VividSimon Simply Perfect
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
J D Seriously. I just wrapped up my first viewing of Demonicus and words have failed me.I remember a time when I would see Charles Band's name on a film and my heart would race. He was never a Wes Craven or a John Carpenter. He was a bastion of hope for the little man. The guy whose movies arrived at the video store instead of the multiplex, but they still rocked harder than most of the trendy junk we otherwise had to endure.And now... this.A painfully-obvious Californian walking trail doubles for "the Alps" and an abandoned train tunnel is actually supposed to be "an ancient cave". I mean, they didn't even try to dress the thing up with moss or film it in a way that might suggest it was anything other than an old train tunnel! Ugh! Instead of a creepy demon gladiator, as the cover implies, we're treated to a dude wearing the latest in Wal-Mart Halloween apparel. There's a pretty cool looking corpse, who occasionally comes to life to belch and wiggle his fingers, but he doesn't even learn to stand until the final five minutes. Why couldn't he be the villain? Instead, we've got frat boy Joe with a plastic sword. Ouch.Charles Band... you should be ashamed that your name is attached to such tripe. I love movies that are so bad, they're good. Hell, I occasionally enjoy a flick thats so bad, its just bad. This one, however, is just unwatchable. A perfect example of making a buck, rather than making a quality film.
Julie Hoverson Really. This movie makes a great comic monologue.No matter what anyone says, not all movies are fun to mock. There are suprisingly few movies which really offer material throughout that is true food for humor, but this is one - unlike a movie such as, say, "Severed," or Full Moon's own "Killjoy" which are just plain unwatchably bad.Still, Demonicus is close to the bottom of the Full Moon barrel.In the Italian Alps, seven Americans (3 couples and a nerd - who explains that his girlfriend left him just before the trip, but I'm not sure if this was just written in to explain why they couldn't afford a fourth actress) are "competing" to see which couple (or nerd) can get to "base camp" first, taking different (but very wide and well-marked) trails.One couple stop near a cave (which looks like a railroad tunnel from the outside, but papier-mâché on the inside). The guy decides to go in and check it out, and finds a mummified gladiator and is possessed by it. He then puts on all its armor (under the opening credits, somewhat reminiscent of the Rambo(R) Cartoon) and goes off to kill his friends and bring back their bits to make a stew ("is it soup yet?") to raise the gladiator, Tyrannus (nicknamed Demonicus), from the dead.The actor playing the guy who gets possessed is also the film's fight coordinator, which I wouldn't admit. The fight scenes are very bad.
In fact, the nerd dies taking a sword UNDER his arm. When have we seen that special effect, outside of a high-school performance of Romeo & Juliet?One of my favorite scenes is where the nerd and the tough guy (whose girlfriend - coincidentally a virgin - has been kidnapped by Tyrannus or Demonicus or whatever) are at camp and DON'T EVEN NOTICE another woman (all the women in this movie look pretty much alike) running frantically to them until she arrives, bleeding and breathless, to collapse, still clutching her "Time-Life Guide to the Secret Spookiness of the Italian Alps". She has just enough energy (having been running for so long that she lost her coat and backpack, but is still clutching The Book) to slap through the pages of the book and point to the legend of Demonicus. Then she dies. At least, they think she dies, and they wrap her in one of their sleeping bags (since a corpse needs the warmth much more than these bozos). Apparently, their main criteria for judging her dead is that her eyes closed, because she comes to later, and is fine.WHAT???Still, it's funny.
pugdog#1 In watching any movie, I demand something for my time. Plot is usually too much to ask, but an ending I can be satisfied with is almost mandatory. I can even over look the ending, if getting there was a lot of fun (you know what I mean!).This movie had nothing. It was not even a weak gore fest. One of a group of students on a hike (the reason for which was never explained) is possessed by the soul of a demon gladiator (again, poorly if ever explained) and goes around killing his friends and cutting off their limbs (again, poorly explained) until we get to the end, which is not explained. <sigh>As for acting and effects, this movie had the usual potential. A few extra snips of the scissors, a few more moments of shooting, and _some_ thought as to WHY all this was happening would have gone a long way to making it a legitimate entry into the late-night horror movie lineup.
As it was, all I can say is I wasted my time (buying <ouch>) and watching this movie. I can't even think of a reason to rent it.
Jim Manson Although I have to admit I laughed more watching this movie than the last few comedies I saw.The budget must have consisted of pocket change from the actors. The production values are so low that they actual made it kind of fun to watch. Reminds me of the Robot Monster made up of a guy in a gorilla suit with a cardboard diving helmet on.In one scene a hapless victim gets their arm and leg cut off. Geez, hard to believe but the Black Knight scene from Holy Grail was more realistic. I kept wondering why the victim didn't start shouting " None Shall Pass" and " It's only a flesh wound, I've had worse". It was one of the funniest scenes I've seen in the past year.The "gladiator/demon" was a stitch too. Between the horribly cheap costume and the geeky look of the guy in it the end result was hysterical.
Truly a movie that is bad enough to be watchable. Kind of like seeing a slow motion auto accident on film.
