PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It isn’t every day that you come across movies that make you grin with the strange particularity that filmmakers like Dario Argento can bring. Although Demons didn’t get much attention at the time, looking back at the film now, we can’t help but see the genius behind the motion picture. For the 35th anniversary of the film’s US premiere on May 30, 1986, I spent many moments concentrating and reflecting on what makes Demons a cinematic masterpiece.
From its uniquely epic characters to its ridiculous yet fascinating effects, you can’t help but love this film. These characters are overwhelmingly eccentric, especially the man known as Tony the Pimp (Robby Rhodes), one of my favorite roles in the whole entire film. The truth is, I rewatch Demons mainly for him and the goriness and the sludge. There are many gory moments that stand out in my mind, like the scene when Rosemary cuts her face causing disgusting gross goop to come out of the cuts. This, in turn, corrupts her, and she ends up attacking and killing everyone she possibly can and playing in their blood. What gore fan wouldn’t be happy?
I am a huge fan of Bobby Rhodes, and I have to offer my utmost praise to him. Demons is one of those films that wouldn’t be the same without a character like his. I was once even lucky enough to have a brief conversation with him about the film. It truly was a delight to talk to someone who worked with the one and only Dario Argento, especially on this day where we praise his film for all that it is… a truly delightful horror masterpiece.
The 35th anniversary of the US release of Demons is celebrated and appreciated by horror and Argento fans alike. For many reasons, from the music to the acting to the gore to the overall amusement of the film, we will always celebrate this crazy, enigmatic, gorefest of a cinematic adventure. It isn’t every day that we come across movies that we want to celebrate, but Demons is one that just can’t be just left in the dust. We will enjoy it for many many years to come.
How can you not love the gore and extreme measures that Argento goes through to make us all cringe? He has not only directed but has also written many other films and even composed the music for George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) with his band, Goblin. The filmmaker has done more for the splatter industry than anyone else.. I feel privileged to write about this filmmaker and his amazing movie, Demons.
