Demons 2… don’t worry about it making sense… it’s an Italian horror film.
Here’s the thing: Italian horror is a thing of its own, especially in the 80s. So much of it is more about spectacle over substance. And there’s plenty of spectacle to be had here. At least by 80s standards.
This film garnered an “X” rating when it first came out. Reportedly the first to do so without any sex or nudity. By today’s standards, while still well done, the transformation sequences and gore aren’t even close to “that bad.”
Those special effects are the main reason you’d want to watch this film. Neither the acting nor the plot would be worth it, that’s for sure. But the demon makeup is varied and creative and the various transformations for people (and that dog) are impressive physical effects for the time.
You may also want to check it out for the soundtrack. Much like the first film in the series, this one features some surprisingly high-profile acts. The Smiths, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Cult, Fields of the Nephilim, Dead Can Dance, and others make this a darkwave and goth-rock festival favorite, I’m sure.
Earlier this year I watched the first Demons film. That 1985 gem did a lot of really fun things. It had a movie-within-a-movie aspect. It had some over-the-top characters. And, most importantly, it had a ton of wild gore and violence as the titular demons tore their way through a theater full of people and out into the world at large.
It even set itself up for a sequel that you’d imagine would be the handful of survivors making their way across the landscape slaying demons and trying to find some safe haven.
This movie is not that sequel. Instead, we have another movie-within-a-movie setup. This time, that in-world movie appears to be one about the aftermath of the first film. In it, a handful of people make their way to the walled off hunk of city that was overrun with demons (which were released during the screening of a film) to see if it’s really true.
They, of course, accidentally revive a dead demon who sets about doing the typical demon thing and killing/infecting them, threatening a whole new apocalypse in that world.
But that’s something a bunch of people in this film are watching on TV.
Until, in a wild and well-done (especially for 1987) effects sequence, that TV demon emerges from the screen in one particular apartment in the building we’ve been meeting people from.
Now, much like in the first film, that in-world movie demon has spread to the “real” world and threatens a full on apocalyptic threat.
In short: more of the same, if you saw the first film. And that kind of repetition is what keeps this from being anywhere near as good as the first. To doesn’t really treat much new ground at all.
It’s still the same “just enough plot to get us a bunch of demons and some interesting fights against them”… and just enough of a mix of characters to have a bunch of decent representation of different classes and types of people.
Definitely still enjoyable–if you like these kind of imported horror films–but you’re not missing much if you’ve seen the first one and not this one.
- Malevolent – October 14, 2024
- Demons 2 – October 14, 2024
- Immaculate – October 12, 2024
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