Demons was produced by Dario Argento and directed by Lamberto Bava, son of Mario Bava, and it's another 1980's horror flick that just kind of passed me by for reasons I can't really pinpoint. And I kind of wonder if I would have appreciated it a bit more if I saw it back in 1985....
The basic plot is: a bunch of gullible people in Berlin accept free tickets to a movie at a renovated theater. I say gullible because the guy passing them out has a deformed face partially covered by a silver mask, and he doesn't speak. The horror movie they watch somehow releases a demon...virus? that turns some members of the audiences into demons, and the survivors have to fight their way out. Sure, it's called Demons, but really this a zombie movie.
I feel like what most people remember about the movie is the gore and the soundtrack. The gore is definitely goring. But I was under the impression the soundtrack was full of classic metal and new wave, but the only two truly famous songs are "White Wedding" by Billy Idol, and "Save Our Souls" by Mötley Crüe. (No shade to Rick Springfield, but "Walking On the Edge" is not the Rick Springfield song most people want to hear.) I did kind of dig the original soundtrack music by Claudio Simonetti though.
As this is an Italian production, all of the dialogue was dubbed in later, to varying degrees of success. (Whoever dubbed in the voice of the pimp Tony should be ashamed of himself.) The ending definitely sets itself up for a sequel, though it doesn't sound like it's a direct continuation of the story. Not sure I'll seek it out. Maybe next year...
I watched Demons on Shudder.
2 comments:
This is a wild one! I first saw it maybe 10-15 years ago as a midnight movie that was part of a Halloween celebration so I actually got to see it with an audience.
Thanks for being part of the Countdown this year!
Yeah I feel like that's the ideal way to see this one. Thanks for stopping by and continuing to host the countdown!
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