Demons 2 (Italy, 1986) - Color, Director(s): Lamberto Bava
MPAA Rating: UR
[UK: 15]
Approx. 88 min.
Z-rating: 4 stars out of 5
Cheese Factor: 3 stars out of 5
We're going to kick off Supernatural Horror Week with an oldie but a goodie. I've been meaning to review this movie ever since I reviewed the first one (Dèmoni) which is one of my personal favorites. Both films were written by famed Italian director Dario Argento, when he was taking a break from directing. The first one was about a group of people trapped inside a movie theater where demons started possessing people. These demons are almost like zombies except they don't really eat anyone, they just scratch people to turn them into demons. What I love about these movies are the special effects, they're totally awesome! Claws burst out through their fingernails, fangs push out their human teeth, and they start drooling green ooze during the transformation scenes. Not to mention the totally bad ass soundtrack!
Composer Claudio Simonetti doesn't return for this sequel, so we get a less kick ass score by Simon Boswell but it's still pretty good. The story this time is about kids attending a girl's birthday party at some fancy pants apartment building. When the power goes out, everyone in the building is trapped inside because all the doors are electronic. The birthday girl is watching a program on TV about a group of people exploring the quarantined area where the last demon outbreak occurred. (I always thought they just sealed off that part of the city after the first film but I hear it might be a movie as if the first film never happened). In what has to be one of the the most bizarre and inexplicable scenes ever, a demon comes right through the TV screen Videodrome-style to attack the birthday girl. Why her and not anyone else watching this program? Nothing is ever really explained but soon she starts turning all her friends into demons too. Eventually, they all break out of her apartment and spreads chaos through the entire building. Almost everyone in the building gets turned into demons, including a dog and a child. There's even a little baby demon that bursts out of someone's gut like something from Aliens (although it looks more like something out of Ghoulies or Munchies).
The effects are still awesome in this one, with the demons looking all greasy and gooey when they turn. This isn't one of those movies that you sit back and analyze logically afterward, you just turn off your brain and let yourself be entertained. I know the demon popping out of the screen is a little hokey, but oddly enough, this story would actually be more relevant today with 3D TVs. This movie was really just ahead of its time! Keep an eye out for a young Asia Argento, who was 10 at this time, making her film debut.
Nudity: None. Not really a huge disappointment though, the demon effects are the real stars of the show here.
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| "The 3D effects are AMAZING! I can almost feel it." |
Gore: There isn't much "gore" in terms of guts being spilled, but the special effects are AWESOME! The claws bursting through fingernails bit is in this movie, this time digging directly into someone's arm, and the fangs pushing out from under their human teeth. The demons look fantastic with their mouth full of razor sharp fangs and dripping with ooze.
Awesome: to the MAX! Something about this movie just screams the 80's to me and I can't stress how much I love it. If you liked 80's monster movies, you'll get a real kick out of this one! This and the first film are excellent double features to play back to back.