DVD Corner

Night Of The Demons 2 Blu-ray Review

“Night Of The Demons 2” isn’t on par with the first.  

1994’s “Night Of The Demons 2” focuses on a new set of characters at St. Rita’s Academy (a Catholic boarding school) including Angela’s traumatized sister Melissa (whose nickname is Mouse). The Academy is prepping for a Halloween Party, but when several students are banned from attending, Shirley decides to throw her own party at the infamous Hull House. Mouse, Terri, Rick, Johnny, Kurt, Bibi, Z-Boy and Shirley venture to Hull House where strange things are afoot, but the real problems start occurring after Bibi takes an item (lipstick) from Hull House back to the Academy. The lipstick possesses Shirley, Angela resurfaces with a disturbing plan involving her sister, and the bodies start piling up. Can anyone stop Angela?

Joe Augustyn returns as the writer of this sequel, but a new filmmaker (Brian Trenchard-Smith) steps into the director’s chair. Right away it’s clear the movie has a different vibe despite the fact that it rehashes a lot of familiar elements (including a new lipstick gag and another Angela dance). There’s more of a horror-comedy tone (namely with Angela’s violent antics and Sister Gloria’s one-liners), it’s much more of a slasher than the first film, and there’s a focus on good vs. evil with the very on the nose Church and Hell elements. The main problem with this sequel is that the story takes far too long to get going. It’s in dire need of more Angela who is largely absent in the first two-thirds. Moreover, the most compelling new aspect (the introduction of Mouse) is rather underutilized. There’s a payoff there, but the sequel would have a stronger narrative had that dynamic been explored more. 

On the plus side, there’s a few familiar faces here with Christine Taylor of “The Brady Bunch Movie” fame, Robert Jayne (Melvin from the Tremors films), Rick Peters, and Jennifer Rhodes who elevate the movie. Of course, Amelia Kinkade is once again the shining star as Angela. Snake Angela is especially neat here.

Some fans of the “Night of the Demons” franchise prefer this sequel which is understandable as it does have more going on plot wise and better production values. To me though it lacks the fun Halloween atmosphere of the first and suffers from poor pacing. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? The hi-def transfer might even be more impressive than the first film. The film looks brand new at certain points.

Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound?  Viewers can expect a nice clean 2.0 track.

Extras:
* “Night Of The Demons 2” trailer.
* 5 separate interviews with actress Amelia Kinkade, actress Cristi Harris, directors Kevin S. Tenney and Brian Trenchard-Smith, special effects artist Steve Johnson and producer Jeff Geoffray.
* Behind-the-scenes photo gallery.
* “Night Of The Demons 2” workprint
* 129 minutes of dailies.
* 2 commentary tracks. A new track with Cristi Harris, Jennifer Rhodes, Darin Heames and Johnny Moran and a 2nd track with Brian Trenchard-Smith and DP David Lewis. 

October 2, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Angela, Christine Taylor, horror, Horror Movie, Night Of The Demons 2 Blu-ray Review, Scream Factory