Night of the Demons - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Night of the Demons



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Ahhh, there is something glorious about 1980s horror movies. They have this indescribable layers of cheese, mixed with 80s rock music, and were probably the pinnacle decade of horror movies, much like the pinnacle era of action movies were in the 1980s (fight me on this one). However, none of them were as 80s as 1988’s Night of the Demons. It’s so 80s that even people who like St. Elmo’s Fire and The Breakfast Club look at director Kevin Tenney’s sophomore attempt and go “wow, that is EIGHTIES”. If you ever grew up in the decade then you can see literally every 80s horror cliché in the book thrown in, and it’s absolutely AWESOME.

Kevin Tenney made big waves in the horror genre with his freshman film, Witchboard, but even so, was not relaly considered for Night of the Demons until writer Joe Augustyn finally settled on Kevin after several flops at getting the film off the ground. According to the extras there was a lot of tension and suspicion on whether Kevin could pull it off, as Witchboard was so steeped in back story and character groundwork that it barely get off the ground until the last act of the film. But it seems things go well, Night of the Demons foregoes a ton of groundwork, instead pushing full steam ahead towards the evil house where demons terrorize a bunch of 80s teenagers for the night of Halloween.

The plot is DEAD simple, and not exactly very nuanced. It’s Halloween night and a bunch of kids have been invited to an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town where outcast Angela (Amelia Kinkade) is throwing a spooky party. While nobody really cares about her that much, the teenagers don’t care. They’re there to get smashed, hopefully get lucky with their girlfriends, and basically be the stereotypical youngsters partying it up. When they get there the party is going fine enough, until Angela and her best friend Suzanne (Linnea Quigley) decide to hold a séance, effectively breaching the spirit world, pulling in a couple of demonic spirits to join the fray.

Bit by bit, person by person, the demons infect the entire group, while the teenagers find out that they’re stuck inside the mansion, held against their will by supernatural forces while the demons are making a feast out of them. Yeah, it’s not exactly rocket science here, and Night of the Demons doesn’t even attempt to be anything more than an orgy of demons trying to much on kids souls. There’s no build up outside of introducing the various character stereotypes as the guests, and then kicks right off into the fray.

I mentioned above that this is about as 80s as it gets, and the character choices simply oooze that while winking directly at the camera. We have the fat slob named Stooge (Hal Havings) who is misogynistic and greasy looking. The slime bag fast talking Italian playboy who turns out to be the nice guy in the form of Sal (Billy Gallo), the boyfriend who seems like a nice guy but is just the creep looking to get laid in the formr of Billy (Donnie Jeffcoat), the good girl heroine Judy (Cathy Podewell), the token black dude Rodger (Alivin Alexis), and of course the bimbo best friend Suzanne. Everyone plays their particular roles to a T, making you just about everyone but Rodger and Judy, while reveling in every single one of the kids getting their souls munched on by the demonic spirits. Simple, cheesy, effective, and fun.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. There is nothing like 1980s horror movies, and while Night of the Demons wasn’t exactly a smash hit, the film has gained a nice cult following over the years, and it’s not hard to see why. The film just oozes 80s to the core, with creeps, good guys, hot girls, random nudity (because why not, it’s the 80s), leering store clerks, bad makeup and prosthetics, and very little in the way of story telling outside of having fun watching stupid teenagers get offed one by one. Pure popcorn fun.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA (Theatrical) / Not Rated for the Unrated Cut





4K Video: Video:

According to Scream Factory, the 4K UHD and the included Blu-ray are struck from a brand new master from the original camera negative, and even though I don’t have the much older Scream Factory Blu-ray from years ago, just judging by screenshots that were around online this is a big improvement. This is first and foremost an 80s film to the core, which means lots of film grain, and a gungy look to the whole production. The entire film is pretty set inside of a dingy and dark old mansion overnight, so colors are going to be slightly muted, and the primary shades of blood, pink dresses, and various articles of clothing will really be the most “pop” the film has. Otherwise it relies heavily on shadow details (which look generally magnificent), and a few outdoor shots (such as the walk back for Rodger and Judy) show slightly ruddy skin tones. All in all, this is a a very nice looking upgrade over the included Blu-ray, let alone the old Blu-ray using a much older master that Scream put out some years back.








Audio:

Scream Factory has dropped 3 different audio mixes on the disc to choose from, and this is where things get weird for the release. They have listed a 2.0 DTS-HD MA stereo track labeled as “original” (meaning original theatrical track), a “NEW” 2.0 stereo track in DTS-HD MA that has been given some new life, and a 5.1 mix. Upon doing a little research it appears that two stereo tracks are mislabled on the disc (meaning reversed. The new one is the theatrical mix, and the the theatrical one is actually the re mixed track) AND the 5.1 track is actually a 5.1 mix made from the new 2.0 track and upmixed.

Now, to make things weirder, the original mix is rather anemic, with thin vocals and very cramped effects. And to make matters worse, it’s got a slight audio sync issue on it (not huge, but noticeable if you’re looking for it). Then there’s the new mix. It honestly sounds a goodly bit better than I expected, with a strong front presence for the dialog, and the rough 80s rock and thrash metal soundgrack actually adding more than enough enough. Even the bass is well crafted and de mixes quite nicely into the sub channel.

Then there’s the 5.1 mix. Again, I liked the 2.0 mix, and the 5.1 mix is simply the 2.0 mix given some surround usage and a dedicated bass channel. However, this was actually my least favorite track of the entire mix. The remix is basically a 3.1 channel track with the hard rock score being the only real use of the surrounds. On the flip side, the dialog is much more clear and precise in the center of the room with the center channel, but things get wonky fast. The LFE channel is bloated and overcooked. Meaning there’s a good amount of bass, but it sounds boomy and slightly distorted. Like it was pushed too hard in the mixing process and sounds way too noticeable and different than the rest of the mix. At the end of the day, I way preferred the new 2.0 DTS-HD MA stereo track as the best listening experience as it sounds the most natural and robust.












Extras:

Disc One: 4K UHD
• 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
• Audio Commentary with Director Kevin Tenney, Actors Leanna Quigley and Philip Tanzini, and Casting Director Tedra Gabriel
• International Cut
• See You In Hell
• Coffins and Contortions
• The Perfect Punk

Disc Two: Blu-ray
• 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 (spelling corrected for this release), and Executive Producer Walter Josten
• Audio Commentary with Director Kevin Tenney, Actors Leanna Quigley and Philip Tanzini, and Casting Director Tedra Gabriel
• "You're Invited": The Making of Night of the Demons
• Amelia Kinkade, Protean
• Alison Barron's Demon Memories
• My Demon Nights
• The Halloween Party Workprint
• The Halloween Party Alternate Opening Title Sequence
• Alternate R Rated Scenes
• A Short Night of the Demons.
• Theatrical Trailer
• Video Trailer
• TV Spots
• Radio Spot
• Promo Reel
• Behind the Scenes Gallery
• Special Effects and Makeup
• Photo Gallery
• Posters and Storyboards

Final Score: ​

I haven’t seen the old Blu-ray of Night of the Demons, but Scream Factory has done a decent job with this 4K UHD upgrade of the unrated cut. It’s got a very filmic look, has TONS of extras, and the international cut is actually included in the special features as well. This is pure 1980s schlock cheese at its finest, and the 4K disc more than delivers what we want. Good video, good audio, and a fantastic array of physical extras to enjoy. Fun cheesy watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Cathy Podewell, Alvin Alexis, Hal Havins
Directed by: Kevin Tenney
Written by: Joe Augustyn
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 (New)
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 90 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 3rd, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Cheesy Watch