Arrow Films, out 22 February

Demons erupt in the audience of a cinema and the confines of an apartment building in these new UHD transfers of Lamberto Bava’s gory Italian horror classics.

There’s something refreshingly straight-forward about the duo of Demons movies produced by Dario Argento in the mid 1980s, with none of the pseudo-science or cod philosophy that burdened his own movies of the time. What you get are two relentless horror movies bursting with blood and pustules, designed to thrill and shock in the cinematic equivalent of a ghost train. The effects are all practical prosthetics, and while they may at times look a little rubbery by today’s standards, they’re so messy and inventive that this add to the charm.

In 1985’s Demons, a disfigured masked Michele Soavi (real-life director of The Sect, The Church) hands out tickets to a screening of a mystery movie at the Metropol Cinema in Berlin, the audience unaware that they’re walking in to a trap. Watching a horror film unfold on-screen, the cinemagoers find that reality is matching the movie as they become transformed into demons.

It’s all very meta, with the film within a film, a poster of Argento’s 4 Flies on Grey Velvet on the wall and familiar members of Dario’s acting troupe filling out the roles, including hero Urbano Barbieri (later in Opera), usherette Nicoletta Elmi from Profondo Rosso and his own daughter Fiore in the same year that he decapitated her in Phenomena. Throats are ripped, eyes popped out, scalps peeled and a back-burst, all before the Chekhov’s gun of a motorbike and samurai sword on display in lobby are used to dispatch the demons. And then the deus ex machina of a helicopter falls through the roof.

There are two versions of the film: full-length original cut in Italian and English, and the slightly trimmed US cut. An enthusiastic new commentary by critics Kat Ellinger and Heather Drain is joined by two archival commentaries – Bava and special makeup effects artist Sergio Stivaletti and another with Bava, Stivaletti, composer Claudio Simonetti and actress Geretta Geretta. A new 27-minute visual essay by Michael Mackenzie covers Argento’s role as a producer, and there’s archival interviews with producer Sario Argento, composer Claudio Simonetti and Luigi Cozzi.

Demons 2, released in 1986, is more of the same, though to a lesser effect, with some of the gore pared back to achieve a preferable rating in Italian cinemas. Bobby Rhodes returns from the first film, but this time as a gym instructor rather than a pimp. Dario’s daughter Asia makes feature her debut as Ingrid and music duties are handed to Simon Boswell instead of Claudio Simonetti. Carjacking punk Lino Salemme from Demons has apparently turned a corner and is now a security guard, while birthday girl demon Sally Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni would later appear in Argento’s Opera, The Phantom of the Opera and Mother of Tears. Davide Marotta, the tragic Bruckner son in Phenomena, also turns up, here playing the possessed Tommy.

Somewhat resetting the demon apocalypse ending of the first film (the demons have been contained within a walled Forbidden Zone) we follow the tenants of an apartment block who this time release demons through their televisions by watching a TV programme about the aftermath of the first movie. Cue a number of wild effects from Sergio Stivaletti, including a chest-bursting child which unleashes a toothsome Gremlin-like beast, and a possessed dog who just looks too cute to be scary.

Repeating the first movie’s premise of being trapped in a building with no escape, there’s fun challenges for the survivors to counter as they try to survive the night. There’s another bunch of punks driving round outside, and a very similar shot to Demons’ poster shot of glowing-eyed demons running in slo-mo towards the camera. If it ain’t broke…

For Demons 2 there’s a new commentary by critic Travis Crawford and an archival commentary by Bava and special makeup effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. There’s a new visual essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and archival interviews with Bava and Stivaletti. In addition to the new 4K restorations, this limited edition release includes a 60-page booklet of new writing and a replica cinema ticket to the Metropol Theatre. The transfers are crisp and while some grain is inevitable (particularly in the many dark sequences) it’s not distracting and is compensated by the vibrant colour palette.

Verdict: Unleashed in HDR gory glory, the bright green ooze has never looked so fluorescent nor the red and blue lighting filters so ambient. It’s a great upgrade for those who already own the releases or are looking to enter Lamberto Bava’s Demonverse for the first time. 9/10

Nick Joy

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