DVD Review: Demons 2

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story

One year after giving us Demons, Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava teamed up again to bring us Demons 2.

This time, instead of taking place in a movie theater, it takes place in an apartment building. Instead of a movie playing on the big screen, it is a horror film playing on TV that starts the horror of in this film. The movie on TV tells the story of a group of kids venturing into the “forbidden zone” where the demon outbreak occurred. So the movie that the people in this film are watching is the sequel to the first movie, if that makes sense.

In the movie one of the demons comes back to life when blood is accidentally dripped into its mouth. The demon looks through the TV screen to see one of the residents of the apartment building and crawls through the TV to get her. From there the gory chaos ensues and quickly escalates. First a birthday girl turns into a demon and slaughters the whole party transforming them. Then some of the demon’s acidic blood trips down through the many floors of the apartment building spreading the demonic disease even further. Then things just get worse from there.

It’s interesting to note that actor Bobby Rhodes returns in the sequel even though he was killed in the first one. However, he doesn’t play the same character. In part one he played Tony, the pimp, this time he plays Hank, a fitness instructor. Obviously Bava loved having Rhodes around and brought him back, which is great because he’s a whole lot of fun to watch and he gets to be a little more bad ass this time around. The other notable cast member is a very young Asia Argento in her first film role. She doesn’t do much besides freak out and watch the giant battle in the parking garage unfold, but it’s still a fun little tidbit.

The first film had a soundtrack of metal songs. This time around the music is a little moodier with the likes of The Smiths, The Cult, Dead Can Dance, Peter Murphy and others providing the soundtrack. Both soundtracks are great, each in their own way.

Again, like the first film, the special effects are the real star of Demons 2. From the demon coming back to life and crawling through the TV screen, to the seemingly endless creative deaths to the demon dog (yes, a demon dog) and even a creepy demon baby, the special effects and fore in this film are out of this world and will make any fan of the genre want to come back for more.

The film is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen format and 2.0 stereo. Synapse has done a fantastic job of remastering this film, it looks and sounds great.

Trailer

If you’re a fan of the first Demons then there really is no reason not to go out and pick up Demons 2 as well. They make for a fantastic double feature.

Synapse presents Demons 2. Written by Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Dardano Sacchetti ad Franco Ferrini. Directed by Lamberto Bava. Starring: David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes and Asia Argento. Running time: 92 min. Rating: Not Rated, contains extreme gore and violence. Released: November 11, 2014.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years