Author's Note: It was sort of a crazy October- I had a devil of a time (thanks GOP) sorting out my voting status and attempting to vote from home and so on, but I think I'm good to go on all that, so rest assured, even if I have to go into overtime a bit, I will get this franchise reviewed. I will probably review the 2nd & 3rd film in one article, followed by the remake in its own article. Halloween may be "cancelled" but my reviews continue! (And yes, The Cronenberg Chronicles will be back this month. 😉)
Now, on with the show!
I think I first saw this one on either Joe Bob Briggs' MonsterVision or on USA's Up All Night. Whatever it was, I think it was co-hosted by star Linnea Quigley, who, like most red-blooded horror fans, I had a massive thing for, having seen her in Return of the Living Dead, Silent Night Deadly Night, Graduation Day and maybe the Pumpkinhead she was in. Her role in Night of the Demons didn't exactly dampen my feelings for her, even if it was censored the first time around, when I saw it as a tween.
I soon had the film on VHS, where I saw Linnea in all her glorious splendor, and later on, on DVD, and finally, Blu-Ray. It's definitely one of those movies I bought time and again in all the formats available, like Evil Dead, Friday the 13th (really want that Scream Factory set, but can't afford it right now) and, of course, Halloween, the holiday with which NOTD shares its set-up.
Indeed, the film was supposed to be entitled Halloween Party before the Halloween producers balked and threatened to sue, for fear it would be confused with their franchise- which is funny, because there's at least a couple of movies with that title now- I guess someone realized you can't put a patent on a freaking holiday and said go right ahead and sue, Halloween people: we'll wait. 😜
The set-up is basic horror movie shenanigans: a group of "teens" (and, as always, I use that term VERY loosely, just as Hollywood does, apparently) make the dubious decision to throw a party in an allegedly haunted house, where they stir up the demonic denizens, who set about killing and then possessing- not necessarily in that order- each of them, one by one, until only a few are left standing to fight off a host of them. It's basically just a more suburban Evil Dead- but way goofier, and intentionally so.
Fair warning right off the bat: this movie is probably going to offend those viewers with more delicate sensibilities. Most of the male characters are sexist a-holes (even the kid, who raves about his own sister's "bodacious boobies" and "big cha-chas"), Linnea's first scene features her with her ass stuck out in the air in damn-near Penthouse territory, while two pervy clerks look on lustily and there is plenty of iffy dialogue ("Do you guys have sour balls?" "Why, we sure do." "Too bad. I bet you don't get too many blow jobs."), if those quotes didn't already make that obvious.
That said, to be fair, there is a prominent Asian character, a rarity in these movies at the time; and even more rare- major spoiler alert- one of the survivors of the film is a black man who may or may not be gay. It's worth mentioning that none of the above qualities are remarked upon, though I think one character calls said black man a "wuss" or something like that for wanting to leave once things get dicey.
The gay thing is debatable, but it's worth mentioning that the original script had an interracial gay couple in it, but the producers and director balked- which means that the black character, Rodger, and Judy, who also tries to leave the house with him, were probably the characters in question and screenwriter Joe Augustyn simply slightly rewrote them and made one a girl, which is why the black character seems so disinterested in the girls in the film as a whole- he's still gay: it just isn't addressed. Anyway, those things alone make this film stand out over a lot of 80's films of this sort, and make the film worth a look, even if you have some misgivings about the other stuff.
Another thing that makes the film stand out from the rest of the pack is the quality of the special effects, courtesy of FX mastermind Steve Johnson, then-hot off of working on the likes of Videodrome, Ghostbusters, Fright Night, Poltergeist II and Big Trouble in Little China. Johnson had just formed his own FX company, and this was his first big gig to show what he could do, albeit one somewhat hampered by the low-budget.
As a direct result, Johnson invested a lot of his own money into the film, but it paid off handsomely, as the gigs started pouring in soon after the film's successful release, which made over $3 million on around about a million-dollar budget. His other credits include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Pet Sematary II, Innocent Blood, Return of the Living Dead III (seriously underrated), The Stand, Species I & II, Lord of Illusions, Blade II, Spider-Man II and The Village. He also did the honors on Night Of The Demons II.
Johnson's work here is seriously impressive, especially considering the budget. As such, a considerable chunk of the making of documentary is rightfully dedicated to covering how he did them at such a low cost, and it's genuinely cool hearing how some of this stuff worked- ingenuity is definitely one of Johnson's strong suits, even if humility isn't always, lol. (He does a fair amount of, ahem, shall we say, "humblebrags," throughout said doc and the commentary.)
Johnson also has on his resume what must be the best horror movie "meet cute" in the business, which undoubtedly endeared him to a lot of fans back in the day, myself included- albeit somewhat enviously. For the infamous "lipstick" scene, star Linnea Quigley had to come in and do a full chest mold of her entire upper body, including her breasts.
That, of course, meant that she had to get naked in front of a guy she had never met, let him slather a bunch of goop all over her boobs, let it harden and then be slowly peeled off. Then, using the resulting fake-but-incredibly-life-like mold, he had to glue it onto her body and show her how to pull of the visual trick he concocted for the scene, which is still mighty impressive.
Johnson also taught Quigley how to "properly" eye-gouge! 😵 😨 The two were married soon after this nutty experience, with Johnson proposing to her on the set of Nightmare on Elm Street 4, which Quigley had a cameo in, shortly after doing her make-up for that film. See how things come around full circle? Ain't horror love grand? Why can't I meet a naughty girl like that? (Probably because I can't do FX like Johnson, lol. 😑)
Since we're already talking about her, let's kick off a look at the cast with Quigley, who plays the boy hungry- sometimes literally- Suzanne. Born in Iowa, Linnea is actually her middle name- Barbara is her first. She moved to LA in the late 70's, landing her first role in the Charles Band-produced Fairy Tales, a classy-but-trashy sexploitation flick. The same year, 1978, she also appeared in Deathsport, the pseudo-sequel to Death Race 2000; the semi-documentary Auditions and shot additional scenes for a re-edit of Psycho from Texas, aka The Mama's Boy.
Her horror career began in earnest with a promotion in the slasher flick Graduation Day (see my review here). As with most of her roles up until that point, she had originally had a bit part, but when an actress opted not to do the required nudity for the scene, she volunteered and got the part, her biggest to date, cementing her future as a go-to Scream Queen.
Other horror flicks soon followed, such as Don't Go Near the Park, Silent Night Deadly Night (see my review here), Fatal Games (see my review here), Return of the Living Dead (her real breakthrough, and what got her the role in this film); Creepozoids, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-rama, Nightmare Sisters, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Witchtrap (also from NOTD director Kevin Tenney), Innocent Blood, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Jack-O (another Halloween horror movie), Phantoms, Burial of the Rats and plenty more where that came from, including a cameo in the remake of this film.
Quigley fronted and played guitar in a punk band called The Skirts in the 80's (here's a song, as featured in her movie Nightmare Sisters), who put out two albums; she wrote three books- notably I'm Screaming as Fast as I Can: My Life in B-Movies - and was friendly with the comedy scene of the 80's era, including Cheech & Chong, appearing in their films Nice Dreams and Still Smoking. She was also one of the main subjects (along with frequent co-stars Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer) of the documentary Screaming in High Heels: The Rise and the Fall of the Scream Queen Era. In short, she's a legend in my book- and to most horror fans in general.
As Quigley's bestie Angela, the one whose bright idea it is to hold a party at Hull House, there's dancer-turned-actress Amelia Kinkade. A classically-trained choreographer, centered in jazz dance, Kinkade toured with the likes of Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer and others, and appeared in music videos by The Stray Cats (notably "Sexy and 17"), Scorpions, Sheena Easton and Cher. She's also Golden Girl Rue McClanahan's niece, who paid a visit to the set (as seen above), which must have been something... I smell a spin-off!
Her only real ask for Demons was to be able to choreograph her big dance scene, which was specifically mentioned in the script. The request basically got her the gig, as the others considered weren't professional dancers and an additional dancer body double would have been required to hire any of them. It being a low-budget film, hiring someone who could do both- who also happened to be gorgeous- was a total no-brainer. Along with the aforementioned "lipstick" scene, it's easily one of the most memorable in the film, featuring the classic Bauhaus track "Stigmata Martyr."
Kinkade was also featured as a dancer in the movies Body Rock, the immortal Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, Fast Forward, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Roadhouse. Sadly, her acting career wasn't as successful, with only a few TV credits, a bit part in My Best Friend is a Vampire and a recurring gig on the soap The Young & The Restless to her name to date. However, Demons was the gift that kept on giving, as she was able to reprise her role in two subsequent sequels, so there's that, at least.
Kinkade's character proved iconic enough to garner her a spot in the Horror Movie Hall of Fame, however, and she was honored with a film festival dedicated entirely to her work as Angela in San Antonio, Texas. Since her memorable, if short-lived, acting career, she has gone on to become, of all things, a sort of "pet whisperer," a la Cesar Millan, albeit with all animals, not just dogs. The self-proclaimed "pet psychic" has written six books on the subject and has worked with many celebrities, as well as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles! Now that's an interesting second act.
The resident final girl, Judy, is played by Cathy Podewell. Podewell was working as a waitress when she was cast in the film and promptly quit to pursue acting full-time upon getting the role. Her grandparents were also actors, so it kind of runs in the family- although it admittedly skipped a generation as her parents opted for more straight-laced jobs: her father was a teacher and her mother was a real estate agent.
For the most part, Podewell's career was relegated to TV. She had guest spots on Growing Pains, Murder She Wrote, Beverly Hills 90210 and Walker Texas Ranger. However, her best-known role is undeniably as Cally Harper Ewing, aka J.R.'s second wife, on the popular night-time soap Dallas, a role she also reprised in the Dallas reboot in 2013. Aside from that, her only other feature film role was in the comedy Beverly Hills Brats, alongside Martin Sheen, which may account for her appearance in 90210. She does, however, have a role in the forthcoming Reunion From Hell, which marks her first return to the horror genre since this film.
As Judy's pesky little brother, Billy, there's Donnie Jeffcoat. Donnie was fresh off of the horror sequel Ghoulies II at the time, his debut role the previous year. As with Podewell, he mostly did TV, including lots of made-for-TV movies, and guest spots on shows like Cagney & Lacey, Punky Brewster, Who's the Boss?, The Wonder Years, Murder She Wrote, Party of Five and Sliders. He finally got a recurring gig on 7th Heaven and landed one on the soap One Life to Live the same year. He continued to work in TV throughout the 2000's, but did make a return to the big screen in the horror flick Camera Obscura in 2010.
As Judy's ex, Sal, there's Billy Gallo. Like Podewell and Jeffcoat, Gallo has done a lot of TV. He played Alyssa Milano's character's BF on Who's the Boss? for over three years and Agent Watts on Days of Our Lives; but he also cropped up in small roles in big movies like Pretty Woman (as seen above) and Crash. He's worked pretty steadily since this film, well into the 2000's.
Finally, as the large-and-not-so-in-charge Stooge, we have Hal Havins, a weird mix of a punk (check out that glorious colored mullet) with a jock's mentality. After starting out in- you guessed it- TV, Havins made the leap to the big screen alongside co-star Quigley in the cult classic Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama, also in 1988. He worked with Quigley and director Kenney alike again in 1989's Witchtrap.
Other notable films include Blueberry Hill, Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, Hard Time, Life and Kill Your Darlings. He's also appeared in the TV shows 21 Jump Street, Cheers, ALF, MADtv, Monk, ER, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother, Justified, Fear the Walking Dead and Westworld.
Other notable actors in the film include: Alvin Alexis (The Wiz, The Brother from Another Planet), as Rodger, the rare Final Guy; Allison Barron (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers, Blood Nasty, Vice Academy- also with Quigley), as Helen, Rodger's gal pal; Lance Fenton (Heathers) as Judy's ill-fated date; Jill Terashita (Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland) as Frannie and Karen Ericson (The Boston Strangler, The Return of Count Yorga) as Judy's mom. Also, one of the clerks leering at Quigley's character in the store is also who does the voices for the demons, James W. Quinn, although an uncredited Frank Welker does the voice for a possessed Angela.
On the other side of the camera, we have director Kevin Tenney. Tenney was then-hot off the success of another demon-themed hit horror flick, Witchboard, his debut feature, starring video vixen-turned-actress Tawny Kitaen. The film spawned two more sequels, one of which- Witchboard 2: Devil's Doorway- he also wrote and directed, and the other- Witchboard III: The Possession- he co-wrote. Other notable films include: Witchtrap (also with Quigley and Havins), The Cellar, Pinocchio's Revenge, Arrival II, Endangered Species, Brain Dead and Bigfoot. He also co-produced the remake of Night of the Demons in 2009.
Writer Joe Augustyn also penned the sequel to Night of the Demons, and wrote and produced a film based on the legend of Lilith, Night Angel in 1990. His final film to date was 1996's Exit. Since then, he has turned to writing short stories, novels and non-fiction books, most of which revolve around the paranormal. Augustyn has himself participated in various paranormal investigations, including the one at the Wright House, involving the so-called "Polaroid Ghost." 👻😱
While the plot may be standard horror movie fare, what makes Night of the Demons stand out is the curveballs it throws the viewer time and again. One simply does not expect the infamous "lipstick" bit- how could you?- and it isn't often that a possessed woman breaks out into a full-on dance number in a horror film. (There was a brief one in Evil Dead that used stop-motion animation that was pretty cool, but that one had a decidedly different vibe because of the animated aspect.)
If you also factor in the rare presence of an Asian girl in a horror flick and the then-rare surviving black character who also becomes the even-rarer "Final Boy," you have a pretty unique little horror flick that perhaps deserves more respect that it often gets outside the horror community, who have long considered it a cult classic.
Yes, there are some problematic elements and some rampant sexism, but you'd be harder-pressed to find any horror or teen-themed flick in the 80's that DIDN'T have those elements. It was just how things were back then. That's not an excuse, just a fact. The fact that NOTD does at least feature a few forward-thinking elements at a time in which things were rare is itself worth celebrating, though.
It may not have- or deserve- the status of a holiday horror favorite like Halloween, but if you're looking for something lesser-known and more off-the-beaten path, you could certainly do a lot worse. It's just a lot of fun, with a mostly likable- or at the very least, amusingly groan-inducing-cast, and I just love it. Always have.
By all means, check this one out- it's readily available on any format you care to look for it on, from streaming to Blu-Ray, but I highly recommend the latter, as it has some nifty bonus features, including a feature-length making of documentary and a fun commentary. Join me next time for a look at the sequels, and hope you had a happy Halloween! 🎃
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