Tags:
Film: Demonia
Year: 1990
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Piero Regnoli and Lucio Fulci
Starring: Brett Halsey, Meg Register and Lino Salemme
Review:
This is a movie that I didn't know about until getting into podcasts. I'm not even entirely sure if I've heard this movie cover or if it was just one that I heard about in passing. I decided to give this a watch as a Fulci double feature for Italian horror month and this doubled as a Journey through the Aughts.
Synopsis: A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns who were murdered 500 years earlier and the ghosts now set out to kill the group and townspeople alike.
We start this off back in Sicily in the year 1486. A group of nuns are being drug to crosses that are set up. They're then tortured and crucified. We learn that the reason is that they're believed to be performing witchcraft.
It then shifts to the present. There is a seance and Liza Harris (Meg Register) is participating. She gets images of what happened to the nuns and it leads to her passing out. When she comes to, her former professor is there. His name is Paul Evans (Brett Halsey). They're both archeologists and they're set to go to Sicily for a dig. He wants her to give up the supernatural stuff as it could affect her like it did here. It wouldn’t be good for their expedition.
They set up camp near Santa Rosalia. There are ancient Greek ruins here and this what they're coming to survey. There are locals that think they're here to mess with the monastery to which they're not happy. One is the local butcher, Turi DeSimone (Lino Salemme). Another is an archeologist named Porter (Al Cliver). He lives on a boat. He gives advice to Paul to help get his dig running smoothly.
Liza doesn't listen though. She is fascinated by this monastery and the stories surrounding it. She comes to a mural of a nun and knows there is something behind it. She knocks down the wall to discover a hidden passageway. It leads to the skeletons of the nuns killed. What Liza doesn't realize is that she released their spirits. As the synopsis said, they attack those in the village and members of this dig. Liza needs to figure out a way to stop what she started while Paul must come to terms with what is happening before it is too late.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start would be with a bit more history on this movie. It sounds like Fulci disowned this film and wanted his name removed. He was unable to. Part of that sounds like the budget was low so there were things being cut before shooting started. What is interesting is that there are vibes of Fulci in his prime, but also doesn't at the same time.
Now that I've said my piece there, this is doing things that got me excited. I love the idea of these nuns and them maybe practicing witchcraft. This gives the vibes of the Knights Templar or The Devils. These nuns though are accused of doing things. I'm not even fully sure if they did or not. The movie doesn't necessarily confirm or deny. We know that the spirits of the nuns are the avenging spirits, but I don't blame them for what happened. It does seem grey here who the villain truly was in the beginning.
Then going from there, I also dig into the idea of this group of archaeologists coming here to uncover things of the past. What is interesting is that they're not supposed to be going into the monastery. They’re here to look at the Greek ruins. Liza is drawn by her love of the supernatural and pulled to releasing these spirits. This isn't necessarily a new premise. What I like though is that we do a bit of our thing there.
What also works for me is when we get to the killings. Our nuns use different weapons to kill their victims. We get a kill with a spear gun, a knife and there is even a moment where cats turn on their owner. I did find this creative. It also makes sense to the people that are being picked off. The nuns are targeting people that get too close to the monastery. It is creepy that you'll hear their laughter before bad things that happen. That does build atmosphere. What I'll say here is that the effects are good. The blood and gore were on point. We get Fulci's patented eye trauma. I do think that the cinematography was good. They framed things well to hide what was needed, so we aren't seeing the seams. The filmmaking here was solid so I'll include the soundtrack as it fit for what was needed.
Where I'll then go would be acting. I liked Halsey as this professor that cares about his group and wants to do the right thing. He tries to tell Liza to stop meddling with forces she doesn't understand. He isn't great though as a lead in my opinion. I don't necessarily find him to be the 'hero'. I think that's a misstep. Register though is good as this woman that gets in over her head. I liked seeing Salemme here as this angry local butcher. The members of the dig are good with Christina Engelhardt, Pascal Druant, Grady Clarkson and Ettore Comi. It was also fun to see Cliver and Paola Cozzo who worked with Fulci elsewhere. The acting here is solid across the board.
I don't think there is anything else that I need to delve into. In conclusion, I can see the issues with this movie. It does feel like Fulci wasn't allowed to do as much as he wanted to due to budget. I still like the elements that we get here of hauntings, possession and incorporating the potential perversion of religion. The acting is solid across the board. I thought Register led the way there as the best performance. The effects were good. I love the setting and the atmosphere. Not the best movie from Fulci, but still worth a viewing.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10