Le Cavalier du diable

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.

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.

I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs. Revisited it yesterday. The film has some very known faces. It is about a 'chosen' man (William Sadler) who has stopped aging n is on the run for 90 years. He possesses an artefact n a demon (Billy Zane) wants to get hold of that artefact without touching it. Sadler takes refuge in a hotel with a bunch of characters we dont care for while the demons r trying to get inside. The film has lots of gore, some nudity but it is a bit slow n the tension is lacking. The effects r cool though. Watch out for the girl's face transformation scene.

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.

There's a type of horror film that doesn't really aim to scare you as much as it uses the horror platform for creative or (let's be honest) entertainment purposes. Call it an action-horror and you can get away with spending more on practical effects, supernatural mysticism, and yes, some unnecessary nudity. And yes, I have a soft spot for this sort of horror film.

Demon Knight is a ton of fun and is really elevated by its performances. William Sadler is the quintessential 90s action hero, the strong silent type, but with enough empathy and kindness to make him lovable. Billy Zane is having so much fun here and while I think a part of it is the peak Freddy Krueger influence and he does come off as goofy, you can't help but want to see him on screen. Thomas Hayden Church is unbelievably skeezy and a fantastic love-to-hate character, and Jada Pinkett...honestly, kinda rocks here. Her acting is super 90s, and I adore it.

I also really loved the mythology and the role of Christianity. Even if you're not Christian, there's something special about a movie about demons having strong ties to Christian mysticism. Oddly, it gives the film a sense of cultural identity that I find more compelling than some generic, post-modern demon types. Speaking of which, while I initially thought the demons looked a bit generic (i.e. Mini Pumpkinheads), the practical effects are really excellent here and they do some fun, creative stuff with them.

It's not perfect by any means; there's a bit of information that is deliberately hidden throughout the movie for NO REASON other than to generate conflict, which is frustrating. It's also not particularly original, but at the end of the day, everyone is having fun here, and you will too.