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Film: Night of the Demons 2
Year: 1994
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Writer: Joe Augustyn
Starring: Cristi Harris, Darin Heames and Robert Jayne
Review:
This was a film that I actually only think I saw it once when I was in college. I grew up watching the first one and seen the sequel to this one before as well. I really like the original so I was kind of intrigued to revisit the sequel. This would be my second viewing and I kind of remembered some of it. The official synopsis is high school students throw a Halloween party in a mansion haunted by a young demon.
We start this off with a couple coming to Hull House from the previous film. It is run down and decrepit house. They knock and the door opens. They go inside. They then encounter Angela Franklin (Amelia Kinkade) before being murdered.
It then shifts to a religious school near by for troubled youth. It is run by Sister Gloria (Jennifer Rhodes). She works with Father Bob (Rod McCary). At this school there’s a group of girls, Bibi (Cristi Harris), Terri (Christine Taylor) and Shirley Finnerty (Zoe Trilling) who are telling a story of previous film. There are also a couple of guys, Johnny (Johnny Moran) and Kurt (Ladd York), who are spying on them.
Shirley turns her attention to Melissa Franklin (Merle Kennedy). They call her Mouse, which makes her mad and it turns out she is the younger sister of Angela. They’re scolded by Sister Gloria as it is lights out.
Also at the school is Perry (Robert Jayne). He is really into demonology and wants to prove that is a legitimate science. This upsets Father Bob and he wants him to give it up. Shirley steals one of his books while he’s distracted.
Later that day, Kurt hits on Shirley and this draws the attention of Sister Gloria, who ends up banning them from the Halloween party. Shirley comes up with a plan for a better party anyways. She invites all of the girls and guys, also having them convince Mouse to come along as well.
Everyone is freaked out when they learn it is being held at Hull House. Shirley’s boyfriend, Rick (Rick Peters), drives them out there. Their main event of this party is to sacrifice Mouse to wake up the demons. The problem is that Angela isn’t asleep. She is moving about the house as members of this group explores. Bibi finds a lipstick in the bathroom cabinet and then goes off with Johnny. Mouse is spooked by Shirley and Rick’s friend Z-boy (Darin Heames).
Things get crazy and some of them are possessed. The rest flee back to the school. The problem is though; they brought an item over the underground river that contains the evil on this property. Can they stop it before the evil takes them all over?
I do have to say, this film does pretty well at keeping the continuity from the first one, which if you know me, I’m a big fan of. I like that they brought back Angela, played by the original actress. The events from the first film have now become local lore. I don’t mind that Mouse is Angela’s younger sister, as from what I remember, we never really learn much about her back-story. We have the rules of the underground river that hold them in there. The call back to things like the lipstick to the previous film is also something I really like.
There are some issues here with these rules though. The big one that I have is that possessed people at the school getting back across the river into Hull House. I would assume they wouldn’t want to be held there. I can understand why Angela wants back in for the ending plan. I also didn’t like the religious duo that comes up to Hull House. If they’re going door to door, they probably live in the area or at least close enough. If not, you can tell no one lives there. It just feels like a cold opening that is a little bit overboard.
This film does get a bit cheesy as well for things that are done in it. I hate that Johnny knows who to do karate, because I feel like the ending sequence is literally him round house kicking people. I can forgive the film for the use of religious artifacts made into make-shift weapons, but even that can be a bit much. It doesn’t ruin the film, but just something that I noticed
To move next to the pacing, I did think this aspect of the film was fine. The film really jumps into it with the cold open. I like how we establish the characters and the back-story. It then moves to the house to actually pull the villain from there to the religious school. This is an aspect I love as I’m a big fan of perversion of religion in my films. Having nuns and priests getting possessed I’m on board for. I thought the ending is a bit anti-climatic, but it is still fun.
As for the acting, I do think its fine. This film is part comedy, so we do get some cheesy lines. The cast is young, so none of them are great. I did like Harris in her role. She kind of seems like the star, but also kind of not. Seeing her topless was nice as well. Jayne was interesting as the guy giving us the research of the entities involved. I thought Kennedy was solid in her role. Kinkade I’m glad they got to come back as Angela, she is definitely a low-key icon of horror. It was fun to see a young Taylor in this film along with Trilling. I thought the rest of the cast was fine, but none really stand out in the film.
As for the effects of the film, they’re actually really good. They definitely went with practical effects for a majority of them. Offhand I couldn’t think if anything was computer added, so that definitely works for me. I love the look of the demons in this film, especially their teeth. We get some interesting deaths and a couple that references back to something else that happened.
The last thing to cover is the soundtrack which didn’t really stand out to me, but it did fit for what was needed. I love the voice for Demon Angela that is done by James W. Quinn. I also like the Halloween party when it changes with Angela dancing. That song is quite dark and really sets the mood for the scene.
Now with that said, this film is definitely a step-back from the original, but it is still fun. I like that they didn’t really violate continuity and reference back to items in the first film. There are some issues with plot-holes here that do kind of bother me, but none of them really ruin the film. I thought it jumps right into it and it really moves to keep your interest level up. The acting is fine; none of it really stands out too much. I am glad they got Kinkade back as Angela. The effects are practical and look great. The soundtrack fits for what was needed with the voice for Demon Angela being quite creepy. Overall I’d say this film is above-average for me and definitely one to just come in to enjoy.
My Rating: 7 out of 10