Night of the Demons 2 Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Years after the events of the previous film, a group of kids from a Catholic boarding school decide to spice up their Halloween at Hull House.

Review: You would think a direct to video sequel to a forgettable '80s film made in the early '90s would surely be beyond stupid, right? Well, surprisingly the second installment is significantly better than the first "Night of the Demons" in almost every regard. We're talking improved visual effects, better story, more interesting characters with even better looking chicks, and an all around more entertaining film. On the other hand, there are certain disadvantages that stop this film from genuinely surpassing the original when it really should have with ease. For one, that charm from the original is missing and replaced by a comical approach to the situations. I know they were trying to have fun with the material, but what made the original so amusing was that the actors were trying to play it straight as if the material was scary. I do like the change in this entry, but it's hard to compare the feeling I have when watching the two. The other major flaw is that you do not feel it is Halloween nor does the imagery stress that it's Halloween; this sort of defeats the purpose of the film itself. Only one character is ever dressed up and one loser wears a mask. Save for a few decorations and mentioning that it was Halloween, like once, that's about all there is to the Halloween plot elements. This is what I was talking about in the last review about how this franchise does not acknowledge the holiday enough when it's supposedly pivotal to the story.

The film opens with a plot hole or continuity error depending on your outlook since it's not Halloween yet and Angela, possessed by a demon(s), is killing people. As I mentioned, you'd never guess it was Halloween by the background, and even when you realize it is the day, it feels so tacked on as if they forgot that was the original premise for why the demons can emerge from hell. Also, as you've probably guessed at this point, Angela is sort of the mascot of this franchise since I guess any horror series must have one. This resurrection aspect is somewhat explained by one of the characters as they tell us that all the bodies were recovered from the first film except Angela who was supposedly taken to hell to, I guess, become permanently possessed by a demon(s)? Sure, whatever. I still feel as though Suzanne would make more sense as the main antagonist since she was the first possessed and her beloved lipstick plays a crucial role in the story here. Anyway, this Catholic boarding school is cliched, but they find a way to make things interesting by introducing a lot of clever and original characters. Everyone starts off kind of lame, but once the story gets rolling you hear some witty dialogue and amusing reactions to the events as they unfold. I especially liked Perry trying to be a wannabe demon-fighter with holy water guns and water balloons and the main nun, Sister Gloria, using a ruler like a sword and her rosary like "nunchucks." But besides these two badasses, the main Priest delivers some awesome lines, and most characters have a moment to shine with various smarmy remarks. About half of the film is dedicated to displaying the characters in all their glory and then the other half focuses on Angela's sister, nicknamed Mouse, whom Angela wants as a pure, virgin sacrifice. When the main characters are kicked out of their Halloween party, they decide to throw one of their own at Hull House to pretty much screw with Mouse in the most fucked up of ways. Unfortunately for them, after their gag ends, one idiot decides to bring back Suzanne's lipstick to the boarding school which allows Angela to wreak havoc there. After all manner of zany antics, they return to Hull House to rescue a captured Mouse, and the remaining characters fight the demons until eventually kicking Angela's ass momentarily. Just when you think things are over, Angela emerges as a giant, demonic snake which actually looks pretty good. After a quick fight, they manage to stall until sunup and the light, in the shape of a cross, burns into Angela destroying her for good...at least until the next movie. There are quite a few survivors as well which is somewhat atypical but welcomed since some of the hotties didn't need to die.

For the most part, this was a highly successful sequel--taking the material they had to work with and amping everything up the second time around. The effects alone, involving the gore and demons, were a vast improvement, and I was shocked how decent the snake-Angela turned out. I should note though that they kept that stupid demon-voice from the first one which is really pitiful. The characters are great, and, even when someone is a douchebag or bitch, they are still amusing and deliver funny lines with such conviction you can't help but like them. It was as if they were trying to invoke a bit of "The Lost Boys" into the original's plot which is fine with me, because they made it work somehow. But as fun and amusing as this film was, and I truly wanted to rate it higher, it is simply missing a certain oomph that the first film provided that puts the two on the same level rather than this readily surpassing the first movie. I guess I'm mostly disappointed that the Halloween element is virtually nonexistent when it should have been a central theme. Sure, the '80s charm missing is one thing, which the '90s had their own tone to rival it, but not taking full advantage of the Halloween aspect was a waste and the tacked on nature to the presentation only exasperated my disappointment. If you liked the first movie you will not be disappointed, since this is the superior film, but realize how inconsequential Halloween is to the plot.

Notable Moment: When Kurt is playing basketball with his own head and dribbling with it. It's such a bizarre idea, but it works, is highly amusing, and demonstrates the degree of imagination that went into this film.

Final Rating: 6/10

Night of the Demons (original) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A group of teens throw a party at an abandoned mortuary only to discover the house is possessed by demons.

Review: Believe it or not, there really aren't all that many horror movies that take place on Halloween. Surprisingly, there are way more family films revolving around the holiday, and there are actually more horror movies about Christmas! I guess filmmakers figure that the "Halloween" franchise has the market cornered, but I've already discussed the sad state that franchise is currently in. Although there are a few stray films out there that I hope to get to, there is one other franchise that revolves around Halloween, and, as you may have guessed, this is that series. Unfortunately, Halloween as the backdrop is more of a plot device than a major drive to the story since it is the excuse for why the events are unfolding and even that isn't necessarily true in the other entries. I do like this film for it's '80s charm and cheesiness, but it's so hard to ignore the horrendous acting and cheap effects.

Essentially, the story plays out like your typical '80s slasher fare except that they stress that there are no ghosts and that you are dealing with demons--you know, in case you couldn't figure it out from the title. We only get a little bit of a backstory, but supposedly the location of the mortuary, known as Hull House, has always been a mysterious area that is possibly a gateway to hell. There is an underground stream that surrounds the house that apparently keeps the demons contained because of some bullshit about demons being unable to cross running water. I have heard this lore before, but it's sort of a generic way to ward off evil in older myths that doesn't see a lot of action in modern times; vampires were even said to be affected by this at one point of their ridiculously glamorized mythology. Well, since it's Halloween, the demons can come out to play for one night of the year and terrorize our unsuspecting characters just trying to have a good time '80s style! Speaking of which, there is a certain degree of banter and humor to the characters that I find entertaining that helps a lame movie become better. I mean, you have your cliches, no doubt about that, but the actors play it straight even when overacting which adds to the entertainment value. It also helps to have a few '80s babes to spice things up the way I like it! I should note that one of the main characters is infamous scream queen Linnea Quigley doing her usual thing (stripping down and being eye candy), but she was never quite my type. Even though I find a lot of likability to these characters, the acting simply sucks and some of the deliveries of the lines are embarrassing considering this was a theatrical release at the time; actually, the acting is the single worst element to the whole film and detracts considerably when there is surprisingly a lot to like here.

The Angela character eventually becomes sort of the main antagonist to the franchise, but in this movie she isn't the first to be possessed; that privilege goes to Ms. Quigley's character, Suzanne. There are sort of makeshift rules to this series that you can either be possessed by the house or if you're killed in the house your corpse resurrects possessed. At the same time, most of the deaths are tame and could have used some more effort to make things memorable. Some of the visual and makeup effects are pretty good, but there are a lot of questionable one like the demons' true form and the laughably bad voices for the possessed individuals. Eventually everyone is either killed or possessed until the final two characters escape just as the sun comes up ending Halloween and the demons' ability to remain on earth. There is something sort of lackluster to the ending that makes the experience feel shallow which is why I suppose the film closes out with some goofball old guy being killed by the apples he put razors in earlier in the film. This tacked on plot element emphasizes how dumb the ending is especially when you realize he ate apples after they were baked into a pie which there's no way this would work or you wouldn't taste the damn razors! There is a decent attempt to portray Halloween festivities and decorations, but you could easily remove the holiday elements and the story would still make sense with a little rework. I wish there had been more emphasis on it being Halloween since a bunch of characters aren't even in costumes and some look like they could simply blend in with the '80s decor in general--costume or not.

Overall, this is a decent foray into Halloween horror that is overshadowed by the fact that its plot does not involve the holiday enough. There is a kind of '80s charm to the story, presentation, and characters that creates an effectively entertaining film allowing the viewer to overlook the flaws for the most part. There are some cool visuals, decent chicks, and I thought the music was great if you can appreciate that era. If only this film weren't hindered by the terrible acting, shoddy effects, and uninspired ending, this would have been a bigger hit. If you're looking for something to watch this Halloween, this may be a choice for you, but don't expect to be blown away with a compelling story or anything.

Notable Moment: When Billy and Sal are discussing the location of the party at Hull House. The banter is amusing, but I just can't stop imagining Sal as Joey Wheeler from "Yu-gi-oh." I mean, it's like a dead on impression except obviously this came first.

Final Rating: 6/10

Trick 'r Treat Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: An anthology of four interlocking tales that coincide on Halloween in a small Ohio town.

Review: It's October again which means it's time for horror movies all month long. Oh but wait, I'm always reviewing horror movies all year long! Well, I knocked out the "Halloween" franchise last year so this year I will try to touch on films that take place on Halloween to get into the spirit, and what better way than to start things off with one of the best Halloween-themed films out there: "Trick 'r Treat." I never understood how this awesome film was delayed for years and only had a direct-to-DVD release; talk about embarrassing. So many have missed out on this rare gem, but, thankfully, it's gaining a strong following who appreciate that this should be up there with the many horror greats and is probably the second best Halloween-themed film besides the original "Halloween;" in some respects, this is the superior film.

Before delving into the creative and fantastic presentation of the stories, I want to first discuss the overall look, tone, and atmosphere of the film which is one of the best aspects to this movie. The moment the film gets rolling you see a truly classic Halloween-look to the town that brings out the nostalgia and harkens back to the heyday of Halloween in the USA. The decorations, the celebration, and that cold, autumn-vibe are simply amazing and the scenery is tearfully beatiful. Honestly, at this point, other countries are doing Halloween better since they practice the holiday to its fullest potential instead of being a little bitch about every fucking little thing. There is a moment in the film when they say it's 8 o'clock and that the festivities are just beginning--recently, Halloween is over in most towns the moment it gets dark (are you fucking kidding me?!). This film made Halloween look like how it was when I was a kid with everyone running around for all hours of the night without fear. In my mind, this is the epitome of what Halloween should look like in every town and more people need to be back out there celebrating instead of being babies waiting for Christmas to stroll around. Okay, enough of my bitterness...

One of the best features about this film is that all the individual stories are intertwined at various points as they play out in this little town. This is something I've mentioned before as a downside to most anthology films, because they don't take the initiative to work in some kind of link to their entries no matter how simplistic. I love the crafting of the story to incorporate moments where you see other character's perspectives of the other character's stories as they all come together; sometimes it is simply a character passing by for a second, but it is so enjoyable. In a way, the stories aren't even entirely separate as they're all constantly progressing until it is their time to take the focus for 10-20 minutes. To start things off as a makeshift wraparound, we are introduced to a couple calling it quits for the night as the husband warns not to mess with Halloween traditions and the nagging wife does not comply. Lurking in the background is Sam, short for Samhain, who is this little Halloween deity, of sorts, that runs around in the background for the stories; I loved this idea of an embodiment to the holiday itself that wreaks his own brand of havoc and serves as an ongoing link to each story. Not taking kindly to the wife's decision to take down the decorations early, Sam dispenses with the wife in a gruesome way adding her head to the display!

Earlier in the night, and across the street, we see some punk ass kid smashing pumpkins and eating way too much candy until he runs into the school principal. The principal, Steven Wilkins, is played wonderfully by Dylan Baker who channels a successfully creepy and sinister feel as a quiet and unassuming murderer. Wilkins has poisoned the candy to take care of our dear punk ass in order to carve his decapitated head as jack-o-lantern with the aid of his young son and protege. We see a large grave at one point that might be filled with many bodies implying that this is a yearly tradition or perhaps he's knocking out the school bullies or something. Wilkins also sees his old, cranky neighbor screaming for help, but he ignores this as we our left with a suspenseful build up for later when we see this neighbor tackled by something. Finally, during this tale we have the introduction of a group of kids collecting jack-o-lanterns, a group of sexy young women trying to find dates for a party, and Sam ominously trick or treats at Wilkins' home.

Before the next tale takes off, we see what appears to be a vampire dressed up in a dark cloak killing a woman in the town square and seeking more victims...perhaps one of our sexy girls? So those kids that were collecting jack-o-lanterns are obviously planning a prank on another girl, Rhonda, who I guess is supposed to be autistic or something. They eventually find themselves near an abandoned quarry as the leader of the group regales us with the tale of special needs kids that were killed decades ago when their rich parents paid their bus driver to dispose of them one fateful Halloween. Things sort of went wrong when one of the special needs kids broke free and drove them all off a cliff into the quarry, filled with water, but the bus driver managed to survive. This leader explains that they will offer up a jack-o-lantern for each kid that was drowned in the bus crash, but instead they pretend they are being attacked by the ghosts of the dead kids; with Rhonda scared and confused she is nearly immobile as the group hears strange noises. Perhaps through the help of Sam, the zombie form of the special needs kids emerge from the watery bus wreck (which looks awesome by the way), and kill the group with only Rhonda surviving as she coldly leaves the group to their miserable fate; though, I didn't think these kids were that deserving of death since really only the leader was a bitch. Before Rhonda embarks toward home, she sees Sam innocently admiring the show.

The next tale is the shortest, but it is the one told most progressively as we constantly have cuts back and forth to the sexy girls and their party. The main girl, Laurie (oh, I see what you did there!), played by Anna Paquin, is our apparent virgin looking for that special guy, but there is obviously more to it than that. She is slowly being stalked by our vampire-man until he moves in for the kill only to discover a surprise. We realize that all the dates are dead as our sexy girls are werewolves and Laurie was looking for her first meal we can assume. There are a few ironic aspects to this because Laurie is dressed up as little red riding hood, and Ms. Paquin has been playing a vampire for years on "True Blood." I didn't really care for the way the werwolves were depicted because it was implied they look that way under their skin rather than actually transforming from human to wolf. Regardless, it is revealed that vampire-man was Wilkins using fake teeth as he becomes puppy chow with Sam looking on with a sense of glee emanating from under his mask. I should note that I thought Ms. Paquin looked significantly better when half-transformed than not, but I'm weird like that.

Just a glimpse at the sexy girls:

The final story involves that cranky old neighbor, Kreeg, who is the equivalent to the Scrooge of Halloween. This entry actually takes place much earlier in the film since this is during the same time Wilkins is carving his little jack-o-lantern. Since Kreeg is against Halloween so much, it should be no surprise that Sam comes to personally screw with him. After sneaking into his home, Sam uses various supernatural abilities to unnerve Kreeg like materializing jack-o-lanterns and writing "trick or treat give me something good to eat" all over his walls in blood. Eventually the two start to fight almost comically since Sam is so small and Kreeg keeps shooting him with a shotgun. It's shown that underneath Sam's mask his face looks like a pumpkin and he even appears to bleed pumpkin juices ("What were you expecting? PUMPKIN JUICE?!") and seeds. Eventually Sam gains the upper hand and appears to go in for the kill but spares Kreeg in favor of taking his candy. Baffled, Kreeg interprets this as his motivation to get into the spirit of Halloween, again, in a similar vein as Scrooge as we realize he was the bus driver that drowned the special needs kids (which was painfully obvious). We then see the injured Kreeg giving out candy as Sam sets his sights on the couple from the beginning as all of our stories masterfully cross paths simultaneously; the couple walks home, Wilkins' son looks on, and the werewolf girls pass by nearly hitting Rhonda. Just when it appears things are safe, Kreeg hears another knock at the door and is greeted by the zombie special needs kids who exact their long overdue revenge as the credits roll.

Everything about this film just works down to the tiniest detail with special attention toward the scenery, atmosphere, and general sense of indulgence of the material. I have a few minor gripes here and there with certain aspects of the tales, but the only major complaint I have is that the film is too short and could have used another segment to even things out; the film isn't even 90 minutes with the credits...come on! If there ever was essential Halloween viewing, the only films I would say have to make such a list are this film and the original "Halloween." If you're a big fan of the holiday like me you should have watched this movie by now or seek it out as soon as possible. I can only hope they make a sequel at some point, but, as it stands, it doesn't seem like one is anywhere even close to a script phase which sucks. In the meantime, let's get into that glorious Halloween spirit!

Notable Moment: Probably at the end when you see all the stories cross paths at the same time. It only lasts for a split second, but it was cool nonetheless.

Final Rating: 8/10