Demons 2 (1986)

Demons 2 is a fun frolic, even though it doesn't live up to the original. Director Lamberto Bava teams with Dario Argento as producer to create a gory, fun but terribly convoluted movie.

In a large apartment complex, people are watching a horror documentary/movie on the first demon outbreak on TV. A group of four is entering the "forbidden" zone where the demons supposedly dwell to try and find evidence for their existence. Meanwhile, a whiny teen is having a party, a group of gym nuts are working out, a family is having dinner and a pregnant lady is doing Lamaze. A demon on TV is awakened and quickly kills the four members of the expedition. It then enters our world through the TV of the bellyaching party girl and turns her into a demon. She attacks her party-goers in grand, bloody fashion, who in turn also turn into demons. From there they raise havoc throughout the entire complex. The power is cut and everyone is trapped inside the building with the demons.

It's a pity that the narrative has so many plot holes, though, and not enough action or style to disguise them. Situations occur that are never resolved, characters are introduced only to never be seen again and things happen that are never explained. The acting (and dubbing) is atrocious for the most part, though it is fun to see a few familiar faces from the first Demons. While the story and acting is at times frustrating, if you go into Demons 2 just expecting a silly, sleazy, trashy, fun time, then you won't be too disappointed.

The signature gore is present, though don't expect too much in the way of special effects. Some of the effects (like the transformation of the dog) are downright silly and made me giggle. There is even a demon child in this film, that behaves a lot like an evil Gremlin. Bava doesn't have the visual style of of his father (Mario Bava) or of producer Argento, so the film's scenes are composed very simply with no frills. A little flourish here or there would have greatly heightened the nightmarish feel of the story, but that's just not Lamberto's style.

Demons 2 could have been made much better had someone taken the time to write a cohesive story and hired better actors. Unfortunately, this was a rush job after the success of Demons so we get a trashy, badly acted, silly story about demons in an apartment complex that doesn't quite fit together. This is truly a movie that's just for fun...if you just want to kick back, have a beer and turn your brain off for a while, Demons 2 is a good way to do it.

Order it on Amazon!