Night of the Demons (1988), Cult Horror Born From Better Films
Looking back at Night of the Demons (1988) more than 30 years after its release, few would argue that it gained cult status as one of the early postmodern films of the horror genre. This doesn’t mean that Night of the Demons broke new ground — quite the opposite. In fact, the film relies on various predecessors in a reflexive attempt to create low-budget horror and give subtle winks to the audience at the same time. The results don’t always land, but if you take the film for what it is — self-aware camp without any higher aspirations — it actually lives up to its status as a cult horror film.
The Night of the Demons cast is almost too big for its own good, as many of the characters are completely forgettable. Director Kevin S. Tenney and writer Joe Augustyn likely placed many of them there as demon fodder. In any case, Night of the Demons centers around a party thrown by Angela (Amelia Kinkade), who plays an 80s goth stereotype and general social outcast. Despite her lack of popularity, the local “cool kids” agree to go to her Halloween party at Hull House, an obvious nod to John Hough’s The Legend of Hell House (1973). Hull House is an abandoned mortuary marked by evil, including the late Old Man Hull’s “carnal interest” in his clientele, and the infamous slaughtering of the entire Hull family.
The party itself lacks direction, which becomes clear as soon as everyone shows up on the haunted property. Other than drinking and dancing awkwardly to bad music, nobody really knows what to do. Nonetheless, the vast majority of characters show up in costume. The unofficial heroine of Night of the Demons, Judy (Cathy Podewell), dresses as a somewhat prudish Alice in Wonderland, while on the other end of the spectrum, the resident nympho, Susanne (Linnea Quigley), wears a pink princess dress that leaves her lingerie visible for half the film. The rest of the cast is pretty forgettable, with the exception of Stooge (Hal Havins), the fat, crass, party-animal, and Rodger (Alvin Alexis), the only black man in the group.
In any case, the party atmosphere quickly dies out when the music suddenly stops playing. At this point, the group of (mostly) horny teenagers decides to hold a seance. Naturally, the seance awakens the dark force lingering in the house, which begins to take hold of the teens one by one, turning them into demons and the festivities to a swift end.
If you’ve spent any time reading about Night of the Demons (1988), you might have noted frequent comparisons to Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981). While Raimi is a far better filmmaker than Kevin S. Tenney, the similarities are readily apparent. Night of the Demons features similar camera-work to take the perspective of the evil entity, while the creature effects team also borrows heavily from Raimi’s work. This doesn’t even take into account the obvious narrative parallels, in which a group of young people gets trapped in a haunted house with an evil spirit.
However, I’ve seen a more far-fetched comparison between Night of the Demons and George A. Romero’s classic, The Night of the Living Dead (1968). This is weak at best, as some reviewers have noted the inclusion of an African-American hero who, unlike most black characters in horror films, actually lives through all (or at least most) of the film. However, the protagonist in The Night of the Living Dead, Ben (played by Duane Jones), shows much more resolve and fortitude than Rodger in Night of the Demons. In all honesty, there are times when Rodger’s characterization borders on the offensive, as he frequently devolves into hysterics and abandons his friends to try to escape. Though he ultimately finds the courage to atone for his cowardice, Rodger never comes across as a particularly likable “hero.”
Night of the Demons does not try to be much more than a self-reflective, campy B-horror movie, but it still falls flat at various points. Sometimes, the editing and dialogue don’t any sense at all. The camera lingers on objects or scenery that have nothing to do with the scene. Meanwhile, the acting and writing are so bad that you can’t help but laugh. The script dances that fine line between purposeful camp and poor filmmaking, and by the time it ended, I still wasn’t sure which side of the line the film falls on.
Fortunately, the creature effects actually help elevate Night of the Demons and make it mildly scary at times. The demons’ faces look like a cross between The Evil Dead and The Exorcist. This is especially true of Angela, whose connection with all things dark seems to make her the head demon. Though the gore is not over the top, there are a few gruesome scenes that are well-executed, too. We get to see some eye-gouging and torn limbs, both of which occur during sex scenes. As to be expected from a campy 80s horror film about horny teens, there’s a fair amount of nudity, albeit only from two of the women in the film. In addition to a particularly bizarre sexual performance from Linnea Quigley, we also see Frannie (Jill Terashita), a relatively non-existent character in the film, meet her demise thanks to the immortal horror-movie sin of premarital sex.
While Night of the Demons (1988) certainly does not live up to the films from which it borrows endless material, it does make for a fun, goofy 80s horror movie. The makeup is above average given the low budget and it does have a few brief moments of genuine horror. It’s just a shame that the filmmakers couldn’t completely pull off the campy, postmodern horror film that they (probably) wanted.
Night of the Demons (1988) Movie Rating: ★★½ out of 5
If you’d like to watch Night of the Demons (1988), it is currently available to stream on Pluto TV, as well as rent or purchase via Amazon. You can also find it on Shudder. For more film reviews like this one, be sure to check out the Philosophy in Film homepage!
