Review of Demons

Demons (1985)
6/10
The confusing mess that is the 'Demons' series
6 May 2005
In 1985, 'Demoni' (the original Italian title) was such an international success that director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento quickly followed it with 'Demoni 2' in 1986. While mostly a proper sequel, there are several puzzling elements not the least of which was the reuse of actors whose characters were killed in the first film for new characters in the sequel ... yeah, I know!!

After that, things get a little funky.

In 1988, Lamberto filmed 'Casa del L'Orco' for Italian television. Internationally it was sold as another 'Demoni' sequel, hence the title: 'Demons III: The Ogre' for R1 DVD. According to an interview included on the Shriek Show release, Lamberto did not create this as a sequel to 'Demoni'. That title must have been made up by a distributor. Once again, you'll again find re-used actors from 'Demoni' and 'Demoni 2', but since Lamberto did not make this as a sequel, it's kind of a non-issue.

In 1989, Michele Soavi (he played the masked man seen in 'Demoni') directed and co-wrote 'La Chiesa' ('The Church'). The script was co-written by many others, including fellow 'Demoni' alumni Dario Argento and Dardano Sachetti. This film further adds to the confusion by occasionally being titled 'Demons 3' internationally.

In 1994, Michele Soavi made a big name for himself with the widely respected 'Dellamorte Dellamore' (released in R1 as 'Cemetary Man'). Why mention it here? Well, *THAT* film has also, rather inexplicably, been titled 'Demons 95' in at least one Region 2 DVD release.

There may be others, but for my own two cents, I consider 'Demoni' and 'Demoni 2' to be the only proper 'Demons' films... although 'La Chiesa' is so close, it almost makes it as well.

I hope this helped!
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