Dèmoni 2... l'incubo ritorna

Lamberto Bava's "Demons" is easily one of the most popular Italian horror films ever made along with Dario Argento's gialli and Lucio Fulci's zombie bloodbaths.In "Demons 2" the action moves from a cinema to a high-rise block of flats;a documentary in which a team of archaeologists explore the ruins of the city besieged by demons in the first film is showing on TV.As the team are attacked by a resurrected demon,the creature forces its way out of a TV set and into the real world,infecting the unlucky residents of the building and transforming them into bloodthirsty demons."Demoni 2" is not as gory as "Demoni".It plays more like a campy comedy as it features some truly hilarious moments.The special effects are surprisingly tacky and amateurish(demon dog and demon baby look especially horrible),the script is silly,but the film is fast-paced and mildly entertaining.The score by Simon Boswell is sleep-inducing compared to the one Claudio Simonetti gave us in the first.At least we get some lovely songs by Dead Can Dance,The Smiths and The Cult.If you are a fan of "Demons" you can give this one a look,just don't expect anything as great as the original.7 out of 10.

In a residential building, demons are released though a television horror film, where two couples visit the forbidden area nearby the Metropol movie theater to seek vestiges of the demon infestation some time ago and accidentally resurrect one demon. The guests of Sally (Coralina Cataldi Tassoni) in her birthday party are infected by the demons and spread the contamination to the residents. Each viewer that is infected by a monster, is contaminated and transformed in another monster, threatening the rest of the defenseless persons. The survivals realize that they are trapped in the locked building and organize a defense in the garage. Meanwhile, George (David Knight) and his pregnant wife Hannah (Nancy Brilli) seek a way out through the roof.

"Demons 2" is a rip-off of "Demons", using television in a residential building to spread the demons, instead of a screen in a movie theater, and funnier. I saw this film many other times on VHS and today (05 November 2010) I have just seen it on DVD. This film has great make-up and special effects, but the original "Demons" is better and scarier. One attraction is the eleven year-old Asia Argento, in the role of Ingrid Haller. This movie is only recommended for fans of trash-movies. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): 'Demons 2 – Eles Voltaram' ('Demons 2 – They Are Back')

Director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento quickly responded to the international success of DEMONS (1985) with this sequel. Abandoning the downbeat open ending of the original film, this follow-up merely repeats the scenario rather than continuing it. Sadly, the end result is a film that one would expect from sequel/money hungry producers rather than the original film's creators.

The biggest flaw with DEMONS 2 is the complete lack of logic. I know it sounds crazy to say that about a film featuring slime spewing demons, but hear me out here. A television program featuring young kids searching for demons (not the same film featured in the first one) is merely on and then a demon jumps out of the TV. While you can see the filmmakers trying to replay the original design with a different medium, they ultimately fail. The original, despite its loony scenario, at least presented a more reasonable explanation. The demon plague is spread by a movie theater customer being scratched by a mysterious mask and not by some demon merely popping out of the screen. Not only that, but this sequel never thoroughly addresses what happened in the original film. The voice over on the television show hints that demons appeared in the world for a few days but no one in the film addresses it. It is as if the events from the first film never happened.

The script also alters the demon mythos to cut plot corners. For example, the demons now apparently spurt acidic blood (shades of ALIEN) that burns through the floors and conveniently kills the power in the apartment complex. If this lazy script writing weren't enough, the entire situation is taken from David Cronenberg's superior SHIVERS (aka THEY CAME FROM WITHIN).

The filmmakers also make the huge mistake of teetering towards the laughable by including a demon child and demon dog, which wins the award for least convincing transformation of the 1980s. It is truly embarrassing. These inclusions, coupled with a phony pint sized demon straight out of a GREMLIN rip off, really push the film into the bounds of ridiculousness. Sergio Stivaletti reprises his role as F/X coordinator and provides the requisite demons transformation highlights such as teeth falling out and talons popping out under fingernails. The film also features the world phoniest barbell.

A few familiar faces pop up from the first film. Pasqualino Salemme, who was one of the punks in the first film, pops up briefly as a security guard. And Bobby Rhodes, memorable as Tony the Pimp in the original, appears here as gym instructor Hank, a different but equally managerial character. As with the first film, he gets all of the film's best lines. Also of note is Coralina Cataldi Tassoni as the bratty birthday girl turned lead demon Sally. She maintains a steady energy, despite being covered by layers of make up and slime. And in a bit of trivia, the film also marks the theatrical debut of Argento's daughter Asia. No doubt this exposure to horror at an early age prepared her for working with Vin Diesel.

Certain films I love while having no explanation as to why...."DEMONS 2" is one of these films. Simply the exact same film as its predeccessor, only set in a high tech apartment building, it lacks a lot of the stuff that makes the first film great. There's no heavy metal on the soundtrack, very little blood, it's not nearly as scary or action-packed as the original, but it certainly makes me laugh. The early stuff with the group investigating the ruins of the city is pretty creepy but this all gives way to some hilarious dialogue, and a classic bout between demons and fitness buffs in the building's parking garage makes me smile every time. Though not nearly as bad as many people say it is, I guess "Demons 2" is enjoyable for mostly the wrong reasons.

Okay, first of all, anybody who is expecting The English Patient from a movie called "Demons 2" will be sorely disappointed. This is an 80s low-budget Italian horror movie and as such has serious plot, dubbing and acting problems. That said, this is actually a very good movie for the genre.

The connection to the original movie is a bit blurry but it does try to connect the two together. Apparently somebody made a movie about the first incident, and it is this movie that "infects" a new building filled with badly-dubbed Italian actors.

The make-up effects are quite good, and the demons pretty unsettling. I'd say this movie is on par with the original Demons (largely because it is almost exactly the same movie). This is a pretty brutal movie. None of the humorous subtext that you'd find in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequels, "Scream" or most other modern horror movies. Nope. Just a bunch of people desperately fighting to survive, and not doing a very good job of it. They aren't all stupid either....they do try. Unfortunately the screenwriters arranged it so that all the windows are unbreakable, and the electric doors unable to be opened.

The movie also breaks some horror movie taboos as children were surprisingly made into victims.

On a lighter note, I would also say that this is the first horror movie I have ever seen (barring Antichrist/Second Coming films)in which a character goes into labor while fighting demons.

An entertaining horror movie.....Never looked at my watch once.