Night of the Demons

Hey, perhaps if all remakes were as unpretentious and amusing as "Night of the Demons", people wouldn't complain so much about the deterioration of the horror genre in general… This one is several hundred miles away from being a good or even semi-memorable horror movie, but it's entertaining while it lasts and offers plentiful of adequate make-up effects, a suitably light-headed atmosphere and a whole lot of yummy voluptuous actresses in revealing Halloween costumes! In all fairness, I also have to admit that it was pretty impossible to mess up a remake of the modest 1988 cult-favorite. The original "Night of the Demons", as well as both of its sequels released during the 1990's, was a very simplistic and unpretentious little flick also and it's rather easy to accomplish a present day update for the post-2000 horror audiences by making just a few minor changes left and right. The titular night still refers to the Halloween celebration, but instead of an abandoned funeral home like in the original, the party mansion is now a sinister family estate where once – in the roaring 20's – a horrible tragedy occurred when a desperate woman tried to win the love of a man trough a séance, but she ended up awakening seven demons that were even exiled from hell for being too bloodthirsty. To reign again, the demons require seven human bodies to possess, and let this just happen to be the exact number of idiots that remain loafing around the house after the police rudely interrupted the party. Hostess Angela is the first victim to mutate, and through seductive games and lesbianism she gradually causes the rest to go demon too. The mansion's history records may have altered slightly, but director/co-writer Adam Gierasch nevertheless blatantly copies the main trumps and highlight sequences of the 1988 original. Most notably the infamous sequence with the lipstick receives an update and furthermore the movie revolves on luscious twenty-something people that flirt, drink and cannot keep their hormones under control. The kills and make-up effects are well-handled, but nowhere near as imaginative as in the old installments and there's zilch tension, logic or sympathy for the characters. I presume that supporting actresses Diora Baird ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre: New Beginning") and Bobbi Sue Luther ("Laid to Rest") were exclusively cast for their large bra-sizes and their willingness to share their beautiful boobs with the rest of the world, whereas Monica Keena ("Freddy Vs. Jason") has the tough responsibility to depict an amiable and more or less intellectual heroine. "Night of the Demons" also features two relatively washed up stars of the 90's in the shape of Shannon Elizabeth and Edward Furlong. The former hasn't appeared in anything significant since she went topless in "American Pie" and the latter will probably always remain the kid from "Terminator II" and "American History X". But seriously, Edward Furlong looks terrible these days… Pretty much like he's consuming nothing but drugs and alcohol since the year 2000. Oops, I just quickly checked his biography here on the site, and it actually appears to be true. Sorry, Edward.

Paying respect to a film by trying to remake it DOES NOT always pan out. This is the case with the 2009 version of Night of the Demons. Being a smaller than normal budget film and having to mediocre stars in Furlong and Elizabeth as leads did nothing for this movie. In my honest opinion NOT a very good film choice for Shannon Elizabeth. The first film in 1988 scores an almost 7 out of 10 with originality and this barely hits 5.

The plot is generic as college age kids party at an abandoned house that has a haunting secret. Typical scenario as police raid and bust party and half dozen young adults get locked inside. They roam the house, find strange markings, skeletons in a secret room and demonic hell results. The dialogue is bland, full of "f***s" and "s***s", the acting is tragically phoned in and there is no scare tact at all.

It is a simple supposed to be gore fest that fails at most levels. I would NOT recommend but if in need for a filler for the afternoon you can watch this flat remake of a 1988 cult classic. 4/10

I remember watching the original "Night of the Demons" back in the late 80's, so I had somewhat mixed feelings about this movie. Initially I thought something in the lines of "why does the world need a re-told version of this movie?" When the movie started, I was pleasantly surprised with the intro, at least, because it had that certain unique Lovecraftian touch to it. But I also thought, if this is how the movie is going to be all the way through, it will be too much, too unbearable. Luckily, the movie did change over to become an ordinary-styled movie.

Well, the storyline is pretty straight forward, and no twists or turns to the events that unfolded. The movie was also somewhat true to the original 1988 movie, but of course with some major changes, which was actually good to see. But overall, the story was predictable and somewhat stale, even if you haven't seen the original movie.

The effects and the setting was quite alright, and the demons did looks alright, I will give them that much.

There was a sex scene in the movie that made me almost still my coffee. That was just too ridiculous, trust me, you will know what I am talking about when you see the movie, or if you have already seen it. I am not giving away details, but that was just downright stupid.

As for the cast. Well, there were some known faces, no major stars though. I am not a fan of Edward Furlong, but he actually did a good job in the role here. I had to look twice when I first saw Edward Furlong, but yeah, that was him alright. And another familiar face is Shannon Elizabeth, though her performance in the movie seemed more like it was some project she just wanted to get over with.

I suppose for people who haven't seen the original "Night of the Demons", this movie will be quite a blast. It has enough action and suspense to keep you interested. There is also a good amount of gore and effects in the movie. So that is a plus. But for us who have seen the original version, then this action-packed remake is a hollow attempt at bringing something old back to life. Don't get me wrong, the movie is good in itself, it should just have been made as something else, not a remake of that old movie.

For me, this movie was the type that you watch once and never again.

Night of the Demons (2009)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Remake of the 1987 cult classic has a group of people throwing a party in a mysterious house where decades earlier a Halloween party was thrown and six people disappeared. Flash forward to the present day and the party takes a turn for the worse when one person gets transformed into a demon and starts killing the others. A lot of people are going to hate this movie because they're fans of the original. A lot of people are going to hate this film because it's a remake. And even more people are going to hate this movie because it's unoriginal and not very inspired and it's this group that I fall into. I wasn't overly crazy about the original film but this remake is a complete mess from the word go and by the fifteen-minute mark the thing is out of gas and it was rather painful to make it through to the end. The biggest problem is that the screenplay really doesn't offer us anything fresh, original or worth watching. The characters are all poorly written and I think they're all rather unlikeable. It doesn't help that the performances aren't that good but this is a horror movie so that shouldn't matter too much. I'm not sure what it is but it seems a lot of current horror movies are forgetting to include characters that you either like or care about. Instead we have to watch people we don't care for get killed. It's just boring when there's nothing extra to connect you with the characters. Another major problem is that there isn't a drop of atmosphere and there are certainly no scares. The film is certainly lazy because it's yet another that tries to scare you by cranking the soundtrack up high and having loud noises go off to make you jump. Hopefully future films will get over this cheap trick because it doesn't work and it's simply lazy and boring. Edward Furlong of TERMINATOR 2 fame gets to play the lead here but he doesn't seem very into it. The violence in the film is rather graphic but the CGI effects are rather cheap and silly looking. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS was meant for a theatrical release but it ended up only playing a few dates before its eventually DVD release. The film isn't the worst ever made but the laziness and lack of imagination really seals its fate.

Director Adam Gierasch gives a mediocre to decent view on the remake of the 1986 film Night of the Demons. The release of this film has been tied up for a while due to the debate whether it should earn a theatrical or direct to DVD run. It finally settled on premiering at the London FrightFest Film Festival back in Halloween 2009 and finally was released on DVD this year. The film falls in the category of unnecessary remakes and as a film itself it just isn't that grade. Not only did the word "remake" turn me off but so did the word "demons".

When demons enter the picture trouble follows. Demons require a lot of pointless backstory. Unfortunately you need the backstory to understand the damn movie itself. It's like Final Destination, only it's much more easier to understand whats going on because, while not logical, is a strangely effective way for you to keep watching to show how odd these people die. Demons are fictional creatures and they involve spells, writings, and a history. It gets worse when people try to explain whats going on and it's like "just give it up" you can explain it twelve more times and it doesn't make an ounce of sense. In one scene they are in a room where supposedly the demons cant enter because of the writings on the wall. We never know what these writings mean or let what they even say.

Since I haven't seen the original film, I can't judge it in any way, shape, or form. I'm not even positive if both movies share the same plot. This version revolves around the sexy Angela Feld who is holding a party at the Broussard mansion, which is reportedly haunted by demons and other mythical beings. The party is filled with sex crazed, hormonal kids who just want a piece of the sex pie when suddenly the police come an invade the party, scolding the teens, and forcing them to vacate the area.

A group of teens neglect to leave and then realize that now the gates won't opened and they are subjected to seclusion inside the creepy mansion. Though after an encounter with corpses in the basement, Angela and many others turn into blood thirsty demons that now feed on the lives of the innocent teenagers. As Roger Ebert would say, "a dead teenager movie".

While this remake is probably not as recognized as the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The original NOTD was popular during the 80's, but it is definitely overshadowed by slasher classics like Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street. This remake does have something going for it though; insanely catchy metal soundtrack, some cute teenage girls, no CGI, no Michael Bay, and Eddie Furlong.

If Eddie Furlong wasn't in this film it wouldn't have been wouldn't have been half as good as it was. Reminds me of how Giuseppe Andrews made Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever and if he was absent the film would have been less than what it already is. Sly and sexy Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie and Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back too plays a good role in this film. It is quite fun to see her strut her stuff on set, even when she is a blood thirsty demon.

In no means does Night of the Demons qualify as a passable remake. I highly doubt the original film is like this. For what it is, it's definitely a remake in 2009 and nothing less. This is something Ill watch once and never touch again. This is the kind of film that sits on the shelf for weeks until the stock boy picks it up and says "Who would leave this out?" and throw it in the back where it would sit for years to come. That's a bit harsh, but Gierasch does little to impress with this mediocre remake of another 80's film. But Monica Keena gets my sympathy; first she is caught in the dueling duo of Freddy and Jason, now she's victim to demons? Someone take this girl FAR away from teen parties.

Starring: Shannon Elizabeth, Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, John F. Beach, Edward Furlong, Michael Copon, Diora Baird, and Linnea Quigley. Directed by: Adam Gierasch.