Why So Blu?

Night Of The Demons – Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

For October this year, Scream Factory is unleashing its inner demons. The night of said demons to be specific. And three nights at that. Its cult staple Night of the Demons and its sequels. The original will be making its debut on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray and includes some new interviews, as the sequel is making its second Blu-ray appearance with a new transfer and extras and Night of the Demons 3 debuts to the format. There’s a load of excitement to be had with these as they are not only loved themselves, but will be getting some top notch love on the format. Released on October 3rd, you can order them now using links in these reviews. This first review will cover the original classic, now in 2160p!

.

Film

Originally published on 1/31/2014

Its Halloween night and the gothic witchy girl at school, Angela, is having a party.  She’s throwing it at the Hull House.  The Hull House is an abandoned funeral parlor rumored to be haunted.   The group of 10 kids shows up and is ready to get sinful, but a séance Angela holds with a mirror unleashes a demon that begins to slowly murder and possess the kids one by one.  Will any of them survive the night or will all succumb to death and become an evil demon?

From the opening animated credits (which are friggin’ AWESOME!) you know you’re in for a really fun and scary time.  Creative opening credits are something of a lost art nowadays, so it always brings me a wonderful nostalgia when I see them done so well.  Night Of The Demons is one of the few 80s horror films that I think still can be effective as a scary horror film and not just a fun vintage piece of horror cinema.  It actually got me with a jump scare twice (genuine ones, not just the volume cranked or a cat jumping out of nowhere).  As an adult the film is incredibly a fun time, but thanks to the wonderful lighting and well staged scenes, I think the terror and dread is still effective.  The fun lures you in thinking you are safe and then BOOM, gotcha!

Kevin Tenney delivers a horror film that takes its time and slowly builds its monster and chase sequences, but never feels like a slug getting there.  While the characters aren’t too deep at all, they’re all really colorful, funny and really light up the screen with their presence.  Its enough for you to not realize it isn’t til around 40 minutes til the demons start showing up.  And then you really don’t like seeing the nasty things done to these kids because you enjoyed hanging with them until this time.

A big reason I think this film holds up so well in the actual scares department is the effects work by Steve Johnson.  They still look absolutely real and fantastic today.  The demons look gross and creepy and the deaths are a hell of a lot of good gory fun without being excessive.  He’s also got many moments of “How in the hell did he do that?” with his visual trickery.  It’s really impressive.  Take his make-up and effects then combine them with the sets and lighting (I wanna add that the ambience in the movie is incredibly chilling as well) and you’ve got a killer combination that keeps this film working well in 2014.

I’ll open up now and share something that incredibly disturbed me and stuck with me in this movie ever since.  Most horror fans first got a memorable taste of actress Linnea Quigley in Return Of The Living Dead.  Yes, she was in Silent Night, Deadly Night prior, but the Return role is what got everyone abuzz about her.  When I saw Night Of The Demons I had no clue it was the same woman.  And man, like the guys at the convenience store in the beginning, I thought she was just blazing hot in this movie.  As a young guy watching this trampy cute blonde girl trounce around in a pink outfit was just a dream come true.  And then came the lipstick scene.  If you know the one I’m talking about (its an amazing effect), then you know I was incredibly delighted to see her topless but insanely weirded out when she inserted the lipstick into her nipple.  And then when she’s having sex with the guy and transforms into that disgusting demon out of nowhere, it pulled the whole “woman in the bathtub from The Shining” effect on me.  Here was a woman that I thought was one of the hottest women in the world and she went and got reeeeeal ugly on me.  It totally warped my mind and scarred me! Okay, okay, I’m done with that, let’s get back to the review.

It’s always a wonderful thing when you revisit a film you remember as being terrified of as a youngling and for the most part it still works.  Night Of The Demons first and foremost is a whole lot of fun.  That it also is still pretty chilling, creepy and scary at times is an incredible bonus.  Even if maybe its not still working for you as it did me, there is still all the amazing make-up, effects work, set design, lighting and action sequences to marvel at and respect.  It’s really quite a great achievement still today in that department.  Overall, this is still a top horror film for me and I hope it still can scare and disturb a kid or 2 just like it did me in my youth.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from the standard Blu-ray disc, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Scream Factory’s latest transfer on Night of the Demons boasts a new 2023 restoration from an earlier 4K scan of the unrated negative in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible). And to these eyes, its plenty delicious. Its a darker movie but is able to have some nice colors that really pop. It also presents some nice depth, layer of grain and more finer details than we’ve ever seen from the film.

Depth:  Depth of field is pretty strong, portraying some good pushback, spacing and strong images with the playful lenses used in certain scenes of the film. Movements are natural and filmic with no distortion issues abound.

Black Levels: Black levels are natural and deep. This handles it pretty well, with heavier grain in the lower lit scenes. The dark corners really work to let colors or flames burst in contrast. No real issues occur with information being hidden in the darker areas as follicles, textures, patterns and the like come through pretty clear and with some impressive details at times. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are quite lovely in this movie in a natural, bold way. Nothing is overly vivid, but the nature of clothes like Linnea Quigley’s pink dress of the blue of the Alice costume feel strong. Candle light, the opening credits, eyes glowing, colored fog and more have a nice extra kick from the HDR.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features, textures and special effects make up are clear as day with every grimey detail, stroke of facepaint or gross boil looking quite impressive.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English 2.0 Original Stereo DTS-HD MA, English 5.1 Surround DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 New Stereo DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: The audio tracks here remain unchanged. You have the option of the original stereo track, the 5.1 surround and the “new” stereo mix. Any way you choose is a win. The original track is strong enough to power a viewing and engage. The 5.1 thrills and plays around the room with some solid depth and layering to make it a bit immersive.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer hits good on some jump scare stings, crashing, glass shattering, supernatural sounds and groans as well as musical beats.

Surround Sound Presentation: Rear channels provide not only good ambiance but some solid contributions on angle changes and off screen activity. The front leads the way with good balance and accurate travel.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Night of the Demons – Collector’s Edition is a 2-disc set with 1 4K UHD disc and 1 standard Blu-ray. The commentary tracks are on both, but all new features are on the 4K disc while all the previous ones are on the standard Blu-ray. For a look at the packaging, please click the video below.

4K UHD

Audio Commentary

• with director Kevin Tenney, actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, Hal Havins and special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson
• with director Kevin Tenney, producer Jeff Geoffray and executive producer Walter Josten
• with director Kevin Tenney, actors Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel

See You In Hell (HD, 35:06) – An interview with writer/producer Joe Augustyn. While he wasn’t big on slashers, he liked the effects on Friday the 13th and wanted to do something to do with supernature/exorcism and also felt probably influenced by The Evil Dead. He says his script was less campy but can’t complain about the finished project. This is a real deep dive with great anecdotes on the genesis, production, distribution and then his experience with the sequels.

Coffins and Contortions (HD, 18:17) – An interview with actress Jill Terashita. ‘This should be fun. Let’s see what happens. I didn’t think anything of it back then”. She talks about getting the job, the vibe, does quick hits on what she thought of people in the cast, the process for her make-up/effect, Steve Johnson and how grateful she is for its legacy.

The Perfect Punk (HD, 8:57) – An interview with special effects artist Nick Benson. “I didn’t think anybody would know who I was by 2016, or now”. That leads me to believe this was an archival interview of sorts added to this release. He’s a little quiet spoken and the volume of the music in the interview is a hair loud on him at times. He talks his experience and how he was roommates with Steve Johnson and also had a band with stage effects desires which led to Steve inviting him onto the film.

International Cut (HD, 1:29:46) – Encoded in HD, but this is a 4×3 standard definition presentation sourced from a VHS tape.

BLU-RAY

You’re Invited: The Making of Night of the Demons (HD, 1:11:31)

Amelia Kinkade, Protean: An Interview with Actress Amelia Kinkade (HD, 22:31)

Allison Barron’s Demon Memories (HD, 3:56)

My Demon Nights: An Interview with Linnea Quigley (HD, 13:56)

The Halloween Party Workprint (SD, 1:28:03)

The Halloween Party  Alternate Opening Titles Sequence (SD, 3:46)

Alternate R-Rated Scenes (SD, 3:08)

A Short Night of the Demons: A Six Minute Version of the Film Shown To Potential Distributors (SD, 8:12)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:28)

Video Trailer (HD, 1:55)

TV Spots (HD, 1:16)

Radio Spot (HD, :35)

Promo Reel (HD, 4:11) – Encoded in HD, but definitely sources from a VHS tape.

STILL GALLERIES

• Behind the Scenes
• Special Effects and Make-up
• Photo Gallery
• Posters and Storyboards

Summary

Scream Factory continues to tweak and improve their already (what some might say is perfect) home video releases for Night Of The Demons. This new one takes a nice leap in video presentation as well as mounting up even more extras, including ANOTHER cut of the film. The film is fun and the 4K for this is the ultimate and definitive edition, to which I’d be surprised if they could continue to improve upon. A must have for Angela’s party guests!

This is a paid Amazon Associates link