Night Of The Demons (DVD)

Night Of The Demons tells the terrifying tale of a group of friends partying on Halloween night at New Orleans’ notorious Broussard Mansion. Over eighty years ago, six people disappeared from the mansion without a trace - and the owner, Evangeline Broussard, hung herself. This dark history serves to enhance the Broussard Mansion’s appeal on All Hollow’s Eve. At the decadent, out-of-control bash, Maddie (Monica Keena, Freddy vs. Jason) and Lily (Diora Baird, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) run into their exes, Colin (Edward Furlong, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and Dex (Michael Copon, “One Tree Hill”), while Suzanne (Bobbie Sue Luther, “Junkyard Mega Wars”, Star Trek) parties it up. But after the police break up the party, Angela (Shannon Elizabeth, American Pie), the seductive hostess, invites Maddie and her friends to stay behind. Soon, however, they discover the mansion is home to bloodthirsty demons who need to possess seven vessels to break free of an ancient curse. One by one the remaining party guests fall victim, transforming into an assortment of nightmare-inducing creatures. In the end, only Maddie, Colin and Jason remain - but will they make it through the night and keep evil forces from being unleashed into the world?

This movie is a fairly good remake, in some ways superior to the original. Star power with actors like Shannon Elizabeth, Monica Keena and Ed Furlong combined with a pretty spooky story make this an underrated film. It’s just plain fun for the Halloween season and an overall good horror flick. Also it doesn’t fail to include some of the expected elements of this type of horror film, namely nudity and gore and sexual aspects including a girl on girl make-out scene with Elizabeth and another of the female cast (not telling who).

The remake does fall into some traps that make this less than it could have been as a horror movie. First there are some moments in the film that seem to come out of left field, for example the cops coming to break up the party, but it seems to come out of the blue without any hint that it was going to happen (neighbors complaining etc). Also, the way they kept the characters on the property seems a bit far-fetched. I don’t mean the front gate, but the wooded area in the rear of the property. Let’s just say, if it was me no overgrown weeds, shrubs etc would keep me trapped on that property.

The storyline seems much more tight this time around as there is actual meaning and history here that lacked somewhat in the original film. The only aspect that seemed to be lacking was the atmosphere being much creepier than it was this time around. This remake tried to fill the scares with physical content (demons, skeletons etc) than having that feeling of dread and sense of something not being quite-so-right. Don’t get me wrong, this film gets a lot right that the original didn’t, but it strikes out in the one area that the original did get right which is that moody atmosphere that 80’s horror films had. Sometimes less is more and the original film seemed to realize that, this remake….not so much. Back to the story, the history added more depth this time around explaining the demons, giving a back-story that enhances the current situation.

The characters are given little depth, but you care about them because of the popularity of the three main actors and the story which puts them all in danger. What I liked more than anything is: you don’t know the survivor of the film because there is more than one that you suspect might be “the survivor”. Could it be Furlong, Keena or Elizabeth? What some horror films get wrong having main stars is that you usually can figure out who lives and who doesn’t. Combining the story and trio of actors you have to keep guessing and that is great for a horror film of this type. Predictability kills horror films more than anything and this one is a little tougher to figure out than some. The actors make the movie as much as the story and situations does, even beyond the trio of core popular actors you care about the others as well, which helps big-time in horror movies like this.

There are some elements of humor at play here, but it does not disrupt the horror, it only helps enhances the spookier moments of the film. What some films don’t get right mixing horror and humor is that, first the humor has to be good and not lame. Better to have no comedy than to have bad comedy. What’s meant to be funny here works as intended. It also helps set up the spookier moments because you have that contrast. Some films try to be all horror and fail because of the lack of contrast between the horror and “normal” moments.

Action is fairly good here, given Furlong’s experience it’s not too surprising he’s a big part of the action. From stabbing to shooting demons this film doesn’t let up much once the action gets rolling and feels like a thrill-ride until the end.

Overall, Night Of The Demons is a nice remake and would be a good addition to your Halloween play list this year. I’d suggest a rental first because there is a good amount of nudity and gore that may turn some off. The trio of stars is a nice draw as well as the story which ultimately impressed me more than the original film. The only drawback for me was a lack of engagement with imagination which I prefer. I don’t need to see everything, which the age of CGI unfortunately brought upon the movie world. You should enjoy this film but try before you buy! For those who love the original you should love this as well so I recommend this as a buy for those hardcore horror fans. This movie should be on your play list for Halloween, though given it’s adult nature try and play it after the trick-or-treaters go home and the kids are in bed!

Special Features -

• Audio Commentary With Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, John F. Beach, Writer/Director Adam Gierasch And Writer Jace Anderson.
• “Behind The Bloodbath” Featurette.
• Intro From Comic-Con

Printable Version