Character Spotlight- Maddie- Night Of The Demons

 

**This post contains spoilers**

Halloween night is here! Maddie (Monica Keena) is all smiles, and she’s ready to go to the big Halloween bash at The Broussard Family Mansion, hosted by Angela Feld (Shannon Elizabeth). Maddie arrives at the party with her friends, Suzanne (Bobbi Sue Luther) and Lily (Diora Baird). Loud music, drinks, an electric atmosphere, and the duo of Jason (John F. Beach) and Dex (Michael Copon) eventually joins the trio. Everything is seemingly perfect, right?

Sure, Maddie sees potential setbacks. She spots her ex-boyfriend, Colin (Edward Furlong), and the party is officially over, after the arrival of a group of police officers (Angela didn’t get a permit!). But Maddie has bigger problems to worry about, when Angela is unknowingly possessed by a demon. After a game of spin the bottle, Angela passes the demon to Dex, starting a chain reaction, that involves Dex, Lily, and Suzanne being sucked into the first round of possessions.

Facing slim hopes of making it to sunrise, Maddie is forced to fight to survive. Maddie slowly emerges as the leader. There’s two specific scenes, where Maddie aggressively speaks up as the voice of reason. Jason freaks out about a possessed Suzanne showing no signs of any damage after he stabs her with a fireplace poker. Also, let’s not forget about Maddie realizing how important it was to protect the spells written on the walls in the upstairs room.

And Maddie has to interrupt the bickering between Colin and Jason to show them a possible alternate exit in the basement. Colin starts whining about his problems, and Maddie sternly reminds him that Jason was just murdered by Angela, and he transformed into a demon. Colin witnessed a demon ripping Jason’s guts out, and he’s still only thinking about himself? Come on, man!

Maddie also plays the role of a babysitter for Jason and Colin. She’s a caring person, and you can see she still believes there’s some hope for Colin to turn his life around. Colin pleaded with Maddie to leave him alone, when he fell through the floor. Yeah, Colin turned into a demon, and she barely escaped, but Maddie still took a big risk to go down and check on him.

Eventually, the story reaches a point, where Maddie is the last woman standing. Everyone else is a demon, and Maddie realizes she can’t wait it out. No more running, or hiding. No, Maddie had to go for the last stand and fight. 

One of my favorite moments in all of the Night Of The Demons films shows Maddie walking up to the camera in the dark during the finale. She scans what’s in front of her, cocks the shotgun, and she boldly says “come and get me, motherfuckers.” Truly a cool moment, daring the demons to attack her, because Maddie knew what she had to do.

Monica Keena brings a mix of a wholesome and ordinary presence to Maddie. You’d never believe this is someone, who’s capable of fighting off demons. Maddie has a perky personality, and she justifiably panics every now and then. But Maddie shows flashes of fire in certain scenes. One moment that sticks out for me happens during the scene, where Maddie slams the door in Angela’s face, because she was sick of her taunting and failed attempts to scare her. She gave it her all, but Maddie couldn’t save everyone, and you have to believe losing Colin to a demonic possession was a tough pill to swallow. 

Still, Maddie fought off and outsmarted the demons to walk away as the sole survivor. For me, the best shot in the movie shows the aftermath of Maddie calmly landing on the ground after she faked an attempt to hang herself. It’s daylight outside. Maddie is standing there, exhausted, and she’s covered in blood, but she’s also smiling. Maddie, the gutsy and scrappy final girl, beat the odds to escape. No missing limbs, or serious injuries for the woman, who just wanted to hang out and have fun with her friends at a Halloween party. 

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Lucian (Michael Sheen), the first-ever Lycan, and the first werewolf born in human form, plans to lead a rebellion against the vampires and Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) coven. Lucian fiercely fights to free his fellow enslaved Lycans from Viktor’s clutches, and Viktor runs into an unexpected problem, when his daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra) gets involved. 

Sonja and Lucian’s secret and strictly forbidden relationship unravels, when a suspicious Viktor questions Sonja’s loyalty. Viktor sets a trap, but a resilient Lucian refuses to quit. Supported by Raze (Kevin Grevioux), the Lycan slaves, and other werewolves carrying William’s strain of the infection, Lucian eventually joins the all-out assault on Viktor’s coven.

My Thoughts- Rise Of The Lycans is cleverly constructed for first-timers, and fans of the Underworld series. If you’re new to Underworld, you can still get into it, without knowing everything about the original Underworld or Evolution, because it’s vampires vs werewolves! The Lycan slaves, rising up to fight back against their vampire overlords and oppressors, and Viktor, the mad tyrant, is a story that writes itself.

For fans of the Underworld films? You’ll get to see more fleshed-out versions of Lucian and Viktor’s characters, how the bond between Lucian and Raze started, and you’ll also know Viktor was never misunderstood, because Viktor, the vampire ruler, was always a maniacal asshole and a devious manipulator. Andreas Tanis (Steven Mackintosh)? I guess you could say you’ll see a more dignified and noble version of him, before he was exiled by Selene under Viktor’s orders. But a lot of the familiar character traits for Tanis are still there. You’ll see how the seeds were planted for Tanis’ partnership with Lucian, why Tanis prioritizes “survival,” and Tanis’ is serious about protecting his “precious scrolls.” 

They touched on the dangers of William’s infectious strain of werewolves, and his rampages. Werewolves with William’s strain of the infection are “mindless beasts,” who can’t revert back to their human forms, but it’s just enough to the point, where you know what’s going on, without feeling lost, or having the need to go back and watch Evolution. You can say the same thing about Lucian’s backstory and the explanation for being the first Lycan. It’s all here. Simple, informative, and just enough bits and pieces of information, easily tying everything together.

Sonja? She’s fierce, rebellious, and Sonja will defy Viktor, if her moral compass points her in that direction. Sonja clearly has no interest in Viktor’s vision for her future, because Sonja, in a variety of ways, constantly rejects the path Viktor puts in front of her. And Sonja falls in love with a Lycan! Sound familiar? It’s easy to see and pick up on the parallels between Selene and Sonja. You can also see why Selene reminded Viktor of Sonja, and why Viktor possibly believed he had a second chance at a good father/daughter relationship, because Selene and Sonja are basically carbon copies of each other. 

A lot of mixed feelings for the love story between Sonja and Lucian. The forbidden love storyline is packed with cliches. Sonja is vampire royalty, and the daughter of a powerful and overbearing father. She falls for Lucian, the lowly blacksmith, and of course, Viktor vehemently rejects their relationship. He’s disgusted at the thought of his precious daughter poisoning the bloodline with a filthy Lycan slave. Oh, and of course, Sonja wants to run away from the coven, abandoning a life of royalty, because she’s chasing the happily ever after ending with Lucian. 

But I’ll say this, Michael Sheen and Rhona Mitra share believable and good chemistry together. Sonja and Lucian are genuinely willing to take big risks to protect each other. Hell, they’re willing to die, if it comes to that. Lucian doesn’t have to be tough and scrappy around Sonja, he can be vulnerable. Sonja can just be her normal self, when she’s with Lucian, taking a break from being a hardened warrior, or living up to her father’s high standards, and the pressures that comes with the lifestyle of a future vampire elder. 

Rise Of The Lycans works as a solid and entertaining prequel. The movie still looks and feels like an Underworld movie, and they did a really good job of capturing the medieval era, with the set pieces, the dialogue, the wardrobes for the vampires, the Lycans, and the humans. 

As far as the acting goes, Michael Sheen’s fiery (“ARE YOU WITH ME!”) and emotional performance as Lucian is superb, and Sheen puts a lot of passion into Lucian’s rah-rah speeches. Bill Nighy doesn’t hold back as Viktor, a strong and dedicated performance, as the powerful vampire ruler. The scene, where the council votes on Sonja’s fate is a good one. Viktor has this conflicted wide-eyed expression on his face before he makes his decision. On one hand, you can sense a loving father, who still cares about his daughter, but Viktor’s ego and his pride wouldn’t allow him to do the right thing. Good scene.

Rhona Mitra holds her own well as Sonja, playing the privileged daughter, who’s torn between being loyal to her father and not wanting to abandon the love of her life. And hats off to Larry Rew for his performance. Kosta (Rew) is a sadistic bully, but Lucian makes sure he gets his comeuppance for the brutal and bloody whipping scene.

Rise Of The Lycans features some solid action sequences and one on one sword fights, including Sonja facing off against Viktor. Father vs daughter, in the rain, at night, AND Sonja reveals a big secret? Oh, the drama!

The home stretch delivers on all fronts. I absolutely loved the breakneck speed approach to the big final battle between the werewolves and vampires, because it’s supposed to be a chaotic and bloody mess. Also, Lucian chasing after Viktor for a final showdown delivers some nice thrills, complete with a brutal and gory final blow.

Rise Of The Lycans succeeds as an Underworld film, that shows the early stages of the war between the vampires and the Lycans. The feud between Viktor and Lucian really works as one of the pillars for the story, and you get a better understanding for why Lucian and Viktor hated each other so much. 

Lots of nuggets for Underworld and Evolution throughout the movie, including different characters, the dialogue, visuals, and certain items (e.g. Sonja’s necklace). You can see why Lucian valued Sonja’s necklace, why it means so much to him, and why it’s not just a necklace, that simultaneously works as half of the key to William’s prison.

Also, there’s something that’s almost impossible to ignore about Viktor, and his relationships with Sonja, Selene, and Lucian. The lies, the manipulation tactics, using his own daughter as bait for a trap, and knowing how his relationship with Sonja ended? There’s a pattern for all of it, that leads to two conclusions: Viktor was a shitty father, and a terrible father figure for Selene and Lucian.

Rating-7/10

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009)

 

**This review contains spoilers**

The Story- Lucian (Michael Sheen), the first-ever Lycan, and the first werewolf born in human form, plans to lead a rebellion against the vampires and Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) coven. Lucian fiercely fights to free his fellow enslaved Lycans from Viktor’s clutches, and Viktor runs into an unexpected problem, when his daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra) gets involved. 

Sonja and Lucian’s secret and strictly forbidden relationship unravels, when a suspicious Viktor questions Sonja’s loyalty. Viktor sets a trap, but a resilient Lucian refuses to quit. Supported by Raze (Kevin Grevioux), the Lycan slaves, and other werewolves carrying William’s strain of the infection, Lucian eventually joins the all-out assault on Viktor’s coven.

My Thoughts- Rise Of The Lycans is cleverly constructed for first-timers, and fans of the Underworld series. If you’re new to Underworld, you can still get into it, without knowing everything about the original Underworld or Evolution, because it’s vampires vs werewolves! The Lycan slaves, rising up to fight back against their vampire overlords and oppressors, and Viktor, the mad tyrant, is a story that writes itself.

For fans of the Underworld films? You’ll get to see more fleshed-out versions of Lucian and Viktor’s characters, how the bond between Lucian and Raze started, and you’ll also know Viktor was never misunderstood, because Viktor, the vampire ruler, was always a maniacal asshole and a devious manipulator. Andreas Tanis (Steven Mackintosh)? I guess you could say you’ll see a more dignified and noble version of him, before he was exiled by Selene under Viktor’s orders. But a lot of the familiar character traits for Tanis are still there. You’ll see how the seeds were planted for Tanis’ partnership with Lucian, why Tanis prioritizes “survival,” and Tanis’ is serious about protecting his “precious scrolls.” 

They touched on the dangers of William’s infectious strain of werewolves, and his rampages. Werewolves with William’s strain of the infection are “mindless beasts,” who can’t revert back to their human forms, but it’s just enough to the point, where you know what’s going on, without feeling lost, or having the need to go back and watch Evolution. You can say the same thing about Lucian’s backstory and the explanation for being the first Lycan. It’s all here. Simple, informative, and just enough bits and pieces of information, easily tying everything together.

Sonja? She’s fierce, rebellious, and Sonja will defy Viktor, if her moral compass points her in that direction. Sonja clearly has no interest in Viktor’s vision for her future, because Sonja, in a variety of ways, constantly rejects the path Viktor puts in front of her. And Sonja falls in love with a Lycan! Sound familiar? It’s easy to see and pick up on the parallels between Selene and Sonja. You can also see why Selene reminded Viktor of Sonja, and why Viktor possibly believed he had a second chance at a good father/daughter relationship, because Selene and Sonja are basically carbon copies of each other. 

A lot of mixed feelings for the love story between Sonja and Lucian. The forbidden love storyline is packed with cliches. Sonja is vampire royalty, and the daughter of a powerful and overbearing father. She falls for Lucian, the lowly blacksmith, and of course, Viktor vehemently rejects their relationship. He’s disgusted at the thought of his precious daughter poisoning the bloodline with a filthy Lycan slave. Oh, and of course, Sonja wants to run away from the coven, abandoning a life of royalty, because she’s chasing the happily ever after ending with Lucian. 

But I’ll say this, Michael Sheen and Rhona Mitra share believable and good chemistry together. Sonja and Lucian are genuinely willing to take big risks to protect each other. Hell, they’re willing to die, if it comes to that. Lucian doesn’t have to be tough and scrappy around Sonja, he can be vulnerable. Sonja can just be her normal self, when she’s with Lucian, taking a break from being a hardened warrior, or living up to her father’s high standards, and the pressures that comes with the lifestyle of a future vampire elder. 

Going back to the original Underworld film, Sonja’s death wasn’t a big surprise, because you know what happens, after Michael Corvin sees everything through flashbacks from Lucian’s memories. Still, Sonja’s execution checks off all of the necessary boxes. Lucian is completely losing it, because he realizes there’s nothing that he can do to save Sonja, but he does his best to comfort Sonja during her final moments. Lucian and Sonja saying their final goodbyes to each other, the roof slowly opening before the sunlight comes in, and Lucian’s reaction to Sonja’s charred corpse? Good stuff all around for the one big emotional and gut-wrenching scene here.

The movie ends with a shot of Selene perched on a balcony with a voiceover from Kraven, when he tells her the truth about Viktor murdering her family. Placing Selene’s only appearance in the movie, while Kraven exposes Viktor’s lies? It’s the right move. Short, ironic, and her sole appearance validates Selene’s decision to murder Viktor. And Selene needs to be here (Selene also narrates the opening) in some way, shape, or form, because Selene IS Underworld. ROTL also puts the spotlight on an important chapter during Viktor’s reign of terror, so you can see why Lucian was obsessed with his quest for vengeance, hybrids, and becoming a hybrid himself in the 2003 film.

Rise Of The Lycans works as a solid and entertaining prequel. The movie still looks and feels like an Underworld movie, and they did a really good job of capturing the medieval era, with the set pieces, the dialogue, the wardrobes for the vampires, the Lycans, and the humans. 

As far as the acting goes, Michael Sheen’s fiery (“ARE YOU WITH ME!”) and emotional performance as Lucian is superb, and Sheen puts a lot of passion into Lucian’s rah-rah speeches. Bill Nighy doesn’t hold back as Viktor, a strong and dedicated performance, as the powerful vampire ruler. The scene, where the council votes on Sonja’s fate is a good one. Viktor has this conflicted wide-eyed expression on his face before he makes his decision. On one hand, you can sense a loving father, who still cares about his daughter, but Viktor’s ego and his pride wouldn’t allow him to do the right thing. Good scene.

Rhona Mitra holds her own well as Sonja, playing the privileged daughter, who’s torn between being loyal to her father and not wanting to abandon the love of her life. And hats off to Larry Rew for his performance. Kosta (Rew) is a sadistic bully, but Lucian makes sure he gets his comeuppance for the brutal and bloody whipping scene.

Rise Of The Lycans features some solid action sequences and one on one sword fights, including Sonja facing off against Viktor. Father vs daughter, in the rain, at night, AND Sonja reveals she’s pregnant with Lucian’s child? Oh, the drama!

The home stretch delivers on all fronts. I absolutely loved the breakneck speed approach to the big final battle between the werewolves and vampires, because it’s supposed to be a chaotic and bloody mess. Also, Lucian chasing after Viktor for a final showdown delivers some nice thrills, complete with a brutal and gory final blow.

Rise Of The Lycans succeeds as an Underworld film, that shows the early stages of the war between the vampires and the Lycans. The feud between Viktor and Lucian really works as one of the pillars for the story, and you get a better understanding for why Lucian and Viktor hated each other so much. 

Lots of nuggets for Underworld and Evolution throughout the movie, including different characters, the dialogue, visuals, and certain items (e.g. Sonja’s necklace). You can see why Lucian valued Sonja’s necklace, why it means so much to him, and why it’s not just a necklace, that simultaneously works as half of the key to William’s prison.

Also, there’s something that’s almost impossible to ignore about Viktor, and his relationships with Sonja, Selene, and Lucian. The lies, the manipulation tactics, using his own daughter as bait for a trap, and knowing how his relationship with Sonja ended? There’s a pattern for all of it, that leads to two conclusions: Viktor was a shitty father, and a terrible father figure for Selene and Lucian.

Rating-7/10

Night Of The Demons (2009)(2025 Redo)

 

**This post contains MINOR 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! 

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 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

Night Of The Demons (2009)(2025 Redo)

 

**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

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- A tragic mining accident disrupts the quiet town of Harmony, when Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles) forgets to bleed the lines, causing a deadly cave-in. Tom escapes, but Harry Warden (Richard John Walters) murders the other miners.

A year passes, and Warden suddenly awakes from a coma to continue his killing spree. Tom, his girlfriend, Sarah (Jaime King), and Axel (Kerr Smith), and his girlfriend, Irene ( Betsy Rue) have plans to enjoy Harmony’s mining party. But Harry shows up to butcher anyone who crosses his path. Axel, Irene, and Sarah escape. Tom survives Harry’s attack, with help from Sheriff Burke (Tom Atkins), who wounds Harry with a series of gunshots. An injured Harry disappears, and Tom decides to leave Harmony.

Ten years later, Tom returns to Harmony to sell the Hanniger Mining Company. Tom is prepared to cash out. His decision upsets Sarah and the mine’s supervisor, Ben Foley (Kevin Tighe), because the Hanniger Mining Company is Harmony’s lifeline. Axel is Harmony’s new sheriff. To make matters worse for Tom, Axel is now married to Sarah, and they have a son named Noah. 

Tom struggles to navigate his emotional roller coaster, because he still has feelings for Sarah, but a bigger problem causes more trouble. Harmony’s dark past resurfaces, as Tom, Sarah, Axel, Deputy Martin (Edi Gathegi), Ben, and a retired Sheriff Burke are forced to deal with the possibility of Harry Warden returning to finish what he started.

My Thoughts- There’s a good amount of noticeable differences between the remake and the original. In the original, T.J. was a young man who left home. He went out into the world to try and find himself and make it on his own, but things didn’t work out, so he returned home to work in the mines. T.J. put a lot of effort into humbling himself. Tom? Well, early on you get the impression he really is the selfish and whiny spoiled brat that everyone else makes him out to be. He’s the pariah of Harmony, and unlike T.J., Tom actually has a direct connection to Harry Warden.

As the story progresses, Tom changes his mind. He doesn’t want to sell the mine, but are his intentions truly genuine? It’s blatantly obvious Tom hoping he still has a chance to steal Sarah away from Axel is one of the main reasons why he wants to stay in Harmony. The love triangle is far more tense and serious in the remake. Ackles and Smith did a great job of making the rivalry between Tom and Axel feel real. You can tell both men hate each other, while Sarah is stuck in the middle.

Kerr Smith is the true spark in the cast. Smith absolutely nails the different faces of Axel. Axel is hot-headed, a jerk, and a cocky tough guy, with a smart mouth. He’s also having an affair with Sarah’s employee, Megan (Megan Boone), and to throw in another disastrous twist, Megan is pregnant with Axel’s child. Axel is a mess, but you can also see he doesn’t want to lose his family. And he cares about protecting the peace in Harmony.

If you’re a fan of 80’s horror, there’s a good chance you know about Tom Atkins. Atkins’ presence in a horror slasher provides some good nostalgia. The grizzled old sheriff is a perfect fit for him. Atkins shows he’s still got some fire left in him during the bar fight scene, when shouts out “EVERYBODY STAND DOWN GOD D****!!” to diffuse the tension. Truly a classic Tom Atkins moment.

Harry Warden/The Miner is still a dangerous and menacing villain in the remake. The remake features a handful of creative and brutal death scenes. Selene’s (Selene Luna) death is a good example of just how callous The Miner is, when he jams the pickaxe through her head and slams her body into the ceiling lights. There’s also a callback to Mabel’s death scene in the original with Axel and Sarah’s maid. The Miner stuffs Rosa (Joy de la Paz) in the dryer, and the shot is set up to mirror what happened in the original, when you see Rosa’s charred corpse. That’s exactly what happened to Mabel.

Revealing Tom as The Miner wasn’t a big shocker. In the 1981 film, they hold off revealing the fact that Harry is dead until the final moments. In the remake, Axel reveals Burke and Ben killed Harry in act of “vigilante justice” ten years ago, and they buried his body in the woods. The possibility of Harry returning for revenge is squashed a lot sooner this time around. Honestly, it’s for the best, because unless they planned on going the supernatural route, there’s no point in teasing Harry still being alive. A coma? A cave-in? Gunshot wounds? A mortal man can only survive so much.

They tried to throw a curveball with the possibility of Axel as the killer. Megan’s death could’ve easily raised a red flag. He wanted to kill Megan, because he didn’t want Sarah to know about the affair and his illegitimate child. Tom was hoping that would be enough to pin the murders on Axel.

Tom? If you pay close attention, too many sensible clues killed any chances for his innocence. It’s revealed Tom hallucinated Harry’s appearances throughout the movie. IF Harry was actually alive, then the scene where Tom is “trapped” inside the cage in the mines doesn’t make any sense. Harry locks Tom in a cage, while he murders another miner named Red. Harry kills him, runs off, and he leaves Tom in a safe place unharmed? Harry Warden is a cold blooded killer. During, the opening of the movie, you can tell Harry clearly hated Tom, so why would he spare his life?

I’ve always had mixed feelings for the explanation and the reasons behind Tom’s transformation into The Miner, because it could go both ways. So we learn Tom was in a mental institution for seven years, and they show him taking medication at the motel. We’re lead to believe Tom has a personality disorder, but the flashbacks tell a different story. When they show the flashbacks with Tom carrying out the murders, it’s possible to believe he was possessed by Harry Warden. 

To take it a step further, Tom starts talking in Harry’s voice during the big standoff with Axel and Sarah towards the end. When Axel is revealed as the killer in the 1981 film, it’s undeniably clear he completely lost his mind. The idea of Harry’s evil spirit controlling Tom works, but there’s also the possibility that Tom just finally snapped. His mental health deteriorated, his father is dead, the whole town hates him, and Sarah, the one person he truly loves, moved on with her life. Tom had a lot of heavy burdens to carry, and holding on to all that rage finally got the best of him. 

My Bloody Valentine 2009 is a 3D film, but it wasn’t necessary. The 3D side is just way too gimmicky. The lingering scenes with The Miner pointing the pickaxe at the screen loses the wow factor quickly. The remake could’ve stood on its own without 3D. The 3D disrupts the flow of the movie, because if you’re not wearing a pair of 3D glasses, there’s almost no point in watching certain scenes. 

The remake tries to be a raunchier film at times. No nudity or sex scenes in the original. The 1981 film is more modest, but the 2009 version has one over the top sex scene. Irene is completely naked, when she confronts Frank (Todd Farmer), and well, she’s still nude when she’s trying to hide from and fight off The Miner. There’s a sleazy motel in Harmony, and let’s not forget Axel is supposed to set the standard for morals, but he’s having an affair.

My Bloody Valentine 2009 is a solid remake, that manages to pay homage to the original, while maintaining its own identity. The remake works as a more modernized version of the original, and as a throwback to 80’s slashers. There’s more comedy and tongue in cheek scenes, including the kills, but the original had a more consistent serious tone.They don’t hold back on all the brutal violence and bloody gore. Keeping the bloody hearts in heart shaped candy boxes and the dark humor Valentine’s Day cards helps push the idea of a sinister side to the holiday.

There’s a cliffhanger with Tom secretly escaping, and a planned sequel was cancelled, but I’m glad it never happened. Sure, you can go the route of Tom returning to go after Axel and Sarah, but there’s no point. They exhausted almost every avenue for Tom, Axel, and Sarah here. Anything else would’ve been overkill, so the remake was better off as a one and done deal.

Rating- 6/10

Character Spotlight- Angela Franklin & Angela Feld- Night Of The Demons

**This post contains spoilers**

It's Halloween night, and with some help from her friend, Suzanne (Linnea Quigley), Angela Franklin (Amelia Kinkade) plans to throw an unforgettable Halloween party. Angela is not interested in fake cobwebs, bobbing for apples, or a group circle for cheesy ghost stories, while the storyteller holds a flashlight up to his or her face, with a scrunched look to top it off. No, Angela wants authenticity, so she chooses Hull House, an abandoned funeral home with a dark past, for the party's location.

Angela's guest list (with the exception of an uninvited Sal crashing the party) includes Judy (Cathy Podewell), her boyfriend, Jay (Lance Fenton), Roger (Alvin Alexis), Helen (Allison Barron), Stooge (Hal Havins), Sal (William Gallo), Max (Philip Tanzini), and his girlfriend, Frannie (Jill Terashita), and the group enjoys music, booze, and dancing. The vibrant atmosphere for the party dwindles after a few hiccups, but things pick up, when Frannie suggests a past lives seance. But the seance takes an unexpected turn for the worst, when the group unleashes a demon from Hull House's crematorium.

Is Angela the popular kid at school? Nope. Angela Franklin is an outcast, or if you listen to Judy, she's a "weirdo." Angela chooses a black wedding dress as a costume, and her Gothic style look and her make-up complements her persona, as a confident vixen. She's an enthusiast for the dark side and mischievous mayhem, and Angela relishes the opportunity to show-off her newfound powers, when Suzanne passes the demon to her with one kiss.


                            

Demonized Angela terrorizes her party guests during the fiasco at Hull House, and Angela has a grotesque appearance in her demon form, but in her normal human form, Angela uses seduction as a weapon for her male victims. After Angela performed a sultry dance in front of him, Sal was smart enough to notice something strange. Sal walked away to avoid Angela's trap, but a gullible Stooge couldn't resist Angela, and he lost his tongue, as Angela passed the demon to him. Let's take a minute to admire Amelia Kinkade's memorable dance scene:

                                      


Kinkade takes center stage with a charismatic performance, and she establishes her presence in the Night Of The Demons series, as the devious primary antagonist with a dark sense of humor in Night Of The Demons 1988. Roger and Judy were lucky enough to walk away from a rough night with bumps, bruises, and scars during sunrise, and after a bloody night of carnage, Angela is stuck at Hull House (Remember the underground stream at the gates of Hull House? Demons can't cross over running water). Still, Angela is not done yet, so it's time to fast forward to Night Of The Demons 2!


                                    

In Night Of The Demons 2, the mythos of Angela has evolved past the point of some freak occurrence at Hull House or a gruesome massacre from Angela after the events in the first film. Now, Angela Franklin fully embraces her status, as the malicious bogeywoman, who haunts the halls of Hull House, and in the sequel Angela has a new mission: She wants to sacrifice her estranged sister, Melissa (or "Mouse"). First, Angela has to overcome a few small hurdles, because Melissa is a student at St. Rita's Academy, and Angela misses her first opportunity to grab Melissa inside Hull House   
during Shirley Finnerty's prank/party.

Eventually, Angela manipulates Melissa into believing she wants to reconnect with her, so Melissa follows Angela to Hull House, forcing Sister Gloria to lead a rescue mission to save Melissa. Before and during the rescue mission, Angela pulls out a familiar bag of tricks, including seduction to torment, possess, and murder the students (and Rick and Z-boy) of St. Rita's Academy. And for some reason, Angela uses a sword as a weapon here. Yes, you can say it's a cool accessory for her character, but there's no explanation for it, how Angela acquired the sword, or who gave it to her, but for some strange reason Angela has a sword? Okay then.

Kinkade delivers another entertaining performance, and she has her moments as Angela in NOD 2. My only complaint is the sequel trying to recreate Angela's dance scene from the first film. It happens during Angela's invasion at St. Rita's Academy, and during the Halloween party, Angela puts on a show with another sexy dance, but the moment falls flat for me, and it's not Kinkade's fault. The music is terrible, it kills the mood for Angela stealing the show, and everything feels forced.  

In the end, Melissa comes to her senses ("My name is Melissa!"), when she stabs Angela in her lower abdomen, causing a crippling wound. And with some help from Johnny, Bibi, and Sister Gloria, Melissa finally defeats Angela (in a more imposing form, as a large snake), but we're talking about horror films, so Angela has to make another inexplicable comeback in Night Of The Demons 3, right?  

                                  

Well, it's Halloween night, and Angela is all alone and bored inside Hull House, so she has to have some fun. After a shootout at a convenience store, Vince leads a reluctant group to Hull House, but Angela flips the script, when Vince plans to use Hull House as a hideout.

                              


Kinkade's presence and her performance are on a short, short list of a highlights in Night Of The Demons 3 (or Demon House), a lousy and forgettable sequel. Kinkade delivers another classic Angela moment, when she disarms Orson (figuratively and literally) after she performs fellatio on his gun. Also, Angela has another dance scene in NOD 3, but it's nothing to brag about. Kinkade tries to hold this one together, as the anchor for a sinking ship in NOD 3, but she's not a miracle worker.

Angela toys with another set of dimwits and a few unlikely heroes (Holly and Nick) in NOD 3. And of course, Part 3 leaves us with another "it's not over yet" cliffhanger after Holly and Nick "defeat" Angela, when Angela's voice wishes the audience a "Happy Halloween" with a sinister laugh before the credits roll.

Remember the eccentric outsider in Night Of The Demons 1988? Well, things change in the 2009 remake.

                                 


Angela Feld (Shannon Elizabeth) is not an outcast. She's a cocky party girl, who's not afraid to take what she wants. Angela hosts a Halloween bash at The Broussard Family Mansion, and Angela gives herself a grand entrance for officiall kick-off. But when Diana steals the money, and when the cops pull the plug on the party, Angela is stuck in a miserable dilemma.

Maddie, Lily, Jason, Dex, Colin, and Suzanne join Angela as stranded party guests, and all hell breaks loose, when a skeleton in the basement bites Angela's finger. The demon eventually possesses Angela's body, and when Angela passes the demon to Dex during a game of spin the bottle, she unleashes the demon's vicious wrath, sparking a chaotic life-or-death struggle for Maddie, Jason, and Colin.

                              


Shannon Elizabeth's Angela is more arrogant in the remake, and if you're wondering, yes, Angela uses seduction as a weapon here (just ask Suzanne and Dex). Angela is still the ringleader for her demon minions in the remake, and you'll see a more intimidating demonized form for Angela here. Elizabeth delivers an entertaining performance as Angela, and one of the more memorable Angela moments happens, when Angela taunts Maddie, as she reveals her plans to mutilate Colin before she turns him, while Maddie, Jason, and Colin are hiding in the upstairs bedroom protected by the maid's spells.

The 2009 remake is a solid and enjoyable film, but it's hard to ignore a missed opportunity for a one on one final battle between Angela and Maddie. A more ferocious and aggressive version of Angela facing off against Monica Keena, a woman with a reputation for being a tough and resilient final girl in horror films? Sign me up! 

If we're talking about popularity and legacies, you can't put Angela in the upper echelon with the likes of  Myers, Jason, and Krueger, but she definitely deserves a spot on the all-time list for forgotten or obscure horror characters. Charisma, a dark sense of humor, a never ending appetite for carnage, and sex appeal? Yep. As a character, Angela has everything any horror fan could ask for and more, but if she tries to offer you a kiss or a dance, saying no is the best option, because there's a good chance you'll lose your tongue (Stooge), your face (2009 Suzanne), or your soul.  


If you're interested, you can follow the links below to read my reviews for Night Of The Demons (1988), Night Of The Demons 2, Night Of The Demons 3, the 2009 remake, and a Character Spotlight post for Melissa "Mouse" Franklin:

Night Of The Demons (1988)- http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2012/11/night-of-demons-1988.html

Night Of The Demons 2- http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2012/11/night-of-demons-1994.html

Night Of The Demons 3/Demon House- http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2012/11/night-of-demons-3demon-house-1997.html

Character Spotlight for Melissa Franklin- http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2014/03/character-spotlight-melissa-mouse.html

Twitter- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

The Descent Part 2 (2009)(Minor Spoilers Review)

This review contains MINOR spoilers, no major reveals, surprises, or character deaths.


The Story- Two days after the horrific events inside the dangerous cave system, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) finally escapes, as the sole survivor. A bloodied and bruised Sarah catches Ed Oswald’s (Michael J. Reynolds) attention on the streets, and Sarah is rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Dan (Douglas Hodge) leads a search party for Juno and the others with some help from Greg (Joshua Dallas) and Cath (Anna Skellern), and the search gains extra media attention, when Juno’s family ties to a US senator as his niece are revealed. Dan, Greg, and Cath are spelunking experts, but they’re looking in the wrong cave, because the group is unaware of Juno’s plans to explore the uncharted cave system during the original expedition. 

At he hospital, a disorientated and heavily sedated Sarah awakes, but Sarah has no memory of what happened in the cave. Deputy Ellen Rios (Krysten Cummings) questions Sarah about the events in the caves, and the whereabouts of her friends, but a defensive and confused Sarah can’t give Rios the answers she wants. Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O’Herlihy) has trouble buying into Sarah’s sudden memory loss, so he orders the doctor to run a blood test for Sarah’s bloodstained clothing, and the test results reveal traces of Juno’s (Natalie Mendoza) blood type.

A bloodhound leads Ed and another officer to a dilapidated mineshaft in the woods, and with some help from Ed, a new entrance into the unmapped cave system is found. Sheriff Vaines quietly organizes a search party to avoid any media attention, and Vaines recruits Dan, Greg, and Cath to look for Juno and the others. Rios joins the team, and Vaines has plans to use her knowledge of the system for guidance, so he forces a reluctant and petrified Sarah to tag along. 

Sarah is still struggling to remember what happened in the caves, and Vaines and the others don’t know about the massacre during the first expedition. Ed assists the group with the descent into the caves, but the group stumbles across a series of startling discoveries in the abandoned mine and the cave system. As the group searches for survivors, clues, and familiar passages, Rebecca’s mangled corpse triggers Sarah’s memory, and a series of flashbacks help Sarah remember what happened the first time around.

With no time to explain or convince the rest of the group, a revitalized Sarah escapes the pack after a series of kicks to Vaines’ face. Thoroughly convinced Sarah is responsible for the murders, Vaines relentlessly pursues her, while the others try to regroup. But Vaines sets off a series of chaotic events, when he fires his gun, causing a dangerous cave-in. Cath is trapped underneath a mound of rocks and dirt, and the group is forced to fight for their lives, when the crawlers emerge. Sarah, Vaines, and the rest of the group will have to work together, if they want to escape the cave system alive, but a surprising return complicates the rescue mission…..

Review- Remember the strong characters, who were  willing to scrap until their last breath in The Descent? Well, when Sarah regains her memory, she instantly transforms into the fierce fighter with a never say die attitude again, and as the story progresses, Sarah takes Rios under her wing as a protégé, so she can teach her how to evade the crawlers, how to fight them, and how to navigate the tight passageways. And Sarah has a soft spot for Rios, when she learns about the tender relationship with Rios’ young daughter (remember, Sarah’s young daughter lost her life in the car accident). Towards the end, Rios turns the corner, as she embraces a more aggressive mean streak, because she realizes she can’t hold back anything, if she wants to fight the crawlers and escape.

Yeah, I get it. If you’re stuck underground with an army of flesh-eating creatures, a limited supply of resources and supplies, and no communications to the outside world, you’re going to be scared. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of panic and fear, because you’re stuck in an unprecedented situation.

Strong and fearless female characters (well, to be fair it’s just Juno and Sarah for the most part), who were willing to risk it all helped the original stand out amongst the pack, and The Descent provided a refreshing change of pace for horror films. But in The Descent 2, you get the feeling they wanted to settle for your typical set of “Don’t go in there!” or “Don’t do that!” horror movie characters, complete with head shaking, facepalming, and frantic finger pointing from the audience. I don’t have any real complaints about Dan, and Greg has one act of nobility in the sequel, but it’s hard to forget the “OH MY GOD WHAT’S HAPENNING!?!?!?” moments, and Cath is the panicky trainwreck, who screams and freaks out every five minutes. Also, one real head scratcher happens, when the group wanders through the old abandoned mine. There’s a boarded up entrance with skull and crossbones and “Do not enter” written on the front……but the group ignores the sign, and they decide to continue the search without a real debate? Seriously?

But Sheriff Vaines takes the cake for stupidity here. Vaines is warned about the dangers of brining a loaded gun into the caves, but of course he refuses to leave his gun (remember, Vaines’ gunshot caused the big cave-in) behind, because he’s too stubborn to listen to the experts. To make matters worse, Sheriff Vaines’ baffling animosity towards Sarah is beyond foolish. From start to finish, Vaines makes it clear he doesn’t like or trust Sarah, so he handcuffs himself to Sarah to prevent another escape attempt, but during the search and rescue mission, it’s clear the crawlers were responsible for the murders.

If you’re familiar with The Descent 2005, The Descent Part 2 can be a frustrating film at times with some noticeable pet peeves. You already know the crawlers are blind creatures/humanoids, who use sound to track and hunt their prey, and you already know, Rebecca, Sam, Beth, and Holly are dead, so it’s kind  of hard to sit back and watch the “We have to find them!” rescue mission unfold. Also, I know Cath, Greg, Dan, Vaines, and Rios are supposed to be the newbies, so they don’t know anything about the crawlers, but watching the new group scream, shout, and use their radios, when you know they’re basically serving themselves up to the crawlers on a sliver platter brings one too many eye rolling reactions out of me.

And to add another strange twist for this sequel, you really need to stretch suspension of disbelief  to buy into Sarah’s sudden memory loss. As the audience, are we really supposed to believe Sarah can just forget or completely blackout to the point, where she doesn’t remember what happened in the first film? Don’t get me wrong, The Descent Part 2 kicks into high gear, when ass-kicker Sarah returns, and I get the point of Sarah being traumatized to the point, where she wants to block everything out. But Part 2 almost crosses a slap in the face line, because they seriously expect you to believe in the possibility of a character drawing a blank two days later after engaging in deadly fights with flesh-eating creatures, and watching her best friends die horrifying deaths.

You’ll see a few select returns from characters in the original film. But for the most part, it’s just archived footage (for Sarah’s flashbacks) from the first film, and if we’re talking about physical returns, Rebecca and Sam are just rotting and decaying corpses, and their bodies are literally in the same locations from the first film.

I’ve re-watched this one more times than I can count over the years, and I still have mixed feelings for The Descent Part 2. On one hand, it’s not a terrible film, not by a longshot, but Part 2 is a noticeable step down, when you compare it to the original. Part 2 is bogged down by some unnecessary jump scares (including a lukewarm fakeout jumpscare), having to buy into a questionable story (i.e. Sarah’s memory loss), and you have a few dumb horror movie character moments here.

With all that said, The Descent Part 2 is still MUCH better than most horror sequels or horror number twos, and to be fair, topping or coming close to the critically acclaimed original would’ve been damn near impossible. Shauna Macdonlad’s return gives the sequel a boost, Macdonald delivers another strong performance, and the rest of the supporting cast ranges from decent to solid. Part 2 features a handful of terrifying and suspenful close calls, and you can make the argument for Part 2 trumping the original in the nail-biting claustrophobia department.

Plus, the sequel reintroduces some familiar remnants and themes from the original with sacrifice, bravery, and strong female characters, as Rios comes into her own as a fighter under Sarah’s tutelage. To add to that, when it comes to gross-out moments and gore, Part 2 is not afraid to hold back, at all. A rat crawling out of Rebecca’s dead body, the blood from Sam’s hanging corpse dripping onto and drenching Cath’s face, and Rios using a pickaxe to chop off Vaines’ arm. Oh, and it’s hard to forget about Sarah and Rios accidentally stumbling into the crawler’s pit of feces, and having to quietly watch a crawler use the bathroom.

If we’re talking about the crawlers, outside of a few facial changes, there’s not a big difference between the original and Part 2. But I’ll say this, adding the large, hulking crawler to the pack was a nice touch. He appears during the tail end of the film, but the large crawler’s size and build as a behemoth gives him more of an intimidating and threatening demeanor, and he’s the only large crawler in the pack, so he can stand out with a “one of a kind” presence.

A few bonus points for a shocking return, and I have some complaints for some noticeable horror tropes here, but it could’ve been worse, much worse. Think about all the cheap and watered down horror sequels/straight-to-video abominations that try to capitalize off of a successful original for the sake of making a quick profit. You know the formula: a lazy and tedious screenplay with references and winks to the original, a disposable new cast of characters, poor production values, and shoddy directing. In the end, the sequel is not without its flaws, but I’m just glad the powers that be for The Descent Part 2 made the effort to avoid the embarrassing levels of a bargain basement horror sequel disaster.

Rating- 7/10
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The Descent Part 2 (2009)(Spoiler Review)

This review contains spoilers.

The Story- Two days after the horrific events inside the dangerous cave system, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) finally escapes, as the sole survivor. A bloodied and bruised Sarah catches Ed Oswald’s (Michael J. Reynolds) attention on the streets, and Sarah is rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Dan (Douglas Hodge) leads a search party for Juno and the others with some help from Greg (Joshua Dallas) and Cath (Anna Skellern), and the search gains extra media attention, when Juno’s family ties to a US senator as his niece are revealed. Dan, Greg, and Cath are spelunking experts, but they’re looking in the wrong cave, because the group is unaware of Juno’s plans to explore the uncharted cave system during the original expedition. 

At he hospital, a disorientated and heavily sedated Sarah awakes, but Sarah has no memory of what happened in the cave. Deputy Ellen Rios (Krysten Cummings) questions Sarah about the events in the caves, and the whereabouts of her friends, but a defensive and confused Sarah can’t give Rios the answers she wants. Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O’Herlihy) has trouble buying into Sarah’s sudden memory loss, so he orders the doctor to run a blood test for Sarah’s bloodstained clothing, and the test results reveal traces of Juno’s (Natalie Mendoza) blood type.

A bloodhound leads Ed and another officer to a dilapidated mineshaft in the woods, and with some help from Ed, a new entrance into the unmapped cave system is found. Sheriff Vaines quietly organizes a search party to avoid any media attention, and Vaines recruits Dan, Greg, and Cath to look for Juno and the others. Rios joins the team, and Vaines has plans to use her knowledge of the system for guidance, so he forces a reluctant and petrified Sarah to tag along. 

Sarah is still struggling to remember what happened in the caves, and Vaines and the others don’t know about the massacre during the first expedition. Ed assists the group with the descent into the caves, but the group stumbles across a series of startling discoveries in the abandoned mine and the cave system. As the group searches for survivors, clues, and familiar passages, Rebecca’s mangled corpse triggers Sarah’s memory, and a series of flashbacks help Sarah remember what happened the first time around.

With no time to explain or convince the rest of the group, a revitalized Sarah escapes the pack after a series of kicks to Vaines’ face. Thoroughly convinced Sarah is responsible for the murders, Vaines relentlessly pursues her, while the others try to regroup. But Vaines sets off a series of chaotic events, when he fires his gun, causing a dangerous cave-in. Cath is trapped underneath a mound of rocks and dirt, and the group is forced to fight for their lives, when the crawlers emerge. Sarah, Vaines, and the rest of the group will have to work together, if they want to escape the cave system alive, but a surprising return complicates the rescue mission…..

Review- Remember the strong characters, who were  willing to scrap until their last breath in The Descent? Well, when Sarah regains her memory, she instantly transforms into the fierce fighter with a never say die attitude again, and as the story progresses, Sarah takes Rios under her wing as a protégé, so she can teach her how to evade the crawlers, how to fight them, and how to navigate the tight passageways. And Sarah has a soft spot for Rios, when she learns about the tender relationship with Rios’ young daughter (remember, Sarah’s young daughter lost her life in the car accident). Towards the end, Rios turns the corner, as she embraces a more aggressive mean streak, because she realizes she can’t hold back anything, if she wants to fight the crawlers and escape.

Yeah, I get it. If you’re stuck underground with an army of flesh-eating creatures, a limited supply of resources and supplies, and no communications to the outside world, you’re going to be scared. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of panic and fear, because you’re stuck in an unprecedented situation.

Strong and fearless female characters (well, to be fair it’s just Juno and Sarah for the most part), who were willing to risk it all helped the original stand out amongst the pack, and The Descent provided a refreshing change of pace for horror films. But in The Descent 2, you get the feeling they wanted to settle for your typical set of “Don’t go in there!” or “Don’t do that!” horror movie characters, complete with head shaking, facepalming, and frantic finger pointing from the audience. I don’t have any real complaints about Dan, and Greg has one act of nobility in the sequel, but it’s hard to forget the “OH MY GOD WHAT’S HAPENNING!?!?!?” moments, and Cath is the panicky trainwreck, who screams and freaks out every five minutes. Also, one real head scratcher happens, when the group wanders through the old abandoned mine. There’s a boarded up entrance with skull and crossbones and “Do not enter” written on the front……but the group ignores the sign, and they decide to continue the search without a real debate? Seriously?

But Sheriff Vaines takes the cake for stupidity here. Vaines is warned about the dangers of brining a loaded gun into the caves, but of course he refuses to leave his gun (remember, Vaines’ gunshot caused the big cave-in) behind, because he’s too stubborn to listen to the experts. To make matters worse, Sheriff Vaines’ baffling animosity towards Sarah is beyond foolish. From start to finish, Vaines makes it clear he doesn’t like or trust Sarah, so he handcuffs himself to Sarah to prevent another escape attempt, but during the search and rescue mission, it’s clear the crawlers were responsible for the murders.

If you’re familiar with The Descent 2005, The Descent Part 2 can be a frustrating film at times with some noticeable pet peeves. You already know the crawlers are blind creatures/humanoids, who use sound to track and hunt their prey, and you already know, Rebecca, Sam, Beth, and Holly are dead, so it’s kind  of hard to sit back and watch the “We have to find them!” rescue mission unfold. Also, I know Cath, Greg, Dan, Vaines, and Rios are supposed to be the newbies, so they don’t know anything about the crawlers, but watching the new group scream, shout, and use their radios, when you know they’re basically serving themselves up to the crawlers on a sliver platter brings one too many eye rolling reactions out of me.

And to add another strange twist for this sequel, you really need to stretch suspension of disbelief  to buy into Sarah’s sudden memory loss. As the audience, are we really supposed to believe Sarah can just forget or completely blackout to the point, where she doesn’t remember what happened in the first film? Don’t get me wrong, The Descent Part 2 kicks into high gear, when ass-kicker Sarah returns, and I get the point of Sarah being traumatized to the point, where she wants to block everything out. But Part 2 almost crosses a slap in the face line, because they seriously expect you to believe in the possibility of a character drawing a blank two days later after engaging in deadly fights with flesh-eating creatures, and watching her best friends die horrifying deaths.

You’ll see a few select returns from characters in the original film. But for the most part, it’s just archived footage (for Sarah’s flashbacks) from the first film, and if we’re talking about physical returns, Rebecca and Sam are just rotting and decaying corpses, and their bodies are literally in the same locations from the first film.

The Descent Part 2 features a few big returns, with Sarah taking center stage for the vast majority of screen time, as one of the living characters from the original, but The Descent Part 2 throws in a legit shocker towards the end……….JUNO IS STILL ALIVE! That’s right. Juno is not dead. Of course, she’s injured and limping around, because Sarah drove a pickaxe into her leg, but she’s still alive. During her short time in the caves, Juno learned how to survive, and she knows how to evade, attack, and fight the creatures. Remember, they never showed the crawlers attacking Juno during the ending in the first film. You just hear Juno’s screams, as Sarah runs for her life, and that’s it.

Okay, so we’re in the final stages of the movie, and Vaines, Juno, Sarah, and Rios are the known remaining survivors after the crawlers murder Dan and Cath. Sarah and Rios are a functioning duo, and Juno believes she knows how to escape the cave system, so Vaines follows Juno. But a brawl between Sarah and Juno breaks out, when both teams finally cross paths, because Juno is not too happy about the pickaxe, and Sarah abandoning her. And on the other side of the grudge, Sarah is not over Juno having an affair with Paul, and using the previous trip as a pity prize for her.

Cooler heads prevail after the brawl, but Vaines makes a crucial mistake, when has the bright idea to handcuff Sarah to himself.  But wait a minute! Vaines is bitter because Sarah left Juno behind the first time around. Eh, okay, if ANYONE has the right to hate Sarah, it’s Juno, not Sheriff Vaines, because she didn’t do anything to him. Anyway, the group agrees to follow Juno’s lead to escape the caves.

But Sarah and Vaines are stuck hanging on a ledge after they fall from too much weight on an unstable surface. Sarah pleads for Juno’s help, and Juno reluctantly agrees, as she instructs Rios to use a pickaxe to cut off Vaines’s arm (Juno made it clear it was impossible to save both, so they had to choose one), and Vaines falls into the abyss, as a group of crawlers devour what’s left of him. Meanwhile, Sarah, Juno, and Rios make a strong push towards Juno’s planned escape route.

The three remaining survivors reach the exit, but there’s a big problem: The feeding ground is packed with crawlers, and on top of that, an abnormally large crawler drags an animal’s carcass through the exit. Together, Rios, Sarah, and Juno take quiet and careful steps towards the end exit, but a horribly mutilated Greg makes one last desperate plea for help, and it’s enough to alert every crawler in the area.

Rios, Sarah, and Juno fight off and kill the group of crawlers, but as the battle progresses, Sarah notices Juno is struggling. Rios urges Sarah to make a run for it, but Sarah decides to help Juno. Juno and Sarah restrain and pummel the large crawler together, but the crawler rips Juno’s abdomen open. Juno falls to the ground, but she uses her last ounce of strength to bite a chunk of flesh out of the crawler’s neck, and together, Sarah and Juno kill the hulking crawler.

Juno is bleeding out, and as she dies in Sarah’s arms, she offers a heartfelt and teary apology to Sarah. Rios begs Sarah to escape with her, as a new group of crawlers surround them. Fearing the worst, Rios falls to her knees, but Sarah sacrifices herself, when she stands up and screams. Sarah’s screams draw the crawlers towards her, and as the crawlers swarm and overwhelm Sarah, Rios uses the opportunity to escape.

Rios runs into the nearby woods, and she takes a moment to catch her breath. Rios tries to make a phone call, but when she turns around, Ed smacks her in the face with a shovel. Ed drags Rios’ lifeless body towards the same entrance/exit she escaped from. The camera slowly descends into the black hole, and to end the movie, a crawler bursts through the opening before the credits start rolling.

Juno returns at the sixty-four minute mark (Part 2‘s overall runtime clocks in at 1hr. & 34 min.), but it’s still a genuine surprise, and the emotional farewell between Sarah and Juno is something to remember. Yes, Juno comes off as a pretentious phony, who’s more concerned with trying to stroke her own ego, while owning up to the affair and directly apologizing to Sarah takes a backseat. But after the events in The Descent Part 2, it’s hard to question Juno’s morality. She could’ve easily killed Sarah during the first brawl, and she could’ve let Sarah fall to her death with Vaines on the ledge with an “eye for an eye” revenge mindset, but she chose to save her.

After Juno’s deception and a scathing betrayal on Sarah’s end, two friends reunited and fought side by side, risking life and limb for each other. That’s excellent storytelling for Juno and Sarah‘s storyline, and if you stop and think about the events in both films, you can understand the motivations behind Sarah’s sacrifice. Think about it, here’s someone, who was in the same car, when her husband and young daughter suffered agonizing deaths in a brutal head on collision. Fast forward one year later, and all of her friends die horrific deaths at the hands of flesh-eating creatures, she gives Beth a mercy killing, and Sarah learns the truth about an affair between her husband and one of her best friends. And to pile on more misery, Sarah returns to the cave system to watch Juno, her only living friend in the world, die in her arms. Sarah blamed herself for what happened to Juno. She was overwhelmed with guilt and regret, and Sarah was way past the point of having nothing to lose.

The ending/cliffhanger? I have an indifferent reaction to it. I don’t hate the ending, but at the same time, the ending didn’t do anything for me. You get the feeling they were trying to recreate Sarah’s triumphant moment of relief and freedom, when she “escaped” the cave system in the first film with Rios’ crawling and running to freedom here, but the moment did not resonate with me for a few reasons.

Sarah truly SUFFERED, going to hell and back in the first film, so her escape had a resounding and meaningful impact, and if you pay close attention to the descent into the cave system during the early stages of the film, Ed gives Rios a knowing wink. Remember, Ed bragged about his “granddaddy” working in the mines. Ed was a local in the area, and he obviously knows everything there is to know about the crawlers, so he sat back and watched, as the creatures waited for a fresh group of meat. I’m not saying I have a crystal ball, because that means I already knew Rios would escape the cave, with Ed waiting in the wings to attack her from behind. That’s ridiculous, but the wink is an obvious clue that undermines the moment, and you had to know something was going to happen to Rios during her little scamper in the woods.

I’ve re-watched this one more times than I can count over the years, and I still have mixed feelings for The Descent Part 2. On one hand, it’s not a terrible film, not by a longshot, but Part 2 is a noticeable step down, when you compare it to the original. Part 2 is bogged down by some unnecessary jump scares (including a lukewarm fakeout jumpscare), having to buy into a questionable story (i.e. Sarah’s memory loss), and you have a few dumb horror movie character moments here.

With all that said, The Descent Part 2 is still MUCH better than most horror sequels or horror number twos, and to be fair, topping or coming close to the critically acclaimed original would’ve been damn near impossible. Shauna Macdonlad’s return gives the sequel a boost, Macdonald delivers another strong performance, and the rest of the supporting cast ranges from decent to solid. Part 2 features a handful of terrifying and suspenful close calls, and you can make the argument for Part 2 trumping the original in the nail-biting claustrophobia department.

Plus, the sequel reintroduces some familiar remnants and themes from the original with sacrifice, bravery, and strong female characters, as Rios comes into her own as a fighter under Sarah’s tutelage. To add to that, when it comes to gross-out moments and gore, Part 2 is not afraid to hold back, at all. A rat crawling out of Rebecca’s dead body, the blood from Sam’s hanging corpse dripping onto and drenching Cath’s face, and Rios using a pickaxe to chop off Vaines’ arm. Oh, and it’s hard to forget about Sarah and Rios accidentally stumbling into the crawler’s pit of feces, and having to quietly watch a crawler use the bathroom.

If we’re talking about the crawlers, outside of a few facial changes, there’s not a big difference between the original and Part 2. But I’ll say this, adding the large, hulking crawler to the pack was a nice touch. He appears during the tail end of the film, but the large crawler’s size and build as a behemoth gives him more of an intimidating and threatening demeanor, and he’s the only large crawler in the pack, so he can stand out with a “one of a kind” presence.

A few bonus points for a shocking return, and I have some complaints for some noticeable horror tropes here, but it could’ve been worse, much worse. Think about all the cheap and watered down horror sequels/straight-to-video abominations that try to capitalize off of a successful original for the sake of making a quick profit. You know the formula: a lazy and tedious screenplay with references and winks to the original, a disposable new cast of characters, poor production values, and shoddy directing. In the end, the sequel is not without its flaws, but I’m just glad the powers that be for The Descent Part 2 made the effort to avoid the embarrassing levels of a bargain basement horror sequel disaster.

Rating- 7/10Twitter- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

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Daybreakers (2009)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no character deaths, major reveals, surprises, or plot twists**

In 2019, the world’s population is stuck in an age of darkness after an outbreak of vampirism. The remaining humans are hunted and harvested for blood to feed the vampires, and the humans, who refused to turn are forced to live a life of secrecy in the night shadows and daylight for their only chances at survival.

As a vampire, Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) works for Bromley Marks, a powerful corporation that remains at the top of the list for the largest blood supplier in the United States, as the Chief Hematologist. With help from his trusted colleague, Chris (Vince Colosimo) Edward plans to invent a blood substitute to salvage what’s left of the human population. But the first human test for the blood substitute is a failure, after the test subject is forced to suffer a painful death.

The world’s blood supply is running low, and without a proper feeding source, the vampires will transform into subsiders, a mindless and feral creature. Fearing the worst, Charles Bromley (SamNeill), Edward’s boss and the owner of Bromely Marks, urges Edward to work out all the kinks for the blood substitute.

The vampires are forced to deal with a dwindling human population and a shortage of blood, and recent projections uncover a startling discovery: the vampires will run out of blood in less than a month, if Edward and his team are unable to perfect a new substitute. Edward pushes for a cure, but Mr. Bromely is more concerned with making money from blood sales. On top of that, Mr. Bromley rejects Edward’s proposal to use the substitute as a primary source of blood with the promise of allowing humans to roam free in a vampire world with no worries, because customers will always pay extra for the “real thing.”

With a limited number of options in front of him, Edward takes a risky chance, when he agrees to join a vampire resistance movement. Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan) and Lionel “Elvis” Cormac (Willem Dafoe) work with other dedicated team members to find a cure to end the vampire plague once and for all. Elvis plans to use sunlight for the cure, and Edward is willing to help with the tests.

But Edward’s brother is a loyal and dedicated solider in the US Vampire Army, a force dedicated to hunting all humans for the never ending harvest. Frankie Dalton (Michael Dorman) makes a promise to Mr. Bromley: he will bring Edward and his partners to justice for his crimes as a traitor. And Mr. Bromley needs some help with his estranged daughter, Alison (Isabel Lucas), so he asks Frankie for a favor. With each passing second, the world’s blood supply is running low, and Edward is running out of time to come up with a cure, as military search parties monitor his every move……

Ethan Hawke is a solid leading man, as the conflicted hematologist, who’s motivated by a newfound sense of morality. Willem Dafoe delivers an entertaining performance as Elvis. Elvis is a cocky warhorse, who won’t back down from a fight, and Dafoe brought an enjoyable sense of humor to this character. Claudia Karvan’s Audrey isn’t bad at all, but in the grand scheme of things, her character is a third wheel most of the time.

Sam Neill’s Charles Bromley is your typical greedy and soulless business tycoon, who’s obsessed with making more money at all costs. Neill is a suitable fit for this character, and Bromley is a respectable antagonist. Dorman’s Frankie is a shameless loyalist to Bromley and the vampire population. You can see Frankie’s change of heart coming from a mile away, but Dorman’s performance is decent enough. Isabel Lucas? I can’t say too much about her, because Alison is limited to a few sporadic appearances here, so it’s not fair to judge Lucas’ performance.

I appreciate the noticeable attempts to authenticate Daybreakers’ all vampire world. Vampire patrons have the choice of adding blood to their coffee, and of course, the amounts of blood are regulated to 5% during the blood shortage. At the subway station, you’ll see an Uncle Sam-esque poster urging citizens to join the US Vampire Army, so they can help with the hunt for humans. Cars feature a “daylight” mode, so vampires can drive safely in the daytime, and each car is equipped with dark tinted windows and monitors to see everything on the outside.

And you get to feel the burden of unwilling vampire citizens, who can’t live with the guilt of feeding on humans. The movie opens with an intro of a small vampire girl, who commits suicide by sitting outside during sunrise, and in her journal, she explains how she couldn’t live with the shame anymore.

Will Daybreakers change the landscape of vampire films forever? No. No it won’t. In fact, I think it’s safe to say Daybreakers is on the forgotten list for vampire films, and this one was released in 2009. You can blame some of that on the influx of vampire films over they years (same thing happened with zombie flicks), because Daybreakers is stuck in a crowded bunch now. On the flip-side, Daybreakers succumbs to a lot of familiar genre tropes and a few generic characters. It’s a shame, because Daybreakers could’ve been that one film that changed everything.

Still, Daybreakers is a satisfying treat for horror fans. I’ll give credit, where credit is due, because Daybreakers takes a refreshing chance on being something different. Daybreakers gushes blood as a viscerally violent vampire flick, and the disgusting finale should please any gore fiend. Daybreakers is one of my personal all-time favorites from any genre, and if you love vampires and bloody horror, you NEED to give Daybreakers a try, because it’s worth the time.

Rating: 7/10

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