With the fall season quickly approaching and Halloween right around the corner, most of us are busy planning costumes, watching the leaves change, and if you are like me and mine, preparing the perfect rotation of horror and thriller films to entertain us throughout October. Between all the Tim Burton, Freddy Krueger and Pennywise the Clown, my friends and I found that we had a few gaps in our screening schedule. Since then, we have committed to finding at least three new horror movies to add to our yearly rotation. Here is everything you need to know about our first pick:
“Demons” (Bava, 1985) is an Italian horror film belonging to the “giallo” subgenre. Its production was inspired by the rise in popularity of Hollywood slasher films in the eighties. Similar to slasher films, giallo movies contain lots of gore, elements of suspense and intriguing sound design. The narrative of “Demons” in particular centers around a random group of people who get trapped in a movie theater with several bloodthirsty creatures aptly referred to as “demons.” Humans trapped within the theater can become demons by putting on a specific silver mask or by being bitten/scratched by an existing demon. As the plot progresses, the population of demons within the theater (and outside of it) increases, until only a small group of survivors remain.
For the time period, the visual effects are decent. Now, of course, they look a little corny, even despite the sheer goriness of the events onscreen. Regardless, this quality adds to the enjoyment of the film, pushing for nostalgia reminiscent of the eighties slashers we already know and love. In terms of audience, “Demons” (and the giallo subgenre in general) appeals primarily to Hollywood horror aficionados.
More intriguing still, I noticed that “Demons” subverts the typical characteristics of Hollywood horror in more ways than one. For instance, it refuses to fully feed its narrative to viewers. About twenty or so minutes into the film, we learn that the moviegoers have been cemented into the theater, after having received a mysterious invitation from a masked individual to attend the screening. The masked person returns later for a short period, but neither they nor their motivations for inviting said group to the cinema are ever explained. Further, what is the theater? Is it a sentient entity that must be fed? Is some other being using the theater as a vessel to achieve some supernatural goal? Whatever the answers are, the narrative remains open-ended, both challenging the viewer in its comprehension as well as encouraging them to form their own perspective.
If you don’t mind a fair amount of bloodshed, “Demons” checks all the boxes for a good horror film. It’s not very psychologically spooky, but the concept reads like a film adaptation of a Stephen King novel, and the ending leaves plenty of space for a potential continuation of the franchise. If you’re already a horror fan and looking to expand your taste, “Demons” is a great entry-level giallo film to start with.