It’s good to live in the past sometimes, really good. When I look back at all the direct to video horror films of my youth and teen years; and then look at all the shit that comes out on DVD now. I realize that I didn’t have it so bad when it came to renting such films. Compared to today where the only thing that matter is a catchy looking box cover, I almost feel that back in the day the film industry actually cared about putting out halfway decent films, and made the sequels sometimes just as good as the original films. those days are long gone now, but a testament to one of those great video days of horror was a film called Night of the Demons. While that has yet to make it’s reappearance on DVD. It’s sequel Night of the Demons 2 is a film from the past that I clearly remember really digging.
Night of the Demons 2 starts off right where the first film left off. This time however a group of kids from a nearby catholic school make the trip to Angela Franklin’s house, (Simply known as Hull House.) to have a Halloween party. As a prank they drag along Angela’s known to be sister whom they call Mouse. The group experiments with some black magic and then all hell breaks loose as Angela begins to take over the unlucky kids, and uses them to kill not only one another but anyone who crosses her path. The only hope is a young nerdy guy named Harry and a nun named Sister Gloria whom is trained in many forms of martial arts to stop Angela and her evil ways and rescue the kids from Hull House.
The script for Night of the Demons 2 is not half bad. It’s has an original concept and it adds a bit of comedy to the over horror of the story. The character development in the film slightly favors certain key characters over the others which are just mainly part of the story to add to the body count. There is some very funny and some very serious dialogue that has been written into the script as well. One of the greatest comedic lines in the film comes from Sister Gloria when confronting two students about to get it on. “Save some room for the holly ghost.” is probably the most memorable line from the film. The script also brings to light some words from the bible to help with the over all faith driven theme of good vs. evil. For whatever reason it works well.
The acting in the film is what you would expect from a low budget film from the 90’s. However good or bad it is, there are a lot of familiar faces in the film. While she only has a supporting role in the film, the most familiar face is that of Ben Stiller’s wife Christine Taylor, whom has a small role as one of the popular girls in the film. Another face we also know of from his roles in the tremors films and a variety of television shows is actor Robert Jayne whom play the role of the nerdy kid named Harry and gives one of the better performances in the film. However the show stealer in this film belongs to Jennifer Rhodes as Sister Gloria. Her role in this film and the way in which she played the part are that of a true actor dedicated to her work. She was simply great in this role and its kind of a shame that this character was not bought back in the third film. Also I should mention that Amelia Kinkade also did another good job in her role as Angela.
The films of the eighties and nineties always had decent production value. They never had the luxury of cheap CGI like the films have today, so everything needed to be as perfect as it could be before the scenes were even shot. Most special effects shots that included stop motion and big money shot type effects usually had to be done in either one or two takes. While Night of the Demons 2 does have it’s flaws in certain areas of the production value, It still has a more believable look to it, them most of the films shot today. There is a ton of gore and over the top make-up effects, some look really good, while other look kind of cheesy. You can pretty much compare the demon effects to the likes of the Evil Dead films.
Overall, Night of the Demons 2 is one of the better sequels I’ve seen to a direct to video film from the past. The Night of the Demons franchise as a whole stands up as one of the most successful direct to video horror films. The story is scary, and it’s one of those films that when I saw the original as a kid scared me. However Night of the Demons 2, has more of a comedic side to it, but knows when to be funny and when to bring the scares. While the story is a bit out there, the film works and it’s one of the best produced sequels to a direct to video horror trilogy.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
