Now, just hear me out on this one. Unjustly panned by critics and movie fans, the 2009 remake Night of the Demons is actually an entertaining and quite watchable horror comedy. It’s a perfect party movie, the definition of a guilty pleasure featuring a fun atmosphere and solid special effects. And it doesn’t have a lot to do with the original. We find ourselves in New Orleans of all places where one hell of a Halloween party is about to start. You see, Angela is about to throw a party in an old and supposedly haunted mansion. A place where a hundred years ago, several people died under mysterious circumstances involving voodoo and witchcraft.
However, that’s not worrying our young and horny partygoers who are just looking to have some fun. And some fun they will have when demons suddenly start possessing their bodies and trying to summon hell on earth. A classic Halloween party you might argue. The first thing that’s going to hit you when you start watching this movie is this huge wave of nostalgia. A nostalgia tsunami, if you will. Everything, from fashion to editing and music choices, screams 2000s. So, if you’re a connaisseur of this type of entertainment, you’re going to have a great time. As I already mentioned, Night of the Demons, 2009 edition, is a very loose remake of the eighties classic.
The main plot of a group of young people trying to survive a night with demons remains along with the titular character of Angela but everything else is different. We’ll even get a healthy exposition dump toward the end explaining why demons are trying to kill them and what will happen if they do. Before we get to that, we spend no less than almost 40 minutes just getting ready for the party and meeting our characters. This is where the somewhat clever script comes into play. It captures that “getting ready to party” atmosphere perfectly while building fun characters. And the fact we follow not one, not two but three hot girls in revealing Halloween costumes just adds to this.
I guess this brings us to the cast of the movie that did a terrific job. Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, and one of my favorite actresses of all time, Diora Baird, were perfect for their roles. I’m still struggling to understand why Diora, who was in movies like Hot Tamale and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – The Beginning, didn’t make it in Hollywood. She not only has the looks but also the acting skills required plus loads of charm. On the other hand, Edward Furlong did make it in Hollywood and somehow also ended up in this movie. I don’t understand all the hate as he gave a pretty good performance here.
It was honest and committed and what more can you ask of him in this sort of a production? He’s a little chubby, so what, we’ve all got our demons. It was also cool to see Linnea Quigley wearing the same outfit from the original movie. She even bends over to pick up something, recreating the steamy scene from the convenience store. Finally, we shouldn’t forget about the star of the show, Angela herself played by none other than Shannon Elizabeth. You probably remember her as Nadia from American Pie although her movie 13 Ghosts is a much better comparison because of its story. Oh, I’m sorry, you’re right.
Since those were the 2000s, the title of that movie is actually Thir13en Ghosts. When it comes to the graphic stuff, we’ll mostly be seeing girls wearing skimpy outfits with some nudity in the final third. And the same goes for gore. This is a refreshing departure from the almost sleazy scenes we had to “endure” in the original trilogy. The second movie was especially gory and full of half-naked ladies running around. That doesn’t mean we won’t get our fair share of nasty ‘n’ nude stuff here. The infamous game of “hide the lipstick” from the original has been taken to a whole new level in Night of the Demons 2009. And that’s all I’m going to say about that scene.
And I have to say that any time I saw those real live worms squirming around, I got a little sick. Add to this your classic face-ripping, blood-sucking, and all the other fun activities and you’ve got a pretty gruesome horror movie. I applaud their decision to stick with the practical effects and very effective make-up almost completely avoiding CGI. As, I’m guessing, everybody else, I consistently skipped over this movie because of its poor rating. Then, after seeing the original two movies, I decided to give it a go and I wasn’t disappointed.
This is an unpretentious remake fully aware of its limitations making the most of its small budget. It’s trying to recreate that eighties blend of scares, nudity, and action. But it’s trying to do that for the new generation. I mean, can a movie featuring Type O Negative’s Black No. 1 be all that bad? I submit to you that it simply cannot and as further proof I offer: She’s got a date at midnight, with Nosferatuuuu! Oh baby, Lily Munster, ain’t got nothing on you!
Director: Adam Gierasch
Writers: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch, Joe Augustyn
Cast: Shannon Elizabeth, Monica Keena, Diora Baird, Bobbi Sue Luther, Edward Furlong, Michael Copon
Fun Facts: One of the few special effects used in the movie was the one making the eyes of the demonically possessed glow. The actors finally didn’t have to wear contact lenses.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1268809/
