Night of the Demons (2009)

Edward Furlong (Actor), Shannon Elizabeth (Actor), Adam Gierasch (Director) | Rated: R | Format: DVD



'Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia' is the third installment of 'Behind Enemy Lines', the 2001 action film starrring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman. Like with the sequel, 'Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil', 'Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia' is a straight to DVD feature. While none of the principal cast of the original is in this film, Keith David reprises his role from 'Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil' as MCPO Scott Boytano.



the original NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is hailed as a late 80's "cult classic" by many Horror fans. It's a sinister little movie about a group of partying teenagers who become prey to an evil house possessed by demons. Without a doubt, it's a classic. Even it's early 90's sequel has some what of a loyal following, considering it's "direct to video" roots. It brought all the elements that made the original such an enjoyable film, while taking things into an entirely different and fresh direction. Not to mention NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 2 has an amazing ending with some of the best demon make up ever seen in a low budget Horror film!

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With all of that praise being said, I've always thought of the NIGHT OF THE DEMONS series to be rather weak when compared to other "demon" type Horror movies. Especially films like Lamberto Bava's DEMONS (not to mention DEMONS 2) and Sam Raimi's THE EVIL DEAD series. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first two NIGHT OF THE DEMONS movies (the original being the best) but they weren't without their own faults and I thought other "demon" films to be much better.


Let's talk about the original NIGHT OF THE DEMONS for a second here. I always thought it had a very strong beginning and middle, but things start falling apart towards the end. I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it. I guess problems like that are to be expected with some low budget Horror films. Putting that one gripe aside, I do think the original NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is a "classic" over all. Besides, Linnea Quigley is awesome no matter what! Also, the make up was great and some parts of the movie were genuinely creepy! The sequel to that film wasn't better but it was still a very enjoyable movie none the less. What made it work as a sequel was that it pushed the boundaries of the special effects, kept the demon make up top notch and added some new and fresh elements to over all story. Also, like I said before, the ending is really good!

Sad to say, the second sequel NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 3 is the worst of the bunch. Why is it so bad you ask? Well, let's just say that it's better off left forgotten to the ages. Nowhere near as enjoyable as the first two movies, the third film left a bitter taste in my mouth for a very long time. The make up was atrocious at times (if you watch the movie, look for a female demon with a snake for a hand, it just looks bad) and the over all movie had a very cheap vibe to it. Not that the original film and it's sequel were CITIZEN KANE in terms of quality mind you. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 3 just isn't anywhere near the expectations I had for it in terms of this little Horror series. If part two got it right, why couldn't part three? My advice? Just watch the first two and avoid the third film.

So where does that leave us with this new "remake" or "reimagining" or whatever the heck it is? Well, I will say this. It is a million times better than NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 3, but that isn't saying much really. This latest reincarnation does have a lot of it's own faults (some of them just really stupid and uninspired) but we'll touch on those topics in just a minute. First, I just want to say that I was actually really excited about this movie when I heard it was going to be made. I thought to myself, "A new NIGHT OF THE DEMONS movie!?! I can't believe it!" Hearing that news was like getting a little piece of my childhood back! I wasn't sure if it was going to be a remake or an entirely different film within itself but I didn't care. After being very disappointed with the third movie, I didn't think a "reboot" was a bad idea. Actually, I kinda' hoped it would be a sequel (I don't like most remakes and I usually despise prequels) that ignores the third movie without making it obvious. Well, this new NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is kinda' like that but not really. Alow me to explain.

Plot wise, things haven't changed much in the series. The movie starts up with some really nice scenes from the 1920's, giving the audience a little back story as to how the notorious "demon house" became so bad. These scenes are actually really cool because of the over all craft and style during them. They're filmed in a sepia tone, adding to the over all creepy grit that one expects from this series. Here's the story. As it turns out, a group of people were performing a seance in the house a long time ago, which calls forth a bunch of demons from Hell. Almost all of the people there are possessed, with the exception of one girl, who kills herself before she too becomes a pawn of the damned. This kills off the said demons (because they needed seven people to possess to become free, or something like that), but leaves their rotting, cursed skeletons in the basement.

Fast forward to "modern times" (something that always makes a Horror movie dated) and a "Goth" girl named Angela is hosting a Halloween party at the very same house, mainly because of it's dark reputation. Anyone who's seen a NIGHT OF THE DEMONS movie (or any Horror movie for that matter) knows where this story is going. The night of the party comes, people arrive, loud music is played, debauchery ensues, the police show up and ruin everybody's fun and the rest is history. Of course a few teenagers hangout after the police take their leave, dooming many of them to their horrible fates!

I guess you could call this a "remake" but when you (as a director) change so much of the story, you might as well make an entirely different movie all together. Sure, the basic structure of the original film is there but it doesn't "feel like the very first time" to quote Foreigner. If you're going to change a lot, while keeping most of it the same (something that happens to most remakes and still boggles my mind) then you might as well make a sequel! I know a lot of movie studios don't like the word "sequel" when regarding the older series of Horror films, but they need to get over that problem! Most of the people who are watching this stuff are the hardcore fans of the series already, and the younger generation will gravitate to this type of stuff no matter what it is. Horror is popular already without all the fancy remakes, reboots, prequels and "reimaginings." Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't.

Movie studios are only concerned about making box office sales the first week of release. They're trying to "buy" the audiences who wouldn't watch another sequel by making them think it's special as a remake, prequel or whatever. I say, just make a good movie and if you need to follow it up, just make a good sequel. How is that done you ask? Simple really. You just don't take the cheap way out.

Which is why I'm kinda' disappointed with this latest NIGHT OF THE DEMONS film. It didn't have a big budget Hollywood release (which is why some remakes like PROM NIGHT are just awful), yet some how they still get a lot of this movie wrong. My biggest complaint is that most of it just doesn't even compare to the original two films. The "remake" scenes just come off as lame (although the new lipstick scene is still cool) and the rest of the movie just falls for typical Horror movie cliches that most people find to be stupid. Normally that doesn't bother me (I love the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies after all) but when everything else offered up is so weak, it's hard to forgive the movie on the whole.

Another thing I didn't like here was the limited cast. Everyone did a pretty good job in terms of acting but there was just wasn't enough people for the demons to slaughter. You would think that at the start of the movie, during the Halloween party, eventually all of these kids are going to die horrible deaths and become demons! Nope! I guess the director thought the police should bust the party early on, thus taking the cast (and maybe the budget) down to a personal and simple level. It doesn't work for a movie that should have tons of gore, tons of make up and tons of demons running around! NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is really more like two and a half stars film if you ask me.

Yet, everything isn't all bad. On the plus side, they do get some things right. The over all demon make up is pretty good (when they don't use CGI that is) and some of the gory moments bring a little zest to this otherwise paint by the numbers remake. Gore Hounds, look for the classic scene with the lipstick (fans already know what I'm talking about) and another scene has one girl getting her boob ripped off by a demon! The bloody scenes worked very well and they should have used more of them early on.

Another good element is the actors used here. They're not amazing or anything but they do bring a little structure to an otherwise messy film project. Edward Furlong (from TERMINATOR 2 and AMERICAN HISTORY X fame) is always an enjoyable actor, but he is a little (how should I put this?) "dumpy" looking here. I've heard people complain about the way he looks in this movie (some calling him a "fat Elvis") but that doesn't bother me really. His character is a sleazy drug dealer after all. I think his sloppy image is perfect for his role in this film. It's kind of realistic if you think about it. Shannon Elizabeth (from SCARY MOVIE and THIRTEEN GHOSTS) and Monica Keena (FREDDY vs. JASON) are easy on the eye's, which is a plus if you ask me. I thought Shannon Elizabeth did a good job as Angela (sometimes she was actually creepy) but over all she's not as good as the original version. And let's not forget about the Linnea Quigley cameo! It's freaking great even if it doesn't make sense!

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