And it's not because I am a huge Night of the Demons fan. From what I recall, I thought it was fun and seemed just about perfect for a late 80's VHS rental (I remember the box from Mr. Movies!) which I didn't actually see until 2000-something. But it fit the "idea" of a late-80's VHS rental, you know? I saw the remake (with Shannon Elizabeth) a couple of years ago and thought it was okay. But this - ugh. It's obviously aiming for comedy more than horror, but that doesn't give it carte blanche to suck.
Night of the Demons 2 centers around a Christian reform school on the day of the big dance. Most of the kids we meet are the trouble-making/promiscuous type, although we've also got our final girl Bibi (Christi Harris), a wannabe demonologist guy, and the very meek Melissa (aka Mouse), who is Angela's sister from the original Demons. After the events of the original, Angela was supposedly sent straight to hell, and her parents killed themselves shortly thereafter, leaving Melissa an orphan. The big trouble maker of the group is Shirley (Zoe Trilling), who gets herself and the rest of the gang suspended from the dance. But she has a backup plan - she is going to throw the "biggest party ever!" Unbeknownst to her friends, it will be at the same haunted house from part one... scandalous! The "biggest party ever" ends up being one car load of people from school, plus her boyfriend Rick (a big rock and roll doofus) and this guy, Z-Boy:
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| Combining the most aggravating characteristics of both the leads of Biodome. |
I am not exaggerating when I say he is the most grating and obnoxious character I've come across, ever. He doesn't get a ton of screen time, but I really can't convey here how terrible he truly is.
Anyways, some creepy shit goes down, but they escape over the river (the river, of course, being what is keeping the demons on the haunted property). Unfortunately, Bibi foolishly brought a demon stowaway, in the form of a tube of lipstick, out of the house! Everyone gets back to the school party, where Shirley (the trouble-maker) uses the lipstick, only to have a snake thing crawl out of it and up her legs (presumably into her vagina). From that point on, she can infect people by kissing them with her black tongue. I guess the lipstick snake has also made it okay for demon-Angela to manifest at the school, because she's there too. A "hilarious" nun and school priest get in on the action. Will our friends be able to survive this night of demons? How will they fight off this ultimate evil? Don't tune in to find out, because it sucks!
What I liked
Some of the makeup effects are good. One demon attack has a full set of hands reaching out from Shirley's exposed breasts to attack a guy. The hands don't break the skin - they just kind of reach out like her skin is make of silly putty. It looks cool! Also, Angela turns into a big evil snake-thing in the end - it's her body from the torso up, and then a big (15 feet-ish) prosthetic tail. It's a really cool practical creation. Too bad it's in the service of such a bad movie. Plus, the stupid, stupid, stupid way she dies ruins any goodwill the thing may have earned.
When the demons are at the school dance, they stop the friendly church music and put on Morbid Angel. It's plain as day that they didn't have this while they were filming, so it's kind of funny to see people bop around like they are listening to pop music while Death Metal is on on the background.
What I didn't like
Other than Bibi, the characters are either crazy annoying or super unbelievable (or both). I was actively cheering for their instant deaths. But the problem is that when they are "killed," they are really just possessed. Which in this movie, means they get some fake teeth, slimy makeup, and amp up their most obnoxious traits. There is no possible good outcome here, so it doesn't matter if they live or die.
The humor sucks. A nun using her ruler and rosary for a weapon could be (a little) funny in the right context, but not here. They all but wink at the camera, and just totally oversell it. Plus, did you know nuns can regenerate their severed heads, because faith? So that is something. For a movie that values humor over horror, I don't think I laughed once. With it, or at it.
Overall
Just not a good experience. It brought to mind Howling III, the current holder of "The Worst" label. Demons 2 isn't that bad, but it's the closest any other movie has come. Something about these horror-"comedy" sequels obviously doesn't work for me. Why try to funny up what made your first movie successful?
I would definitely not recommend this film.
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