“They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.” – the tagline for Demons only begins to hint at the bizarre story behind Lamberto Bava’s creature feature described in another tagline as “an Orgy of Bloodshed.” All the characteristics of 80s Italian horror films are here: a cast of unusual characters, a nonsensical plot and graphic, bloody special effects. And that’s not the half of it. Thomas Mariani, Doc Rotten and Christopher G. Moore tackle another gruesome horror film from the 1980s. Guest-host, The Black Saint (Horror News Radio) joins the crew to discuss Demons.
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 85 — Demons (1985)
During the summer of 1986, the latest horror film from Italian genre favorite Laberto Bava (son of the legendary Mario Bava) made its Stateside debut. Produced and co-written by Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria), Demons would become an 80s horror classic featuring memorable, gory effects (by Sergio Stivaletti) of people transforming into monsters. The talent involved is extraordinary, including Michele Soavi (The Church, Cemetery Man) as assistant director. The film became a huge hit on VHS and produced a series sequels, many of which are in name only capitalizing on the name brand this film became.
In the film, friends Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) and Hannah (Fiore Argento) attend a special advanced screening of a new horror flick. Another patron, Rosemary (Geretta Geretta) cuts herself on a prop mask from the film hanging in the lobby. Before long she transforms into a demon attacking and infecting others now locked inside the theater. Cheryl and Hannah, along with new found friends George (Urbano Barerini) and Ken (Karl Zinny) fight to escape and survive. Check out the review of Demons from Thomas, Doc and Christopher along with guest-host The Black Saint.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
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Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
