Shannon Elizabeth:  Angela
Edward Furlong:  Colin
Monica Keena:  Maddie
Diora Baird:  Lilly
Bobbi Sue Luther:  Suzanne
Michael Copon:  Dex
John F. Beach:  Jason

Release Date: October 19th, 2010
Studio: E1 Entertainment /
Seven Arts
Genre:  Horror
Rated: R      1 hr 33 mins

CAST:

Night of the Demons

October 23, 2010

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

DIRECTOR:

Adam Gierasch

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In what appears to be a dollar-driven dash to remake every horror film, even the campy cult classic Night of the Demons gets resurrected. Oddly enough, this is one of very few remakes that can stand on its own and appeal to fan of the original.

Party hostess Angela (Shannon Elizabeth) is throwing a hellacious bash at the haunted Broussard Mansion in New Orleans this Halloween. It’s clearly a scheme to make some moola and she has even roped in a few of her friends to attend. Friends Maddie (Monica Keena, Freddy vs. Jason), Lilly (Diora Baird, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) and Suzanne (Bobbi Sue Luther) gather to support their pal and hopefully make it with some boys. Drug dealer Colin (Edward Furlong) hits up the party as he has only one more night to unload his stash and pay off his suppliers or he is dead.  Except there is too much booze and metal so the party gets crushed by the cops, scattering most of the attendees but trapping the core characters. Colin ditched his stash down a heat vent and has to go retrieve it. The group decides to join in the hunt and finds a collection of dead bodies in the basement. Angela decides to yank one of the corpse’s gold teeth but gets bitten in the process, starting the quick succession of demonic possession.

Loaded up on much more heavy metal, heaving bosoms and trashy talk, Night of the Demons is updated for a slightly more decadent age. This cast is made up of over-sexed, drug-craving young adults who just want to party and get laid.  Angela’s bash is obviously the place to be but none of rumors of previous demonic possessions are paid attention until Angela busts out of her top, grows horns and starts chewing faces. Yes, it’s that simple. Except the heaps of gore, bouncing breasts, deafening punk/metal songs and leering demons prove that the trapped-in-a-haunted-house tale still has long legs.

Actresses Elizabeth, Luther, and Baird all do a great job jiggling for the camera. Keena plays the good ‘n honest gal, but still shows it off is a slightly less trampy costume. Furlong rolls through his role and does a good job while the rest of the supporting male cast is excellent at being wimpy. Baird is the perfect choice for the famed lip stick sequence and director Adam Gierasch (Autopsy) makes excellent use of her real estate and even ups the ante on legendary scene. The rest of the movie basically consists of a cat and mouse game where the characters are picked off and demonized.  Most of the demos look spectacular and the demonic tribute to Lucio Fulci’s Zombie is a nice touch.

Did Night of the Demons need to be remade? The original still stands on its own legs and this remake severely lacks the campy cheese that made the original a cult hit.  What makes this remake work is the simplistic story isn’t just dumped on the screen and the acting, like the original, isn’t very serious. Fans of the original will recognize several aspects, even Linnea Quigley’s cameo, but the story is updated enough and played a bit more straight-forward to grasp everyone’s attention. Those who have never seen the original will more than likely get a charge out of the eye-candy and gobs of gore. 

But what really makes Night of the Demons better than the vast majority of the recent remakes is that the film does not pander to an established audience. Night of the Demons was not a massive franchise.  Yes, there were two direct-to-VHS sequels, but the cult following is vastly smaller when compared to other 80s hits.  Thanks to DVD, most horror fans already know the tale, but those of the Saw-generation may have never even heard the original film mentioned.  So that means Gierasch tried a lot harder to update the story, up the ante and make a trashy yet fun flick for both fans and newcomers.  Something that really did not happen (or translate well) with the remakes/reimaging of Friday the 13^th, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Night of the Demons is not insulting and in the end a rather enjoyable 90-minutes. While the original may be cherished for yearly Halloween viewing, the remake is strong enough to be recommended to horror fans looking for a goofy and gory cinematic quickie.

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