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This film doesn’t make a damn bit of sense, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad film. Au contraire.
Directed by Lamberto Bavo and written by Dario Argento.
Demons 2 is chock-full-a some of the most fun and life-affirming horror nonsense ever put to celluloid. Among many of the brilliant pieces of horror goof-ball-ery in this 1986 joint: an ice-ax wielding protagonist in a high-rise apartment; a little boy who turns into a demon and then births a demon that resembles Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors; demons with intermittently glowing eyes; a baby demon getting decapitated by an umbrella; a low-rent Louis Gossett, Jr. weightlifting coach; a killer 1980s soundtrack (the Smiths, the Cult, Art of Noise, Love and Rockets, and Peter Murphy); and, and, and…a MOVIE WITHIN A MOVIE!
Demons 2, directed by Lamberto Bava (Devil Fish and Demons) and written by THE Dario Argento (Deep Red and Suspiria), features a group of unconnected tenants who all live in a super-modern high-rise that looks suspiciously like an office building. Shot in both Germany and Italy, Demons 2 follows up on the original Demons with the high-rise tenants all watching a TV documentary about a group of teens that strike out to the “forbidden zone” to unearth the real story behind the first demon plague. In the course of the documentary one of the teens inadvertently cut themselves, drips blood on one of the demon corpses, and shazam…the demons are resurrected. Apparently, in Demons 2, the demons are not limited to a specific period of time and space, oh no, these demons magically begin transmogrifying themselves through the TV portal!
As the demons begin to pop through the televisions of those high-rise tenants that are unfortunate enough to be watching the demons TV documentary, everyone starts to become infected with demon ooze. The teen socialites having a disco party, the little boy whose parents left him alone, the husband/wife with a child on the way, the well-meaning prostitute, and even the entire weight-lifting/aerobics class. No one is spared the grotesquely-fanged-ooze-spurting-demons, and inexplicably, no one can escape the high rise. Seriously, this point is never really explained.
In case you were wondering, Demons 2 is not much for subtly or moderation. Quite the opposite. All, and we do mean ALL, scenes in Demons 2 feature over-the-top yelling, fangs, ooze, screaming, and chaos pilled on chaos. The weight-lifting/aerobics class eventually finds themselves trapped in the high-rise garage where they holler, punch, yell, pull seats from cars, light things on fire, hit demons with fire extinguishers, and do much damage to the impending demon hordes.
Demons 2 ends with the protagonists (husband/pregnant wife) 1) cracking open a gas valve and causing a grand explosion, 2) repelling off the roof of the high-rise, 3) running a steel pole through the mid-section of one of the main demons, 4) seeking shelter in a nearby TV station where they’re being filmed (?), 5) giving birth to their son, 6) making out ten minutes after giving birth to their son, and 7) busting up all the TV sets in the TV station that are showing some version of the demon documentary. Apparently, if you destroy the TV set showing the demons documentary you’re able to halt the demons in their tracks. It should go unsaid, but the last 10 minutes, alone, are worth the watch.
The Scariest Things Podcast isn’t afraid of junk. We revel in it. Demons 2 is that junk that keeps us going. It’s completely absurd. Unafraid to lay everything on the table. Willing to take what should be left alone and turn it up to 11. Demons 2 is filled with wonderful practical effects, great 1980s Italian aesthetic, sly film techniques, and a commitment to ensure that everyone has a super-fun time at the movies — except for the demons.
Demons 2 is rated R and available for streaming on Amazon.