Italian horror director Lamberto Bava—known for his work on films like the shocker Cannibal Holocaust (where he served as assistant to Ruggero Deodato)—offers frights, a terrorized cinema, blood-soaked katanas, the apocalypse, and everything in between in his enthralling and chaotic 1985 chiller Demons. A campy, over-the-top delight, this classic is sure to entertain in all of its gory, ridiculous goodness.
Dubbed in English (which may be a bit jarring at first for some), Demons follows university student Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) as she departs from the Berlin subway. A ghoulish, enigmatic silver-masked man offers her two tickets to a horror film screening that evening at the Metropol, a large, historic theatre nearby. After convincing her best friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo) to ditch class and come with her, the duo snag their seats and meet two local guys, George (Urbano Barberini) and Ken (Karl Zinny).
Among other moviegoers is prostitute Rosemary (Geretta Geretta), who accidentally cuts herself on a creepy mask that’s on display in the Metropol. She panics at the blood and goes to the bathroom, where she graphically transforms into a bloodthirsty, demon-like monster. Concurrently, the cinema presents a violent horror flick about an evil teenager who murders his friends after finding a mask that’s identical to the one Rosemary found on display in the lobby.
As Rosemary terrorizes the audience, it becomes evident that becoming a demon is contagious with one bite or scratch. As more moviegoers get bitten and brutally transform, Cheryl, Kathy, George, and Ken sprint for the exit—only to find it completely sealed off.
As the night rages on and demons increasingly surround them, the group must fight for their lives before becoming infected by the demonic epidemic that is sweeping the cinema.
Demons offers a guaranteed fun—but terror-inducing—night at the movies.
Infused with tracks by Billy Idol and Mötley Crüe, this 1980s horror staple is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat nightmare that packs a punch with its twists and turns, notably in its ending. Bava is remarkable in introducing paranoia here, creating a smooth, engrossing concoction of a monster and epidemic movie.
The film’s gritty but nostalgic atmosphere and action sequences perfectly accentuate its zany plot, and the design and SFX of its demons are remarkable and effective for their time.
Bava supplies his viewers with plenty of gore, and his bold choice to give the demons glowing eyes has since become iconic in horror cinema.
In addition to this great horror flick, Somerville Theatre is offering a live scoring by Goblin, a rock group in which the film’s composer, Claudio Simonetti, is the keyboardist. Goblin has scored a multitude of famous horror flicks, such as Dawn of the Dead and Suspiria.
According to the Somerville, “following the finale of the film, “the collective will return after a brief intermission to deliver an additional performance of quintessential Goblin material and “best of” songs and scores set to their cinematic counterparts.”
Don’t miss this rare performance with one of the most entertaining horror films of the last century—I can’t think of a more appropraite movie to see on the big screen.
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Demons
1985
dir. Lamberto Bava
88 min.
Screens Tuesday, 10/3 at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre.
Featuring a live score by Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin!
