As we all know by now, I am a big fan of the original Night of the Demons. It is a fun film that I tend to throw on from time to time. Typically whenever I need some good background noise but then I'll find myself sitting and watching it. It's one that never seems to get old for me. There are a few others in the horror genre that are like this as well. Evil Dead II is probably a very good example of that.
When I had heard that Night of the Demons was receiving a remake, I was a bit unsure. Why? Why did it need to be remade? I mean sure, if the right approach was there, it could have potential. I said Okay, let's see what they do before grilling it too badly.
Part of me appreciates what they did. It allowed a new take on the material to be made. However, gone are the characters or some semblance of the ones from the original. I mean hey, we get Linnea Quigley back in a cameo alongside Amelia Kinkade. It's nice seeing them again. But gone is Stooge and Rodger. I mean I can understand Stooge, he's a bit of an acquired taste. But I stand by what I'm saying, the first strike against the film is the characters and cast.
Yeah, we get a version of Angela in Shannon Elizabeth. However, she does not deliver the same gravitas that Kinkade brought to the role. It's kind of hard to take her in the role to begin with. But I think the way they approached Angela in this version is a good representation of what this film is trying for altogether.
It literally replaces the characters from the original film and leaves a sexy and stylistic version of them or a new character altogether in their place. That's the whole goal of the film that kept coming at me: Let's make it sexy and stylized. If it was more subtle and not so in my face, it may have helped the film.
Now, I'm not trying to say the actors and actresses are terrible. They could have been better. It just feels lackluster and shallow.
The next strike against the film is the story. Yeah, it loosely shares a plot that somewhat resembles the original film. Creepy mansion? Check. Angela? Check. Demons? Check. Having to survive till dawn? Check. While it has all those elements, this is very much a reimagining. It gives a little more background and history to the demons and such by placing it in New Orleans. It adds a whole new layer to the film. Yeah, there's a little less Halloween and a little more In The Bayou feel to it. I hope that makes sense. There's a backstory involving Evangeline Broushard. She had a Halloween party that had a breakout of demons in it. Actually, that's the whole little bit of prologue that is interesting. The rest of the story felt a bit bland and forgettable.
The demons are...well...felt lacking. They lacked the grimness of the original. The original had flair to them. This just feels like a whole bunch of CG when necessary or generic look to them. There is some gore to the movie as well. If you are here for it, well then congratulations you are in luck. It's got that going for it.
Honestly in the end, Night of the Demons (2009) feels like remake in name only. It lacks what made the original so memorable. It is one that I don't see myself returning to again. I hope that one day - we could get a better take on the material. Till then, I'll go check the original out again.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5. (A bit vanilla and shallow)
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