Night of the Demons (2009)

Review by Mari Lynne Rupp



For those that missed it the first time around, a group of college-age kids get together for an Epic Halloween Party and end up waking a group of bloodthirsty demons who wreak havoc, trying to create Hell on Earth. In short, this movie is a good example of "How to do a remake right".
Get a GOOD script that can add something (I.E. backstory) with decent dialogue, and up-to-date banter. Have a decent cameo by someone from the original, to give us die-hards something to cheer for....And for HEAVEN'S SAKE, keep on board a writer, director or producer from the original so it doesn't suck or devolve into a self-important, over-blown, hyped-up yawnfest that is truly insulting to the original concept of the storyline.(Sorry, Mr. Zombie, your Halloween remakes did NOT thrill me.)
Original producer Kevin Tenney was on board for this updated version, and while this version did give exposure to unknowns, it kept on board some seasoned actors to keep it afloat, such as Shannon Elizabeth, Edward Furlong, and Tiffany Shepis. Thankfully, they merely enhanced this movie as all actors involved pulled their weight and made this a fast-paced, interesting demon-ghost-story crossover. Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch do well updating this classic '80s horror story, and Mr. Gierasch in particular deserves credit for the decent direction. Keep an eye out for Linnea Quigley's cameo, giving us the same upskirt shot that made her famous and cemented her scream queen status back in 1988, which, frankly, I got a kick out of seeing. Linnea, darling, still looking fab!
It is really great to see Edward Furlong again, as I remember him from "Pet Sematary 2" and "Detroit Rock City" (He got it on with Shannon Tweed's character, lucky devil) and we really need to see more of him, as it is great to see Shannon Elizabeth, who made a fantastic Angela. More of these two, please. Another really important point of doing a successful remake? Leaving Michael Bay OUT of it. 8/10

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