Night Of The Demons is a ton of cheesy 80’s fun, maybe a bit more loopy and silly than I was expecting it to be at times but still a blast of hectic screeching monsters and gooey practical effects. It’s story is so simplistic and it’s characters such overblown archetypes of their time it almost feels like the “movie within a movie” that characters in an 80’s horror that took themselves a bit more seriously would be watching at some point, for meta flair. Various dudes, chicks, jocks, nerds and one jersey boy sounding guy all head to a spooky abandoned house to party for the night where, naturally, they fall prey to unseen spirits that possess their bodies (mainly the girls) and stir up one noisy, gory night from hell. The special effects, demon transformations and evil performances from possessed cast members are all dialed up, theatrical and super super hyperactive, which at worst can be aggravating and at best makes for a pleasantly shrill Evil Dead vibe. There’s one sequence that’s a real charmer where two girls rob a convenience store blind, one of them hiking up her dress to nonchalantly flash the clerks some panty, the other sneakily loading up a bag with their booze, snacks and smokes for the night. Now *thats* how you party prep, folks. It’s a good time, and like I said it got a bit mindless in the noise and characterization department, but it’s still a solidly bonkers 80’s horror effort.
-Nate Hill
Podcasting Them Softly 