It's almost ironic how immediately after I comment in my Lost Boys Review (review here) about how rarely films from our past hold up and manage to stand the ravages of time, that I should revisit Night of the Demons on DVD courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. Can't tell you the last time I saw Night of the Demons, but I must've been a wee lad (now I'm really giving off my age). I could only remember flashes of the film itself, like this infamous shot of Linnea Quigley's ass, and the scene in which she crams a lipstick right through her nipple and into her breast (in an all time great special effect mind you) but that's about it. Although I remembered liking the flick when I was a kid, but then again, what do kids know?

Premise? What premise? Well, the whole ordeal is beyond cookie cutter to say the least, but that's hardly the problem. The set up is far too long, and it's a good 45-minutes or so before we even get to any of the carnage. The basic idea here centers around a group of stereotypical twenty something's playing teenagers (sorry, had to do it) who get sucked into a Halloween party at an abandoned, creepy ole' building. So anyways, the group (led by Angela) perform some sort of ritual in front of a mirror and unleash a demon who then possesses some of the finer young ladies in the establishment. All hell breaks loose, (yadda, yadda, yadda) and it isn't too long before blood and clothes are both shed in ample quantities.

Well, there you have it. Now let me tell you why this film doesn't hold up as well now as it did when I was a kid. Aside from the fact that it's a real immature production - nothing, and I do mean nothing that happens here makes any sense. The fact that this unlikable girl named Angela (everyone seems to hate here) drags these partygoers from their original plans to her fabu shindig is extremely unlikely. Not to mention the fact that the eclectic group of people hanging out at Angela's bash would NEVER be caught dead (get it?) hanging out with one another in the 'real world.' You've got the good girl, the sex crazed preppie, the jean jacket wearing tough guy, the black dude, the heavy metal badass / tattooed wonder, the hot Asian chick with breast implants (what the hell is she doing there?) and so forth. They party together (they get really excited when one of them plugs in a strobe light), dance the night away, fornicate with one another, and perform age old demonic rituals together. I'm not buying this for a minute, are you?

Then we have the actual inner workings of the film itself, the guts if you will, like the script. But even worse than the script are the performances. Now I always take these types of films with a grain of salt, anyone who reads this site on a daily basis knows this. But in this film, the performances are exceptionally bad. All you need to do is look at these facial expressions to know that these kids can't act! It's tough. I know I'm slamming on the flick pretty bad, but it's not all a loss.

Once the sex & mayhem begin and it doesn't matter who these people are anymore, things slowly begin to pick up. So on a purely hedonistic level of debauchery, the tail end of the film is pretty fun. Ample amounts of blood and boobage including (but not limited to) a few nifty demon effects and an eye gouge (ouch!) - the rivers definitely run red here. I also have to give props to the 'look' of the film. Excellent use of locations, creepy rooms and corridors - Night of the Demons has the look of a great horror flick that many try to attain, but ultimately fail at. There's even a great establishing shot at one point, and while it's evident that it's purely a cheap special effect, it's still pretty damn cool looking. To the films' credit, it never pretends to be something it isn't and that's definitely a good thing. Director Kevin Tenney does manage to hold things together pretty well, and it's obvious where his influences stem from. But still, all the love in the world won't make a good film, if you're missing some of the key ingredients as spoken of above.

Video quality fares pretty well throughout. The anamorphic transfer is free of blemishes and breakouts for the most part. I did notice some inconsistencies in color levels in certain scenes, not sure if this is a case of multiple source materials being used, but it's there and noted. Audio is presented in 'Ultra Stereo' which boils down to your basic stereo surround mix. Nice levels, clear dialogue, really no complaints here.

Extras include an audio commentary with Director Kevin Tenney, Executive Producer Walter Josten and Producer Jeff Geoffray. Also included is an all new interview with Linnea Quigley called My Demon Nights, trailers (Film, TV and Video) and a hilarious promo reel used to give the film some extra oomph around the time it was to premiere on home video. So, in the end, I guess it all depends on what you are really looking for. Want a quick trip down memory lane complete with ample amounts of boobs and blood? Or looking for a little more bite than bark? First timers are likely to be disappointed while those who hold this film near and dear to their heart, should be ultimately pleased with the overall package and presentation. To each his own.