Night of the Demons (1988)

August 13, 2018

Directed by: Kevin Tenney

Written by: Joe Augustyn

Starring: Linnea Quigley, Amelia Kinkade, Cathy Podewell

Budget: $1,200,000

Quote: Isn't that a little chancy? I mean this IS Halloween, the night when all the creepy things are supposed to stalk the earth. I mean there's no telling what we'll drudge up, especially in this old place.

Trivia: Linnea Quigley (Suzanne) and special effects artist Steve Johnson met when she came in to get the mold for her fake breasts done. They were later married.

First off, I will watch any movie that has Linnea Quigley who is without a doubt my absolute favorite scream queen (sorry Jamie Lee, you're great, but Linnea was my first movie love). Linnea's character Suzanne is the standout in the film. Sexy, trashy, and crude, Suzanne represents the punk rock aesthetic of the 1980s. There are also a bunch of other great characters (and caricatures). The plot is simple (think Lamberto Bava's Demons) to give way to the demonic attacks, nudity, and great dialogue one-liners. And if that wasn't enough, there is a great demonic possession choreographed dance scene to Bauhaus' Stigmata Martyr. If you love punk rock horror movies like Return of the Living Dead as much as I do, this movie is an absolute must see.

The story is simple and has been done hundreds (if not thousands) of times before. A group of kids go to a supposedly haunted house on Halloween and accidentally summon an evil force and then have to survive while they get killed one-by-one. It is the set of uniquely created characters and the 1980s party feel that breathes new life into this "done to death" movie plot. In addition to Linnea's Suzanne, there is her goth friend Angela who is obsessed with death and sets up the party. Stooge is another great character. He is the fat "party animal" who comes to the party as a pig, say "let's party" throughout the film and refers to every girl in the film as "bitch." We have the virginal Judy who comes to the party as Alice from Alice in Wonderland foreshadowing the demonic gate (the looking glass/mirror) and her survival. Unfortunately, her boyfriend, the goofy and jocky Jay, spends too much time entranced by the sexiness of Suzanne and eventually has sex with her, dooming him to death by demons. It's simple horror movie code: Cheat on your significant other, get killed. Then there is Rodger, the voice of reason in the film. The only black character in the film, he is also the first to say, let's not mess with demons. He is the first to try to escape. It will also be Rodger and Judy who finally do escape. I don't know if it was intentional, but when it is finally just Rodger and Judy alive in the house, it reminded me of Night of the Living Dead.

Night of the Demons is full of incredible scenes. One of the first scenes in the film has Stooge mooning an elderly man and then another teen puts a fake rat in his face. The old man vows to get his revenge by putting razor blades in apples. At the end of the film, it's the next day and the old man who has been absent the rest of the film has just finished eating a slice of apple pie his wife made. She explains that it was with his apples and immediately his throat opens up spewing blood. I don't know if there is a lesson here other than old people are jerks? Probably not the greatest message, but it was pretty awesome. In another scene Linnea's character Suzanne while possessed draws lipstick over herself and then inserts the lipstick into her nipple. There are also some great deaths: arms ripped off, heads crushed and faces eaten.

   

The special effects are also well done, stand the test of time, and once again prove that practical effects are (almost) always better! When all is said and done, its the characters and the writing that really make this film so enjoyable and memorable! Linnea to the market employees,"Hey do you have sour balls?" "Yeah." "That's too bad, you must not get a lot of blowjobs." This movie is such a fun, stupid, and amazing eighties horror film.