Demons 2 - The Nightmare Returns (1986)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cassandra M

  
  Okay, first of all, anybody who is expecting The English Patient from a movie called "Demons 2" will be sorely disappointed. This is an 80s low-budget Italian horror movie and as such has serious plot, dubbing and acting problems. That said, this is actually a very good… More
  Okay, first of all, anybody who is expecting The English Patient from a movie called "Demons 2" will be sorely disappointed. This is an 80s low-budget Italian horror movie and as such has serious plot, dubbing and acting problems. That said, this is actually a very good movie for the genre. The connection to the original movie is a bit blurry but it does try to connect the two together. Apparently somebody made a movie about the first incident, and it is this movie that "infects" a new building filled with badly-dubbed Italian actors. The make-up effects are quite good, and the demons pretty unsettling. I'd say this movie is on par with the original Demons (largely because it is almost exactly the same movie). This is a pretty brutal movie. None of the humorous subtext that you'd find in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequels, "Scream" or most other modern horror movies. Nope. Just a bunch of people desperately fighting to survive, and not doing a very good job of it. They aren't all stupid either....they do try. Unfortunately the screenwriters arranged it so that all the windows are unbreakable, and the electric doors unable to be opened. The movie also breaks some horror movie taboos as children were surprisingly made into victims. On a lighter note, I would also say that this is the first horror movie I have ever seen (barring Antichrist/Second Coming films)in which a character goes into labor while fighting demons. An entertaining horror movie.....Never looked at my watch once

• Steve K

  
  Having revisited the film, I now find the similarities between the two films actually aids enjoyment rather than detracts from it. Furthermore, with expectations out of the way, there's far more unintentional comedy in the sequel than I had originally realized.

• _kelly .

  
  I actually like this one better than the first Demons, because I think Bava is allowed more freedom and expression on his set. The plot may start slow and unsteady, but once the gore kicks in, this movie moves at the perfect pace for horror. I love the strong tone of trapped dense… More
  I actually like this one better than the first Demons, because I think Bava is allowed more freedom and expression on his set. The plot may start slow and unsteady, but once the gore kicks in, this movie moves at the perfect pace for horror. I love the strong tone of trapped dense panic in the garage scene. This scene feels more realistic than Demons, as realistic as giallo is allowed to be .

• Lafe F

  
  Not as great as the original "Demons" movie, this one has demons attacking people at a highrise apartment building with no escape for them. It all starts with a wild birthday cake scene and a weird demon movie playing on all the televisions. It has very dim lighting.… More
  Not as great as the original "Demons" movie, this one has demons attacking people at a highrise apartment building with no escape for them. It all starts with a wild birthday cake scene and a weird demon movie playing on all the televisions. It has very dim lighting. There's a funny underground parkade battle with the Demons. I wasn't too much into this one.

• Ryan M

  
  ** out of **** In Lamberto Bava's "Demons", a private showing of a never-before-seen horror film at a city theater called "The Metropol" meant death for all those who attended the screening; as the reels of the film came with a deadly curse. The… More
  ** out of **** In Lamberto Bava's "Demons", a private showing of a never-before-seen horror film at a city theater called "The Metropol" meant death for all those who attended the screening; as the reels of the film came with a deadly curse. The movie-within-a-movie was about the discovery of ancient artifacts of demonic lore; and thus, the theater would seem swarm with fast-running yet zombie-like demons. It was a clever mash-up of the kind of sensibilities brought up by classics such as "Night of the Living Dead" and the films of Hershell Gordon Lewis. For me, it was a night at the movies to remember; and to others, it's an exploitative gore-fest made specifically for the gore hounds, and lacking in all substance. They're right. Now, Lamberto (who is the son of Mario Bava) has made "Demons 2". Perhaps it takes place at the same time as the first film, but just in a different place; the setting this time around is in a large apartment building, on the night of one girl's birthday party. The birthday girl isn't having much of a good time at all - in spite of the loud music that is so gleefully pumping and the large selections of various desserts and foods that have been prepared - and thus, she retires to her bedroom and starts watching a television program that is airing on that particular night. Little does she know, the program that is being broadcast has the same conditions as the film screened in The Metropol from the first film. It's a show about demons; and in an instant, one of the in-movie villains pops out of the screen and attacks the woman. She then becomes a demon; infecting everyone else present at the party, and soon the whole building. It would seem that this horror sequel fared well with genre fans as well as avid gore-hounds; but it didn't exactly impress me. I'm a big fan of "Demons" and I'd even go so far as to call it great, classic, but undeniably guilty entertainment; I have seen it so many times, and each time I love it. My prediction for "Demons 2" is that I won't be so eager and quick to revisit it in the future; because on the first try, I really didn't enjoy myself. "Demons" created a very large mountain for Bava to climb; and he only makes it to the half-way point. Once again, he displays unique visual style; but this time around, he just lacks the ambition and "what the hell" attitude that made the original work so well. Some people appear to have been able to look past my main complaints; good for them. I'm just not seeing it. Returning from "Demons" is the lame (but funny) dialogue, the poorly fleshed-out characters, and fan favorite Bobby Rhodes (who plays a gymnast here instead of his "Tony the Pimp" character from the first film). You might notice that I didn't mention a return of the outlandishly over-the-top gore effects from the first film; and that is because in all honesty, it just isn't there. Sure, "Demons 2" has a few good, inspired scenes of gruesome deformation and mutilation, but it still feels like a big step down from the daring material on display in "Demons". I know, I know. I've been comparing "Demons 2" to its predecessor perhaps a bit too much; but how else could I go about reviewing it? There is no other way to vent my frustration and disappointment other than to consistently bring up just how much Bava's debut feature set up for the bigger, and literally "badder" sequel. While "Demons 2" is far from a bad film, it fails to provide the sort of wild, likably ridiculous ride that you'd expect given its awesome premise. Others might think just a little differently, and if you like the original film, you might want to check this one out; but underwhelming gore and a few good laughs can't make up for a lack of soul and a lack of genuine entertainment value. I'm sorry to say; but "Demons 2" may just be one of the most potentially fun but boring films ever made.

• Sylvester K

  
  Despise the plot, the film offers great special effects and ideas. Not as good as the first one but still watchable

• John M

  
  I found it be more entertaining and better than the first with the sometimes claustrophobic locations of the building are used to good effect, and the film delivers a decent amount of bloody chaos once it picks up its pace.

• Marcus W

  
  Dario Argento is the true king of horror. Technically, he doesn't direct this one but he does everything else and probably even made the tea. It is inferior to the original, it is also, in truth, a "zombie" movie, and the ending is a cop out. Yet even taking all that… More
  Dario Argento is the true king of horror. Technically, he doesn't direct this one but he does everything else and probably even made the tea. It is inferior to the original, it is also, in truth, a "zombie" movie, and the ending is a cop out. Yet even taking all that into consideration, it's still better, more imaginative, and more gore-soaked than most of the stuff Hollywood churns out nowadays.

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