Delayed Reviews: Demons 5- The Devil's Veil (aka The Mask of Satan)

 It's about time I made good on a promise from 11 years ago!  

Back in 2010, I finished covering the quartet of Films by Lamberto Bava that included Demons 3: The Ogre.  

In the final one (seen here), I mentioned that I was done unless I can find Demons 5: Black Sunday.  I forgot...for a long time.  

This is Demons 5: The Devil's Veil, a 1990 Film from Italy.  

Why does it have a different Title?  Well, the Film is a partial homage to MARIO Bava's Black Sunday, hence the unofficial Title.  The Film thankfully stands on its own...but it sure is weird.  

The Plot involves people in an Ice Cavern, a Witch, a blind Priest and some freaky monsters.  

As far as notable Cast goes, there's not much.  Our Heroines was briefly engaged to Klaus Kinski (she must have some stories!), one of them was the Female Lead in Black Cobra (which gave us all Poor Bastards of Cinema) and one of the group is Director Michele Soavi.  

Fans of Rifftrax might recognize one Star from Ghosthouse, while fans of Bad Movies might recognize her from Troll 3/Creepers/Contamination .7.  That's basically it.  

Was it worth waiting 11 years to finally do this?  

To find out, read on...

The Earth shifts and a bunch of skiers fall into a crevice.

They thankfully don't jump right into cannibalism, which is almost always everyone's concern post-Donner Party.

While some of them look for a way out, others find a frozen body and decide to remove the mask on it...to sell, I guess.

Who does that?!?

The entryway collapses and kills one of them.  The desperate group finds a random entryway to an area and just goes through it.

This is people taking ALL OF the wrong choices in a Choose Your Own Adventure Book.

They find a Blind Priest alone in a snowy village (which is oddly lit for being unexposed to the Sun) and turn to Page 33 by choosing to immediately fall asleep in his House.

When he finds out what they did, he's not happy.  He only warns our Lead, however, as he thinks that the others have been compromised.

It all relates to a watch named Anabis who was given the titular mask (with nails in it!) and was kept there.

Only the Priest survives now, apparently, as the watch...but he also isn't there to see them take the mask, so...useless.

The group starts to get possessed in a particular order...

Going by first names, it happens in the order to spell out 'Anabis,' which means that our Heroine (Sabina) is last.

She keeps trying to get our Lead to sleep with her and, well, something is definitely up with her.

After killing her to save her soul, he wakes up...and everyone is fine?

"I had the craziest dream- and you were there and you were there?'

Well, we're only an hour in, so that was a lie.

It's all a continuous trick to get him to give in to Anabis and empower her.

He finally wins out and...wakes up to find his friends dead in the Cavern.  He rushes to escape as the Movie ends (without a shirt, so good luck!).

A weird mess of a Film that is at least endearing.  

I will certainly give the Film points right off the bat for creativity.  It's a lazy thing to say that it is a Remake of Black Sunday (the Italian one not the killer Blimp one).  It features a similar creature and very loose Themes, but that's it.  

Credit where credit is due, this is the kind of thing that Remakes should do.  

That said, the Movie itself is...interesting.  The premise starts out strong, but kind of has many, many problems.  The Characters are pretty cut-and-paste.  

I think the biggest reason for that is that the Plot necessitates so many Characters to spell out 'Anabis.'  If her name was like 'Rosa' or something, they could have been more nuanced.  

Once they get possessed, they just are there to be freaky and attack.  The Priest does well enough, but eventually is just a Plot Device.  

In the Third Act, he's dead and giving advice 'from the great beyond' to make things work.  The fake-out Ending is the big issue here.  

The Pacing is just killed by the Film just kind of restarting in a silly way.  The logic behind it is intriguing...but not great.  

I will give credit to the freaky effects that sometimes show up.  It's not awful, but it pales in comparison to Demons and Demons 2.  

My copy has the original Italian Audio and some Subtitles.  It is just too bad that, for some reason, the SRT (or Subtitle Reader Track) File mixes up the letters 'rt' for 'm,' giving me such lines like this...

Next up, I continue Make Up March with a Film that I meant to cover long ago.  Gotta love misleading Titles, no?  Stay tuned...

Legitimately-Cool Cover Art: Demons (1985)

It is no secret that I like Demons.

It is a Classic '80s Horror Film that can't be matched.

While this segment normally features Posters/Box Art too cool for the Film, this one...is just cool and the Movie is too.  Enjoy...

While not to be taken literally (as there is no giant Demon hand), it is quite great.

How can you not want to see the Film now?

Almost Heroes: Hank (Demons 2)

Well, the same Actor has another shot- this time in the Sequel!

In Demons 2, a Sequel to the Film-within-a-Film is being shown on TV.  One poor sap plays it in an Apartment Building, unknowingly-dooming everyone!

About 30-ish minutes in, 'Hank' appears.  He's running the Gym when the Power goes out.

When danger strikes, Hank takes the lead.  He tries to smash the way out...but to no avail.

When the Demons show up, he kicks some ass!

The group tries to barricade themselves in the Garage to wait things out.  Hank again takes the lead!

As things get worse and worse (as the Demons create more Demons), Hank keeps fighting...until he's grabbed in his one weak spot.

They don't show him after this, but...it can't be good, right?  So close!

Fortunately, Hank doesn't die anywhere near first, thus fighting that cliche about Black People in Horror Films.  Yea, Italy...I think.

He almost saves the day, but still goes down fighting!

Almost Heroes: Tony (Demons)

Demons is alot of movie to explain.  Here are the key points...

- Cursed Film-within-a-Film
- Theater full of People
- Demonic Killers

With that in mind, meet Tony and his girlfriend.  She was playing with a prop mask in the lobby and got cut, which is how the infection starts both here and in the Film they're watching.

Soon enough, she starts to transform (in one of the Film's most iconic moments) on stage!

Tony puts aside his feelings to try and save everyone, attempting to lead them to the exits.

Unfortunately (due to unclear reasons), that's a no-go and Plans B-D don't exactly work either.

As for Tony, he ends up hanging on a ledge between two Demons, death seeming imminent.

Death becomes pretty certain then when the rope hanging him there is quickly cut!

Sorry, Tony- you experienced the most personal loss AND failed to save the day.

There's always 'next time,' right?

International Streaming: Demons 6: The Black Cat

Luigi Cozzi is a name that I really associate with crazy cinema and you should too.  Part of his appeal that his films are so rooted in the late '70s and 1980s.  In fact, he hasn't made a horror film since then.  If he had actually made a film in the '90s or '00s, his reputation may not be the same. Granted, it might be better, but I like my narrative.  If you want your own narrative, get a website!  As I'm sure that you guessed, this is a Luigi Cozzi film.  Interestingly enough, Cozzi attempts to fill in an historical gap here, as he put the third chapter into the Three Mothers Trilogy in place of Argento.  By this point, it had been nine years since Inferno and twelve years since Suspiria.  People were really dying for some closure and Cozzi was the one to give it to them.  Mind you, Argento finally got his ass around to closing up the series with 2007's The Mother of Tears, but that was long to come still.  Will this film deliver on what everyone was asking for or just be salt in the wound?  Get out your exploding fridges for my review of...

The film begins with a woman running from an unseen killer.  Given the lack of context, this is either a fake-out or an After Dark Horrorfest picture.  Since this film came out 21 years ago, it's not the latter.  Sure enough a man is shooting a Giallo film.  This one stars Caroline Munro, but she's not the only familiar face here.  Urbano Barberini is here too.  You'll know him as the reincarnated husband from Changeling 2, the detective from Opera and the lead character from Demons.  Him and his friend- who looks like 'Ted' from Scrubs- are both married and working on a screenplay together.  Over a double-date/dinner, they explain that their script is based on the original legend that inspired Suspiria and Inferno.  To cover this, they explain that their movie script is different since it covers the Third Mother.  Of course, you realize what this means, right?  In the context of the movie, both of the stories are not reality- they're film.  This film, however, is telling a real story.  Why must you always find a way to blow my mind, Mr. Cozzi?  A minor conflict arises as both of their wives want the part.  Oh yeah, a witch appears in the mirror too.  I don't know why she's covered in bee stings, but let's just go with it.

Levana is the Third Mother and she has gained power due to her name being put in a script.  Really?  That's what we're going with?  Okay then.  The witch manages to possess Urbano's wife and causes her to see all sorts of freaky stuff.  It's here where the film both shines and falls flat on its face.  On one hand, these bits- including an exploding fridge, random shots of a graveyard and the Earth from orbit- are bizarre and great.  On the other hand, they make no freaking sense and will lose a lot of the audience.  Our heroes go to an expert in the occult and explain their plan.  She freaks out a bit and explains that the witch will gain her power back when her name is spoken.  Yeah, we already know that.  What was the point in placing this scene here, as opposed to earlier?  In addition, note how the woman says that they need to change the name of the character.  Apparently the legend is so exact that you can simply change the name of the witch.  That's just silly.  The woman goes out in the street and is attacked by scary-sounding music.  Levana speaks and casts a spell, causing the woman's chest to explode.  Gee, where did you get that effect from, Luigi?

The finale of the film gets really weird and confusing.  Of course, that kind of goes without saying, doesn't it?  Our heroine continues to see weird visions, including more of the cosmos & a long dream sequence where she stabs Urbano and he stabs her to death.  Can you say 'cop-out,' boys and girls?  A sub-plot with a movie producer (character actor Brett Halsey) leads to him appearing in a vision as a corpse.  The lead heroine learns that Levana is manipulating things behind the scenes, even leading to her husband having an affair with the starlet (Munro).  Her role consists of doing a scene where she puts on lingerie, talks to the woman and kills herself when Levana complains about her doing her job wrong.  Way to use your talent, guys.  A sub-plot involving Munro kidnapping the heroine's baby just sort of peters out as Munro has the kid over and the woman leaves.  No, really.  I can see why the witch was pissed at you.  In the finale, we see our heroine face down Levana and confront her, giving a big speech about empowerment.  Immediately after this, Levana shoots cartoon lasers and makes the woman explode!  Apparently, she can channel the powers of a witch named Tabitha and just reverses time.  Levana is killed with a stake and all is well- except for that 'it's not over ending.'  It's been over twenty years- it's over.  The End.

This movie is weird and kind of dumb.  The plot is ridiculous.  Of course, this is a Luigi Cozzi film.  The man could make a film about paint drying and it would somehow involve shots of space, exploding torsos and Caroline Munro.  The history of this film is a bit confusing and actually more fun to talk about than the film.  It was made as the final film in the Third Mother Trilogy, but released internationally as a Demons sequel.  Yes, it joins such great films as The Ogre and Black Demons!  On top of that, it was released in America as The Black Cat.  This is covered with a single exchange of dialog where it's explained that witches take the form of black cats, so the relationship to the Poe tales is logical.  Yeah, I don't buy it.  The actual film is just called De Profundis, but that was too dull for us all, I guess.  Shockingly, this confusing back-story and conflicting title drama did nothing to make this film a hit.  Actual copies are scarce, save for a DVD release recently.  Of course, the Starz/Netflix alliance allows jerks me to watch it on their X-Box 360s.  I love you, Luigi- but this film is a mess.  It's a glorious mess, but a mess.  If you like obscure, crazy cinema, watch this.  Most of you will just wonder what the hell is going on.

Next up, a week of random films begins with a cult classic that was made-for-TV, but has fans outside of that.  Of course, it's a killer scarecrow film, so set your expectations properly.  Stay tuned...
 

Demons Four: The Sect (aka Demons 4)

After the train wreck that was Demons III: The Ogre, there's nowhere to go but up.  Right?  Right?  Today's film is by Michele Soavi, the man who made The Church (aka the good Demons III) and Cemetery Man.  Of course, he'll always be the cross-dressing killer from A Blade in The Dark.  He didn't want to kill anyone- he just wanted to drink their blood.  Anyhow, this film is known in most place as simply The Sect.  Hell, the dubbed version I found is called that, giving me zero mention of the Demons connection at all. Hell, I can barely find a picture of the cover below on Google.  Even so, I'm committed by this point, so screw it!  The movie is...well, not about demons or anything remotely-like it.  Hell, the only monsters we get are a killer bird and some sort of Shroud of Turin knock-off.  Really, Soavi- a handkerchief with a face on it?  I'll attempt to make sense of this rare film for you, but there are no promises.  Get your Dan Brown books out for my review of...

The film begins by showing us the titles juxtaposed against the California desert and the song 'Horse with No Name.'  I bet you never thought that you'd see that in a Soavi film, huh?!?  The title card tells us that it's 1970 and a bunch of hippies are living on the land.  They do hippie stuff like smoke pot, paint women's breasts and have a half-naked kid running around.  A mysterious man arrives and his first line is quoting 'Sympathy for the Devil' by The Rolling Stones.  You're going to be evil, aren't you?  Before any set-up is really done, we cut to night time and find that the man's biker gang have killed the hippies...off-camera.  They try to sacrifice them to an evil power, but something goes wrong.  We jump ahead to 1991 and are treated to two disparate scenes.  A crazy man chases a woman to her house, while a different woman nearly hits an old man in the street.  The first woman is caught and killed- giving us an effect of blood and milk combining- while the other one takes the stranger home.  After freaking out, the crazy man drops a human heart on the subway- who hasn't been there- and gets arrested.  At the home, the old man says some crazy shit and then pretends to fall asleep, tricking the woman into letting him stay.  That night, he sneaks in and sticks a bug up her nose.

***

Our heroine has a freaky dream that culminates in a stork crawling up her dress and pecking her neck.  We also get a scene of her rabbit channel-surfing.  The next day, the old man feigns a heart attack, tricking the woman *again* and causing her to seek help.  While she's away, the man wanders down to her basement and finds...a Dagon-sized well.  He says more crazy stuff, drops a handkerchief into it and dies.  The cop arrives with her and they find the man's body.  More crazy stuff happens including a P.O.V. shot of the woman drinking water from a container and a comrade of hers being attacked by a handkerchief bearing the face of the dead old man.  There's creative symbolism and then there's keeping your audience in the dark.  On the plus side, we get to see a dead woman come back to life and try to choke her friend to death.  I don't get it, but it's interesting.

***

I won't lie- I barely know what the hell happens in the latter half of the movie.  Don't get me wrong- I saw it, but I don't get it.  It has something to do with the bug put in our heroine turning into a child that will be sacrificed...or something.  Either way, some evil guys- including a gray-haired version of the evil guy from before- are after him.  She ends up in the hands of the *better* cult- including the not-dead old man- and gives birth to a weird fetus thing in the well.  Mind you, this is after the bird pulls worms out of an open wound on her neck.  On the surface, however, she rejects the cult's offer to lead them with the promised child, leading to one of them chasing her on a motorcycle.  He crashes, causing him to drive off whilst on fire.  She's cornered, so she steps in the fire with the child and dies..only to be hosed off by the police and saved.  Fun fact: the woman wouldn't do a nude scene, so the ending is shot super-tight on her face.  Um, The End...I guess.

***

***

This movie is, well, weird as hell.  I don't quite get most of what was happening, but I'm sure it was supposed to be important.  It's not a bad movie- it's just a confusing one.  The plot is centered one woman, but seems to get distracted with a dozen different visual effects and camera tricks.  This makes for a great trailer, but a very disjointed film.  The rabbit stuff is a distraction, as are the P.O.V. shots and make-up work.  I guess it's a requirement to make bizarre monsters in Italian horror films, huh?  The stuff that works here really does work though and I can't fault Soavi for a lack of vision.  My problem here is that the story just can't agree on what it wants to be about.  His previous film- The Church- struck a better balance between crazy and plot.  Then again, this movie has three writers attributed to it...which explains a lot.  If you like films like this, you'll enjoy The Sect.  Whether or not you can make sense of it or not...that I can't promise you.  It's still better than Demons III: The Ogre though.

Next up, we go to Australia to cover a '70s cult classic.  Will it live up to the hype?  Stay tuned...

Video Bava: Demons 3- The Ogre

After two great films in the series, it's a gimme that someone was going to screw this up.  That came in the form of shitty film distributors who preferred to outright lie to consumers.  As I mentioned in my Trivia piece, there are actually THREE Demons III films.  One of them is a Michele Soavi film that is actually really good, features similar creatures and has Asia Argento in it- a tenuous connection, but I'll work with it.  The second is a piece of low-budget crap known as Black Demons, which is more appropriate as The Serpent & The Rainbow 2 than Demons III!  Lastly- and I do mean 'lastly'- there is this film.  In the wake of his film success, Lamberto Bava made a quartet of television movies, one of which was called 'The Ogre.'  As for the other films, we'll get to those later.  

So how does this movie fit in to the Demons mythology?  Well, to be honest, it doesn't.  This story is actually about a woman trying to write a book, only to be confronted by a monster from her childhood nightmares.  Wow, that sounds lame.  This is...

The film begins fairly strong with a weird sequence involving a young girl being pursued by an unknown creature.  There's a lot of atmosphere here as the girl runs through a spiderweb-covered castle basement.  Of course, this goodness can't last, can it?  Right before the girl is killed, the dream ends and we are introduced to our heroine.  She is an older woman played by Virginia Bryant, who appeared in Demons 2.  I guess that's the only connection we're going to get, huh?  The woman is a writer who apparently makes really scary horror novels under a male pseudonym.  Despite being married and having a kid, her childhood nightmares bother her.  She tries to get over them, but is not aided much by her husband.  He's the usual 'it's all a dream- get over it' guy we get in tales like this.  

To get inspiration for her next work, our heroine heads out to lovely Italian villa to write.  On the first day, she begins to write while her husband and son go off for a hike.  Hey kids, do you like padding?  If so, then you'll love this pointless scene which pads out the run-time by five minutes.

While the guys are away, our heroine stumbles across some weird stuff in the villa.  She sees some objects in the attic that look like stuff she used to own.  How did that get from Ohio to Italy exactly?  When the guys finally come home- they were out there longer than the guys from Deliverance- the woman talks to her husband about what she found.  He doesn't buy it, which just infuriates her.  

By the way, if you love watching them fight, this film will enthrall you.  For everyone else, please note which button allows your disc to Fast Forward!  

Our heroine goes into town, but runs into some trouble when the local store won't accept her credit card.  It's one thing to distrust an outsider, but it's another thing to distrust American Express...dammit!  A local woman helps her out and even gets her cousin to babysit for the couple.  This sets up a scene of the pair trying to be intimate (eww), while the kid plays hide-and-go-seek with the babysitter.  We get some foreshadowing of the monster wandering around, but it doesn't really do much for a while.  When the woman gets in a field of flowers, however, the thing attacks her...with no blood or gore.  

Yeah, don't expect any of that here!

As a TV-movie, the story just kind of meanders for quite a while.  The monster is seen wandering around, while the woman talks about seeing things...and is completely ignored.  Seriously, this guy couldn't be more emotionally-vacant if he was in a coma!  The pattern repeats itself over and over again.  'I saw something', 'you're crazy'....'I saw something', etc.  

Finally, our heroine wanders down to the basement that resembles the titular monster's lair from her dreams and finds the body of the babysitter.  The film fluctuates between this all being in her head (an image of the Ogre becomes the husband) and being real.  Eventually, the couple hears a noise downstairs and finds a mess.  They track it to the basement and find the monster holding the son hostage.  Since the dad is there too, the creature must be real.  

It storms out of the house, but our heroine is determined to stop the thing.  Using the car, she runs the creature over and it...disappears.  So it wasn't real?  

No, it wasn't...apparently, as we find out that the babysitter was not dead.  Hey Bava, make up your mind next time!

This movie sucks, although it is important to judge it properly.  Since it's been released on DVD like any mainstream film, it is often judged that way.  Unfortunately for the film, it is actually a TV movie with almost no budget, so the comparison is not really all that fair.  Although, to be fair, Duel was a TV movie and it kicked all kinds of ass!  As a Demons film, it is a giant disappointment that offers nothing you expect and simply fails.  As a non-Demons movie, the whole thing is simply a tedious affair that has a simple premise, but struggles to fill the run-time.  Did we really need the hiking scene in full-length or the 800th argument between the couple?  I get the budgetary and time constraints that Bava was under, but I still can't excuse the many mistakes the movie makes.  On a positive note, there are some genuinely-interesting scenes at the beginning and the 'Ogre' mask looks decent sometimes.  Ultimately though, the film fails in every major way and just makes you yearn for a much better Demons III film...

No, no- I said a much better Demons III film.  (UPDATE: I own this one on Blu-Ray.  It's great).

Next up, we close up the 4-Part look at the Demons series with another unrelated Italian film.  On the plus side, this is a Michele Soavi film.  Stay tuned...

Demons Four: Demons II

After the big hit that was Lamberto Bava's Demons, a sequel was a given.  What did Bava have in mind to follow-up?  Well, in fitting fashion, the sequel involves people watching the sequel to the movie-within-the-movie.  This does answer the question everyone had about the first film: how much more Meta can a movie get?  The setting is new- an apartment building- but the plot is just about the same.  Monsters come out of the movie, wreak havoc and death ensues.  This movie is not just a rehash, however, adding a few new ideas and monsters to the mix.  Will it live up to the original movie though or be a pretender?

The film is centered around the inhabitants of a nice apartment building somewhere in Italy.  It happens to be our main characters' birthday, a fact that she wants everyone to know...dammit!  She's not exactly the most likable character, so it's a good thing that she's not the focus of the whole story.  While the drama of her party is going on, local television is airing the sequel to the evil movie that caused the chaotic and bloody scene at The Metropol in Demons.  You think that there would have been some backlash against that movie, let alone someone actually making a sequel!  Hell, they pulled La Fin Absolue Du Monde (look it up!) after one airing!  Naturally, this causes some issues for our film's heroes.  By the way, Ringu fans- suck on this effect from 1986!

All hell breaks loose as our party host gets bitten, causing some widespread infection amongst the group.  It spreads to the building as well.  The result is not pretty, a fact that anyone who has seen REC can attest to.  On the plus side, it does give the lady a lovely makeover...

I have to mention that 'Tony the Pimp' shows up again, this time playing a workout instructor who is in the building on the fateful night.  In addition to that, the movie features the debut of one Asia Argento, proving that Dario keeps it all in the family.  Of course, he also does that in regards to movies which feature rape, but that's another thing entirely.  The movie ups the ante from the first one by introducing a demon child- yeah, these movies go there!  You've got to give it up for the demon dog too, people!  If you like some lovely, lovely set-up for pathos, check out our pregnant heroine trying to fend off the evil demons at the door.  Will she make it out?  Will the film have a happy ending or make your 'cross the river?'  I'll never tell.

This movie is good, hitting all the right beats that it has to.  The action is good, the atmosphere is great and it really makes you feel that there is no way out.  Besides, 'Tony' is back to kick some ass and flex his pecs!  Here's the question: is it as good as Demons?  Well, yes and no.  In many ways, the original is still the superior film, since it is the one that introduced the kick-ass premise of the series.  In other ways, Demons 2 offers up more action, new monsters and even more gore.  Not to sound like a complete cop-out, but both films have strong aspects to them and are not always fair to compare.  I like both films a lot, but I still give the slight nod to the original over this one.  It's nothing personal, Demons 2- you're just not the same movie.  On the plus side, you're not just the same movie.  By the way, make sure you got with Anchor Bay's DVD of the films, as they offer the Unrated Versions, good extras and the best transfer available.  You're always good in a pinch, A.B.!

Up next, we cover one of the first unofficial sequels to Bava's films.  This will not be pretty.  Stay tuned...

Mondo Trivia: Demons

* There are a total of 8 films that make-up the Demons series.  Mind you, most of them are fakes...

- Demons III: The Ogre is a TV-movie by Bava. 
- Demons III: The Church is a similar film to Bava's made by Michele Soavi.
- Demons III: Black Demons is about voodoo zombies.
- Demons IV: The Sect is another horror film by Soavi.  I guess since The Church was 3, this is 4...
- Demons V: The Devil's Veil is another unrelated Bava film.
- Demons VI is Luigi Cozzi's The Black Cat.  No, really.

* In an un-related note, Lamberto Bava was an Assistant Director on Cannibal Holocaust.  That film also has six fake sequels.  Coincidence?  Yes.

Demons Four: Demons

I'll be up-front with you- I love Demons.  I suppose you can stop reading right there, but I do have more to say.  As the film that introduced me to Lamberto Bava- like most people, I'm sure- it holds a special place in my heart.  At one point, I had a sidebar called 'Movies Too Good To Review Here' and included the first two movies on it, alongside The Prestige and others.  After some initial set-up confusion, the plot is pretty simple and flows very nicely.  There is an odd distraction with the biker gang sub-plot, but that connects well enough to let me ignore it.  I do find it funny that Argento's credit on the poster is nearly the size of the title itself, by the way.  As a fan of both Bavas, I love that Argento put his credibility behind Lamberto, as well as helping popularize the genre that Mario started (Giallo/Blood and Black Lace).  I would love it if there was another generation of Bava/Argento interaction to creat films like this.  Is it too much to hope for to see an Asia Argento/Another Bava collaboration at some point?  Maybe, but I like to dream.  Anyways, this film plays with conventions in a great way and boggles my mind, while alternately blowing it too.  This is...

The story begins simple enough with some teens (by horror movie standards, anyways) getting an invite to a super-secret movie premiere.  Much like in Waxwork, they never really question getting something like this from a super-creepy guy.  They go to the premiere and find it packed, making the secretive nature of the guy kind of odd.  This is no ordinary premiere, however, as the lobby is littered with props and promotional materials about the film.  This becomes a key point when one girl touches a prop mask on display and it cuts her finger.  More on that later, however.  We are introduced to a whole slew of characters here, but the most notable is and always will be Tony the Pimp.  He's a guy so good that they had to bring him back in Demons 2!  Our heroes go into the theater and start to watch the movie.  The film in question is a pretty stock horror film involving teens (again, by horror movie standards) wandering into a cemetery.  What stands out, however, is that they uncover Nostradamus' grave.  When they open it, a girl gets her hand cut on the mask inside and turns into a demon.  Hm...

Sure enough, the events in the film begin to mirror those in reality.  The girl from earlier complains about feeing sick and goes to the bathroom.  Inside, she begins to transform via some make-up effects.  The results are not pretty, even if she looks a bit like Sade.  She leaves the restroom and completes her transformation in the theater, leading to one of the film's most famous gore scenes.  In 'real-time,' the woman's teeth are pushed out of her mouth and sharp fangs rise to replace them.  This, naturally, causes a panic and death ensues.  This is where things get really good.

The action is practically non-stop (not to be confused with the Minoriteam character) from hereon out.  As the zombies/demons bite others and turn them, the horde grows in size.  These guys don't play nice either- choosing to take bites out of people.  Things only get worse when our remaining heroes try to get out the front door...only to find it bricked up.  That's not good!  In the aforementioned sub-plot, a group of bikers are driving around and decide to wreak some havoc.  Unfortunately for them, they choose the theater and don't exactly get a warm reception.  Things look bleak for our heroes as more of them die violent deaths- even poor Tony.  In the end....you have to watch the movie.  Seriously, if you're a horror fan, you need to see Demons.  Do it now.

Like I said, I love this movie.  The plot works on a lot of levels and is surprisingly-layered for a film of this type.  The whole idea of the film-within-a-film idea reminds me of 'Halmet's' indictful play-within-a-play against the new King.  How often do you get to make a fair Shakespeare comparison to an '80s Italian horror film?  For a 25-year old film (big anniversary this year!), the make-up work holds up pretty well.  Sure, there are things that we would do better nowadays with technology, but I wouldn't change it.  Aside from my own personal preferrence for practical effects over CGI, there's no downplaying the visceral nature of Demons' make-up work.  When you see it in-frame, it's really in-frame and that adds a lot IMO.  Obviously, there's no way to avoid CGI in certain circumstances (i.e. King Kong), but it's not necessary here.  To be fair, the acting is not exactly Oscar-caliber here.  Is this really news though?  Especially when you consider that many people will be watching the film dubbed- either by choice or because the disc only has that option.  Not to repeat myself, but you really need to see Demons if you haven't already.  Hell, just see it again- it's worth it.

Up next, a look at the sequel that Italy demanded.  Can it top the original or will it just be a nobody?  Stay tuned...