The lines between cinema and reality blur, when a mask is found that carries evil. A movie theater becomes the battleground for hordes of bloodthirsty demons invading our world!
It's a mess. It's all over the place. A helicopter. (You'll understand.) We love it so much.
"Demoni" drops all ballast, plays no games, and goes straight for the marbles. Which, in this case, are the games. It's not about uncovering and dissecting your innermost fears - or, only if they are an unhinged, feverish, surreal, and gory nightmare, that comes at you like a train at full steam. Where in other movies the aforementioned "marbles" would correlate to the underlying suspense, the dramatic arc, or whatever emotional effect the director intends to evoke in between the peak moments, in "Demoni" there is no such thing as an "in between". When the spectacle begins, it gets wilder and wilder, and pretty much doesn't stop until the end.
The film-in-the-film concept mixes with some colorful outside world shots, there's plenty of action and gore, a bit of sleaze and bad lifestyle, and there's a notable lack of meaningful dialogue sequences, little chances of identification with the protagonists, etc. In "Demoni" it's all about the sonic and visual impact. The heavy metal music by Saxon, Accept, and others, used in the soundtrack, might seem a little off on first sight, but it's actually somehow accurate to not only the pacing of the movie, but also the stereotype that heavy metal music is inherently the devil's work.
This hints at a message, a loophole in which "Demoni" is the very evil that it portrays, spilling over into the real world. But that's certainly a massive over-analysis. First and foremost, "Demoni" is a mash-up of countless themes from Italian horror cinema and fumetti (comics). Gothic demons emerging, a helicopter (...), a hero with shiny muscles, some zombie-esque action, ... If you've ever seen a fumetto like e.g. Dylan Dog or Brad Barron, you get the idea. It's a lot.
And it works! There is some really awesome looking use of light and shadow, inventive and bizarre imagery, wild, scary make-up, some epic scenes of demonic onslaught, huge amounts of violence and gore, and so on, and it has a fast pace, so you don't spend much time thinking about all of the insanity.
"Demoni" is one of the most spectacular productions of 70s and 80s Italian horror cinema. Does it make sense, or even educate you? No. Does it keep you tied to the screen, asking for more? Ohyeah!
Verdict: All hell breaks loose in "Demoni"! 8/10
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089013/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demons_(1985_film)
Trailer video:
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