Night of the Demons (1988)

3 Stars (out of 4)

It's Your Funeral

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Unlike most other horror movies, the low-budget Night of the Demons (1988) actually takes place on Halloween night. It's willfully preposterous, featuring a band of characters that would never, ever actually be friends in real life, and heading out into the night to do something so dumb that it's inconceivable. The teens decide to hold a séance at an abandoned mortuary, said to be occupied by evil spirits. They all laugh and joke, and occasionally sneak off to have sex, but of course, the séance releases something terrible, and one by one, the teens become possessed, killer zombies. Meanwhile, elsewhere, there's an old man who puts razor blades in apples to give to trick-or-treaters, and he provides a memorable epilogue. The movie seems borderline offensive, until it becomes clear that the offensive characters tend to get what's coming to them. The characters who will eventually survive are actually a pleasant surprise. Legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley is among the cast. Kevin S. Tenney directed, from a screenplay by Joe Augustyn. To date there have been two sequels and a remake. [Note: Die hard viewers have the option of watching this movie in the "VHS Vault" on Shout! Factory TV... the movie plays just like an old VHS tape, with lines, fuzz, the works!]