Demons 2 (1987)

I started off my movie reviews with Demons, a brilliant, gory, horror film with a Heavy Metal soundtrack to boot! Its sequel is no slacker. It holds up just as well as the original. While I personally prefer the original this one is an amazing film that you REALLY need to see if you like gory horror flicks.

Title - Demons 2

Year - 1987

Country - Italy

In the second Demons the action takes place in a 10 story apartment complex called “the Tower.” We’re introduced to shitload more characters then there were in the first film (which is fine because that means more Demons). A security guard, a lonely woman and her dog, a family, a little boy, a gym full of body builders and a trainer played by the same guy who played the pimp in the first demons, a student and his pregnant girl (these two, somehow, end up the heroes in the end), a guy and a chick who are really horny, a bunch of party goers and most importantly, a bitch named sally who’s having a birthday party. Much like the first film there’s a film within a film involved. This time though is on TV in the apartment building. Apparently they only have one channel, or there’s just nothing else on because all of the characters just happen to be watching it. In this (made for TV) film within a film four teenagers go to the “Forbidden Zone” which is apparently the town that was infested by demons in the first film. Short story even shorter, a demon gets resurrected in this “Forbidden Zone,” comes back and kills the luckless teens just like any good film should. Our bitch friend Sally is off alone in her room because she’s having her period or some shit  Ok, so she’s watching this TV right and the demon in the movie FUCKING SEE’S HER FROM WITHIN THE TV AND COMES OUT! Yup, that shit actually happens. Sally is attacked and transforms into a DEMON. Just as the time to sing happy birthday comes she comes to blow out her candles and transforms right over the cake! Sadly, the cake is ruined =( Oh and she totally attacks every one at the party and turns them all into demons. And from there the demon infestation begins! The rest of the movie, just like the first, involves every one in the building trying to stay alive. Though unlike the first film where most of the main characters are all together this film has them all on there own through most of the film. Their stories tend to flip flop around until the final act when there are only like, two people left… The Demons seemed to gain a new ability; they now have acidic blood it seems. For some reason their acid blood ends up shorting all the power in the building out. This also traps them all inside because, apparently, the doors can only be opened with electricity? Later on we’re introduced to another four assholes in a car that, much like the original four, seem to serve little purpose then to take up screen time.

Great movie! The plot is good despite the awful way they had the outbreak starts. The characters actually get a lot more attention in this one then they did in the first but it doesn’t distract from the demon slaughter thankfully. Special effects are awesome as one would expect coming from the makers of the first film. The make up effects for the secondary demons leaves a bit to be desired though, the “major” demons that get a lot of screen time look amazing but the others looks like generic zombies as opposed to the gruesome looking demons you would expect. There’s actually more suspense in this film then the first due to the isolation of characters. Demon make up looks pretty good. The transformation scenes are awesome as usual; I thought the one in the original was better done though. We also get to see a dog turned into a Demon Dog! It looks cool as shit. The dog’s transformation is also pretty sick looking! We also get to see a little kid demon, who gets a chest busting scene where a gruesome looking REAL demon rips out of the kid and attacks the pregnant chick. This scary little shit looks awesome! Just think Gremlins but a bit more gruesome. There are lots of scares in this one to make you jump! Like the first film, lots of great gore effects. The acting is basicly the same as the original; hard to judge due to it being a dubbed film. The movies ending is a tad bit nonsensical but so is the rest of the film so you can forgive it. I was actually expecting a twist like in the first, but unfortunatly it was pretty straight forward. Sadly there’s no Metal in this movie =( Instead we’re treated to 80s British Wave Bands… Eh, could be worse. The theme song though, is bad-ass much liethe first films theme was.

Overall, a great movie that’s right up to par with the first. It’s a very fitting sequel to a great movie. I highly recommend this movie to everyone who likes horror and gore. If you’re a fan of the fist, you need to see this one! Oh, and if you’re slacking and haven’t seen the original, HURRY THE FUCK UP! Watch them both back to back!

Demons (1986)

I figure Dario Argento's classic horror film Demons is as good as any to start with here on Heavy Metal horror. It’s really what blog is all about! It’s a great horror film, with lots of gore and a predominantly Metal soundtrack! Read on... IF YOU DARE! Muwahahahahaha

Film - Demons

Year - 1986

Director - Lamberto Bava

Producer - Dario Argento

Country - Italy

The movie starts out with the female lead on a train full of 80s clichés. The Demons theme song is the definition of cheesy awesomeness, but more about the soundtrack later. After getting off the train, our female lead is stalked by some weird cyborg looking dude. He catches up to her and it turns out he was just trying to sell her a movie ticket. She meets up with her friend, they decide to skip class ad go see the movie instead. At the theatre we meet our cast of assholes. A pimp and his two hos, a dickhead husband with his wife, two teenage lovebirds, a blind dude and his horny niece, two typical 80s preppy dudes(who are the love interests of the two female leads) and a creepy usher chick. In the lobby there's a motorcycle and a silver mask. One of the pimps ho, being predictably stupid, decides to horse around and put the mask on. This earns her a dirty look from creepy usher chick and a cut on the face. The movie within a movie starts, the acting in this little movie within a movie feature is pretty horrendous not that the main feature is the most brilliantly acted piece of cinema but still... The characters in the MWM are looking for the Tomb of Nostradamus or some shit. They find it and with it the same Demon mask hanging up in the Lobby. Hmm wonder what that could mean... A character in the MWM puts the mask on gets a cut on the face just like the one hooker did! She obviously, gets a bit concerned about this after another character in the MWM says that whoever wears the mask will become a demon. Our friend, the ho-bag runs to the bathroom to check on her cut, it turns into a lovely festering boil! It bursts in a tasty display of special effects goodness. The other ho goes to the bathroom to check on her friend, only to find the bathroom empty. She checks a stall and her friend, now a DEMON, pops out and attacks her, sending her running. Oddly, the Movie within a movie is more of a slasher flick but the film itself isn't it has more in common with a zombie movie. All it takes is a scratch to transform into a Demon. Next we're treated to a transformation scene of the second hooker chick turning into a demon. Then the rest of the movie is basically characters getting killed off and trying to avoid getting their asses killed. Later on four more characters are introduced. They're some cokehead punks, whose only purpose seems to be taking up screen time, snorting coke and playing crappy, generic 80s music. Oh and Billy Idol.  

AMAZING special effects, the demon transformation scenes are amazingly well done. The demon make up looks fucking awesome! Lots of nice gore effects, this one chick get’s scalped and it is SWEET. There’s some blood vomit, regular vomit, gouged out eyes, crushed skulls, fingers getting ripped off' decapitations, little demons bursting out of peoples backs and lots of bloody, demon inflicted gashes! They even manage to throw in some nudity. Just one nipple though... what a gyp! This is an Italian film with English dubbing so the acting is predictably affected by this. However the dubbing is far better then some other dubbed films. The soundtrack of this film is noteworthy; it’s almost all from Metal bands. It features songs from Accept, Motley Crue, Pretty Maids and Saxon as well as some pretty awesome original synth music from Claudio Simonetti. The Demons theme song in particular is a strong point from the sound track. The plot is simple, but still good and engaging. That doesn’t stop the big rather large plot hole of the cyborg dude (who appears again at the end of the movie) It’s like... what the fuck? What’s up with that dude? Where does he figure into the plot? Despite that, the plot is very good. It may SOUND stupid, but it really isn't once you actually sit down and watch it. Oddly there’s very little in the way of character development or back stories or really, anything that makes the characters much more then vague personifications of personalities to get killed by demons. Not that it’s a bad thing, as this movie probably wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining if they had wasted time doing such things. There’s a hero and there’s a female lead. All the other characters are just cannon fodder. Besides the female lead being the first character we see, we never know who the hero is going to be till the very end of the film. The only reason he’s the hero, is because he’s all we have left! This is interesting, because a lot of movies have a designated hero. Even slasher flicks tend to have someone designated to be the last living character. They’re usually developed to be the least douchbaggy characters from the start. But Demons barely develops any character; this isn’t a character driven story.

I highly recommend this film. If you like Gore, Metal, Horror or any combination of the three you'll probably love this movie. It’s not that hard to find on DVD, your best bet is online. The film also appears to be uploaded to YouTube as well if you would like to watch it there. I suggest purchasing a DVD copy though.