Tales from the Crypt: Demon Night
Director: Ernest Dickerson
Cast: Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith
Shout! Factory/Scream Factory
October 20, 2015
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
In the late 90s through the mid-90s, HBO had a huge hit with the Tales from the Crypt TV series based on the old horror comic book series of the same name. Eventually in time it ran out of steam and was cancelled, but the name Tales from the Crypt still had weight and brand recognition, and in 1995, knowing that the HBO show was quickly coming to an end, the producers behind the show wanted to capitalize on that name, and so three movie scripts were quickly snapped up to be put out under the Tales from the Crypt banner. Eventually, the last movie to be bought would be the first produced, and the third would be quietly dumped onto direct to video and all but forgotten. I mean, did you even know there is a third Tales from the Crypt movie? But I digress. Well now the mighty Scream Factory has released the first two TftC movies on Blu-ray, and this one, Demon Knight, was not only the first, but easily the best. Does the movie still hold up, or like 2002’s Ritual (that’s the name of the third Tales from the Crypt movie), should it just be forgotten? Well grab your mystical MacGuffin in the form of a key and let’s find out.
A man named Brayker (William Sadler) is driving through the desert at night, being chased by the mysterious Collector (Billy Zane). The two crash cars and so the chase continues on foot, eventually ending up at an old church turned seedy motel packed with a cavalcade of quirky characters including a whore with a heart of gold, the tough as nails motel manager, an old drunken souse (hi Dick Miller!), a sassy lady ex-con turned handywoman, a postman on the edge of going postal and more. Before you can say ensemble cast, the old church is besieged by truly cool and creepy demons led by the charismatic and hilarious Collector. Why? Because Brayker has the key to all creation (no, really) that’s filled with the blood of Christ (no, really) and the demons want it, because if they get it, they can plunge everything back into darkness.
So yeah, the story isn’t amazing or anything. It’s basically Assault on Precinct 13 with demons. But what saves it is awesome performances by everyone involved, truly laugh out loud moments, some great looking practical effects, and more than a few creepy moments. More than ably directed by Ernest Dickerson with good cinematography and a rocking mid-90s soundtrack, Demon Knight is a whole lot of fun. It’s a silly, bloody, and oddly sexy at times monster movie, and nothing more, but I am fine with that. Hell, when it’s done this good, I’m more than fine with it. If you can just go with it, you’ll have one hell of a ride.
On to the extras and goodies that Scream Factory included in this new Blu-ray release. There is an audio commentary with director Ernest Dickerson and a second one with various members of the special effects team. There is a 2014 Q&A session at the Egyptian Theater that was part of a retrospective of famous movie “I know that guy” actor, Dick Smith, in which 10 minutes is spent on this movie. There is a new making of featurette that runs 39 minutes that had a lot of the cast and crew show up for. A still gallery and theatrical trailer are also included here.
Demon Knight kicked off the new Tales from the Crypt movies in grand style. It’s got great actors hamming it up, having a ball, and giving some memorable performances. This is easily the thing I like Billy Zane the most in. The monsters are memorable, it delivers both chills and laughs equally well. So consider it well recommended.
