Night of the Demons (2010)

It's Halloween and New Orleans is overrun with costumed people ready to party. The ultimate bash however is happening at legendary Broussard Mansion. After the party is crashed by the cops, a few remain locked inside with some nasty demons on the loose. In just a few years, a great number of the classic horror films had been remade. Fans have been divided on this, some completely opposed while others don't see the harm. It was a matter of time before filmmakers went deeper into the library for lesser known titles to revamp.

There are a lot of genre films that weren't big hits money wise, but that gained a cult following. In fact, next year will see the release of the remake of Sam Raimi's seminal cult flick The Evil Dead. It has influenced a few films, even being ripped-off in some of them. It's pretty obvious that the makers of Night of the Demons were at least somewhat inspired by it. It was popular enough to spawn two sequels, the last of which seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. For years, fans awaited any news of another installment, but instead we learned a remake was on the way instead.

Over the years, horror buffs have become more sophisticated and savvy about their favorite genre. It's obvious from the start that director/co-writer Adam Gierasch was aware of this. He infuses the film with style and energy, plus he raises the stakes in some ways. He and Jace Anderson, his wife and co-writer, respect the original, but make this stand on it's own too. The actors he hired also give it their all and aren't portrayed as your typical dumb teens. All the characters are different from those in Kevin Tenney's film, and the actors breathe life into them.

One of things fans love about the original is the music, instrumental and otherwise. The good news is that this version has both a memorable score and soundtrack. Punk band 45 Grave does the main title theme, which is perfect for a Halloween party. My personal favorite is Type O Negative's "Black No. 1," which is used to great effect. Also carried over for the other film is a dark sense of humor, only in some cases it's been cranked up a notch. Speaking of yuks, fans will scream when they see the amusing cameo by Linnea Quigley.

The effects in the 1988 film were impressive for the time and still look aces today. For the remake, the effects team took things further with the demon designs and gore bits. Each demon has their own look, some more impressive than others. And the original has some gore, but this time the filmmakers didn't hold back so much. The inventiveness doesn't stop there however, with some of the best surprises coming from the script. From how the possession begins to the "safe room," Night of the Demons '10 has some nifty ideas.

One of the issues many have with the original is how long it takes to get to the mayhem. The same can be said of this version, but like it's predecessor it's never dull. Thankfully, this time out the characters are not really the stereotypes we often find in these movies. Still, there's not much depth to them and that makes it more difficult to get attached. Some of these recent remakes have ended up being just shallow, wastes of celluloid. The makers of this one however didn't give in to the system and concocted a supremely entertaining and scary effort.

8/10