Demons - Definitely one of the greatest horror films of the eighties (or is that the worst?)

I’m going to start off by saying that I absolutely love ‘Demons,’ but then I do enjoy some pretty cheesy horror films.  If you’re thinking of watching it, even if you like horror, then you have to take your brain to another level (and it’s not a ‘high place’ either).

The plot of Demons is pretty easy to explain – demons (okay, they’re basically zombies, but we can call them ‘demons’ here) take over a cinema, leaving the audience is a desperate fight for survival.  Someone once described it as ‘Night of the Living Dead, but in a cinema’ and I think that pretty much sums it up.

So, despite the plot being not that original, the way it’s done is.  Firstly, it’s completely mad.  Things happen for seemingly no reason.  Plot lines are brought up and then discarded again without any real explanation.  Some characters just sort of disappear, again with no explanation.  And don’t get me started on ‘character motivation.’ If you’ve ever seen a few episodes of The Simpsons, you may have seen one where the whole town forms a lynch mob and just runs around following the first ‘leader’ brandishing a pitchfork.  That’s how I see the cast here.  They just sort of run around randomly until they get ripped apart.

So, there’s much to dismiss about Demons.  Only, despite its – numerous – faults, it’s still so much (gory) fun.  Back in the days before computer-generated special effects, you actually had to mix latex and slime to gross people out.  Demons does that nicely, plus it’s brilliantly shot and there are some genuinely creepy scenes, aided by the lighting and simple camera tricks.

So, if you’re thinking of watching one of the most deliciously gory horror films of the eighties, you’ll need to like zombie-type movies in general, appreciate so-bad-they’re-good films and be able to ignore the fact that the actors are all dubbed by ‘better’ American voiceover actors.  Put your brain ‘on hold’ and don’t bother picking up on the faults.  That way you can enjoy one of the coolest horror performances by ‘Tony the pimp’ (a man I want on my side when the zombie apocalypse kicks off)

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