Angela (Amelia Kinkade) and Suzanne (legendary Scream Queen Linnea Quigley) are the type of ladies that offer up shoplifting and ass showing (set to the sweet, sweet strains of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600) in equal measure… I’ll let you detectives figure out who is more responsible for what… they are also the type to throw a Halloween hootnanny at an allegedly cursed, definitely abandoned mortuary.
Once the party commences drinks are consumed, dancing is attempted, and a séance is held… the latter of which ends up freeing a demon from it’s prison deep within the confines of the mortuary that possesses Suzanne… and eventually Angela after that ol’ crowd-pleaser; a girl on girl kiss goes down!
After that we are one Bauhaus-set dance number and a lipstick eatin’ titty away from a full-on murderous monster mash that our heroes will be hard pressed to survive!
Filled with oh-so-fucking much Grade-A wise-assery, hard-rocking tunes about computer dating, exclamations such as “Festerin’ Fuckwads” (I can’t believe I have never used that in one of these revoltin’ reviews… wait, I kinda just did), and a whole mess of laughs and lacerations; Director Kevin S. Tenney (Witchboard) and Screenwriter Joe Augustyn’s Night of the Demons is like a living cartoon… albeit a blood drenched and often horny one, but a cartoon nonetheless… hell, the opening titles are animated to further drive this home!
Add to the above some incredible practical effects and make-up, unbelievably game (and oft-times very physical) performances from all members of the cast that really sell the madcap madness at hand, impressive stunt-work, and a lively, synth-driven score from composer Dennis Michael Tenney and you have the end result of a tried and true, horror biz classic through and through!
All of the above looks pretty damn spiffy in this new 4K/Blu-ray release from Scream Factory which utilizes a 4k scan of the uncut original camera negative and boasts rich, deep blacks (this is a rather dark film to begin with, so this not only enhances the picture, but increases the atmosphere), sharp detail, and rich colors.
As for special features on this release, things kick off with three audio commentaries; one with Tenney, with actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, Hal Havins, and special effects artist Steve Johnson (a true legend), another with Tenney (man, he gets around), producer Jeff Geoffray, and executive producer Walter Josten, and another with… get this, Tenney (welcome back old friend), actors Quigley and Philip Tanzini, and casting director Tedra Gabriel. Understandably there is repeated info among these, but all are entertaining listens with enough differing anecdotes between them to keep things interesting!
Also included are new interviews with Augustyn, actress Jill Terashita (whose coffin-centric coitus is a memorable stand-out in the film… much respect Jilly T!), and special effects artist Nick Benson, and an International cut of the film (in rough shape)… which brings us to Disc Two…
The second disc contains a Blu-ray copy of the film along with the commentaries listed above, but there is so much more!
First up comes a nearly feature length, archival “making of” retrospective of the film that features interviews with cast and crew loaded with info on the production and first hand anecdotes a-plenty, followed by archival interviews with Kinkade, and actresses Allison Barron (who shares a treasure trove of photos of the film’s production and promotion) and Quigley.
After that comes a newly found workprint version of the film under it’s original title The Halloween Party (followed by an alternate opening title animation under the same name), alternate cuts of two of the film’s effects sequences, and a six-minute cut of the film for potential distributors.
Also included are a host of trailers, and TV & Radio spots used to promote the film, a promo reel, and an ass-load of still galleries (featuring behind the scenes images, a showcase of the film’s effects and make-up, a photo gallery, and posters/storyboards respectively).
As hilarious as it is horrifying; Night of the Demons is an absolute devilish delight from sinister start to fiendish finish, and this edition makes it look better than ever!
But wait, ol’ Scream Factory is also unleashing a new Blu-ray edition of the 1994 follow up flick; Night of the Demons 2!
Night of the Demons 2 opens as one would expect, but probably not as six years after the events of the first film, Angela (a returning Amelia Kinkade) straight up puts a murder on some door-to-door religion salespeople while quipping like god-damn Freddy Krueger before we segue to some shirtless dudes spying on the currently naked girls of St. Rita’s Academy; a Catholic boarding school for wayward teens (that they all attend)… and which is located near to ol’ Hull House, the cursed mortuary where Angela runs amok to this day… as evidenced by the beginning of this ass-long sentence…
After getting caught screwing around by the hard-assed Sister Gloria (a wonderful turn from Jennifer Rhodes) two members of a trio of delinquents, who’s ranks include Zoolander/Hey Dude‘s Christine Taylor and an absolutely dynamite Zoe Trilling (Tobe Hooper’s Night Terrors), get banned from attending the school dance… but they soon find themselves throwing a private soiree at Hull House after they sneak out of their dorm with Angela’s meek sister Melissa (Merle Kennedy), whom everyone refers to as Mouse, a few lads from the dorms, and some tag-along delinquents of the non-Catholic variety in tow!
Once there sex and simulated Satanic sacrifices ensue before Angela makes her presence known, and the kids just up and fucking split! Like, they just… leave… but not before abandoning their ridiculous cohort Z-Boy (Darin Heames), which was a fun twist on how you may expect the story to transpire… but of course the evil has followed them all home, and before long Angela is dancin’ to Morbid Angel and ripping people a new asshole along with her newly seduced gal-pal Shirley (the aforementioned Trilling), whom she possesses via a Satanic snake to the vaj, a smoking lipstick, and straight up making out with her, so the usual…
This time Australian Director Brian Trenchard-Smith (Turkey Shoot, Dead End Drive-In, BMX Bandits) takes the reigns, along with returning Co-Writer Joe Augustyn (along with James Penzi) present a more serious take on the franchise, but don’t think that translates to less fun by any means!
While the more overt jokes and wise-assery are dialed way back this go around, there’s still plenty of personality to be found among the cast (with the aforementioned Rhodes and Trilling leading the pack), and the gooey special effects are both plentiful and expertly realized (in part by a returning Stephen Johnson)… and while you may not be slappin’ your knees every other second, this fright flick is in no way above getting absolutely, deliriously re-fucking-diculous as bodies melt from holy water-filled squirt guns, nuns turn into savage warrior women, and Angela chews the scenery like it was all-you-can eat night at an over-the-top acting buffet… and it all rocks ever-so fucking hard!
And Trenchard-Smith gives the entire thing a hyper-stylized, frantic atmosphere that manages to make the horror comic book goings-on seem both beautiful and memorable, as well as totally unique… in other words, he put his mark on this sequel in a fantastic way that makes it both different, yet as enjoyable as it’s predecessor… and the ending Angela transformation creature set-piece is truly a thing of wicked wonder!
As before, this release also contains plenty of great bonus content which begins with a brand-new, near feature length segment featuring Tenney & Trenchard-Smith in conversation discussing both the sequel and the original film, followed by new interviews with Kinkade, actor Cristi Harris (who plays the charismatic third member of that female trio mentioned above), Johnson (my favorite of the interviews contained here), and returning producer Jeff Geoffray.
Following that we get a previously unreleased workprint version of the film, an extensive (over two hours long!) collection of newly-released dailies, a new behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and the film’s trailer!
Also included are two audio commentaries; a new one featuring actors Harris, Rhodes, Heames and Johnny Moran (in lively, first hand anecdote-packed conversation), and the other an archival chat courtesy of Trenchard-Smith and director of photography David Lewis (that takes us through the film’s production in fascinating detail).
Every bit as much of a ghoulish good time as it’s precursor, Night of the Demons 2 is that rare sequel that measures up in every way to the first installment and this edition contains enough fantastic bonus material to make it the definitive release of the film!
