Demons (1985)

Michele Soavi as the man with the half human half metal face!!! Fun times. The plot is filled with holes, like why do some people take so long to turn when others it takes seconds, and what was up with thee usherette being so menacing..she did squat. Over 30 or so people get trapped inside a really creepy theater after they are all given free movie tickets. When a very annoying prostitute puts on a demonic mask on display in the lobby, within fifteen minutes later she has pus bubbles exploding from her face, and is attacking her other prostitute friends. One by one people are transformed, as gory as any italian horror movie can get. The direction is actually really good and Lamberto Bava goes all out on colors and angles (which horror italian director doesn't)and the soundtrack goes well with the eighties look. I also really had fun times with the 4 punks snorting coke outside the theatre, but they really added nothing to the plot and at times just seem to be there to fill time, without a doubt though the gore is the highlight of this flick. Throats getting ripped open, scalps getting teared off, puke and pus splatter continuously,a huge tongue sliding out one of the demons mouth, demons getting hacked with a sword, the most gruesome scene is definitely the blind man getting his empty eye sockets gouged out..HARSH. The characters are so hard to tell apart and we don't evn see some of the patrons faces. I don't remember any characters really except the coolest "pimp" Tony, the sexy usherette, the four punks and the "GEORGE" character (mainly only cause i recognized him from OPERA), but this movie obviously isn't meant for character development.

So all in all I give Demons **1/2 out of **** It's really cool, but only worth watching for cool visuals, soundtrack, and gore.

Fmovies: I recently found this movie on the ground in the parking lot of the restaurant that i work in. i brought it home popped it in, and couldn't stop watching it. yes it has plot lines from other movies, but what movie doesn't? i say this is an all around good choice for any group getting together for a night of movies. i recommend this movie to any person who has a "true" appreciation for movies. Just don't expect any big name actors. I would like to thank Mr. Bava for creating such a masterpiece. So if anyone finds this film in a parking lot, or at your local video store, pick it up and check it out. you won't be disappointed.

My status as a film buff seems to exist in two separate states. On the one hand, I will wax lyrical about the subtle genius of Godard, Fassbinder, and Bertolucci. I'll watch pretentious European art-house cinema of the most stereotypical variety without even a hint of irony. I will regard Ingmar Bergman as a literal god-figure to worshiped in all of his glory. On the other hand, I will spend forty-plus dollars on a blu-ray of Dario Argento's Phenomena and gush over the sheer lunacy of B-movies. Demons (or Demoni, in its native Italy) is everything a geek like me could want. Gratuitous gore and violence, questionable dubbing, explosions, and a kick-ass eighties soundtrack. Co-written and produced by Italian horror maestro Dario Argento (Suspiria, Deep Red), Demons came from Argento's desire to create a purely commercial film after tasting such success with 1978's Dawn of the Dead. Thus, Demons is a film with little in the way of a coherent plot or deep characterization. And yet somehow it manages to be wholly appealing at the same time. The plot, which follows the spread of a zombie-like form of demonic possession spreading through a Berlin movie theater, exists solely to facilitate the numerous action and scare sequences. The score by Argento regular Claudio Simonetti (of Goblin fame) manages to be exciting, creepy, and perfectly suited to adrenaline-soaked visuals. This film is entertainment, pure and simple. To anyone looking to get into B-movies or Italian horror (or better yet, both) I highly recommend this film as it's a very accessible entry point into both genres. Just sit back, open a can of Coke, shut your brain off, and prepare to have the time of your life.

Demons fmovies. this is a fun, gory euro-horror film.

i'm a big fan of argento and the main reason this film and demons 2 work so well is because it is decidedly tame as far as story line is concerned.

very simple, people go to a screening of a film, and all gory hell breaks loose- 'nuff said.

i've been enthralled by almost everything dario argento has made, with the exception of "phantom of the opera" (with julian sands) and the one about bugs (i can't remember the title off-hand...). argento usually uses complex story lines along with gore to make his films work (which they often do in films like suspiria, tenebrae, opera, etc...). but this film is just balls-out blood and guts.

9/10 - great euro-gore

Lamberto Bava's "Dèmoni" aka. "Demons" of 1985 is a gory, stylish and very entertaining horror flick written by the master, Dario Argento. I'm sure getting acknowledged in Horror cinema wasn't easy for director Lamberto Bava , being the son of Mario Bava, beyond doubt one of the all-time greatest horror geniuses in motion picture history. Expectations must have certainly been high. But although Lamberto Bava does certainly not manage to reach his father's brilliance, "Demons" is definitely worth watching.

Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) is given free tickets for a sneak preview by a mysteriously dressed man at a Berlin subway station. Accompanied by a friend, she goes to see the movie at the eerie-looking 'Metropol' cinema. Before the film starts, a woman scratches herself on a creepy silver mask in the waiting hall. The film, which turns out to be a Horror flick tells the story of a prediction by Nostradamus, connected with a demonic mask.

The plot is not that original, but the film is made in a very stylish manner, with a good cinematography, and great color play in the tradition of Mario Bava and Dario Argento. The gore is intense, lots of slicing, stabbing cutting and biting. The cast may not be phenomenal, but Natasha Hovey delivers a good leading performance and there are a bunch of funny characters, such as a black pimp named Tony (played by Bobby Rhodes) and the two hookers he is accompanied by, as well as a strange blind guy and his wife and a very strange usherette. The main part of the score was composed by Claudio Simonetti of the great Progressive Rock band Goblin, whose ingenious soundtracks have also complimented many of Dario Argento's movies.

Being a huge fan of Dario Argento, I must say that "Dèmoni" does definitely not live up to most of the movies Argento directed himself. Nevertheless, it is an extremely entertaining Horror flick that doesn't scant with blood and gore, and especially the gory sequences are very stylishly made. If you expect the quality of Argento's or Mario Bava's masterpieces, you will probably be disappointed. Just expect a very stylish, gory and extremely entertaining Horror flick, and your expectations will easily be fulfilled. Recommended. 7/10

Sereval people are invited to join the opening of a new movie theater is been renovated from an old Gothic structure. Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) and her best friend-Hannah (Fiore Argento) decide to skip class to be there for the opening night. When a prostitute (Geretta Giancarlo) tries a demon prop mask from the new film and it cuts her face. When Cheryl and Hannah become friends with two young guys:George (Urbano Barberini) and Ken (Karl Zinny), while watching the movie. When the Prostitute watches the film, her cut is eventually starts to fester, turning her into a green-drooling demon. She kills and then can transforms people by scratching with her nails. The movie theater is unexpectedly blocked from the inside, not letting people get out. While sereval survivors are trying to get out of the movie theater before it is too late.

Directed by Lamberto Bava (A Blade in the Dark, Delirium, Frozen Terror) made an amusing gory horror film with some strong visual style and a heavy metal soundtrack. Although the film is badly dubbed in English, too bad... The DVD (From "Anchor Bay Entertainment") doesn't have the original Italian dubbing. The story is extremely thin but it has some good moments (The film within a film is the highlight).

DVD has an clean non-anamorphic Widescreen (1.66:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD has an audio commentary track by the filmmakers, a short behind the scenes featurette and the original theatrical trailer. The film has become an international hit that spawned a sequel (Made by the same director) and a non-related sequel in 1989 titled "The Church". This film is written by Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Creepers, Deep Red), director:Bava and Franco Ferrini (Sleepless, The Stendhal's Syndrome, Two Evil Eyes) . From a story by Dardano Sacchetti. Argento also produced this film. (*** ½/*****).