10. Demons (1985)
In a list of definitive Italian horror movies, I could have made the whole thing consist of Mario Bava films but I wanted to achieve more than a eulogy to Bava. In a retrospective glance at the history of Italian horror, I decided that the great man's son Lamberto Bava, deserved a mention for Demons, which is one of the most entertaining Italian horror movies I have ever watched. The action is set in a Berlin cinema where for some dopey reason, a cinema patron turns into a demon in the ladies bogs. She then infects other cinema goers and before you know it, there is a big battle between the demons and the non-infected folk who struggle to escape. In the end there is only one survivor. The film would go on to inspire two sequels. Demons 2 is good fun but Demons 3 is crap. Lamberto proved himself to be an adequate horror movie maker but unfortunately lacking his father's fantastic cinematic genius. Mind you, it was a tough act to follow. Demons really benefits from having an awesome hard rock/heavy metal soundtrack that sets the mood of the film. The special effects are quite impressive as well, but this could not be said for the acting which is woefully over the top and hysterical. The cinema setting is very claustrophobic and eerie and Lamberto makes good use of it to generate unease. Gore fans will be in their element watching this movie. It comes as no surprise that Dario Argento had considerable input into the film as a script writer and a producer. Fellow Italian horror genius Michele Soavi was also involved as an assistant director in Demons. I am wondering if it was their collaboration with Lamberto that made the film so enjoyable. But whatever the answer, Demons must rank up there as one of the most fun of the Italian horror movies that were produced in the 1980s