Demons became an international hit and producer Dario Argento wanted to give viewers another round. He brought back Lamberto Bava to be the director along with the other two co-writers to work out a script. They even let special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti contribute. While they kept the movie located in West Germany, they shift from a movie theater in West Berlin to an apartment building in Hamburg named The Tower. While Poltergeist 3 was also about evil spirits loose in a high rise, Demons 2 came out in the Fall of 1986. Poltergeist 3 didn’t debut until the summer of 1988. So don’t think that Bava, Argento and company ripped off Spielberg. They came up with their own movie about the supernatural nightmares lurking inside high rise life. Seeing how in the first movie, the demons were tied to a movie screening; how would the find victims in so many different apartments? Demons 2 now brings the horror home via television.
Things are sort of hopping inside the exclusive Tower apartment complex. A pregnant woman is doing her neonatal exercises. Men are pumping iron in the gym. There’s a party. Several of non-hopping folks are sitting in their living rooms and bedrooms watching a movie about four kids investigating an abandoned factory for ancient relics. It’s different from the movie that showed at the Metropol cinema in Demons but has the same vibe. A little girl (XXX‘s Asia Argento) stays up late to watch the scary movie even though she shouldn’t. The most exciting place to be seems to be the birthday party for Sally with nearly all of her friends there. They’re dancing to The Smiths’ “Panic.” How cool. Sally however gets upset when she gets a phone call. She races into her bedroom. The friends us this as an excuse to lock her in and get the cake ready for candles. In her distress, she gets clued to the movie on TV. The kids in the film discover the remains of a humanoid. When one of the girls drips blood on the skeletal remains, it begins to come back alive. The demon attacks the four characters in the movie. When it is done, the demon faces the camera and steps through the TV into Sally’s bedroom. She tries to flee, but her door is locked. The pals finally open the door to give her a cake. Sally comes out and transforms into a demon. She attacks her friends and turns them into demons. The newbie demons begin to attack and infest the other tenants over the course of the night. There will probably be memo sent out by management about all this bloodshed.
Demons 2 is as exciting the first Demons with the new location. It’s almost unit by unit fighting between the hapless humans and the ravenous demons. The idea that an episode of Svengoolie can turn evil is perfect. The effect of the demon escaping the tv screen looks even better on the 4K UHD disc. Argento was right by reuniting so many of the creative folks for the second go around. Bava doesn’t repeat what happened in the first film. The people are trying to figure out ways to get down from the high rise instead of merely out. Sergio Stivaletti creates new ways to gross us out. They don’t have any of the survivors from the first movie return to fight again. They do bring back Bobby Rhodes (Hercules) except instead of playing a pimp, he’s now a bodybuilder in The Tower’s weight room. Asia Argento is great as the small kid who shouldn’t have gone to bed instead of watched that spooky movie.
The soundtrack of Demons 2 is a great collection of ’80s music with The Smiths, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Cult, Fields of the Nephilim, The Art of Noise, Peter Murphy and Dead Can Dance to go with Simon Boswell’s impressive hard edge new wave score. You want to dance around the room while the demons are ripping into the people. Demons 2 is a prime ’80s horror film that should be safe to watch at home.
This special edition 4K UHD includes two different versions of the movie. The English version runs 91:02. The Italian version runs 90:59. It appears the difference might have been in the translated opening credits which run a touch longer in English. There doesn’t seem to be any demonic moments missing. Along with the 4K UHD, there is also a separated release of Demons 2: Special Edition on Blu-ray.
The Video is 1.66:1 anamorphic with slight black bars on the side of your HDTV screen. The transfer is newly remastered in 4K from the original camera negative in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). You’ll once more marvel at the gross effects devised by Sergio Stivaletti. The Audio is DTS-HD MA English 5.1 & 2.0 on the English version. The Italian version has DTS-HD MA 5.1 & 2.0 mixes. Like most Italian productions, the sound was created in post-production so it doesn’t matter which version you listen to first. The movie is subtitled in English on both versions.
New audio commentary by film critic Travis Crawford talks about how it is a sequel without actually carrying over any characters from the first film. He relates it to David Cronenberg’s films. He points out a second actor that appeared in both films. He gives details on the production and release in major markets. Demons 2 didn’t get as big of a release in America as Demons.
Bava to Bava (16:43) is an overview of Italian horror courtesy of Luigi Cozzi. The horror movies made in the ’50s did well being exported including the early work of Mario Bava. They weren’t given major distribution in the country. That changed with the arrival of Dario Argento’s Bird With the Crystal Plumage. He takes it to The Demons films. There is talk of horror films made in the 21st Century.
Creating Creature Carnage (20:29) has Sergio Stivaletti explain how he had just finished his first film, Dario Argento’s Phenomena when he was offered the gig on Demons. He wanted his character transformations to be up there with the work of Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London). He gets into how they made the demons not appear to be zombies.
Demonic Influences (10:22) lets director Federico Zampaglione talk about how the film influenced him. He remembers being scared the first time he saw Demons. We get to see Lamberto Bava’s cameo. He worked with Bava when he was doing a music video that referenced his father’s Danger Diabolik.
The ‘Demons’ Generation (34:50) has Roy Bava discusses a legacy in lacerations. He worked for his dad on both Demons and Demons 2. He is a heavy metal fan and is proud of the song selection in the first film. He recounts his favorite scenes that were shot. He talks about how Argento dropped by the set, but only watched. His dad was calling the shots. He gets into the cinematic legacy of both his grandfather (Mario) and father (Lamberto).
The New Blood of Italian Horror (16:15) features special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti discuss working on several films during the last wave of Italian horror. He talks about working with Michele Soavi. He was friends with the director. They joined up for later films including Cemetary Man. He gets into their development of a new kind of zombie for the film.
Screaming for a Sequel: The Delirious Legacy of Demons 2 (15:59) has Lamberto Bava talk about returning to the nightmare creatures. He learned on the set from his father Mario Bava staring with Planet of the Vampires. He would help his dad co-direct Shock. He said after the Demons became a hit very fast, Dario told him to start with the sequel. He was supposed to bring back the lead of the first film, but the actor didn’t want it. He likes what he did in the sequel.
A Soundtrack for Splatter (27:08) has composer Simon Boswell recount how Dario Argento was a big fan of his band Live Wire and wanted him to help Goblin on the score to Phenomena. He then went on to score Demons 2. He gets into how he worked with Lamberto Bava. He’d go on to score Shallow Grave.
Together and Apart (26:36) is a fresh visual essay on the space and technology in Demons and Demons 2 by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. She gets into how the people in the movie watch things for entertainment whether it be the movie theater or a television in a living room.
Trailer Galley includes Original Italian (2:56) and English (2:55) trailers.
Reproduction Birthday Party Invitation that also explains how the 4K UHD transfer was achieved.
Synapse Films presents Demons 2: Special Edition. Directed by Lamberto Bava. Screenplay by Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Franco Ferrini, Dardano Sacchetti & Sergio Stivaletti. Starring David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, Asia Argento, Bobby Rhodes, Virginia Bryant, Anita Bartolucci, Antonio Cantafora & Luisa Passega. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 13, 2024.
