Night Of The Demons: Collector's Edition - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

For a growing teen hungering for fun, gory horror, Night of the Demons was a satisfying spectacle of ghastly delights, full of drunken teenage mayhem, bloodthirsty monsters infesting a spooky, dilapidated house, and of course, boobs! The original VHS cover was a simple picture of one of the possessed characters flashing a disgusting smile of sharp teeth and holding an invitation to a Halloween party. One could never guess the content or plot of the movie, yet that diabolically twisted image effectively made a person cagey about renting the videotape while also daring them into watching it. Those brave enough to take the movie home, however, were treated to a devilishly good time that amazingly walks a thin line between hilariously bad and creatively inspired.

Don't get me wrong, the low-budget production is far from the best in the genre — or in all of cinema, for that matter — but it's a fun flick with some interestingly stylish touches, awesome make-up work and great special effects. Starting with Joe Augustyn's script, the story follows the standard "slasher" formula of horny, misbehaving, stereotypical teens eventually killed one at a time with the "final girl" surviving the gruesome pandemonium. This clichéd-riddled plot is then situated around a demonic possession, occult scenario as the kids are chased through an abandoned mortuary called "Hull House" (*wink, wink*). I love that the characters play up the legend of the house with stories of a murderous family, evil spirits that can't cross running water and even Native American folklore about the ground being cursed.

What I'm trying to arrive at is that I'm fairly convinced there is some level of deliberate self-awareness mixed with a genuine attempt at scaring audiences. Basically, Night of the Demons is a monster B-horror flick with a wickedly crafty tongue firmly pressed against the cheek. Augustyn's plot may be following convention, but it more toys with common genre tropes while also working against them. Our "final girl" heroine is the strait-laced Judy (Cathy Podewell). Although she makes the effort to fight back, at one point using a crematorium pipe as a flamethrower, she is deathly terrified and acts like a whiny, screaming wimp. Her Alice in Wonderland costume also adds a nice touch to the story. As the token black guy and dressed as a pirate, Alvin Alexis's Roger is Judy's cowardly equal — always the first to run from danger, leaving others to die in his dust, hilariously surviving the chaos but finally manning up in the last heroic second.

I must admit, however, the acting is pretty awful, ranging from over the top in the stereotyped machismo of Sal (William Gallo) and incredibly rude lug-head Stooge (Hal Havins) to unable to read lines convincingly in exceedingly dull Max (Philip Tanzini) and hired only for her breasts Frannie (Jill Terashita). It would seem the filmmakers saved themselves a few pennies in the casting, placing budgetary concerns more on the visual effects and stage design, and frankly, it pays off. Director Kevin Tenney (Witchboard) makes the best use of the limitations with some impressive camerawork, far exceeding what one would expect from such a small production. Several dolly shots, some of which include a couple choice push-pull "Vertigo effects," which are used to great effect for adding suspense and shock. Best of all is seeing the bridal demon floating down hallways.

Speaking of which, the whole reason behind the Hull House party is gothic outcast Angela (Amelia Kinkade), who originally wanted the bash in an effort to scare the popular kids. Along with scream queen of B-movies Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead), who flashes the camera quite a bit and does one of the most disgusting magic tricks with her lipstick, Kinkade's Angela delivers what is arguably the most memorable part of the movie. Dressed in a creepy black bridal gown and with the help of some good editing effects, Kinkade performs a provocatively eerie dance to Bauhaus's "Stigmata Martyr" in front of a strobe light. Since watching Night of the Demons on VHS all those many years ago, this sequence has always lingered in the back of my mind and remains just as awesome as ever to watch today.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Scream Factory invokes Night of the Demons to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray as a Two-Disc Collector's Edition with a shiny cardboard slipcover. A triple-layered UHD100 disc sits comfortably opposite a Region A locked, BD50 disc, both of which contain the unrated version of the movie and are housed inside a black, elite-vortex case. At startup, the disc goes to a generic main menu selection on the left side with the music and full-motion clips. Also, when buying from Shout! Factory, fans can get an exclusive, limited edition poster of the newly commissioned artwork with their purchase!

NOTE - All images are sourced from the included 1080p disc. As of press time we haven't been able to rip the disc to pull 4K-sourced images or video sample, but we hope to soon.

The grotesque demons haunt the spooky hallways of Ultra HD with an impressive and great-looking HEVC H.265 encode, offering fans a notable upgrade from the previous Blu-ray. According to the folks at Scream Factory, this native 4K transfer is a recent restoration from a scan of the unrated camera negatives, and the results are impressive although the movie still looks its age, which is to be expected in a low-budget production of this vintage. 

Nevertheless, overall resolution and clarity show a welcomed improvement with well-defined lines and sharp details of the house, making it all the more grimy and grubby. Considering much of the story takes place at night with limited light, shadow details within the darkest, murkest corners are surprisingly good with various objects decorating the background being fairly distinct and visible. Speaking to that, black levels are also richer and inkier, providing the 1.85:1 image with an attractive cinematic appeal, and the natural grain structure is more refined and consistent, giving the movie a beautiful film-like quality. Although a bit muted and controlled, which is a deliberate choice, a spot-on contrast balance delivers crisp, brilliant whites throughout while specular highlights supply a more radiant but tighter glow in the hottest spots to reveal the finer details, such as in the flashlights and the look of the fire. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation also comes with a more richly-saturated and dynamic array of colors. Granted, the movie is somewhat limited, but the overall palette feels warmer and bolder with fuller, more prominent oranges and yellows washing over the action while reds add a vividly rich punch. Highly-revealing facial complexions appear healthy with a peach-rosy hue in the cast, making this an excellent step-up from its HD SDR counterpart. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 82/100)

The cult horror favorite terrifies home theaters with the same set of audio options as the previous 2014 Blu-ray, and honestly, my thoughts on their quality remain the same. Here is what I originally wrote.

"The Demons raise some hell with a trio of audio choices for hoarse, rabid fans to sink their teeth into. As usual, the 5.1 upmix makes an appreciated appearance but sadly, not quite the life of the party with a noticeably bad echoing effect, especially in the vocals, because the audio source has been stretched and extended beyond its limits. The original, untouched stereo track in DTS-HD MA has also been included, which is better but comes with a fair amount of hissing and noise in the background. The soundstage is nicely balanced with a passable yet pretty flat and uniform mid-range.

The best of the bunch is the track labeled as a new soundtrack from the original stereo design, which I take to mean as cleaned and remastered. Indeed, this lossless mix offers a bit more clarity and detail with effective off-screen effects and spacious imaging. Dynamics and acoustics exhibit cleaner fidelity with a bit more warmth, and the track also extends better into the upper ranges without distortion or noise, which is greatly appreciated during the couple action sequences and various song selections. Although it's not especially commanding, low bass is also a tad fuller, making the throaty voices of the possessed harsher and providing music with some weight. With very well-prioritized and intelligible vocals in the center, this high-rez track is definitely the way to go." (Audio Rating: 70/100)

Celebrating its 35th Anniversary, Scream Factory ports over the same set of supplements as the previous Blu-ray release but add a few new surprises for this UHD edition, which are exclusive to the UHD disc. 

Ultra HD Disc

• Audio Commentaries: The first is with director Kevin Tenney and producers Jeff Geoffrey and Walter Josten. The second has Tenney talking with actors Cathy Podewell, Hal Havins, Billy Gallo and makeup effects creator Steve Johnson. And finally, the third features Tenney chatting with stars Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel.
• NEW See You In Hell (HD, 35 min) is a recent interview with writer and producer Joe Augustyn
• NEW Contortions and Coffins (HD, 18 min) is an interview with actor Jill Terashita
• NEW The Perfect Punk (HD, 9 min) is an interview with special effects artist Nick Benson
• NEW International Cut (SD, 90 min) is exactly as it sounds, which makes for a fun and interesting watch, but it's too bad it is only offered in standard definition. 

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentaries 
• You're Invited (HD, 72 min) 
• Amelia Kinkade, Protean (HD, 23 min) is an interview with the actor
• My Demon Nights (1080i/60, 14 min) is an interview with legendary Scream Queen Linnea Quigley
• The Halloween Party Workprint (SD, 88 min) 
• Alternate Opening Title Sequence (1080i/60, 4 min) with The Halloween Party title
• Alternate R-Rated Scenes (1080i/60, 3 min) 
• A Short of Night of the Demons (HD, 8 min) is a six-minute promo version for potential distributors
• Allison Barron's Demon Memories (HD, 4 min) 
• Promo Reel (HD, 4 min) 
• Still Gallery (HD) 
• Trailers (HD)

Serving up tons of laughs and memories, Night of the Demons remains an enjoyable cult horror favorite that intentionally toys with genre conventions and familiar "slasher" tropes. With Amelia Kinkade and Linnea Quigley providing some genuine highlights, the movie is not only a great nostalgia trip but also a devilishly good time for Halloween. Celebrating its 35th Anniversary, Scream Factory invokes the demons to 4K Ultra HD with a surprisingly great-looking Dolby Vision HDR presentation, offering a notable upgrade from the previous Blu-ray, but features the same trio of DTS-HD MA tracks. A few new bonus features are invited to party with the same set of supplements as before, but overall, this UHD edition makes for an awesome, Recommended addition to the 4K library.

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.