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[Night Of The Demons (2010)]
Plot:MADDIE CURTIS & her friends, LILY and SUZANNE, go to a wild Halloween party thrown by party producer ANGELA FELD at the infamous Broussard mansion outside of New Orleans. Maddie & Lily both run into their respective ex-boyfriends COLIN and DEX, who is there with his friend JASON. After the cops break up the party, Colin & Angela make a grisly discovery. Soon all seven are trapped in the house, slated to become victims of an ancient demon called Septem. As Angela, Dex, Lily and Suzanne fall prey, it's up to Maddie, Colin and Jason to solve the mystery of Broussard House and make it through the night, if they can.
Cast:Diora Baird,
Monica Keena,
Shannon Elizabeth,
Tiffany Shepis,
Bobbi Sue Luther,
Jonathan Beach,
Michael Copon,
Edward Furlong.
My Thoughts:Good, gory, fun!
Review:Adam Gierasch's "Night Of The Demons", is a remake of Kevin Tenney's 80's "Night Of The Demons"...the schlock horror flick which shocked a lot of moviegoers during it's time. It was a crass film, that really took no prisoners, and pushed the envelope continuously. Gierasch's version lacks a bit of the scares that the original had, but it certainly brings the blood, gore, and carnage in spades! The film follows a professional party-thrower named Angela Feld (Shannon Elizabeth). Her latest gathering, is a Halloween bash at the infamous Broussard Mansion.
A place where a brutal series of murders occured 85 years earlier. Feld thinks the houses history makes it a perfect grounds for a Halloween bash. But the spirits inside the house don't think so. When the cops bust up the party, and Angela...along with a few friends, are left to clean up the property, the demons make their move. In typical "Night Of The Demons" fashion, one by one, the kids are taken over by the creatures.
Leaving only a handful left to fight for their lives. As the demons want to claim seven souls before dawn, so they'll be free of the house. Can the remaining teens avoid becoming possessed, or ending up dead? One thing this movie does, is bring the story into the modern day era. We get a computer cameo with Angela sending invites to the partygoers, indicating that the movie is not going to be flashing back to the 80's. Which is what a lot of fans of this franchise had hoped for.
But truth be told, a modern day retelling of the original "Night Of The Demons"...is a lot better of a deal. The film is also very well directed, with nice edgy camera angles, and the costuming is terrific also. Shannon Elizabeth as the new Angela, taking over for Amelia Kincade, does a great job in the role. And...her Angela is a great shadowing of 80's Angela. She has the creepy goth vibe, but this time it's more sensual and sexual. As opposed to Amelia's Angela which was kind of mean and creepy, and hyper-gothic.
Shannon's Angela is more easy-to-like in a different kind of way, and she's also more subtle with her flow, movements, and language. She is more the blend of a hot party girl with a slight dark-edge to her. Original Angela, played by Kincade all those years ago, was just more intimidating and heavy-metal-ish. Although she totally changed and became more humanesque when the demons showed themselves, Shannon's Angela doesn't. But this movie doesn't allow for the demons to make their appearance in the same way as the original did. In fact, while the original "NOTD"...the demons were more forthright and attack-minded, in the remake, they create a set of circumstances, accidental mostly...that bring on all of the demonic-possession madness.
As for the supporting cast, they all do an excellent job in their roles as Maddie, Suzanne, Lily, etc. Monica Keena (Freddy vs. Jason), playing the Maddie character. And the films eventual, yet unwilling heroine. Keena is not as fun to watch, nor does she scream as much (or as loud) as Judy, the original films heroine, played by Kathy Podewell. But...for a modern day girl who has to fight to keep herself and what's left of her friends alive long enough until the demons are forced to return to hell, she does a good job. In retrospect, it would be unfair to compare Maddie to Judy. Judy represented the scared-out-of-her-wits 80's type of female. While Keena's character Maddie represents a tougher, 2010 type of young lady.
Also unlike in the original, the men in the movie Colin and Dex, are relegated to typical party guys, who follow Maddie's lead, as she begins to piece together the demons origins, and what they want. In the original, Sal and Stooge, as well as Max...were more in the forefront of things. And then there was Roger, who stayed alive by staying on the run. The remake keeps that theme throughout, as the groups numbers dwindle, and the demons pick them off...what's left of them run all over the mansion, trying to stay clear of Angela and her pack of blood-thristy demons.
But there's no Roger-esque character in this film, and I guess that's because they wanted to switch things into 2010 mode by having all of the focus on the two leading ladies, Angela and Maddie. Speaking of which, Keena and Elizabeth have good on-screen chemistry as the heroine and villain of the movie. There's even a nice little scene where Angela chats with Maddie, who is holed up inside of a spell-protected room. A scene where both girls have a verbal duel of sorts, with Maddie showing a lot of backbone, and Angela being her calm, cool, yet subtley evil self. The blood and gore are all over the place in this film though, as we get faces ripped off, biting, blood-gushing, clawing, all of the usual demon stuff.
And the twisted sex scenes are prevalent in the remake as well. But one difference as far as the demons in the remake are concerned, when compared to the original...is that they use these creepy black tentacles to attack their victims. Whereas in the original, they just used their claws or whatever weapons they could find. And also unlike in the original, in the remake...there's a few items in the Broussard Mansion that can actually harm and repel the demons.
So these are a few interesting new wrinkles that're thrown into the mix. But the movie also manages to keep the spirit of the original strongly as well, in fact...there's one major scene from the original that appears in the remake. While it's not as effective in the redo, as it was in the original, it does end on a very..."disturbing" note. The finale of "NOTD" redux is a very strong finish, and in typical franchise fashion...mixes a bit of cheese and camp with some dark humor and creepy moments. "Night Of The Demons 2010" is definitely a remake, that's worthy of it's predecessor.
Positives:Good performances all around, especially by Keena and Elizabeth. Great blood and gore scenes, some cool cameos, entertaining chase sequences. Great costuming, good-looking makeup fx on the demons, and a terrific ending
Negatives:I thought switching the order of who gets possessed first, from how it went in the original...was kind of a let down. Also the backstory to the Broussard Mansion, albeit decently written...hurt the film from an overly-campy standpoint.
Overall:Three and a half out of four stars.
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