Customer Reviews

Gift Set 2: Demons & Demons 2

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Demons and Demons 2 were both directed by Lamberto Bava son of famous Italian horror director Mario Bava and not Dario Argento just to clear things up he did produce and has written the stories for both films. The first demons film takes place in a darkened theater where the film on screen is a horror film about demons, the cinema goers soon get traped inside and must fight for thier lives.
The characters included in this film are hilarious like a bunch of 80's punk teens with realy bad hairstyles and a pimp that likes to smack his hoes lol. The one thing that I really hated about this film was the awful dubbing but if you have seen a lot of italian horror films it wouldn't bother you, the film is a lot of fun to watch as the few surviving cast get to kill demons and one scene has a guy on a motorcycle in a movie theater gets to hack a few demons with his sword.
The gore and special fx were terrific as some of the demon transformations were pretty gruesome and you could tell that the film was made to appeal to a much wider market outside of Italy probably because of the soundtrack and it was made more like an american horror film, this film deffinently gets 5 stars.
Now the sequal was not so good and I thought it was average infact on its own I would have given it a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, the story this time takes place in a highrise appartment building and the demons seem to come out of their television sets.
The film has a slower pace and seems to drag along but some scenes were interesting I guess like the partying teens and the pregnant woman who is traped in her appartment trying to escape from the ugly demon child. Both films have trailers and a small feature behind the scene on make up fx but thats it.

Do you like carnage? Violence? High Sleaze?

Do you like the prospect of Demons chasing their hapless, screaming victims around in the dark, and tearing off huge chunks of flesh in the process?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then check out Demons 1 and Demons 2, lovingly gathered together into this tasty deluxe edition.

Italian horror maestro Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava joined forces to produce two of the goriest, most merciless, most stylish, and arguably the best zombie films ever made: for my money, Demons and Demons2 are nectar of the Gods for gorehounds and horror movie fanatics.

Plot, character development, and pacing all take a backseat to the most important element of any zombie movie: brain-eating, bone-crunching, viscera-devouring goodness.

Both of the Demons movies deliver the goods in spades, and have the additional virtue of gorgeous and crisp cinematography, eerie and stylish lighting, and the highest splatter-to-running-time ratio of any horror movie ever made, with the possible exception of Peter Jackson's Dead/Alive.

Best of all, the "Demons" movies are utterly merciless: all of the more benevolent horror movie conventions are gleefully abandoned. SEE:

*Dewey-eyed adorable little children get mutated into flesh-devouring demons!

*One of the little demon children explode as it gives 'birth' to a yowling, screaming little imp!

*a fluffy, loyal family dog growl and bark at a pool of demon blood, only to be transformed into an insane and hungry monster, its snout rolling back up over its eyeballs as a new set of green 'eyes' grow out of its nose!

*a blind man get his eyes gouged out even as he begs for the demon to stop!

In short, both movies are sheer horror genius, a 7-course feast (with some nice 1987 Chateau LaTour thrown in) for the discriminating gorehound. It simply doesn't get any better than this, folks, and best of all, you can watch Demons/Demons2 again and again and never get tired of it. Can you honestly say that about "Night of the Living Dead"?

But let's dispense, quickly, with the plot: there is none.
Alright, I'm being a little glib: there is a plot, but don't expect either film to stick to it. Demons takes place in the Metropol, a haunted (but mysteriously refurbished) Berlin movie theater; patrons gather for a free screening of a new horror movie (about teenagers exploring an ancient cathedral who awaken---you guessed it---demons). One of the moviegoers, Rosemary the Harridan, scratches her cheek on a demonic mask in the lobby; the wound becomes infected (oh boy does it ever!) and begins to bubble and ache.

Rosemary excuses herself, and goes to the bathroom to tend to her now throbbing, pulsating cheek wound, and, after a deliciously gory transformation scene (in which gobbets of flesh, buckets of blood, and waterfalls of pus fly everywhere) becomes a demon.

Rosemary gets out and starts clawing and biting other patrons; people turn into demons; things get out of hand; and after a while Berlin has considerably more to worry about than the Soviets. The second movie offers more of the same, this time in a Berlin apartment building. Both films also inexplicably feature a subplot about a carload of ill-tempered punk rockers who spend roughly 75% of the film driving aimlessly around Berlin listening to new wave ditties, but don't worry---they get theirs. Oh yes indeed.

Both movies feature the aforementioned gobs of gore, stunning demon transformation scenes, and hip eighties soundtracks (featuring Motley Crue, Billy Idol, Dead Can Dance and The Cult). You get to see Berlin in all its old Cold War glory. And best of all, you have the sheer delight of two of the most shockingly gory zombie flicks ever put to film on a sleek, gorgeous DVD transfer!

Some have complained the acting in the film is atrocious, but what do you expect from a film which was originally shot in German and Italian, and then dubbed over into English---and not using good, expressive English voices, but folks who sound like their acting skills are sub-par, at best. Look, you can't have it all---and anyway, you get the winsome Fiore Argento in Demons and the tasty and plummish Asia Argento in Demons2 (Dario's daughters). Something this enjoyable shouldn't be legal, so take advantage of Demons/Demons2 while you can.

JSG

This is one of my favorite horror films of all-time. I'm not a horror expert like others, but I enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Jackson's DEAD ALIVE, Raimi's EVIL DEAD, Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD, and more than say...Fulci's THE BEYOND. Why?

*It's got great gross-out effects(man-made gore, none of that 'clean'-looking cgi gore), esp. the human-to-demon transformation scenes.
*It's fast-paced with good action. These demons move fast and are quick. After seeing this you won't feel sorry for hapless victims who can't outrun slow zombies or who are so clumsy that they bump into them.
*It has a sense of style. Visually impressive, with the movie-within-a-movie scenes and the part where the demons run in slo-mo down a hall with eyes glowing being standouts!
*Great music. Excellent Italian new wave electronic score opens and closes the credit sequences in the first film. 80's songs(these being 80's films) are present throughout both films and are a mixed bag(#2 ends with 'Rain' from the Cult...which is good).

True, the dubbing is bad, but if you dub SEVEN SAMURAI, SEVENTH SEAL, and CITIZEN CANE badly, they aren't gonna come across as great either. Besides, are you watching these expecting to see those types of films? Overall, if you liked one you'll like the other, but admittedly it will be a case of seen-that, been-there. But at least make it a priority to see the first. Plus, a few extras with a nice image transfer make this dvd a must buy(or at least a must see), esp. for those looking for an antidote to all those teen/cgi-fx/hollywood-type horror films. Don't take it too seriously, and you'll have a blast, get grossed out, and even scared...and that's what it's all about right?

This is the ultimate collection of two of the most goriest films of the late 80's: DEMONS ONE & TWO! Now (basically for the price of just one of the movies), you get BOTH films by horror filmmaker team of Dario Argento & Lamberto Bava. If you liked THE EVIL DEAD, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, or anything from the horror-filled 80's, this two disc set is for you! Great sound in 5.1, a cleaned-up visual, and a nice box too! Get it or be doomed by Demons!

When I was about twelve years old my brother and I snuck into Demons at our local theater. This movie scared me really bad when I was young and after watching it agian I can see why. Demons is a good film that is loaded with blood, gore and shock. This was produced by Dario Argento an Italian director who worked with George A Ramero on Dawn of the Dead...

The movie is about a movie theater that re-opens and has a free screening. Once at the theater the people there see that it's a horror movie and settle in for a good ride. A prostitute puts on a mask in the lobby and cut's her face, somthing that happens to one of the people in the movie, and once he turn's into a Demon so does she. From there all hell breaks loose. Literally.
This was a well made horror film. It also is a bit of a surprise to me becouse I am not a big fan of the Italian horror scene. The make-up and monster effects are very convincing and scary. Unlike some horror movie's (Zombie, City of the living dead, and Don't go into the woods etc) the movie's monster's are very effective. There are a few scenes of shlock but the movie is such a nice surprise that you can look past all of that.

I should not have to tell you that you will not get the same effect watching this movie at home as in the movie theater but it is still a scary film to watch. Just be warned this is a groy, graphic, violent film that is un-rated for a reason.

Demons 2 was a good follow up but not nearly as good as the first. 2 deals with an apartment highrise and a party. I personally think the makers of 2 realized that most people would see this movie at there home and not at the theater so they made it more for the vhs/dvd viewer in mind. I gave the movies 4 stars becouse the first movie get's 5 and the second 2.

A quick side note. While my brother and I were in the theater he met some firends of his. We all dicided to watch the movie together. At the end of the film one of his friend got a nose bleed and to this day I have no idea how I kept from running, scearming from the theater.

I really don't know how someone can criticize these films, what exactly were you expecting? This isn't Citizen Kane here, it's Demons. These are films about monsters running amuck and slicing people into potato salad. Abandon any kind of expectations for these films and go with it. As you know, Demons has people trapped in a movie theater with creepy, taloned, fanged, greenish creatures. There is absolutely no explanation given for this event. You never discover who made this film(the film playing in the theater), who's showing it, why they're showing it, how the entrances get blocked off, how the mask ends up in the lobby, etc. But who cares anyway? There are tons of things that don't make sense-people turn into Demons without actually getting scratched, a mini-Demon hops out of somebody. None of these things make sense, but the movie's fun to watch either way.
Demons 2 is basically a remake, but the setting is now switched to an apartment complex. Everyone seems to be watching this film about the events of the first Demons film. This film seems to be a documentary, then it seems to be an actual movie, then the events seem to actually be taking place in the real world in some other location. There is no camera crew with the people in the "documentary", and Bava films their little adventure as though it's actually happening-But it's supposed to be being viewed by the people in the apartment!! And how does a Demons come through a tv screen for no reason? Personally, I love these weird unexplained moments because it gives the movie(s) more of a nightmare/fantasy element. These films seemed much scarier to me when I was a kid(I didn't understand the concept of bad dubbing, acting, writing, etc. I was just creeped out by the Demons), but I still love them. I've always been intrigued by the Romero-ish situation of being stuck inside a building, fighting for your life against horrible creatures. The difference between these and Romero's films is that the threat isn't waiting outside, it's trapped in there with you! I think that's why I like these so much. So, try giving the Demons films a whirl around midnight or so, it's fun.

I've had both the Demons films on vhs for years, my mates and i used to watch 'em all the time, they are just pure cult classics and dvd really does them both justice i was especially impressed with the first demons on dvd it looks and sounds great the gore scenes are a little longer in places too which is a treat and lambertos commentary is quite amusing too, yeah Natasha Hovey is a babe and Bobby Rhodes is a baddass !!

Demons 1 was good Demons 2 even better,the gor and effects are great the plot is great and it gives you the sense of being trapped with no where to go, pretty creepy stuff. I wanted to buy this but wasnt willing to spend close to $30, being I never seen it.

The funny thing is my father calls me and tells me that he brought me some horror movies and he mentions one of the movies has a flick called Demons and Demons 2 on it, I was hoping it was these and it was. Whats most impressive about it is that he had brought me thesemovies on one disc for $1 from a dollar store along with 2 other dvds that featured 2 movies on each. The transfer is not great but it is very good and very watchable, a great movie for any collectors of horror movies.

Demons 2 is a watchable,B-movie gorefest with some good special effects and a good setting(an apartment). The plot deals with a girl inviting her friends to her 16th birthday and then she as well as others watch a demon movie and then demons pop out of the TV and then possess the people in the sky-rise apartment. Highlights include a demon popping out of the TV,a dog being possessed and then its eyes turn into green glowing eyes,and a demon-like imp popping out of a kid's body. This movie is like Night of the Living Dead meets The Evil Dead with a homage to David Cronenberg's Videodrome(the TV part).

Recommended if you like these movies that are mainly similar: Night of the Living Dead,The Evil Dead,Night of the Demons,Tales from the Crypt presents Demon Knight.

Despite a great video transfer and digital sound, this is still a dissapointing DVD. The formulaic trailors are dull(why didn't they showcase the originals?), the commentary by Bava and company is at best ear-jarring, and also some of the original score is ommited, leaving some scenes totally devoid of suspense. View these movies only in their original form. Other than that... buy this DVD at your own viewing risk.