A nightmare within a nightmare, Demons (Dèmoni), directed by Italian horror master Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento (Suspiria, Deep Red), is a gore-drenched rollercoaster that blurs the line between movie and reality. Equal parts blood-soaked spectacle and sly meta-horror, it remains one of the most iconic and entertaining cult classics of the 1980s.
The story begins when a group of strangers are handed mysterious invitations to a free sneak preview at a brand-new Berlin movie theater. With no clue what awaits them, they gather inside the sleek, neon-lit Metropol cinema. The film they’re watching on screen quickly takes a sinister turn: a violent tale of demons unleashed upon the unsuspecting. But what starts as entertainment becomes terrifyingly real when one of the moviegoers is scratched by a strange prop mask on display in the lobby—sparking a grotesque transformation. Soon, the horrors on screen leap into the audience, and the theater itself becomes a sealed trap where the line between fiction and reality collapses in a frenzy of gore.
As the audience is slaughtered or possessed one by one, the survivors must band together to fight their way out—but how do you escape when the theater has locked you inside, and your friends are turning into flesh-hungry demons before your eyes?
What makes Demons unforgettable isn’t just the relentless pace and eye-popping practical effects (oozing wounds, glowing eyes, and buckets of blood), but also its electric 1980s aesthetic. The pounding heavy metal soundtrack from bands like Mötley Crüe, Accept, and Saxon amplifies the chaos, making every possession and attack feel like part of a twisted rock-and-roll nightmare.
Simultaneously campy, terrifying, and exhilarating, Demons is both a love letter to horror cinema and a terrifying exploration of its power to consume us—literally. It’s outrageous, over-the-top, and endlessly rewatchable, a pure cult classic that still manages to shock and delight audiences nearly 40 years later.
Step inside the Metropol… if you dare. Just remember: once the lights go down, the demons might not stay on the screen.
Rated R. Doors at 6, show at 7.
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