Dèmoni

Dèmoni (Demons)
English-language film poster
Directed by	Lamberto Bava
Produced by	Dario Argento
Written by	Story: Dardano Sacchetti Screenplay: Dario Argento Lamberto Bava Franco Ferrini Dardano Sacchetti
Starring	Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Paola Cozzo, Bobby Rhodes, Fiore Argento
Music by	Claudio Simonetti Billy Idol Mötley Crüe Accept Pretty Maids Saxon
Release date(s)	October 4, 1985 (1985-10-04) (Italy)
Running time	88 min.
Country	Italy
Language	English and Italian (dubbed)
Budget	$1,800,000 (reported)

Dèmoni (also known as Demons) is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. The screenplay was written by Bava, Argento, Franco Ferrini, and Dardano Sacchetti, from a story by Sacchetti. Filming took place in Berlin, Germany and Rome, Italy.

Plot

On the Berlin subway, university student Cheryl is pursued by a mysterious, masked man. However, rather than attack her he offers her tickets to a free screening at a local, recently renovated cinema. She talks her friend, Kathy, into going with her. At the crowded theater, they meet two young gentleman, George and Ken, and sit with them. Before the film begins, a woman named Rosemary scratches her face with a bizarre mask in the lobby. The film is a violent, disturbing horror film that features the mask from the lobby. Feeling ill, Rosemary goes to the bathroom. The scratch on her face bursts open, spewing out a foul pus. She is soon transformed into a bloodthirsty, fanged demon. Rosemary attacks her friend, Carmen. Carmen rips through the screen and transforms into a demon in front of the rest of the cinema goers.

The group of uninfected race to any exit they can find, only to find that they have all been bricked up. Although they attempt to barricade themselves in the balcony, many of them are attacked and infected by the demons. One of the demons escapes into the city when four punks break in to the building through a back entrance. The punks are soon transformed into demons as well.

In the cinema, only George and Cheryl remain uninfected. Using a motorcycle and sword props from the lobby, they ride through the auditorium slicing down many demons. Suddenly, a helicopter crashes through the roof. George and Cheryl use its winch to climb to the roof. There they are attacked by the mysterious man from the subway but are able to kill him by impaling his head on an exposed bit of rebar. The two climb down onto the streets and discover the demonic infection has spread throughout the city. They are picked up by well-armed survivors in a jeep. As they drive to safety, Cheryl transforms into a demon. She is killed by one of the other passengers, leaving George as the only survivor from the cinema.

Cast

• Urbano Barberini as George
• Natasha Hovey as Cheryl
• Paola Cozzo as Kathy
• Karl Zinny as Ken
• Geretta Geretta as Rosemary as Geretta Giancarlo
• Fiore Argento as Hannah
• Bobby Rhodes as Tony
• Nicoletta Elmi as Ingrid the usherette
• Michele Soavi as Man in Mask
• Fabiola Toledo as Carmen
• Stelio Candelli as Frank
• Nicole Tessier as Ruth
• Guido Baldi as Tommy
• Bettina Ciampolini as Liz
• Giuseppe Mauro Cruciano as Hot Dog
• Sally Day as Carla
• Eliana Miglio as Edith
• Jasmine Maimone as Nancy
• Marcello Modugno as Bob
• Peter Pitsch as Baby Pig
• Lino Salemme as Ripper
• Enrica Maria Scrivano as Nina
• Alex Serra as Werner
• Claudio Spadaro as Liz's lover
• Giovanni Frezza as Kirk, boy in jeep
• Lamberto Bava as Extra in Subway
• Sami Habib Ahmed as Kathy's baby demon
• Sergio Stivaletti as A victim
• Goffredo Unger as Jeep Driver

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on LP. It has 1980s rock and Heavy Metal themes, while the sequel was pop and new wave oriented.

• Billy Idol - "White Wedding"
• Accept - "Fast as a Shark"
• Mötley Crüe - "Save Our Souls"
• Claudio Simonetti - "Demon"
• Claudio Simonetti - "Killing"
• Claudio Simonetti - "Out of Time"
• Rick Springfield - "Walking on the Edge"
• Pretty Maids - "Night Danger"
• Go West - "We Close Our Eyes"
• The Adventures - "Send My Heart"
• Saxon - "Everybody Up"

Reception

Dèmoni is generally held in high regards by horror fans due to its simple plot, high gore content, and classic heavy metal soundtrack. It currently holds a 6.4 rating on IMDb, but only a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sequels

Some of the films mentioned below are not official sequels, and are related in title only as a marketing strategy to gain popularity.

Original title	Title in English	Release year	Alternate title(s)
Dèmoni 2	Demons 2	1986
La casa dell'orco	The Ogre House	1988	Demons III: The Ogre
La Chiesa	The Church	1989	Demons 3
Dèmoni 3	Demons 3	1991	Black Demons
La Setta	The Schism	1991	Demons 4, The Devil's Daughter
La Maschera del demonio	The Mask of the Demon	1989	Demons 5: The Devil's Veil
Il Gatto nero	The Black Cat	1989	Demons 6: De Profundis / From The Deep

Production

Dario Argento had an important influence on Dèmoni. In addition to co-writing the script, he also produced the film. Argento's daughter, Fiore, plays the character of Hannah. Michele Soavi, a devotee of Argento's work and his assistant director on several films, also served as an assistant director on Dèmoni and has two starring roles, as the man wearing the silver mask and as Jerry, one of the characters in the film playing at the Metropol. Nicoletta Elmi, who plays the usherette, appeared in Argento's 1975 classic giallo Deep Red, and she also had a small role in the 1971 horror film Twitch of the Death Nerve (directed by Mario Bava, the father of Dèmoni director Lamberto Bava).

Most of the interior cinema scenes were shot in an actual closed down movie theatre. The building still exists but is now a bank. At the same time, the building used for the exterior shots of the movie theatre still exists; it's a club called "Goya", whose appearance in the film has brought it fame and now regularly hosts horror conventions today.^[1] Filming took place in Germany and Italy, and as a reference to these countries' cinema, posters for Werner Herzog's Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht and Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet can be seen hanging in the Metropol's lobby. The music chosen for the film features several Heavy metal classics, and there is also an AC/DC poster in one scene.

No gore was cut from the original script.^[2]

Release

According to IMDB, Dèmoni was released to screens on October 4 1985 in Italy and didn't see a release in the United States until the following year by the film distributor, Ascot Films, (an American small independent company that only released two films, Dèmoni and The Check Is in the Mail..., and is no longer in existence today) which released the film unrated to theaters and drive-ins across the U.S. on May 30 1986. Months later that year, Dèmoni was released on vhs by New World Home Video. In 1999, the film saw a dvd release along with Demons 2 by Anchor Bay, also re-released on vhs. Two years later, Dèmoni Was released in a double pack limited edition called the Dario Argento Collection. In 2007, Dèmoni was once again released by Anchor Bay in a new edition and fully widescreen transfer.

Arrow Video are to release the first two films on DVD again. A 2-part comic will be included, entitled Demons 3. Part 1 will come with Demons and the last part with Demons 2. Both DVDs are expected to be released December 5, 2011. They are also working on Blu-ray releases of Demons and Demons 2 to be released in 2012^[3].

Influence

• This film was #53 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.^[4]
• In the PlayStation video game, Silent Hill (1999), there is also a theater named the "Metropol". The theater also has posters on the outside walls advertising for the film "Demons", which is a reference.^[5]

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089013/trivia?tr=tr0651474
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089013/trivia?tr=tr0672913
3. ^ http://www.cult-labs.com/forums/193438-post1.html
4. ^ http://classic-web.archive.org/web/20071030070540/http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Scariest_Movie_Moments/index.shtml
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089013/trivia?tr=tr0672704

External links

• Dèmoni at the Internet Movie Database
• Dèmoni at AllRovi
• Dèmoni at Rotten Tomatoes