I promised my good buddy Jamie that I’d do a review of Lamberto Bava’s ‘Demons’, so here it is. This is brilliantly trashy 80’s horror from Italian horror legend Lamberto Bava, son of the brilliant Mario Bava. A mysterious stranger appears in a metro station and begins to hand out flyers inviting people to attend a horror movie showing in a local cinema. The people arrive in their droves and begin to check the cinema out before the movie starts. One of the patrons called Tony (Bobby Rhodes) is attending with two females, one of who starts fooling around with a silver mask hanging on a statue. The mask cuts her face prompting her to put the mask back.
The film the people have arrived to watch begins. In it there is a group of students investigating some ruins, where it is rumoured that Nostradamus is buried. When they find the grave all that’s inside is a dusty old book and a mask wrapped in cloth. One of the students takes the cloth off and is presented with a sliver mask, similar to the one in the cinema foyer. One of the students begins fooling with the mask and it cuts his face. His friend tells him to stop as it is said in the book that anyone who puts the mask on will become possessed by a demon. The female accomplice of Tony who also wore the mask panics as it’s similar to what happened to her. She retreats to the bathroom where her cut pulsates and explodes with pus seeping from it. Her friend comes to the toilet to see what is wrong with her and is presented with a yellow eyed demon spewing green goo from her mouth. Pretty soon, one by one, the cinema goers are possessed by the demons. Now it’s up to a small group to battle the evil and try find a way out of the cinema.
This film is great fun. However it’s fun for some of the wrong reasons. The acting is not the best, and the dialogue is cringe worthy at times. That being said, Bobby Rhodes who plays Tony the Pimp is a joy to watch. He’s such a bad ass and just doesn’t give a fuck that you can’t help but love him. The rest of the cast are ok, not brilliant. The gore is top notch though. I don’t know what the budget was, but it seems decent enough as the effects are fantastic. Best of all though is the soundtrack. With great tunes by Billy Idol and Motley Crue to name but a few, it’s banging. If you haven’t seen it then give it a go. If you’re a horror fan then it’s a must.
I really enjoyed it, but found myself laughing a lot at some of the characters. Even the demons were funny, although not intentionally I don’t think. It’s not a particularly scary movie by any stretch, but is a good film to watch with some like minded pals. Enjoy!
4/5
JM
Reel Ginger Movie Fan 
On the 26th of May 2012 I popped a long to the Camden Film Fair. One of the main reasons I wanted to go had to be because italian actor Bobby Rhodes made a guest appearance at the event.
I’m guessing most of you won’t know who he is (and shame on you) but Bobby Rhodes was born in 1947 in Livorno, Italy. He first began acting in films in the late 1960s and was frequently cast as hard-as-nails two-fisted macho-guy types in various Italian war, action, and horror features made throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
I know Bobby Rhodes from his role as Tony the Pimp in Lamberto Bava’s outrageously gruesome cult horror film Demons (1985) and as rugged gym instructor Hank in the equally enjoyable sequel Demons 2 (1986).
If you have ever seen the two films above you will know how good they are. I first watched them back in the 80’s when my Dad used to rent videos from the local video shop. I still wonder to this day why a parent would let a kid under ten watch that but I don’t hold it against him. To this day though they still scare the bejeesus out of me. Here is the link to the Italian trailer for Demons 2 – LINK . Watch it and you will get the point.
Anyway I was really chuffed to meet him. It was lovely to see lots of other people queueing to meet him and when I got my chance to say hello he was such a nice man and I went a bit fan boy.
I managed to mumble to him how cool I thought he was and I mentioned how at the age of 33 the films still scare me to death. He was rather amazed by this but like I said to him, now I’ve met him I was hoping to put some of these ‘Demons’ to rest. Which incidentally I haven’t as I’ve watched one of them since and it still disturbs me.
For fear of rambling again I’m going to leave it now but I will end saying how much of a high meeting Bobby Rhodes left me on and while I’ll probably never meet him again it’s a memory that will remain with me for a long long time.
Thank you Bobby it was a pleasure to meet you.