It’s Halloween and a group of teenagers are going to a wild party. This particular party is being thrown by that “weird girl” from school, Angela. Wait a minute… it’s where?! At Hull House? Isn’t that that scary old mortuary that’s possessed? Okay, I’m sold.
The term “cult classic” gets thrown around a little bit carelessly, in my opinion. Just because a movie is of the horror genre and had a VHS release in the 80’s does not mean it’s a cult classic. Night of the Demons, however, definitely IS a cult classic. I fell in love with it the moment I laid eyes on it. This particular movie has been a Halloween staple for me from the time I first ran across it while working at a local video store. It has many of the genre tropes of the 80’s and manages to play them just the way they should be played. It’s sort of like eating a piece of Halloween candy. It’s colorful and tastes sweet in that artificial sort of way. Like, you’re aware that it’s bad for you but you still love it anyway. There’s the “final girl” who you meet right away at the beginning of the movie. I’m not really giving anything away if you’re familiar with this type of movie. She’s wearing an Alice In Wonderland costume and is so nicey-nice that you just know she’s going to outlast all of the “bad” teenagers. The surprising thing about this movie is that it sort of betrays your expectations. The acting is bad and cheesy right out of the gate. The jokes aren’t good, the music is corny, and all of this sort of forces you to let down your guard, thinking that it couldn’t possibly scare you. The thing is the practical effects are fantastic. The kids unleash demonic forces in the house… which can really ruin a good party, incidentally. The special effects and make up are actually really good. The gory effects are well-crafted and disturbing. Plus, this film manages to give you a little of everything you want in an 80’s horror movie. There are slasher elements, demon-possession, zombie-style scares and thrills, and of course… bad teenagers getting their just deserts. For some reason, these teenagers are particularly loathsome. They pick on old people, steal from kids, shoplift and do things with lipstick that should NOT be done. (You’ll have to see the movie and keep an eye on b-movie scream queen Linnea Quigley to find out what I’m talking about.) Once you’re into that final act, it’s tense and scary and the cheese is no longer a distraction. Night of the Demons, and it’s chief protagonist Angela, has achieved what it set out to do… scare the hell out of you!
It’s absolutely true. This is one of the most re-watched movies in my collection. It is pure schlock but it’s schlock done right. If you’re looking for an example of what kind of movie I’m talking about when I say I enjoy cheesy b-movie horror from the 80’s, Night of the Demons is it. Give it a chance if you can track it down. It’s perfect viewing for October. -Scotch
