielberg family, with squabbling but basically good kids, laid back parents who trust the kids to not get into too much trouble, and a big happy dog.
They have everything they could want in life, but it all takes a turn when they start to experience some paranormal activity (yeah, I know) in the house. At first it's exciting and fun, with a supernatural force that pulls objects across the kitchen floor in a predictable way and some objects moving on their own. But wonder turns to horror when the supernatural force causes a giant tree to try to engulf Robby, and Carol Anne to be taken away to some other plane of existence.
Carol Anne is only able to communicate with her family by voice, which is best manifested on a static-y television. The Freelings have to call for help from experts who are unprepared for the scope of their activity. The experts, in turn, call in Tangina, a psychic who can help the Freelings, but only if they are willing to go beyond the realm of their understanding and do whatever it takes to get their daughter back.
There isn't much to be said about Poltergeist that hasn't already been said, short of gushing and heaping praise on praise. This is a nearly perfect ghost movie, with a terrifically spooky setup, a frightening central premise, memorable characters, and top notch writing, directing, and special effects. What director Tobe Hooper accomplished with old-fashioned techniques like stop-motion, green screen composite, hand-drawn rotoscope animation, and practical special effects is nothing short of amazing.
Of course, that's assuming that Tobe Hooper really did the directing here, and not the story creator, screenwriter, and producer, Steven Spielberg. Some stories say that Hooper did all the directing himself, some say that Speilberg helped out with a few scenes, and some say this should be considered Spielberg's movie.
Whatever the case may be, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over Poltergeist. From the family dynamics, to the kid-centric story, to the shot composition and style. Whether he directed the movie or not, he clearly guided Tobe Hooper in making Poltergeist fit in with the universe of E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and other Spielberg visions.
The result is a legitimately scary ghost movie that is also full of emotion and heart. The Freeling family is put through hell, and you just ache for them over the loss of their youngest child to something that can't be understood or reasoned with. Their struggle to comprehend what is happening to them, to find their daughter, and to get her back feels real and down-to-Earth, even against the backdrop of supernatural circumstances. Poltergeist is accessible, frightening, and wondrous, and is an absolute must-see.
They have everything they could want in life, but it all takes a turn when they start to experience some paranormal activity (yeah, I know) in the house. At first it's exciting and fun, with a supernatural force that pulls objects across the kitchen floor in a predictable way and some objects moving on their own. But wonder turns to horror when the supernatural force causes a giant tree to try to engulf Robby, and Carol Anne to be taken away to some other plane of existence.
Carol Anne is only able to communicate with her family by voice, which is best manifested on a static-y television. The Freelings have to call for help from experts who are unprepared for the scope of their activity. The experts, in turn, call in Tangina, a psychic who can help the Freelings, but only if they are willing to go beyond the realm of their understanding and do whatever it takes to get their daughter back.
There isn't much to be said about Poltergeist that hasn't already been said, short of gushing and heaping praise on praise. This is a nearly perfect ghost movie, with a terrifically spooky setup, a frightening central premise, memorable characters, and top notch writing, directing, and special effects. What director Tobe Hooper accomplished with old-fashioned techniques like stop-motion, green screen composite, hand-drawn rotoscope animation, and practical special effects is nothing short of amazing.
Of course, that's assuming that Tobe Hooper really did the directing here, and not the story creator, screenwriter, and producer, Steven Spielberg. Some stories say that Hooper did all the directing himself, some say that Speilberg helped out with a few scenes, and some say this should be considered Spielberg's movie.
Whatever the case may be, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over Poltergeist. From the family dynamics, to the kid-centric story, to the shot composition and style. Whether he directed the movie or not, he clearly guided Tobe Hooper in making Poltergeist fit in with the universe of E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and other Spielberg visions.
The result is a legitimately scary ghost movie that is also full of emotion and heart. The Freeling family is put through hell, and you just ache for them over the loss of their youngest child to something that can't be understood or reasoned with. Their struggle to comprehend what is happening to them, to find their daughter, and to get her back feels real and down-to-Earth, even against the backdrop of supernatural circumstances. Poltergeist is accessible, frightening, and wondrous, and is an absolute must-see.
Prince of Darkness (1987)
"Hello? Hello. I've got a message for you, and you're not going to like it. ... Pray for death."
When a priest investigates the death of another priest, he discovers a hidden chamber in an abandoned California church. Known only to an ancient, secret order of priests called the Brotherhood of Sleep, this chamber has housed a terrible artifact for five-hundred years, keeping its existence hidden from the world, and even the Catholic Church itself.
It is pure evil, concentrated, and incredibly ancient. It is Satan, the son of an evil god who walked the Earth before time began. He was contained in this artifact millions of years ago to await a time when he will be unleashed up on the world to open the door for the return of his father. the Anti-God.
The priest consults with a physicist friend, and they bring together the brightest young minds in the fields of theoretical and applied physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, theology, ancient languages and texts, and other subjects to study the artifact. The goal is to prove scientifically what the priest knows through his faith - that evil is a real, fundamental force, and it is imprisoned in the artifact, working to find its way out and be reborn.
The evil force reaches out from its containment to infect those susceptible to its growing power and influence. Moving objects by its conscious thoughts. Causing the local homeless population to stand guard around the church, killing anyone who tries to leave. Controlling the creeping things that crawl upon the Earth. Preparing a vessel for the evil's return.
The priest and the assembled scholars are all that stand between the world and the incomprehensible evil within the artifact. Together, they must stay alive long enough to understand the evil force, unlock the mystery of the recurring dream shared by the Brotherhood of Sleep, and keep the Prince of Darkness from reigning over the Earth.
Prince of Darkness is one of John Carpenter's most underrated films. Some people may be put off by the "Satan in a jar" concept, which could seem silly at first blush, and fail to give the movie a chance. But if you go along with what the movie is telling you, and go a little deeper than the four-word elevator pitch above, you will find that it's a terrifying, cosmic-scale, Lovecraftian story with implications beyond our normal comprehension of evil, religion, science, and reality.
The movie is full of dreamy, atmospheric, creepy visuals, from the swirling green substance in the artifact, to the motionless homeless people standing vigil outside the church, to the insects crawling everywhere the evil touches, to the terribly unsettling VHS-quality recurring dream everyone experiences. And Carpenter's airy, bouncy, chorus-y synth score - possibly his very best work on the keyboards - is tailor-made to set you on edge and open you to possibilities you had never imagined.
Carpenter considers Prince of Darkness a part of a loose trilogy of apocalyptic films he has created, along with The Thing and In The Mouth of Madness. These films have very different mechanisms for bringing about the end of the world, but they share a number of commonalities. Each has themes of something alien and evil entering our world, an isolated few protagonists being the only ones who know what is happening, an unsettling, hopeless tone, and a sense of reality breaking down in some ways. And each of these movies is the work of a true "master of horror" at the top of his game. Highly recommended.
When a priest investigates the death of another priest, he discovers a hidden chamber in an abandoned California church. Known only to an ancient, secret order of priests called the Brotherhood of Sleep, this chamber has housed a terrible artifact for five-hundred years, keeping its existence hidden from the world, and even the Catholic Church itself.
It is pure evil, concentrated, and incredibly ancient. It is Satan, the son of an evil god who walked the Earth before time began. He was contained in this artifact millions of years ago to await a time when he will be unleashed up on the world to open the door for the return of his father. the Anti-God.
The priest consults with a physicist friend, and they bring together the brightest young minds in the fields of theoretical and applied physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, theology, ancient languages and texts, and other subjects to study the artifact. The goal is to prove scientifically what the priest knows through his faith - that evil is a real, fundamental force, and it is imprisoned in the artifact, working to find its way out and be reborn.
The evil force reaches out from its containment to infect those susceptible to its growing power and influence. Moving objects by its conscious thoughts. Causing the local homeless population to stand guard around the church, killing anyone who tries to leave. Controlling the creeping things that crawl upon the Earth. Preparing a vessel for the evil's return.
The priest and the assembled scholars are all that stand between the world and the incomprehensible evil within the artifact. Together, they must stay alive long enough to understand the evil force, unlock the mystery of the recurring dream shared by the Brotherhood of Sleep, and keep the Prince of Darkness from reigning over the Earth.
Prince of Darkness is one of John Carpenter's most underrated films. Some people may be put off by the "Satan in a jar" concept, which could seem silly at first blush, and fail to give the movie a chance. But if you go along with what the movie is telling you, and go a little deeper than the four-word elevator pitch above, you will find that it's a terrifying, cosmic-scale, Lovecraftian story with implications beyond our normal comprehension of evil, religion, science, and reality.
The movie is full of dreamy, atmospheric, creepy visuals, from the swirling green substance in the artifact, to the motionless homeless people standing vigil outside the church, to the insects crawling everywhere the evil touches, to the terribly unsettling VHS-quality recurring dream everyone experiences. And Carpenter's airy, bouncy, chorus-y synth score - possibly his very best work on the keyboards - is tailor-made to set you on edge and open you to possibilities you had never imagined.
Carpenter considers Prince of Darkness a part of a loose trilogy of apocalyptic films he has created, along with The Thing and In The Mouth of Madness. These films have very different mechanisms for bringing about the end of the world, but they share a number of commonalities. Each has themes of something alien and evil entering our world, an isolated few protagonists being the only ones who know what is happening, an unsettling, hopeless tone, and a sense of reality breaking down in some ways. And each of these movies is the work of a true "master of horror" at the top of his game. Highly recommended.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
The Prowler (1981)
In 1945, Rosemary Chatham sends her boyfriend overseas a "Dear John" letter, telling him as sweetly as she can that she has moved on, and so should he. Later, when Rosemary and her new boyfriend, Roy, leave the Pritcher College Graduation Dance to go neck in the gazebo, they are interrupted by a murderer in dark military fatigues and armed with a pitchfork.
Thirty-five years later, Pritcher College is finally going to revive the tradition of the Graduation Dance, which had been banned since the school dean's daughter was slaughtered at the Dance in 1945. Of course, that means more murder and mayhem from the unknown killer, as he employs his bayonet and his trademark pitchfork to properly honor Rosemary's death through the spilling of lots and lots of blood.
As the "prowler" terrorizes the campus, most of the students are safely sequestered at the big dance with its Spinal Tap-looking band that keeps playing the same song over and over. Of course, those who do separate from the dance wind up getting slaughtered in pools of blood. One of the victims, for instance, is literally in the pool, with blood. Pool of blood.
The Prowler is a solid slasher from the peak era of the subgenre's quality and influence. In some ways, it can be seen as a run-of-the-mill horror movie (complete with nonsensical, pointless final scare moment), but it is bolstered by the really cool-looking military outfit and helmet the killer wears, some decently tense stalking scenes, and some excellent blood and gore effects from the great Tom Savini. If you are only a casual fan of the mainstream slasher movies, you can probably skip The Prowler, but for horror-obsessives like myself, it's a must-see.
Thirty-five years later, Pritcher College is finally going to revive the tradition of the Graduation Dance, which had been banned since the school dean's daughter was slaughtered at the Dance in 1945. Of course, that means more murder and mayhem from the unknown killer, as he employs his bayonet and his trademark pitchfork to properly honor Rosemary's death through the spilling of lots and lots of blood.
As the "prowler" terrorizes the campus, most of the students are safely sequestered at the big dance with its Spinal Tap-looking band that keeps playing the same song over and over. Of course, those who do separate from the dance wind up getting slaughtered in pools of blood. One of the victims, for instance, is literally in the pool, with blood. Pool of blood.
The Prowler is a solid slasher from the peak era of the subgenre's quality and influence. In some ways, it can be seen as a run-of-the-mill horror movie (complete with nonsensical, pointless final scare moment), but it is bolstered by the really cool-looking military outfit and helmet the killer wears, some decently tense stalking scenes, and some excellent blood and gore effects from the great Tom Savini. If you are only a casual fan of the mainstream slasher movies, you can probably skip The Prowler, but for horror-obsessives like myself, it's a must-see.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
Dr. Phibes Rises Again begins with a recap of the previous movie, featuring a voiceover that sounds like the SuperFriends narrator. Then we pick up the story as Phibes lies dead in a crypt with the body of his dead wife, Victoria.
Dr. Anton Phibes, who replaced his blood with embalming fluid at the end of the first movie, is revived when the moon and planets align just right and moonlight shines on the light-activated mechanism on his crypt that reverses the embalming process. This is a once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence, but fortunately, Dr. Phibes only had to wait three years to be revived.
Conveniently, this confluence of celestial events coincides with another once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence: the flowing of a secret river under the pyramids in Egypt - a river that holds the secret to eternal life, and to the resurrection of Dr. Phibes' beloved wife.
Unfortunately, when Phibes returns to the surface level of his home, he finds that it has been destroyed in the intervening years and the papyrus in his safe that holds the secrets of the river's location has been stolen. Dr. Phibes must find the thief, recover the papyrus, and set about reviving his dear dead Victoria, no matter how many people he and his mute assistant Vulnavia have to kill along the way.
Phibes and Vulnavia are a bit like Scaramanga and Nick Nack from The Man With the Golden Gun. They make a strange pair as they play music together, eat gourmet meals together, wear several different matching costumes, and generally seem to enjoy their happy little murderous lives as they casually go about their quest.
This time around, Dr. Phibes' instruments of death include poisonous snakes (both real and mechanical), an eagle, scorpions (both real and mechanical), a giant fan, a cot... So many bizarre and funny ways to kill someone. As with the first movie, it's a little hard to say that we should be rooting for the murderous doctor, but it sure is fun seeing him come up with this strange assortment of impractical gadgets at just the right time to kill someone. It's like he's ordering these things from the ACME catalog or something.
Interestingly, it seems clear that Dr. Phibes Rises Again was an influence on Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Holy Grail. The passage through the desert, the trap-filled caverns, and the quest for immortality are all present here, as are the remarkably similar consequences of not achieving immortality. It's amazing how this campy horror movie could strike a chord with future filmmakers in the way it did, as was the case with the first Phibes.
Dr. Phibes needs to learn how to let things go. This obsession he has with his dead wife is unhealthy, for him and his victims. And he has the beautiful Vulnavia right there, patiently helping him in his mad quest, doubtless a heartbroken wreck behind that brave exterior every time Phibes waxes poetic about Victoria. I'm surprised Vulnavia has never moved on to another madman, but she remains devoted to her unrequited lover to the end.
Dr. Phibes Rises Again almost recaptures the fun of the first Phibes movie, but comes up just a bit short. It has the creative kills, the odd antics of Phibes and Vulnavia in their hideout, the fantastic cops (Scotland Yard inspector Trout returns, as does his flustered boss, but they aren't in the movie enough), and some incredible sets.
Unfortunately, the movie drags in the middle just a bit, it could use a higher body count, and the ending is a bit too vague and confused. But it still has Vincent Price doing what does (again speaking only through a contraption in his throat - and by the way, he eats through a similar contraption on the other side of his neck. Eww.) and is well worth a look if you liked the first one.
Dr. Anton Phibes, who replaced his blood with embalming fluid at the end of the first movie, is revived when the moon and planets align just right and moonlight shines on the light-activated mechanism on his crypt that reverses the embalming process. This is a once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence, but fortunately, Dr. Phibes only had to wait three years to be revived.
Conveniently, this confluence of celestial events coincides with another once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence: the flowing of a secret river under the pyramids in Egypt - a river that holds the secret to eternal life, and to the resurrection of Dr. Phibes' beloved wife.
Unfortunately, when Phibes returns to the surface level of his home, he finds that it has been destroyed in the intervening years and the papyrus in his safe that holds the secrets of the river's location has been stolen. Dr. Phibes must find the thief, recover the papyrus, and set about reviving his dear dead Victoria, no matter how many people he and his mute assistant Vulnavia have to kill along the way.
Phibes and Vulnavia are a bit like Scaramanga and Nick Nack from The Man With the Golden Gun. They make a strange pair as they play music together, eat gourmet meals together, wear several different matching costumes, and generally seem to enjoy their happy little murderous lives as they casually go about their quest.
This time around, Dr. Phibes' instruments of death include poisonous snakes (both real and mechanical), an eagle, scorpions (both real and mechanical), a giant fan, a cot... So many bizarre and funny ways to kill someone. As with the first movie, it's a little hard to say that we should be rooting for the murderous doctor, but it sure is fun seeing him come up with this strange assortment of impractical gadgets at just the right time to kill someone. It's like he's ordering these things from the ACME catalog or something.
Interestingly, it seems clear that Dr. Phibes Rises Again was an influence on Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Holy Grail. The passage through the desert, the trap-filled caverns, and the quest for immortality are all present here, as are the remarkably similar consequences of not achieving immortality. It's amazing how this campy horror movie could strike a chord with future filmmakers in the way it did, as was the case with the first Phibes.
Dr. Phibes needs to learn how to let things go. This obsession he has with his dead wife is unhealthy, for him and his victims. And he has the beautiful Vulnavia right there, patiently helping him in his mad quest, doubtless a heartbroken wreck behind that brave exterior every time Phibes waxes poetic about Victoria. I'm surprised Vulnavia has never moved on to another madman, but she remains devoted to her unrequited lover to the end.
Dr. Phibes Rises Again almost recaptures the fun of the first Phibes movie, but comes up just a bit short. It has the creative kills, the odd antics of Phibes and Vulnavia in their hideout, the fantastic cops (Scotland Yard inspector Trout returns, as does his flustered boss, but they aren't in the movie enough), and some incredible sets.
Unfortunately, the movie drags in the middle just a bit, it could use a higher body count, and the ending is a bit too vague and confused. But it still has Vincent Price doing what does (again speaking only through a contraption in his throat - and by the way, he eats through a similar contraption on the other side of his neck. Eww.) and is well worth a look if you liked the first one.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Prominent doctors throughout London keep turning up dead in a series of gruesome and bizarre murders. Some detective work by Scotland Yard's Inspector Trout leads to the conclusion that the killer is offing his victims based on the ten plagues used against the Pharaoh in the Bible.
Frogs, bats, rats, hail, locusts, a brass unicorn catapulted across a London street ... Everything described in Exodus (stretching interpretations of the text to the breaking point to encompass what Phibes is doing) is employed against the doctors and nurses who tried and failed to save Dr. Anton Phibes' dying wife in a surgical operation.
This movie is so odd. Phibes mopes around his mansion hideout, listening to his clockwork band, playing his organ, melting the faces off of the wax busts of his enemies, reciting poetry to a picture if his dead wife through a voice box connected to his throat - he is unable to speak normally due to the car crash that supposedly took his life.
And while Phibes mopes and mourns, Vulnavia, his beautiful assistant silently brings him flowers, plays the violin, sets a gourmet dinner for the two of them, dances in elaborate costumes, and seemingly tries to gain his attention and affection. But Phibes only has eyes for his dead wife.
Vincent Price gives an impressive, if campy, performance as the aristocratic, obsessed, grotesque, monstrous Dr. Phibes. He performs the entire movie without moving his mouth to speak, as Phibes can only speak through his voice box speaker arrangement. This means Price's performance has to come from body movements and facial intensity, and here he excels at both.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is not your ordinary horror movie. Through most of there movie, we follow Phibes as he exacts his revenge on the surgeons he perceives killed his wife. Are we supposed to root for him, or for the incompetent, bumbling police? I suppose it's Phibes, as we want to see what he unleashes on the next victim, whether or not we agree with his reason for killing. In this way, this seems to have influenced the Saw movies, with us more-or-less rooting for a madman righting the wrongs he perceives in the world through a series of gruesome traps.
Unlike the Saw movies, however, Dr. Phibes is infused with a dark sense of humor that is really truly funny. The deadpan, oh-so-proper British dialogue from the police along with Phibes' strange mannerisms and the dark humor of many of the death traps lets you know that this isn't to be taken too seriously, and it's okay to have fun with it. That sense of fun is missing from most of the Saw movies, but not from their decades-earlier predecessor, The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
Frogs, bats, rats, hail, locusts, a brass unicorn catapulted across a London street ... Everything described in Exodus (stretching interpretations of the text to the breaking point to encompass what Phibes is doing) is employed against the doctors and nurses who tried and failed to save Dr. Anton Phibes' dying wife in a surgical operation.
This movie is so odd. Phibes mopes around his mansion hideout, listening to his clockwork band, playing his organ, melting the faces off of the wax busts of his enemies, reciting poetry to a picture if his dead wife through a voice box connected to his throat - he is unable to speak normally due to the car crash that supposedly took his life.
And while Phibes mopes and mourns, Vulnavia, his beautiful assistant silently brings him flowers, plays the violin, sets a gourmet dinner for the two of them, dances in elaborate costumes, and seemingly tries to gain his attention and affection. But Phibes only has eyes for his dead wife.
Vincent Price gives an impressive, if campy, performance as the aristocratic, obsessed, grotesque, monstrous Dr. Phibes. He performs the entire movie without moving his mouth to speak, as Phibes can only speak through his voice box speaker arrangement. This means Price's performance has to come from body movements and facial intensity, and here he excels at both.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is not your ordinary horror movie. Through most of there movie, we follow Phibes as he exacts his revenge on the surgeons he perceives killed his wife. Are we supposed to root for him, or for the incompetent, bumbling police? I suppose it's Phibes, as we want to see what he unleashes on the next victim, whether or not we agree with his reason for killing. In this way, this seems to have influenced the Saw movies, with us more-or-less rooting for a madman righting the wrongs he perceives in the world through a series of gruesome traps.
Unlike the Saw movies, however, Dr. Phibes is infused with a dark sense of humor that is really truly funny. The deadpan, oh-so-proper British dialogue from the police along with Phibes' strange mannerisms and the dark humor of many of the death traps lets you know that this isn't to be taken too seriously, and it's okay to have fun with it. That sense of fun is missing from most of the Saw movies, but not from their decades-earlier predecessor, The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Night of the Demons (1988)
Judy and Jay go to a secret Halloween party at an abandoned funeral home, thrown by local weirdo Angela. Soon the crowd has gathered, the beers are flowing, the strobe light is flashing, and the punk music is blaring.
When the boom box mysteriously turns off on its own, they decide to entertain themselves by conducting a "past life seance," which involves staring into a big old dusty mirror in a "Bloody Mary" sort of way. When one of the girls sees a horrible face in the mirror and everyone hears and smells something unusual, some of the partiers decide that the house is possessed by a demons.
Unfortunately, they're right. One of the girls, Suzanne (played by scream queen Linnea Quigley), inhales a strange smoky substance and starts acting weird. She passes the demonic influence to Angela, and the two of them begin to kill off their fellow party-goers one by one using supernatural trickery. Some of them try to escape the funeral home, only to discover that the gate in the brick wall surrounding the place seems to have disappeared, and there's no way out. Can Judy and her friends find a way to escape the funeral home with their lives?
Night of the Demons is far from "good," but it contains all sorts of awesome things. It has a healthy supply of 80s excesses: partying, nudity, violence, gore... It even has a 100% superfluous kill at the end of the movie that has nothing to do with anything and doesn't make a lot of sense, but provides one last bit of bloody violence before the generic 80s rock song plays us out over the credits.
Night of the Demons is best suited for group viewing, so you can share the WTF moments with friends (particularly the one where Suzanne does the single weirdest thing in the history of movies) and refer back to the highlight moments in later conversation. Unfortunately, as a solo watch, its innate stupidity becomes all too apparent and it's hard for the good outweigh the bad. So get a group together, crack open some cans of party juice, and enjoy the strangeness.
When the boom box mysteriously turns off on its own, they decide to entertain themselves by conducting a "past life seance," which involves staring into a big old dusty mirror in a "Bloody Mary" sort of way. When one of the girls sees a horrible face in the mirror and everyone hears and smells something unusual, some of the partiers decide that the house is possessed by a demons.
Unfortunately, they're right. One of the girls, Suzanne (played by scream queen Linnea Quigley), inhales a strange smoky substance and starts acting weird. She passes the demonic influence to Angela, and the two of them begin to kill off their fellow party-goers one by one using supernatural trickery. Some of them try to escape the funeral home, only to discover that the gate in the brick wall surrounding the place seems to have disappeared, and there's no way out. Can Judy and her friends find a way to escape the funeral home with their lives?
Night of the Demons is far from "good," but it contains all sorts of awesome things. It has a healthy supply of 80s excesses: partying, nudity, violence, gore... It even has a 100% superfluous kill at the end of the movie that has nothing to do with anything and doesn't make a lot of sense, but provides one last bit of bloody violence before the generic 80s rock song plays us out over the credits.
Night of the Demons is best suited for group viewing, so you can share the WTF moments with friends (particularly the one where Suzanne does the single weirdest thing in the history of movies) and refer back to the highlight moments in later conversation. Unfortunately, as a solo watch, its innate stupidity becomes all too apparent and it's hard for the good outweigh the bad. So get a group together, crack open some cans of party juice, and enjoy the strangeness.
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