Demons(1985)

10/10

The 80's had their fair share of monster horror flicks, but in 1985, an Italian film by director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento called "Demons" revolutionized the genre. With an exhilarating heavy metal soundtrack, nauseating gore, laughs, and truly scary scenes of terror, this movie scores. 

"Demons" tells the story of a group of people seeing a mysterious horror movie that they were given a free ticket for. As they view it, things become too frightening for many of them to stomach. After one of the attendants is scratched by a mask she was wearing, she slowly turns into a flesh eating demon. As more and more of the people are cursed, the remainders must fight for their survival with no limits. 

A humongous factor to this film's success was its soundtrack. With bands like Motley Crue, Saxon, Accept, Scorpions, and many others, your blood will be rushing because of the adrenalizing tone that the songs bring to the movie. The greatest moment of the film's duration was when "Fast As A Shark" by Accept played as the people were running and biking away from the theater like crazy. It actually felt as if I was there during this scene, because the song brought so much emotional authenticity. 

Italian horror has always been known for being relentless with its graphic violence and gore, and this movie is no exception. With throats being slit, eye gougings, scalpings, dismembering of body parts, and gallons of blood and guts, this movie will nauseate and intrigue simultaneously. To make things even more amazing, the gore does not look dated at all, and it could be a strong competitor to many of the modern horror films. 

Another thing that the writers and Bava did was blend funny scenes with terrifying scenes. Every part with the metal head druggies in their car will have you laughing crazily, and the scenes of threat will actually leave you shaking. This was definitely one of the most successful horror-comedy hybrids, because neither end of the spectrum felt forced in any way. 

As I watched the film, I almost got the same feeling as when I watch "Night of the Living Dead." This stemmed from several plot points throughout. First off, the people of the theater really team up, almost like the protagonists of its predecessor. Second off, the film had an equally shocking ending to Romero's masterpiece. While both movies were very different, it was nice to have that refreshing feeling of watching such an impactful horror film. 

"Demons" is one of the best horror movies I have ever watched. Behind the original "Halloween," it may be my current favorite. I definitely recommend it to all fans of cinema, because it is a piece of art that hasn't been topped by any of its imitators.