31 Days of Halloween, Day 17: Demons
Tonight’s movie is brought to you by Dario Argento. It’s directed by Lamberto Bava, son of maestro Mario, but Argento co-wrote the film and produced it, so his name was touted above young Lamberto’s as a selling point. It’s like “Quentin Tarantino presents Hostel” except that Dario had much more of a hand in the production, so his prominence is somewhat more justified.
ANYway…what we have here is something completely unhinged. If you think that Suspiria and Inferno suffer from a lack of logical coherence, then you had best stay far, far away from Demoni, aka Demons. What you need to know is that a diabolical force is transforming the attendees at the Metropol Theatre in West Berlin into bloodthirsty demons. That’s as close to logic as you get. There’s no clue where the evil comes from (is it the theater? is it the film? is it actor/director Michele Soavi as the metal-masked mystery man?), there’s no explanation as to why anything happens, a helicopter crashes into the theater for no reason whatsoever, and it all ends badly for everyone involved. Blame gerettageretta. She had to put the damn mask on and ruin everybody’s night out. THANKS, GERETTA.
There’s a Demons 2 which doesn’t follow up on the events of the first movie, but retells the same story set in an apartment complex. It’s fun, but it’s not as filled with unbridled, gore-soaked zaniness as the first movie, which is just pure, mindless hysteria. I used to rent the VHS of this thing over and over back in the day. If you haven’t seen it, see it now. If you have seen it, then see it again. It’s a fun Friday flick, perfect for setting the mood for the weekend. (Plus, it’s got a great soundtrack, mixing ‘80s metal and new wave with Claudio Simonetti of Goblin’s original score.)
