Demons

"They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs."

1985 1h 29m IT

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 665

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of people are trapped in a West Berlin movie theater infested with ravenous demons who proceed to kill and possess the humans one-by-one, thereby multiplying their numbers.

“They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.”

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Cast

Urbano Barberini
George
Natasha Hovey
Cheryl
Karl Zinny
Ken
Fiore Argento
Hannah
Paola Cozzo
Kathy
Fabiola Toledo
Carmen
Nicoletta Elmi
Ingrid
Stelio Candelli
Frank

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lamberto Bava
Writers: Franco Ferrini, Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Demons Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lamberto Bava, shot by Gianlorenzo Battaglia. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Claudio Simonetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Piero Bozza shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lamberto Bava directs. Gianlorenzo Battaglia behind the camera. Claudio Simonetti scores. Piero Bozza cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
5Part of the "Demons Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Lamberto Bava, shot by Gianlorenzo Battaglia. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Claudio Simonetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Piero Bozza shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Urbano Barberini and Natasha Hovey and Karl Zinny carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.".
11IMDB entry: tt0089013 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gianlorenzo Battaglia
Original score: Claudio Simonetti
Editing: Piero Bozza
Costume design: Marina Malavasi
Makeup / hair: Sergio Stivaletti
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,800,000
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Demons (1985)

Part of

Demons Collection

Horror and gore abounds as a demonic plague feasts upon a hapless group of humans trapped in a building (be it a cinema or an apartment building).

Also by

Lamberto Bava

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-07-21
★ 8/10
This was beautiful. It must be a strange experience, being a child of a great director, and following the very same genre. Do you go pretty much the same route, or try something vastly different? This would make a great double-bill, at an actual movie theatre, with the 50's edition of 'The Blob'--another film in which the cinema isn't the safe, dark, womb-like place we take for granted it is.
Gimly2019-09-03
★ 5/10
It's no Night of the that's for sure, but I enjoyed it in parts. Paricularly fond of the coke punks and the pimp. Dubbing's a nightmare though. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
John Chard2019-10-25
★ 7/10
Metropol Mayhem! Demons (Demoni) is directed by Lamberto Bava and Bava co-writes the screenplay with Dario Argento, Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Ferrini. It stars Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Paola Cozzo, Fiore Argento and Geretta Giancarlo. Music is by Claudio Simonetti and cinematography by Gianlorenzo Battaglia. A wonderfully nutty spiced Spaghetti Horror, plot has a group of people trapped in a Berlin movie theatre that suddenly comes under attack by ravenous demons. It could reasonably be argued that Bava's movie has some cheeky narrative depth underneath the gloop and schlock, this is after all purposely set in a movie theatre and features a film that basically becomes real, sort of. But really it's a pic that's set up for like minded horror buffs to feast upon, to jump head first into its feverish horror comic book glee. The script is as poor as the dubbing is, with a roll call of cardboard cut out characters and loose end scenarios jettisoned in readiness for the next plasmatic explosive sequence. Yet the care free abandon of the gruesome killings on show, and the rapid pace of it all, ensures it's a fun packed ride. Even the musical score is schizo as it ranges from typical 1980s synth plods to heavy metal thunder - joyous. 7/10