**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- Evangeline Broussard (Tatyana Kanavka) hosts a seance at her mansion in 1920’s New Orleans. Madly in love with Louis Devereaux (Michael Arata), Evangeline uses the seance to spark a romantic connection with Louis. But Evangeline is unknowingly tricked by seven demons, unleashing a massacre inside the mansion.
Eighty-five years later, Angela Feld (Shannon Elizabeth) hosts a Halloween party at The Broussard Family Mansion. Angela invites Maddie (Monica Keena), Lily (Diora Baird), Suzanne (Bobbi Sue Luther), Dex (Michael Copon), Jason (John F. Beach), and others, while Colin (Edward Furlong) bribes Diana (Tiffany Shepis) for access to the party. The police force, led by Sergeant Dawson (Lance Nichols), pulls the plug on Angela’s party, but the group has bigger problems to worry about, when Angela and Colin discover seven skeletons in the basement.
My Thoughts- Amelia Kinkade’s Angela was a goth nerd, the outsider, who was into witchcraft and the occult. Shannon Elizabeth’s Angela? She’s clearly more popular, has a wild side, and Elizabeth brings out a more cocky and confident side of herself, when the demonic possession takes over. There’s a scene, where Angela is taunting Maddie about her chances of survival and Maddie’s feelings for Colin. Good stuff from Elizabeth during this scene, as her eyes are deviously wandering around the room, with that big smirk on her face, because you can see Angela’s having fun toying with Maddie.
The remake fills out the rest of the cast with likable characters, who are easy to root for. Monica Keena’s Maddie easily leads the pack, the scrappy fighter, who slowly emerges as the leader, and a sensible voice of reason. Keena brings a wholesomeness to Maddie, but she steps up to FIERCELY fight back towards the end. “Come and get me, motherfuckers” is one of the cooler one-liners in the movie. Keena really nails the delivery for that line, and the timing is perfect, because it comes at point, where the odds are not in Maddie’s favor, but she’s not going down without a fight.
Edward Furlong’s Colin is a sad sap. He’s a struggling drug dealer, who just can’t catch a break. You get the impression life has just run him into the ground, and to make matters worse, he’s on a hit list, if he doesn’t make enough money after Angela’s party.
John F. Beach is consistently hilarious. No denying he owns all of his scenes and numerous moments throughout the movie, with nervous or spirited rants and outbursts. The paintball scene (“NO COSTUME, NO CANDY, MOTHERFUCKER!”) is a good pick, and his explanation for what happened with Lily after the lipstick scene is just priceless.
Characters with bit parts and limited screen time deliver some notable highlights here. Tiffany Shepis is good for a few laughs as Diana. She’s sneaky, and Diana doesn’t care about breaking Angela’s rules, if she can make some extra cash on the side.
I wish Jamie Harris’ Nigel had a bigger role in the movie. Real show stealing stuff from him during his scene with Furlong, while Harris is laying it on thick as this unhinged crime boss. And another thumbs up for Lance Nichols playing the grinning and smarmy cop, who gladly leads the charge to ruin Angela’s party.
Dex, Lily, and Suzanne? No complaints about the performances from Diora Baird, Bobbi Sue Luther, and Michael Copon, but I just wish their characters had a bit more depth. Dex is a normal and nice guy, and that’s it? Lily’s entire personality basically revolves around being obsessed with Dex. Suzanne is spunky and she likes to have fun. But Bobbi Sue Luther brings some good positive energy to Suzanne, and I did get a laugh out of the costume snafu with Lily, because they’re not just cats, they’re pussy cats!
Maddie is the sole survivor! Obvious? Yes, Maddie narrowly escaping wasn’t a big shocking surprise, because you could see it coming. There’s a good effort for teasing Maddie possibly committing suicide by hanging herself, similar to what Evangeline did in the 1920’s. Lining up the flashbacks with Evangeline’s suicide, while Maddie is preparing to jump off of the balcony with the rope around her neck ALMOST works as a good nail-biter. They wanted to give you the impression that Maddie would sacrifice herself to stop the demonic invasion, while showing you how Evangeline did it step by step, but it just wasn’t believable.
Still, it’s an excellent final girl ending for Monica Keena. Maddie, clothes torn and covered in blood, and beaten up during sunrise, but also smiling and relieved that it’s finally over and she survived. That is truly a great visual.
No more Hull House! If I’m being honest, I actually prefer the dark history and the lore behind Evangeline, her disastrous seance, and The Broussard Family Mansion over Hull House and “Old Man Hull.” Everything behind Evangeline and the demons feels more sinister. The thought of this seemingly innocent woman going to extraordinary lengths to chase the man of her dreams, and her quest for love blowing up in her face in the worst possible ways, is more of an impactful story.
I’m always a sucker for fine details, and there’s no denying The Broussard Family Mansion has a rich history. The secret room in the basement, underground tunnels, the protective spells written on the walls by Evangeline’s maid (Tiffany Billiot) in the safe room, and they drop a few hints for bootlegging runs throughout the mansion during prohibition. If we’re talking about overall visuals, I guess you could make the argument for Hull House (limited to the original Night Of The Demons and Part 2 only) being more spooky, but Broussard Manor still works as a death trap that you’d want to avoid at all costs.
The demons! The designs and the makeup for the demons in the remake are far more grotesque (faceless demon Suzanne is truly impressive) and bizarre. Boobs with tentacles, horns, and bloody, decaying flesh? Oh, the horror! I never had any real problems with the designs for the demons in the original trilogy, but the demons in the 2009 film are more believable as monstrous creatures.
Going back to the lore behind the demons and details reinforcing the demons as serious threats, after doing some research, Maddie reveals the seven demons were cast out of hell, because they were too much to handle. Imagine that. You get kicked out of HELL, because you can’t follow the rules.
The front gate is a problem here. Again. It’s one of those strange plot holes, and I’m wondering if they did it intentionally as a weird wink to the original, and the problems with the gate in that film. One gate is capable of causing so much trouble? Sorry, not buying it.
The stuff with the gate is still annoying, but Night Of The Demons 2009 is a good remake. The 1988 original works as the quintessential 80’s horror film. But NOTD 2009 proves you can still make an entertaining film, without settling for a lazy shot for shot remake.
Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson created their own version of Night Of The Demons, while still paying homage to the original. Angela is different, Linnea Quigley’s cameo is a callback to the convenience store scene in the original, and Suzanne’s disappearing lipstick scene makes a comeback! But the magic trick with the tube of lipstick goes a few steps further in this one. The puddle of blood on the floor, and Lily’s blood soaked hand, when she yanks the tube of lipstick out is something else. Also, a big thumbs up for all the effort they put into Evangeline’s backstory. Starting things off in 1925 with the old style black and white silent films era was a nice touch for something unexpected.
New Orleans! During, the opening there’s some short highlights of Halloween festivities in New Orleans. Before the cops show up, Angela’s Halloween party is a big bash. Remember, in the ‘88 original it was just supposed to be a little get-together between a small group of friends at a dusty old funeral home. Nigel briefly mentions how New Orleans is still struggling after Hurricane Katrina, but it’s not a big plot point for the story.
Night Of The Demons 2009 is truly different, because you can see a lot of noticeable changes. They left out the underground stream acting as a barrier that prevents demons from leaving the property. More graphic gore, a lot of blood, and overall, NOTD 2009 is a more extreme film, if we’re comparing it to the original. There’s also more sexual innuendos and jokes. NOTD 2009 also reveals it’s possible to pass demonic possessions through anal sex. So, yeah, that’s a thing here.
NOTD 2009 delivers consistent humor and laughs, including the post-credits scene, and all the bickering between Maddie, Colin, and Jason, when things go south. It’s a bloody and fun horror remake, good practical effects, a hefty amount of gory violence, and there’s one really good jump scare that plays around with the usual tropes for mirror jump scares.
As far as the music goes, I’ll give the edge to the original for the overall better soundtrack, and how they used each song from that soundtrack. But Night Of The Demons by 45 Grave is a perfect fit for the remake. It’s catchy, campy, and it’s a good choice for the fight scene after the demons invade the mansion.
Rating- 8/10
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