Il cavaliere del male

Billy Zane raises what would be a decent horror/action movie to a higher plane. His deadpan delivery and funny quips are surprising in a character that is supposed to be the quintessential evil demon. If there was any justice in the world Zane would've been considered for an award. His performance is that good. The special effects look dated now, but that doesn't hurt the movie significantly. The characters are sufficiently fleshed out (pun intended) making them a little more than meat for the rampaging demons. The story, while interesting, doesn't make a lot of sense, at least not the back story. God created the Earth but the demons were already there and had 7 keys which gave them power over the cosmos? Huh? That aside, the movie is well done and Zane's performance is not to be missed.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, and it's the very first movie I saw more than twice while still in theaters. I was already a fan of Tales from the Crypt, and with this movie, there were constant thrills from beginning to end, and everyone was involved in causing those thrills. This was also the very first movie I ever saw Jada Pinkett in--I had never even heard of her before; I absolutely loved her part, and I was already a William Sadler fan from having seen him in Die Hard 2. From beginning to end, the action & suspense keeps you rolling right along on the edge of your seat! The bottom line is this is a movie that I absolutely love, & I have seen it more than 20 times already. The only thing that I did not like about this movie was that it took about 8-10 minutes or so for the actual movie to start.

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A man named Brayker (William Sandler) is being pursued by the evil Collector (Billy Zane). He holes up in an isolated hotel with typical stock characters and they all try to make it through the night against Zane and his demon army. The first theatrical off-shoot of HBO's excellent "Tales from the Crypt" series. The story is ridiculous, but the acting is good. Jada Pinkett is very good as one of the residents of the hotel and Billy Zane is excellent as the Collector. He's obviously enjoying himself, his character is constantly joking and it rubs off on the audience. Also the film has VERY extreme gore--I'm surprised it got an R rating. And there's the obligatory, gratuitous female nudity. Unfortunately, there's not enough plot for a 90 minute movie. There's lots of padding and it slows the movie down. Still, it's funny, has great gory moments and Zane's performance. Worth catching--especially for horror fans. Avoid at ALL costs, the second (and last) theatrical Tales movie "Bordello of Blood".

I can't claim to have seen much of the TV show 'Tales from the Crypt', but I saw Bordello of Blood on TV a few years back and found it to be an enjoyably silly piece of camp. I was expecting similar from this film, and that's pretty much what I got - although Demon Knight is clearly better than Bordello of Blood. The film never takes itself too seriously, and that ensures that it is put across to the audience in the right way. Plots similar to the one featured in this film have been the basis for serious horror films in the past, but the fact that this film has a bit of fun with it is definitely in it's favour. The mythology behind the plot is actually quite good, and follows the idea of a 'collector' who is on the trail of a key bearer. The key he seeks contains the blood of Christ, and there are seven scattered across the globe. This is the last one, and if the collector gets his hands on it could spell the end of the world...the final battle is about to take place, only it happens to be in a motel with a motley crew of different characters.

One of the most surprising things about this film is the cast list! The film features performances from two stars who have received praise recently; Jada Pinkett Smith and Thomas Haiden Church. CCH Pounder, who starred in the critically-acclaimed Baghdad Cafe, appears also, while Dick Miller ensures that there's an ounce of cult status among the cast. The lead roles are taken by William Sadler and Billy Zane. Sadler is good enough, but it's Zane who really makes this film what it is. He gets to enjoy himself entertaining the audience as the lead villain, and ensures that every scene he's in is a lot of fun. For an inexpensive film, the effects are also rather good. They do look cheap, but the demons look more realistic than most computer generated effects. The way that the film pans out reminded me a lot of the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino flick, From Dusk Till Dawn in that we've got 'the good guys' trapped with some monsters, and we watch as they get picked off one by one. Overall, this isn't a great film; but its lots of fun, and anyone that enjoys silly horror comedies will be right at home with it.

I was a big fan of the Tales from the Crypt TV show. Thus, I am a fan of this movie. It feels a lot like one of the Creepshow movies but has enough gore, humor and OTT carnage but it just doesn't have enough scope to brake away from the TV show and stand alone as a big screen movie.

Brayker (William Sadler) is a drifter who stumbles upon a lonely desert town after an explosive confrontation with The Collector (Billy Zane), a supremely evil being with Satanical powers who is desperate to get his hands on Brayker's mysterious talisman. Brayker spends the night in a shabby motel but The Collector soon turns up and unleashes hell upon the motel and it's inhabitants.

This is where the fun really kicks in. The Collector has fun enticing the residents (made up of Dick Miller, Charles Fleisher, Thomas Haden Church, Brenda Bakke, Jada Pinkett-Smith and CCH Pounder) to join him on his dark quest and steal the talisman from Brayker.

Director Ernest Dickerson (who also did Surviving the Game) does not hold back on the gore as he spoofs 1950's B-movies, honor's the TV show and pays brilliant homage to the Tales From The Crypt comic book legacy. It may be nothing more than a cheap, horror comedy with no artistic integrity but Dickerson still successfully pulls of a movie that will satisfy and entertain anyone who watches it.

Half of the movie's appeal lies with Billy Zane who acts out the role of The Collector with such wicked charm and delightful evil. You can tell he's having a great time and he makes a counterpoint villain for Sadler's dishevelled hero.

They could have made more Tales From The Crypt movies, but producers Robert Zemeckis, Gilbert Adler and Joel Silver (Walter Hill and David Giler ducked out) went on to found Dark Castle, the production company behind House on Haunted Hill, Thir13en Ghosts and Ghost Ship.