Get Your Reps In: Cinemagic’s Latest VHS Night Is “Night of the Demons”

Night of the Demons (1988)

Night of the Demons opens about as conventionally as any ‘80s teen horror film could: A gaggle of unsuspecting, horny high schoolers attends a haunted Halloween party.

But Night of the Demons is all about execution, not concept, much like the Evil Dead films, from which it clearly draws inspiration. What follows is a circus of corrosive demon effects and sequences exuding genuine style.

Most striking is a scene in which party/séance host Angela (Amelia Kinkade) twirls rapturously in strobe lights to Bauhaus’ “Stigmata Martyr,” one of the more voguish possession depictions you’ll ever find in a low-budget horror film.

Cinemagic will screen Night of the Demons at its monthly VHS Night on Feb. 3, with effects artist Nick Benson in attendance. In addition to working on this film’s memorable demon makeup, lost limbs and floating heads, Benson’s resumé notably includes the goop-tastic The Blob (1988) remake and Tremors (1990).

It’s an ideal guest booking because the practical effects in Night of the Demons aren’t just an additive. They visually exaggerate and toy with all the previously established teen stereotypes—the core of the demonic glee. Cinemagic, Feb. 3.

ALSO PLAYING:

5th Avenue Cinema: Black Dynamite (2009), Feb. 3-5. Cinema 21: Charade (1963), Feb. 4. Clinton: The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), Feb. 3. The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), Feb. 4. Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back! (2015), Feb. 5. Belly (1998), Feb. 6. Queen & Slim (2019), Feb. 7. Hollywood: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Feb. 3-9. Eraserhead (1977), Feb. 4-6. Stormy Weather (1943), Feb. 4- 5. Rockers (1978), Feb. 5. American Streetfighter (1992), Feb. 7.