DEMONIA (1990) Demonia is Lucio Fulci at his creative worst. A dumb American archeologist/psychic (Meg Register) uncovers a tomb buried beneath an ancient Sicilian monastery and releases the malevolent spirits of demonic nuns who were crucified in the 1400s for Devil worship. The naughty nuns immediately go about killing the locals who’ve been keeping their murders a secret, plus a few of the dumb psychic’s friends, who’re constantly singing really annoying and badly dubbed songs around a campfire. An unimaginative plot, ugly cinematography, and lame gore sink this one. D
JEEPERS CREEPERS (2001) Jeepers Creepers offers a good monster and concept, both of which get lost in an overly complicated plot. Siblings Darry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Phillips) find themselves trapped in a nightmare during a spring break road trip through some backwoods when they see a mysterious figuring dumping bodies down a well. Not being very smart people, the two meddle and discover a lair full of corpses that are the food source for an ancient demonic being that must go on a feeding frenzy when it awakens every 23 years. The first hour is terrific stuff, a mix of Texas Chainsaw horror and Hitchcockian suspense. The story takes a turn with the introduction of a psychic (Patricia Belcher) – who exist solely to spew forth needless exposition – and the last 25 minutes or so turns into a rather dull shoot ’em up at a police station. Still, this is a fun movie. B–
STUDIO 666 (2022) Horror. Comedy. Gore. Foo Fighters. If these ingredients are attractive to you then you’ll want to check out Studio 666, a fun little tribute to ’80s horror. Looking for much-needed inspiration to record their 10th album, legendary rock band Foo Fighters rent a large house in Encino with a violent past to get their creative juices flowing. When band founder, Dave Grohl, discovers a strange piece of recorded music in the basement left by the previous owner – who just happened to have been possessed by demonic forces – he becomes influenced by the music’s evil presence and goes all Jack Torrence (with fangs) on his bandmates. The Evil Dead homages are loud and clear, and Grohl and gang are clearly having fun with the silly premise, wisely invoked in the screenplay (by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story by Grohl) that sits on the same self-referential shelf as What We Do in the Shadows. Tony Gardner (The Lost Boys, Lord of Illusions) handled the gore FX and they are very inventive, with the decapitation-by-drum-cymbal a highlight. Go in with low expectations and you might be pleasantly surprised. Look for John Carpenter in a cameo. B–
WHITE OF THE EYE (1987) A visually impressive, well directed thriller in the same vein as Michael Mann’s Manhunter, which, like that film, also gets lost in its own overambitious aesthetics. Someone is killing woman within a wealthy desert community outside of Tucson, the prime suspect being an audio expert and repairman (David Keith) who had previously installed sound systems in several of the victims’ homes. Keith is excellent, and the murder scenes attain an Argento-like madness to them. However, the film fails to achieve much suspense or muster much interest towards characters who are all too cold and passive to feel sympathy for. C+