(Streamed via The Archive)
A group of friends go hiking in the Italian Alps. One dude goes into a cave and is possessed by the spirit of a bloodthirsty Roman gladiator. Before long, he is walking around dressed like a Spirit Halloween version of Russell Crowe and starts slaughtering his friends in order to bring the gladiator back to life.
You can say what you will about Demonicus, but at the very least, it has a novel premise. I’ve sat through a lot of low budget slashers in my time. This is the first one I’ve seen where the killer is possessed by the spirit of a gladiator.
As a slasher, it gets the job done. The kills are competent enough, and director Jay (Trancers 6) Woelfel keeps them coming along at a relatively steady clip. He also wastes no time establishing the unlikely set-up as our villain dons his gladiator get-up and has his first victim in the bag before the opening credits even have a chance to roll. Unfortunately, as the film enters into its second half, the characters start to wander aimlessly in circles, and so does the movie.
The cast all hit their marks. The only person I recognized was the Femalien herself, Venesa Talor. I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more of her (if you know what I mean), but she does a fine job, nevertheless.
All in all, Demonicus is a moderately proficient slasher. While it still falls into some of the same pitfalls inherent in an early ‘00s low budget horror flick (poor sound, inconsistent digital cinematography, shoddy CGI effects, etc.), it remains memorable thanks to its wacky premise (although it’s played seriously enough) and kooky sequences. Even though it’s mostly a throwback to ‘80s slashers, there were moments that harken back to other genre movies. The scene where the killer keeps a damsel in distress tied up in a cave next to a rotting skeleton is a bit like Eegah!, the part where he puts a bunch of severed body parts in a cauldron is reminiscent of Blood Feast, and the melting finale owes more than a little to The Evil Dead. These moments aren’t quite enough to save the flick, but they sure keep you watching.
I actually exchanged emails with Jay a few years ago and he's a pretty cool, one of his other films you might want to check out for Halloween is Closed for the Season which is really cool and atmospheric, and it's available on Tubi
ReplyDeleteThough on Tubi that film is called Carnival of Fear for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool that he was so approachable.
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