Well Deserved Praise

Absolutely brilliant

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Take the first DEMONS film, re-locate it in a high-rise tower block and that's the basic premise of this little number. A few twists and turns are included to differentiate it from the original classic, but otherwise it follows the same kind of pattern. Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava team up again from the first film and deliver exactly the same kind of badly-dubbed formula that we know and love from DEMONS.The acting is average but this time around the actors playing the demons are hugely over-acting - take for instance the main female demon, who contorts her face and pulls lots of stupid expressions in a vain attempt to be scary. The film is a success due to the return presence of Bobby Rhodes, from the first film, this time as a bodybuilder (instead of a pimp) who has to fend off the demons. He has great lines of dialogue again, for example, "Put that fire out - if not, we'll suffocate!" , "You've got more muscles than brain!", and the old favourite, "Get some weapons and defend yo' selves!".As well as Rhodes, a lot of plot devices have been taken from DEMONS as well; the teenagers in a speeding car are an example of this, as well as the pounding soundtrack. Lots of people get bitten and scratched, for gore fans. Once again we have plot inconsistencies to add to the fun; why does the car speed throughout the film only to explode on arrival? In addition, there isn't as much gore in this as in the first film. Instead, we get demonic creatures - a demon dog and a baby demon which bursts out of a kid's chest (thanks to SFX maestro Sergio Stivaletti, but these aren't up to the original's standards, they look rushed). Sure, this isn't logical, it isn't believable either, but this is still a fun film to watch. If you're looking for quality, though, then the first film is the one to go for. The two would make a nice double bill, as they follow on nicely, but the first has the edge.

About as gory as the original, and just as senseless, too, but this film lacks the original's ideal setting in an ornate, deco cinema, replacing it with an odd looking apartment building. A girl in the building is watching a movie on television about demons, which somehow unleashes the demons again, it possesses her, and she goes around clawing and devouring everyone in sight. Killings are juxtaposed with an accordion player in a polka band, and a birthday cake, although not the same cake as we are puzzlingly shown in the opening scene, in two of the film's most (unintentionally?) odd moments. Overall this is a strange, gory, cheesy hybrid of the book Nothing Lasts Forever (aka Die Hard) and a replay of the original Demons, with a bit the Terminator and Dawn of the Dead thrown in. A distracting, out-of-place soundtrack also features prominently in the proceedings. As much as I love The Cult, I can't figure why their song Rain is played during the closing credits and during a party scene. It's good to see Tony the pimp has recovered though, from being so violently attacked during the previous film.

Demons 2 (1986)** (out of 4) More demons are unleashed and this time it's the tenants of an apartment building who find themselves being clawed apart in Lamberto Bava's follow-up to his 1985 gore classic.DEMONS 2 has a lot of the crew of the previous film but sadly it just doesn't work as well. I've always thought that DEMONS was one of the best Italian gore movies ever made as the special effects were terrific and there was just so much goo and gore that you couldn't help but love it. This film here offers up perhaps more gore but it really doesn't help things because in the end this just feels like a lazy attempt to make money.Obviously the filmmakers knew the first film worked well so they just tried to capture it's success. The two plots are pretty much the same with this one here really not trying to do anything new or original. The biggest problem is that all the characters here are pretty poorly written and you don't care what happens to any of them. The performances are what you'd expect but it was nice seeing a young Asia Argento.As far as the gore goes, it's the film's only saving grace. There are some great gore shots and the transformation scenes are also pretty good. Trying to top the original we're given a child demon as well as a pretty effective sequence where a dog turns into one. Sadly, these scenes aren't enough to completely save DEMONS 2 but gore hounds will still want to check it out.

This is a sequel in the worst sense of the term - not a continuation but a complete retread of the first film, albeit in a different location. It does indeed make no sense whatsoever and the acting is beyond dire. Strangely, it sounds dubbed, but the actors are clearly speaking English.It's certainly more ferocious than the first movie and the scene with a demonised boy is quite effective. However, the gremlin puppet is the most dreadful addition to a horror film I have ever seen. It is hard to see how Bava/Argento could have intended this be anything other than laugh-inducing.There are some nice effects - especially when the first demon enters the real world - but the uneven tone, inappropriate music and nonsensical plot make this instantly forgettable. If you must see a "building ravaged by demons" film, go see REC. Now that's scary.