I’ll be the first to say that a remake of “Night of the Demons” is pointless. While it is considered a mild classic among horror geeks who remember the video age, that’s about as far as we can go from calling it a classic. It’s a fun party movie. This inane 2010 remake is more brand name exploitation than a remake. Sure it’s called “Night of the Demons,” and features some rather forgettable nods to the original (Diora Baird does a memorable variation of the lipstick-nipple scene, though), but it’s not entirely a remake. In the end though even admirers of the original 1988 horror film (all five of you!) may be able to gladly place this as a companion piece to the original and have some fun with its eighties trash horror comedy style that is never afraid to poke fun at itself but is also never above creeping the audience in to submission.
While many will groan at the self-aware story, I just couldn’t help but dip my toes in the gore and watch the breakneck carnage with a smile. Much like the original, “Night of the Demons” is a party movie. It has hammy performances, zero characterization, a raucous score, and some plot holes, but in the end it’s merely a Halloween party favor. You watch it, you have a laugh and you move on. And of course you can never go wrong with Diora Baird and Bobbi Sue Luther as cats. It’s Halloween! And this year Angela is hoping to garner as much party-goers as humanly possible for the annual Halloween bash at the Broussard mansion, a place with a sordid history in satanism and murder. After a confusing prologue, we dive head first in to the carnage and have a ball.
Across town Maddie, Suzanne, and Lily are preparing to have some fun rambling about nonsense dealing with boyfriends and Maddie’s ex. On the flipside, Colin is hoping to get in to the Broussard mansion to pick up some drugs he left behind, and is in bad spirits with Angela. This all comes to a mix when the party is shut down by the police, and the seven friends are left behind, locked inside the house. After discovering mysterious skeletons on the floor in the basement, Angela’s brief moment of greed grants her a mean bite on the finger, and soon Angela’s transformation prompts an all out orgy of gore, sexual carnage, and mischief that keeps Maddie and two other survivors at the mercy of the monsters. The rub is they have to wait until dawn until they can leave. Can they outwit and outrun the demon horde until then?
As previously stated, “Night of the Demons” is just a ninety minute party, one meant to indulge in the excess and sexually explicit and nothing more. There is lengthy exposition in to the demons involving completing a specific number of possessions, their delight in sexual pain, and their overall ability to will things and fool their human victims. Meanwhile, Monica Keena has a great approach toward this character as a heroine and protagonist who does little whining and about as much ass kicking as necessary to survive. The whining is left up to John F. Beach’s character who is hilarious as Jason, the inept party goer who screams, screeches, fights for his life, and is easily tricked. Eddie Furlong is also memorable as the sleazy drug dealer Colin who has to deliver the drugs before dawn or die at the hands of vicious mobsters.
Adam Gierasch directs with sharp eye for mood and atmosphere making the film feel like an eighties nightmare with some great hard rock over some slapdash grue and gore, while also playing with shadows and light. He puts the characters through hell, and he revels in showing off the wicked creature effects. All the while the respective cast are entertaining and compliment what is a considerably entertaining fast paced horror film you might just enjoy if you give it a chance. Hey, I’ll agree this remake is absolutely unnecessary and redundant, but in the end it’s less a remake and more exploiting a familiar title. Whether it’s the gruesome special effects, the creepy monsters, the excellent soundtrack, the sharp direction, or Diora Baird and Bobbi Sue Luther in skimpy cat costumes, this is a fun movie and one worthy of your time with some friends and a few beers.