Demon Wind - Gets better towards the end

I really wanted to like this film.  I'm a big fan of cheesy horror films (and in particular cheesy eighties horror films - yes, technically this one came out in 1990, but it has one hell of an '80s vibe!').  The plot is nothing new, in fact, since the (far superior) 'Evil Dead' films, a handful of friends heading out to a remote dwelling, before being attacked by supernatural forces.

There's an opening segment set in the past where a husband and wife are murdered by demons, before flashing forward to present day and a young couple, the boyfriend of which is descended from the initial victims.  They're off to find out what happened and they seem to have invited half their address book along for the ride.

On the way, you get the typical 'creepy locals' who warn them away from their intended destination.  However, in true horror movie style, they ignore such foreboding words and go to a deserted farmhouse anyway.  The cast are nothing special.  You won't have heard of any of them and they're pretty generic, i.e. you, dumb and oversexed.  There was one guy who stuck out - he reminded me of a young Benedict Cumberbatch who, instead of just being another cardboard cut-out, was effectively a ninja who indulged in magic!

It was a pretty hard watch for the first two thirds as not an awful lot happens.  Yes, it does pick up in the final act when heads (literally!) start to roll.  There's a decent amount of gore and the practical effects are nice and bl00dy - effectively better than 90% of CGI effects released today!

It was one of those films that didn't seem to know what tone it wanted to be.  It starts off really serious, like it's trying to be really scary.  Then, only a few scenes later, you get wise-cracking gags and silliness.  Next, we're back to trying to be really dramatic again.  Off-putting in my opinion.

It's okay enough.  It could have been better.  The final act was fun, but - for me - one of the most odd things about it was the fact that the film-makers clearly only had the one single sound effect for whenever someone gets hit, or knocked over.  Seriously, listen out for it.  It happens no matter who gets hit, whatever they fall on and generally whenever someone bumps into something else.

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back