Demons (1985)

 

Director: Lamberto Bava

Screenplay: Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Ferrini

Cast: Urbano Barberini as George; Natasha Hovey as Cheryl; Karl Zinny as Ken; Fiore Argento as Hannah; Paola Cozzo as Kathy; Fabiola Toledo as Carmen; Nicoletta Elmi as Ingrid, the usherette; Stelio Candellias Frank; Nicole Tessier as Ruth; Geretta Geretta as Rosemary; Bobby Rhodes as Tony; Guido Baldi as Tommy; Bettina Ciampolini as Nina

A Night of a Thousand Horror (Movies) #198

 

Demons is curious how, not long after this film, the ball would start rolling that would lead to the decline of the Italian genre film industry, but there were films of note still to come, one of which being Demons, a film (and its sequel to a lesser extent) beloved by fans of this area of cinema. One figure who was still going to be strong in the quality of his work is Dario Argento, where it is only into the nineties where people questioned his output, leaving the eighties on a high with Opera (1987). He would be involved in other peoples' work however, to which here he helped co-produce and co-write Demons.

It is a very simplistic film, predating the modern zombie films of the upcoming decades if you stop to think about it, where at the Metropol cinema, one person is turned into a "demon" and, as a blood bath takes place, these figures can run and spread their lot, multiplying as any scratch or even tissue and goop from them entering a victim can infect them. Where Demons is interesting, beyond a gory and energetic movie, is how it belongs to a period of playful self-reflection from Italian genre films, not a great deal beyond a handful but enough that, at this time, some were self-aware of themselves.

The setting itself, the main one of the Metropol cinema is a key part of this. Our initial lead Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) among many gets a free golden ticket for a mysterious film screening. Whilst it bizarre there is a working motorbike and a samurai sword, a real one, in the foyer, this film plays to its medium with a setting where there are posters¹ on the wall and a sense of paying respect to the medium in a winking way, the beginning of the film spectators watching a film about four young adults searching for the crypt of Nostradamus. In this film-within-a-film, someone wears a metal demon mask and, when it cuts his face, infects him to become a demon; in Demons itself, a woman cuts her face on the exact demon mask, in the foyer too, and becomes a far more grotesque version of a demon, multiplying her group immediately whilst committing horrible violence, including Dario Argento (as a co-writer) continuing his obsession with blind men being traumatised.

The film is schlocky but, having before preferred Demons 2 (1986), I have upon revisiting the original film grown fonder of it. It feels underappreciated how well put together and elaborate the film is in even context of the time, as for all its cheese and excess once you are willing to see work less elaborate in production in the horror genre, and less creative, it grows better from the sense of hard work to even make this film as ridiculous as it is. It is also inherently dreamlike, or at least fantastical, in tone beginning when, as the cinema patrons attempt to flee through the exit from demons, they strip everything away only to find a brick wall through which they once entered the building. Some of the film just does not make sense even in this context - such as the female usher who was not part of the cursed cinema but still hired - but I suspect now most of it was deliberate or of least not a concern for the creators.

To this film's credit, unlike less absurd horror films meant to be taken seriously, this at least has smarter characters than usual at first, bothering to amass a barricade to protect themselves and try to escape when they realise their situation. Also to the film's credit, these demons are distinct creations. Horrible mutated figures, with the practical effects gore exaggerated, such as a demon bursting out of someone's back, and a sense of chaos tonally appropriate to the material. The film also feels like a crossroads for Italian genre cinema in general. Alongside Argento and Lamberto Bava collaborating, the later the son of the legendary filmmaker Mario Bava, future filmmaker Michele Soavi plays a sinister man connect to the curse in a metal Phantom of the Opera half mask. Nicoletta Elmi, who was a child actress in films like Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), is the cinema usherette, and the first person to turn into a demon is Geretta Geretta, who also is memorably in Rats: Night of Terror (1984). Also famously, returning in the sequel as a different character, Bobby Rhodes is an actor here who stood out in what little screen time he had, the person who immediately starts acting as sensibly as possible against the demons, that he got to return in Demons 2.

One aspect, however, which is thinking ahead, are the licensed songs. It has been looked down, especially when used in Argento's Opera, as they both lean on heavy metal, but to Italy's credit this was a huge catch. Not just any old songs, but between Rick Springfield to Motley Crue, even White Wedding by Billy Joel making an appearance, they managed to ride a wave of hip music from the era that would be far more difficult to get the rights to over the decades without a lot of cost. And unlike some American films from this era where the cost of music rights have been an issue, Demons managed to be unscathed, which is good as they managed to be trendy and relevant. Yes, the film is not really scary, especially when Accept's Fast as a Shark plays in a scene of someone riding a motorbike through the cinema seats waving a samurai sword, but for the atmosphere it works completely, particularly as when even American horror films could not acquire known artists, more metal heads would have recognised Accept let alone the likes of Billy Joel on the soundtrack². That Claudio Simonetti, formerly of Goblin, also produced an iconic original soundtrack too, especially the main themes, helps considerably.

The lack of logic this time won me over fully. Italian genre cinema has had an irrational edge for me even with its best films, and I adore them for this. Here, probably the moment to cement this is when the helicopter literally drops out of the sky as a deus ex machina. It brings in a dream logic fully, late in the film but realising how much of a visceral thrill, growing the film in its teasing, fun and exaggerated form to admire.

 

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1) Posters include: Argento's own Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971); The Terminator (1984); Metropolis (1927), likely Giorgio Moroder's 1984 colourised version with music from the likes of Queen; Harry & Son (1984); Werner Herzog's 1979 version of Nosferatu; a concert film AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (1980); and probably the most curious for me, another concert film crossed with a documentary called No Nukes (1980), recording September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective, an anti-nuclear campaign which prominently included performances by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.

2) Would Coca Cola have appreciated one of their cans being full of cocaine, when we follow a group of punks who are pulled into the Metropol cinema? Probably not, but thankfully no one noticed.