Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight
Have a good knight! EEEHEHEHEHEHEHE
As I've addressed in my review of
“Ritual,” Tales From The Crypt used to scale the hell out of me,
mostly because of the Crypt Keeper. There's just something terrifying
about a corpse puppet making terrible puns in a high-pitched voice
that just strikes fear into the hearts of children. Now that I'm
older, much like Freddy Krueger, the Crypt Keeper is just
over-the-top funny. Of course, the version of Ritual that I watched
didn't have the Crypt Keeper or anything related to Tales From The
Crypt other than the name in the title. Thankfully, Demon Knight was
not only a far superior movie, but also included the Crypt Keeper at
the beginning and end.
Demon Knight is a 1995 horror movie
starring William Sadler (The Mist, Freaked) as Frank Brayker , Billy
Zane (Titanic, The Phantom) as The Collector, and Jada Pinkett (The
Nutty Professor, The Matrix Reloaded) as ex-criminal Jeryline. Frank
and the Collector are in a cat-and-mouse chase that leads Frank to a
tiny hotel converted from a church in the California desert. He
observes the residents, owner Irene (CCH Pounder, Avatar, Warehouse
13), Jeryline, Uncle Willy (Dick Miller, Eerie Indiana, Gremlins),
prostitute Cordelia, cook Roach (Thomas Hayden Church, Spider-man 3,
Sideways), and postal worker Wally. Collector meets with the Sheriff
and his inept deputy Bob and convince them that Frank is a thief, in
possession of a relic that belongs to him. They arrest Frank, but
learn that the Collector had also stolen a car, so they try to take
him in, but Collector literally punches through the sheriff's face.
He is driven out of the building by Frank's mystical artifact, a
cross-shaped key with blood inside it. The Collector cuts himself,
bleeding neon green blood onto the ground, which gives rise to
hideous humanoid demons. The demons attack, but Brayker pours blood
out of the key onto each doorway, creating a seal that the demons
cannot pass. Unable to get in, Collector uses psychic powers to
seduce the inhabitants into letting him in. Brayker explains that
after God created the Heavens and the Earth, demons spawned in the
darkness, forging 7 keys that, when combined, would grant them the
power of the universe. God created light and scattered the demons and
the keys across the cosmos. Since them, the demons have collected 6
keys and have returned to Earth to get the 7th. To prevent
it from falling into the demon's hands, God had a thief fill it with
the blood of Jesus from the crucifixion. Throughout the years,
various people have been the guardian of the key, but they are not
immortal. Seriously hurt, Frank grants Jeryline his power and refills
the key with his blood. Will Jeryline be able to defeat the Collector
and save the world?
At least the company looks nice
First off, I have to say that this
movie is flat-out fun to watch. It does so many things right that I
almost feel bad for pointing out any flaws. The acting is what really
carries the movie, with Billy Zane putting in an amazing performance.
Seriously, he should have won an award for his over-the-top,
charmingly evil Collector. He appears to be having a blast throughout
the entire movie without sacrificing his ability to be an evil demon.
Jada Pinkett and William Sadler are great as well along with a really
good supporting cast. Ernest Dickerson is very good in the director's
chair, which is not a surprise since he has also directed episodes of
The Walking Dead and The Wire. The story itself is fairly different
and original, though it does get a little clunky with the whole
God/Jesus blood bit. It's not enough of a distraction to take away
from the movie, it just feels kind of weird.
The portion of the movie that works so
well is the action mixed with horror. The demons look creepy, sort of
like a mixture of alien and humans caked in mud. The humans that
become possessed look extra terrifying and the makeup people deserve
a lot of credit as their creations are the stuff of nightmares. There
is plenty of blood and creative kills that will make you wince and
laugh. You know you're in for a fun ride when Billy Zane punches
through the sheriff’s head and can get his hand free, futilely
trying to shake it off like he just stuck his hand into an old
pumpkin.
Oh, the sights we'll see and the people we'll kill
Demon Knight is a fun mixture of
horror, action, and humor. The writing and acting are great with a
solid director at the helm. There is a good amount of bloody violence
and smart humor that keeps the audience excited and entertained. The
movie also contains a really good hard rock/heavy metal soundtrack
including Pantera, Filter, and Rollins Band. Thankfully, the Crypt
Keeper is in the prologue and epilogue of the movie and there are
references to Tales From The Crypt, as it should be when their name
is in the title of the freaking movie. TFTC had a history of false
starts and general confusion when it came to their movies as Demon
Knight was supposed to be the second in a trilogy, but actually came
out first. After the credits, we're told to look forward to the next
TFTC movie called Dead Easy which never actually came out. Someone
really must have screwed up, but it doesn't matter because we got a
great movie. Definitely check this one out as soon as you can.
9/10
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