NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988)
Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 129 Minutes 41 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo (New Remix) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Kevin S. Tenney
Cast: William Gallo, Amelia Kinkade, Cathy Podewell, Jill Terashita, Queen Linnea Quigley
Director Kevin S. Tenney's (Witchboard) party-horror classic Night of the Demons (1988) has been a staple in my house ever since it hit VHS when I was a freshman in highschool, the tale of a Halloween party held by Goth misfit Angela (Amelia Kinkade, Night of the Demons 1-3) in an abandoned former mortuary called Hull House, which was also formerly the home of a serial killer. It's a great place for a spooky Halloween party (and a horror movie) indeed. Also in attendance are Angela's horny friend Suzanne (Linnea Quigley, The Return of the Living Dead), and other stereotypical '80s teen misfits Stooge (Hal Havin, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama), Helen (Allison Barron, Vice Academy) and Rodger(Alvin Alexis, The Preppie Murder), plus out of place preppie's Judy (Cathy Podewell, Beverly Hill Brats) and her boyfriend Jay (Lance Fenton, Heathers), Max (Philip Tanzini) and Frannie (Jill Terashita, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland), as well as Judy's obnoxious ex Sal (Billy Gallo, Pretty Woman) who crashes the party to keep an on on her.
As the party gets underway they start dancing, drinking and having a good time until the radio mysteriously dies. Keeping the party alive Angela whips up an impromptu seance involving a mirror, which ends up shattering during the ceremony and unleashed a demon, which first possesses Suzanne who then infects Angela through a kiss, and then killing an infecting most of the remaining party goers as the night wears on, by sunrise only Roger and Judy are left unpossessed and on the run from the demon-possessed partiers.
The flick starts off with a slow build introducing the assembled characters, mostly stereotypical '80s cliches, but that's fine, they're a fun bunch and the group dynamic makes for a entertaining time, once they get inside Hull House and the demon possession gets under way things pick-up considerably, and you actually root for them to escape with their lives. This one features some pretty cool practical effects done by special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson; Angela's demon-faced look, used for most of the marketing for the film, is toothy and terrifying, decked out in a frilly black wedding dress, it's sort of iconic. Most of the demonic make-up effects looks awesome, but there is a scene that in particular creeped me out as a horny teen when I first watched this with my friends, it actually disturbed all of us - and that would me a scene of Suzanne in the bathroom applying lipstick like a lunatic to her face, sort of like what we saw Diane Ladd's crazy mommy character do in David Lynch's Wild At Heart a few years later. She then circles her tit in a spiral pattern with the lipstick before pushing the whole lipstick into her nipple, which then it disappears into her body - WTF!?! There's just something about that scene that creeps me out, I cannot for the life of me say why it's so upsetting, but it is - so kudos to whomever came up with that gag, it works!
There's a slot of other stuff about this one that just makes me happy as a horror fan, especially seeing this during my formative years. The film opens with a terrific animated title sequence that just sets the mood perfectly, then we see Stooge and the crew taunting an elderly old man (Harold Ayer, TV movie Killer Instinct) on the sidewalk as they drive by; you kind of feel bad for him, but then he says something to the effect that "you'll get what you deserve" and then implies he'll be handing out apples to kids with razorblades inside for Halloween, so yeah, fuck that guy. Don't worry, he gets a proper comeuppance during the film's throat-shredding apple-pie for breakfast epilogue. Another of the opening scene has Suzanne bent over the lowest candy shelf at a convenience store while the horny clerks are salivating over her exposed pink panties (we all were), meanwhile, while they're distracted Angela is robbing the store blind stocking up on supplies for the party. On her way out Suzanne asks the clerks "Do you guys have Sour Balls?", and when they reply in the affirmative she responds "Too bad, I bet you don't get many blow-jobs!". I still laugh way to hard at that but I guess that's just the sort of juvenile middle-aged man that I am - "growing older, not growing up", as my wife likes to say.
It's also got a fun synth score form the director's brother Dennis Tenney (Witchtrap) and Angela performs a strobe-lit demonic dance set to "Stigmata Martyr" by Bauhaus, which is just perfection. The premise is simple, the setting is spooky, the humor works, the practical effects are awesome - this is just a perfect gem of a horror party flick, it holds up. It might not scare me anymore, which it certainly did when I was fifteen, but it still gets me with the humor and the practical gore, plus some oftentimes disturbing nudity.
Audio/Video: Night of the Demons (1988) gets the 4K UHD upgrade from Scream Factory with a brand new 2023 restoration sourced from an earlier 4K scan of the unrated negative 4K scan of the OCN. The results are pretty terrific, with the 4K resolution the fine film grain is better managed and organic looking, black levels are deep and inky throughout, as the Dolby Vision (HDR) color-grade looks fantastic, flesh-tones look more natural and less cold, primaries get a nice boost overall with reds, pinks and multi-colored lighting set-ups looking more suffused and the flames of the improvised flamethrower scene looks terrific. Black levels are also much improved, this is a slightly darker presentation compared to the previous edition, and that's a good thing, it's a fright flick that is steeped in shadows and dimly lit creepy old house interiors and they've never looked better with improved shadow delineation that thoroughly impresses. Also much improved is depth and clarity, especially on the UHD but also quite evident on the Blu-ray.
Unsurprisingly we do not get a Atmos remix, but we do get the same English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 mixes from the previous Blu-ray, I prefer the stereo mixes to the surround option which does offers some nice atmospheric use of the surrounds and spreads around the synth score but feels thin in spots. Optional English subtitles are provided, and the same three audio option are present on the UHD and Blu-ray. I have heard that the stereo tracks are actually mislabeled on this release, and have been switched, the original stereo is actually the remixed and vice versa. I have not seen any confirmation from Scream Factory about this, but either way it didn't ruin my experience.
Scream Factory carry over all the extras from their previous Collector's Edition Blu-ray, which was a pretty stacked edition, but they ass a ton of new stuff! New bonus junk comes by way of the 35-min See You in Hell – an interview with writer/producer Joe Augustyn; the 18-min Contortions and Coffins – an interview with actress Jill Terashita; and the 9-min The Perfect Punk – an interview with special effects artist Nick Benson. But that's not all, we also get the 90-min
International Cut and the 88-min The Halloween Party Workprint, both in VHS quality SD, plus the 4-min The Halloween Party Alternate Opening Title Sequence, and 3-min Alternate R-Rated Scenes. The 2-disc UHD/BD set arrives in a standard dual-hu black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original theatrical poster artwork, which is also featured on the first-pressing only slipcover.
Special Features:
Disc One: 4K UHD
- NEW! 2023 Restoration from an earlier 4K scan of the unrated negative in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible)
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, Hal Havins and special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, producer Jeff Geoffray and executive producer Walter Josten
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel
- NEW! See You in Hell – an interview with writer/producer Joe Augustyn (35 min)
- NEW! Contortions and Coffins – an interview with actress Jill Terashita (18 min)
- NEW! The Perfect Punk – an interview with special effects artist Nick Benson (9 min)
- NEW! International Cut (90 Min) SD
Disc 2: Blu-Ray
- NEW! 2023 Restoration from an earlier 4K scan of the unrated negative
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, Hal Havins and special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, producer Jeff Geoffray and executive producer Walter Josten
- Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel
- You’re Invited – The Making of Night of the Demons – a 70-minute documentary (72 min)
- Amelia Kinkade, Protean – an interview with actress Amelia Kinkade (23 min)
- Allison Barron’s Demon Memories (4 min)
- My Demon Nights – an interview with Linnea Quigley (14 min)
- NEW! The Halloween Party Workprint (88 min)
- NEW! The Halloween Party Alternate Opening Title Sequence (4 min)
- Alternate R-Rated Scenes (3 min)
- A Short Night of the Demons – a six-minute version of the film shown to potential distributors (8 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min)
- Video Trailer (2 min)
- TV Spots (1 min)
- Radio Spot (35 sec)
- Promo Reel (4 min)
- Still Galleries – Behind-the-Scenes, Special Effects and Makeup, Stills, Posters and Storyboards
Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Scream Factory Blu-ray (2018)
Bottom: Scream Factory Blu-ray (2023)
More screenshots from the Scream Factory Blu-ray (2023):
