Demonia (1990)

If you are after coherent and believable horror then the work of Lucio Fulci isn’t for you. But if you want atmosphere and impressive set-pieces then you should check out his work. If you’re a horror fan then you have probably already heard of his best titles, but his filmography also includes a number of lesser-known gems.

Demonia isn’t one of them.

If I tried to explain the plot then I think we would all just start laughing, underlining just how ridiculous it is. Basically, a young woman starts to have visions of some bad things, there is an archeological dig going on, and some vengeful spirit nuns start killing off people. Meg Register is Liza, the woman having the visions, and Brett Halsey plays Professor Evans, helping to oversee the fated archaeological dig. And Fulci himself plays a policeman investigating the deaths that start to occur.

Demonia is bonkers, and not really in the best ways. And yet, for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on, I found myself enjoying the silliness of it all. Maybe I was just in the right mood for it, I did pick it as a viewing that I figured would keep me away from anything too weighty and/or grim, or maybe those being harshly critical of it, and they are many, have been a bit unfair.

Are Register and Halsey good in their main roles? Not really. I don’t blame them though, Fulci never seems to give much thought to his cast members and they are asked to be as over the top and silly as the script they are working with. Others onscreen suffer from similar fates, although both Christina Englehardt and Lino Salemme are a bit livelier and more fun than the rest.

If you can accept the ridiculousness of the script, co-written by Fulci and Piero Regnoli, and the fact that there are no truly standout moments, Demonia isn’t a terrible way to spend ninety minutes. Never mind that Fulci himself tried to get his name removed from the thing (ironic, considering the lack of story credit given to Antonio Tentori). I wouldn’t recommend anyone watch this ahead of The Beyond, Zombie Flesh Eaters, City Of The Living Dead, and a number of other slices of more worthwhile Fulci, but I wouldn’t completely dismiss it. It’s absolutely daffy, and sometimes absolutely daffy perfectly fits the bill.

5/10

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Demons 2 (1986)

For anyone who'd like to read my review of Demons first . . . . . . . . here it is. Demons 2 is a lot of fun. It's not as much fun as Demons, and it's not an accomplished movie in many ways, but fans of the first film will have a lot of fun here.

The plot, what little there is of it, sees a bunch of people in an apartment block scared to death when the place is infested by demons. It really puts a dampener on the birthday party being thrown for Sally (Coralina Cataldi Tassoni) and provides an unexpected extra workout for the folk who are in the gymnasium based on a lower ground floor (motivated by the great Bobby Rhodes).

With plenty of extra, vulnerable people to watch out for in this instalment - a pregnant woman, a child - it's clear that this movie wants to up the nastiness of the first movie. But it simply can't. The first movie was such a great premise, and had such a great selection of characters, that this sequel fights a losing battle every time it tries to provide something that's "the same, but different."

Director Lamberto Bava (who wrote the script with the same collaborators who helped him write the first movie - Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini and Dardano Sacchetti) does great with his mix of style and sleaze. The movie may seem a bit slow to start, but the first time a demon enters the apartment building via a TV screen is a highlight of the movie, and a moment I remember from seeing the trailer years ago. A trailer that made this movie a must-see. From then on, things step up a gear. Blood is spilt, mutations occur and there's an absolutely bonkers scene that tries hard to wring tension out of a woman fighting a slimy demon muppet creature. It's a shame that we spend more time outwith the main building for no discernible reason, but I'm sure they were just trying to break up the main set-pieces and stretch out the budget. Perhaps.

The acting isn't great, but everyone involved is happy enough to get caught up in the demon infestation so that's really all that counts. Tassoni is particularly poor in her early scenes, I'm afraid, but David Knight and Nancy Brilli are better, with the latter playing the pregnant woman who is one of the most vulnerable during the demonic invasion. I already mentioned the great Bobby Rhodes being great, and there's also a very young Asia Argento acting scared as chaos and death surround her.

With a number of cast members returning from the first movie, another great '80s soundtrack and impressive gore effects during the scenes in which people transform into demons, this is an easy film for fans of the first movie to enjoy. It's definitely a return trip to a well that didn't hold much water in the first place.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Demons-Steelbook-Limited-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B007H9OORW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380801480&sr=8-4&keywords=demons+2