| This collaboration between director Lamberto Bava, assistant director Michele Soavi and producer Dario Argento has its fan following.
But frankly, Demons always leaves us scratching our heads.
Involves a group of people gathered in a Berlin movie theatre for the premiere of an exciting new horror film. But it's not long before they discover there's a plague running amok, one which turns each of them into grotesque zombies, one by one.
A clever - if illogical - theme is that the gruesome events mirror the horror film playing onscreen.
Demons is a bonafide gorefest, there's no doubt about that. But despite the great special effects, it never really rises above mediocrity.
Perhaps the combustible talent of the three horror masters (Bava, Argento, Soavi) was just too much, and the result is that they went waaaay over the top.
The oh-so-threadbare plot, cardboard acting, and contrived setups don't help matters much. Ultimately, it's a bad sign when you think the film within the film looks somewhat more interesting than the actual proceedings...
Still, if it's only the gore you want, it's gore you'll get, and will likely find Demons passable entertainment.
Followed by a sequel Demons 2 in 1986.
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