Demon Warrior belongs in the ill populated realm of American Indian themed slasher junk. The only other examples that spring to mind are Scalps and the elusive Ghost Dance, one would think there might be more given the richness and ready exploitability of American Indian mythology but it seems not. Perhaps residual guilt, cultural squeamishness is the reason, maybe even lowbrow slasher purveyors felt some sense of impropriety? Or maybe they just weren't that imaginative, but given the maladjusted weirdness of some of the 80's slashers out there I'm not so sure. In any case, Demon Warrior is hardly an illustrious offering by any standards but it does entertain to some extent, which is more or less all that counts. There is some interest in the story, a cursed piece of land taken from the Indians and fated to decade spaced visitations of a murdering demon, an event which coincides with the arrival both of a clutch of dumbass youngsters and an Indian gentleman who objects to the judgement of his ancestors. There's a measure of scene setting, building with reasonable swiftness to mildly suspenseful action, with a weak pay off. For the die hard 80's crap viewer, things maintain enough of a sense of verve and fun to be semi worthy viewing. The titular demon warrior for instance is a fair antagonist, hulking muscle bound brute with nicely designed mask that wisely isn't shown for long at any point, giving him a certain mysterious and imposing presence. Then there's a score with some cool totem drums, appropriate to the material and a nice change from the usual synths and cheese tunes of such fare. Acting is more or less on the money as well, no one is actually much good but everyone gives their all, John Langione fills out his stereotype Indian role with some degree of studied gravitas, Jerry Coiteux makes for a suitably unlikable love rival a-hole type and John Garret a fair horndog. Things are pretty watchable once the film warms up, though the lack of any notable gore is a downer, a few fun kills keep things just the right side of irritation but there isn't anything to write home about or even really remember much of unless you happen to be a major geek for this kind of material. At least things get swift within a half hour or so and the whole film clocks at under 80 minutes so nothing is ever really boring, and there's an underlying dim likability powering it all. All in all, not something I can especially recommend unless you happen to be one of those who has to see every 80's slasher/semi slasher in existence. If you fall into that category, then this isn't too bad, gets a 5/10 from me. Anyone else can steer well clear though.
