Night of the Demons

Night of the Demons Review

"Night of the Demons"

The Broussard Mansion

Amos Lassen

Maddie Curtis and her friends Lilly and Suzanne are ready for a great Halloween night. They go to a party thrown by their friend Angela at the notorious Broussard Mansion in New Orleans. Over eighty years ago, six people disappeared from the mansion without a trace and the owner, Evangeline Broussard, hung herself.

This dark history enhances the Broussard Mansions appeal on Halloween. At the decadent, out-of-control party, Maddie and Lily run into their exes, Colin and Dex, while Suzanne parties it up. Good times end, however, when the police bust up the party. After the rest of the guests leave, Angela, Maddie, Lily, Dex, Colin, Suzanne and their friend Jason discover a horrible secret. Their cell phones don't work. The mansion gates are now mysteriously locked and it soon becomes clear that supernatural forces are at work and that there may be more to the tale of Evangeline Broussard than anyone knew.

We learn that the mansion is home to demons that need to possess seven vessels to break free of an ancient curse. One by one the guests fall victim and are transformed into hideous creatures. Only Maddie, Colin and Jason remain but we have to see if they can make it through the night and prevent evil from overtaking the world.
This is a remake of Kevin S Tenney's very 1980's horror comedy that sticks to the basic format of the original and steals some key scenes. The plot is much the same with some minor changes. There's a cute silent movie-styled back-story explaining the dark history of the central house that will become host to demon shenanigans. As before, a group of Halloween night partying teens wind up fighting and becoming possessed by demons.
However this remake lacks the retro charm of the movie it aspires to improve on. It is slicker and there are some fresh spins on the demon mythology and some more elaborate splatter to accompany the routine bathroom mirror shocks.
The set-up is subtly changed from the original, following a group of girls who head off to a Halloween party at a mansion in New Orleans, a mansion where one night 80 years ago 6 people mysteriously vanished and the owner hung herself. The party goes well - a little too well, because before long the police turn up and break it up, shutting and accidentally locking the only gate behind them, leaving just 7 people in the house and unable to leave the grounds. Early games of spin the bottle soon give way to terror, as they discover 6 corpses in the basement, and learn the story of the seven demons who were thrown out of Hell for trying to overthrow Satan, and who now need to possess human hosts before sunrise in order to take over the world.
It starts stylishly, with a black and white silent sequence which gives an introduction to the back-story of the demons. From then on in, it's blaring punk rock, quick cuts, big breasts and gore. Rather than try to scare with measured atmosphere, complex character beats or an involving and disturbing narrative, "Night of the Demons" is quite content to simply bash the viewer's head with loud noise and then bleeding walls. The film does exactly what it sets out to do.

Night of the Demons Overview

On Halloween night, a group of friends partying at the notorious Broussard Mansion discover a horrifying secret and unleash the wrath of blood-thirsty demons. Starring Shannon Elizabeth, Edward Furlong, and Monica Keena.

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