Certain things have stuck with me over the years, from when I would constantly frequent video stores in my neighborhood. One such thing would be the cover of the 1985 Italian horror film Demons. Just the image of one of the titular characters frightened me to no end as a child, so much so that I would go out of the way to turn the box around so it couldn’t stare at me anymore. It’s been quite a few years since revisiting it, and the release of the 4K from Synapse was the perfect opportunity for me to dig right back in.
A masked man randomly invites a group of people to a movie premiering at a theater known as the Metropol. When the movie begins, it quickly becomes a terrifying experience when the events happening on the screen begin to happen in real life after one of the patrons cuts her face on a prop mask displayed in the lobby. She turns into a bloodthirsty demon and sets off a chain reaction as others become affected and those who are trying to fight them off and survive.
The movie itself holds up very well. It’s a blood-splattered ride that moves at a rapid pace, accented by a killer heavy metal soundtrack featuring songs by bands like Accept, Motley Crue, Billy Idol, and many more. The 4K transfer really helps to show off the brilliant practical effects work of Sergio Stivaletti and his team. The blood is that much redder, and gruesome moments pop out more; their work is just astounding. The picture has a crisp, polished look that works properly and isn’t too clean, like many titles tend to end up looking.
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This was remastered in 4K from the original camera negative with two versions of the film, the original Italian cut, and a shorter U.S. version. There are a ton of special features that give fans a really complete and well-round look into the making of the film, including numerous audio commentaries, a visual essay on Dario Argento’s work as a producer, an interview with composer Claudio Simonetti, and many other bits that have been available on other versions.
There have been MANY other versions of the film released in various formats, but this 4K may be my favorite release. Being a bit of a nerd, I doubt I’ll get rid of the other versions I have but if you’ve never bought it before in your life, this is the one to get. If you’re like me, then you’ll just want to have it because Demons is just damn cool and one of the greatest horror films to come out of Italy during that time and a high point for both Dario Argento as a producer and Lamberto Bava as a director.
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