Hello there, flapjacks! The spooky season is upon us, so what better time to cozy up on the couch with a Boo Bucket full of candy and watch horror movies? While the Halloween franchise is perfect viewing for the holiday, Scary Perry and I have been reviewing those on the podcast. Oh, we haven’t released an episode covering another Halloween entry yet? Or the Awful August episode yet? Hey, cut me some slack! I’m a one-man Army of Darkness here! Scary Perry isn’t any help now that the gas station bathroom has reopened. I swear he’s in there all day. What is he doing in there that he needs to spend that much time in the bathroom? Wait, never mind. I don’t want to know. Anyways, there are other horror movies that take place on Halloween besides the titular franchise and while I sit here and wait for my Short Stack from Delores, I’ll give you my Short Stack review of one of such film: Night of the Demons (1988).
My mother always told me to never go to a party held at a spooky matte painting.
The film kicks off with this cool animated title sequence accompanied by some sweet 80s music that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. A group of “teens” (read: twenty somethings pretending they’re high schoolers) hatch up the brilliant plan of having a Halloween party at an abandoned, and supposedly haunted, funeral parlor. What can possibly go wrong? Look, in their defense, if you told me 80s Linnea Quigley is going to be at a party, I don’t care if it’s held in the Pet Semetery next to The House by the Cemetery; you know she will be going topless and I’ll be there. Although she does stick a tube of lipstick inside her boob. Hey, I wouldn’t let a little weird thing like that stop me from having a good time! Or getting my eyes clawed out… oh wait…
Linnea, don't put the lipstick all over your face- Oh, okay, too late for that. Well, then just don't shove it inside your boob- Oh, well, you did that too. Hmm... ah screw it. Let's get to the hunka chunka!
As the party goes on, they have the bright idea of holding a séance in front of a large, antique mirror. Hmm, I’m getting Mirror Mirror vibes, sans Karen Black. This goes about as well as you’d expect with the mirror falling over and shattering to pieces, releasing an ancient demon from the crematorium. Dummies! Granted, it does give us a pretty shot of the reflection of the partyers in the shards, so it was totally worth the seven years of bad luck. Besides, I have a feeling most of them aren’t going to live more years anyways, let alone another day.
If there's one thing you should have learned from Karen Black in Mirror Mirror, it's not to star in every mediocre horror movie offered to you. Oh wait, I meant avoid antique mirrors.
With the demon loose, it starts to possess our partyers one-by-one, covertly at first, then ditching all pretext and transforming the possessed into demons that murder the others in spectacular fashion. When they look for an exit, they find that it has disappeared, and the wall is solid brick all the way around. Will any of the cast be able to survive the Night of the Demons? And wait a minute, a group of “teens” is trapped in a remote location, being possessed by demons “one-by-one,” and the only exit is destroyed/missing you say? This sounds awfully familiar, though I can’t quite put my boom stick on it.
Yes, this is an “Evil Dead Clone,” but it’s a damn good one at that. The demon makeup is awesome looking and the rest of the special effects are solid, with some T&A thrown in for good measure. And if you love your 80s jams, Night of the Demons has plenty of it. (I especially like Computer Date.) Plus, the film is bookended by a hilarious bit with a grumpy old man putting razor blades in apples for trick or treaters and his eventual comeuppance. Now, the characters aren’t super deep and are mostly your typical horror movie stereotypes, but they are definitely a lot of fun, especially the as mentioned Quigley as Suzanne, Amelia Kinkade as goth girl Angela, and Hal Havins as the obnoxious and portly Stooge. Although the stereotypical Italian Sal Romero doesn’t do my people any favors. He even says his family has plastic covering the furniture. Not all Italians do that! We aren’t all chefs or in the mafia either. Me? Well, sure, my current main gig is in food service, but that’s beside the point. And rumors of my involvement in a mafia run bum fight circuit are unsubstantiated. Oh, that reminds me, I have to call my bookie to put $100 on Buck Flower in the 5th fight on the card for this wee- er, forget that you ever saw that.
Anyways, Night of the Demons is a blast and very entertaining. It’s the type of cheesy 80s horror comedy that I love. I definitely recommend adding it to your Halloween watch list. There are two sequels of varying quality, which were recently released in 4K from Scream! Factory. I've picked them up and will have to watch them soon. Also, there is a remake that I heard is pretty good that I'll have to check out some time. As for the original, it’s quite the delicious Short Stack. Speaking of short stacks, I think I’m more likely to “eat a bowl of fuck” than pancakes at this rate. Where is Delores with that order? Wait, she just came out of the gas station. And now here comes Scary Perry out of the gas station! Coincidence? Umm, well, I think that’s my que to exit. Have a Happy Halloween, flapjacks! Oh, and be sure to watch the big giveaway at 9pm! (And a reminder, that the IHOH podcast is currently having a giveaway too! Listen to our latest episode reviewing Train to Busan to find out more!)
Overall Rating: 4 and ½ Pancakes
