Night of the Demon (1980)

[Nelson Swillie]

"There may be many far better films around but I struggle to think of any that inspire a greater sense of teary-eyed nostalgia for the golden age of the video nasty" - The Celluloid Tomb

"Night of the Demon might very well be the best Bigfoot movie ever made" - Dr Gore's Reviews

"Night Of The Demon is the Pink Flamingos of trash-gore films...a mix of gutter skank and wallowing brutality that never picks sides. " - Bleeding Skull

"It's not the best film ever made, not by a long shot, but it does bundle along with terrific gusto, and it's hard not to get carried away with the fun of it all. Some great gore, a hypnotised spooky girl called Wanda, a brilliantly laughable Yeti (in slow-motion no less in the final attack scenes!)... Night of the Demon is a true guilty pleasure" - Eat My Brains Zombie Club

"Wow. I wish I could have seen this one sooner. What a fantastic flick. Night of the Demon is full of grisly footage that could easily earn it an X rating. It didn't surprise me when I read that this film had been banned in the UK as a Video Nasty. The scenes of castration and dismemberment are about as gory as they come. Much credit must be given to director James C Wasson and writer Mike Williams for having the guts to create such a gruesome picture" - Horror Yearbook

"All hail what is undoubtedly the best of the worst of the early 80's backwoods slashers" - Hysteria Lives



James C.Wasson's Night of the Demon is a strangely entertaining, even compelling (if it hits you in the right frame of mind) slice of zero-budget horror that certainly delivers the goods if you're looking for mean-spirited, violent thrills and spills. As the reviews above (and elsewhere on the net - don't take my word for it, look for them!) prove, there are people all over the world who have a very soft spot for this much-suppressed controversial gorefeast.

Despite the threadbare screenplay, the variable (to put it kindly) performances and the grimy photography, it's obvious that this film isn't the work of hapless amateurs - there are plenty of cutaways, dissolves, flashbacks and moving camera shots, marred somewhat by the slapdash editing, but the film manages to hold your attention nonetheless. Indeed, Wasson constructs his bloody tale with something approaching subtlety - given that the opening scene shows a bandaged man lying in a hospital bed being quizzed by the police about some missing students, it won't take a genius to work out that something bad's going to happen (and indeed already has) - and en route to the denouement, Wasson throws us plenty of juicy tidbits including Bigfoot's previous victims, a bizarre backwoods cult, religious mania, inter-species rape and even patricide. But the best is saved for last, as the hairy monster rips and snorts his way through the incompetent student anthropologists who've been tracking him through the movie. It may be a knock-off of the claustrophobic climax of Night of the Living Dead, but the slow motion, whining synthesiser score and surreal gore lends it all a bewildering quality that's actually pretty disturbing and can't easily be laughed off. It's almost like being trapped in a surreal nightmare.

The film also scores heavily in its use of the forest exteriors almost in the same capacity as interiors - the trees and bushes tower above the actors and locations, swamping any real perspective and isolating them from anything resembling civilisation, so that by the time the thoroughly depressing Crazy Wanda subplot rears its ugly head the viewer is also completely detached from the 'real' world, Wasson drawing us inexorably toward the staggeringly downbeat finale.



Back in the early eighties, home video was big business in the UK, and small independent companies were busy releasing anything they could get their hands on, however good, bad, or indifferent the movies were. If it hadn't been for the temporary legislative vacuum that video existed in until the 1984 Video Recording Act, films like Night Of The Demon would probably never have seen the light of day in England. So it's hats off to the long-defunct Iver Film Services label for giving this bizarre entry to the not-exactly-overpopulated 'Bigfoot' genre its brief moment in the spotlight! Some twenty-five years later, this STILL isn't legally available in its uncut form here in the UK (though it has aired uncut on the Horror Channel), and I can't help feeling that's due more to the skin-crawling discomfort induced by the final half hour than to the blood-spouting special effects. In spite of its surface flaws, Demon remains a rewarding viewing experience and will certainly stay in your mind, for better or worse, for a while after the last credit has rolled.

The film begins in a hospital room with a rush of fantastically bad acting that could have come straight from an Edward D. Wood Jnr production. The cop in particular makes me laugh every time, his eyes even seem to be following the cue cards! Lying in the bed is Professor Nugent, who came a cropper (to put it mildly) during a university field trip to find evidence that the legendary Bigfoot monster actually exists. He also looks remarkably healthy for a man who's had his face burned beyond recognition on a stove ring, but more of that later.

After this treasurable (for all the wrong reasons) opener, the terrible realization sets in that the whole film is a flashback, quite often flashbacks happen within the flashbacks - all this a full ten years before Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs! A lone camper gets his arm yanked off in a hilarious bit of amateur-night splatter reminiscent of Monty Python's occasional digs at Sam Peckinpah. A couple in a van have a close encounter of the furred kind - in fact, you'll be glad when Biggie finally turns up to mangle the male, because this is one seriously unsexy sex scene, made worse by the unattractiveness of all concerned. (Apparently the redhead was a porn starlet!) A poor guy in a sleeping bag (but no tent in sight, oddly enough) gets impaled on a sharp stick and we get a close-up of blood dribbling up his nose as he hangs upside down in agony. A motorcyclist gets his penis wrenched off, and there's a lovely lingering close-up of the bloody stump, but not in the BBFC approved version. A woodsman gets hacked with his own axe, and Wasson once again demonstrates just how much he loves those bubbling flesh wounds. My favourite scene concerns two girl scouts who are about 25 years of age and wind up stabbing each other to death with a little help from the 'foot. Why didn't they just drop the damn knives?

Just when you think things can't get any more insane, we get the full miserable history of Crazy Wanda's life. This woman has every reason to be insane - as if being raised by a ranting, drooling religious fundamentalist preacher wasn't bad enough, she's then raped by Bigfoot (in a scene that begs the question "WHY the missionary position?") and has the big fella's hideous mutant offspring in a scene that's long, drawn-out, miserable and absolutely chilling. Anyone who says Demon is just a slab of poorly-produced Z-grade cheese clearly wasn't paying attention to these scenes, because the laughter sure as shit stops here.

Finally, the 'foot gets mighty pissed off with these big-city types on his turf and decides to embark on a bit of tasty murder and mayhem. He begins by shaking a girl to death, then he rips open a guy's stomach on a saw and uses his intestines as a whip! Another unfortunate gets his throat slashed on a broken window pane, a girl gets impaled on a pitchfork, and finally, Nugent has his face burned to a crisp on a hotplate...but why didn't Biggie finish him off? I know somebody had to provide the opening and closing sequences, but come on...has the beast got attention deficit disorder or what?! "Ooh look, a butterfly..."

Actually, the following nugget of information, recently posted on the IMDB, might answer this question...

The original edit of the film included scenes a helicopter rescue of the remaining students after two were killed by the Bigfoot monster. The rescue sequence was headed by the town Sheriff (Paul Kelleher) and was followed by a scene between the Sheriff and Crazy Wanda (Melanie Graham) outside her cabin during which the Sheriff assures Crazy Wanda that Bigfoot is still alive and well. Those scenes were cut when the initial distributor determined that the film would be more commercial if all of students were killed by Bigfoot in a climatic bloodbath; except one who would live to tell the tale. As a result of these post-production changes, Paul Kelleher (Deadly Pursuit, Moonlight Murders) appears only briefly as the Sheriff in a walk-on bit when the students first arrive in the village. However, he is listed as a member of the principle cast in the opening credits which were completed before the alternate ending was inserted into the film.

Well, that clears that one up. Sort of.

And now for a real exclusive! (Yes, I know, it's about time...) I tracked down Michael J.Cutt, the actor who played the doomed Professor Bill Nugent in this warped classic, and set him a few questions about the experience. The following interview was conducted by e-mail, and I'd like to publicly thank Michael for answering my stupid questions within the hour on the very same day!

NS : If there are any questions here you don't want to answer or can't answer, just ignore them.

MICHAEL J.CUTT : I am an open book...to a real fault.

NS : First of all Michael, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Night of the Demon was released thirty years ago, and people are still watching it, still discovering it, still discussing it - quite an achievement when you consider how many 'high profile' Hollywood releases come and go and are forgotten quickly. How do you feel about the film's ongoing cult status?

MJC : It's just a lot of recurring fun to me...it was my first movie.

NS : I read the other day that a new, high-definition transfer of Night of the Demon played at a theater in Los Angeles, and the director did a live questions and answers session! I'm hoping this signals a new DVD release is in the works - most of the DVD releases I've seen over the years appear to have been struck from old VHS tapes. How do you think modern horror fans will react to Demon?

MJC : I dunno...there is an entertainment value, sometimes to truly bad theatre...I kept telling the director, Jim Wasson, that "I could still make this a comedy, without changing the script!"

NS : Let's go back to the beginning. How did you get involved in Demon?

MJC : Jim Wassen saw me perfoming Improv with the L.A Connection in Hollywood at Crossworlds of the World.

NS : What kind of a budget did the film have? I'm guessing it wasn't a huge amount.

MJC : Budget...was there a budget? I never saw a dime...I supplied my own weapons...these idiots wanted me to fight Bigfoot with a starter's pistol...for real! They ruined my guns...they never ever said that they were sorry...Today, I woulda just kicked their asses...

NS : The screenplay isn't the greatest ever written, but it does have interesting elements - the non-linear narrative, the flashbacks, obvious references to Rosemary's Baby, the Wicker Man and Night of the Living Dead, and the whole disturbing sub-plot of Crazy Wanda's miserable life with her preacher father. What was your reaction when you read the script?

MJC : My deceased wife, Kathleen and I followed througout the premier...The Producer, Jim Ball and the director kept shushing us..they had edited in porno...Funny stuff...the sluts really put the icing on the cake...

NS : Can you remember any of the film's actual locations, like the university building at the beginning?

MJC : Not the university...but the remote locations where in the Los Angeles Forests...cold, windy and right in the way of the jet paths...which continually interrupted our filming...

NS: The director, James C.Wasson - this appears to have been his first and last film, but it looks like he was pretty knowledgeable behind the camera. What was he like to work with? And why did he never work in movies again?

MJC : I dunno why he never worked. He was a very kind, sensitive man...I liked him...

NS : A question everyone must have asked you - this is one sick and gory movie. Was there an intention to push the audience and provoke a reaction from the audience, and what was your reaction to the gore scenes?

MJC : Gore has never interested me... No - they did EVERYTHING to cheat and just to make money and to never pay me. So, I just tried to have as much fun as I could...and, I did...it was a real life Get Shorty experience...

NS: There are some interesting lighting effects in the film, as if there was an attempt at creating a Dario Argento-type atmosphere. Was that down to James, or the director of photography, John Quick?

MJC : Yes. I always felt that the crew was really dedicated, talented...the ones that could still afford to pay for their own gas to and from locations that is...

NS : The actor who played Bigfoot, Shane Dixon, went on to have a pretty long career as a stuntman and bit-part actor. I spotted him in LA Confidential. What was he like to work with?

MJC : He acted like a real cry-baby. There was a screen in the cabin, where he was to break-in through the window - which he did jamming the glass into my face, (never said that he was sorry) ...and then he hesitated climbing in 'cause he claimed that "I can't climb in ...my chest is so massive that I will lose my balance and fall..." Geeze...He's probably a good father and husband by now...who knows...? [NB - So that's why we didn't actually get to see Bigfoot enter the room! He's just kind of there suddenly. Incidentally, Shane Dixon died of cancer in 1999, aged just 49.]

NS : How much of a crew was there on the film?

MJC : A small one...they were fun.

NS : According to the IMDB, there was a whole different ending filmed but never used - the distributors felt the film would be more commercial with a climactic bloodbath. Any views on these post-production changes?

MJC : Like most small time producers, nobody ever asked my permission for the porn or any other ideas... a lot of the decisions were very lame...it was kinda charming...

NS : Did you get along with the rest of the cast? Did you stay in contact with any of them?

MJC : No.

NS : What did you think when you saw the final cut for the first time? Did you like your own performance?

MJC : I always like me...I'm very silly and serious in that regard.

NS : Here in England, the film went straight to video. Did the film play theatrically in the States?

MJC : I dunno...I have a habit of leaving things to die...I never owned a copy, nor was one offered to me...Once I became aware that I was going to be cheated...well, why be bitter..it was my first starring role...I had fun..I always do...

NS : In the early eighties in Britain, video was unregulated - anything could legally be released on video with no interference from the censors. All this changed in 1984 with the Video Recordings Act, and a batch of offensive films labelled 'video nasties' were banned. These included Last House on the Left, I Spit On Your Grave and, of course, Night of the Demon! Were you aware that the film was banned? How did you feel about it?

MJC : Well, I never followed its path...I knew that the producer was a snake...charming, but a snake...as most snakes are...

NS : The ban on Demon was lifted in 1994 when it was rereleased on video - but it still had almost two minutes cut (from the castration and intestine-pulling scenes, most notably). The film is still unavailable in Britain in its uncut form! How do you feel about this?

MJC : Kinda bummed...The only bright spot was that a former college instructor/mentor, Eugene Dow go to play the doctor opposite me...I never received a copy, nor was I offered one..."I spit on their graves!"

NS : Finally, how do you feel about the whole experience with the benefit of thirty years' hindsight?

MJC : Mixed...it was exciting, flattering to be cast...but, I never (and to a real fault) collected my trophies, awards, film clips...I was always just interested in the "hunt". This was definitely fodder for Johnny Carson to shame me should I ever become famous... I would love to aquire a copy... and a transcript of this interview...

[VegaLA]

You mentioned this movie last year I think, i've still not been able to get hold of it.
Anyone know where it can be found? The biker getting his knob clawed off and the sorry victim who got bashed around the head with their friend's entrails will forever stick with me. Childhood memories i'd like to replay time and time again.

[Nelson Swillie]

It's all on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZGEaI9jU_w

In case that gets pulled...

http://www.stojo.com/NightOfTheDemon.html

Nelson highly recommends this as a film that brings home the gross-eries!

[Egyptian Feast]

Great post, Nelson. I haven't seen it in a few years, but you've inspired me to dust off my old copy and inflict it on my missus tonight.

I'd forgotten all about the girl scouts and their wacky dance of death...Christ, I can't wait to get home now.

[Johnny Townmouse]

Agreed - it was one of the first video nasties I saw when I went through a long, hot summer of renting exploitation films from the local shop. My local video shop was run one of the Time Bandits. Even at the age of 12 I think he assumed I was old enough for them as I towered over him - or he just didn't care. This film has a genuinely creepy tone, giving it a nice disturbing feel. Not sure how it stands up, but I'm prepared to find out.

[Nelson Swillie]

I've tried and tried to track down James C.Wasson and interview him, but keep coming up empty handed.

Looks like Johnny Townmouse had a similar childhood to me - the local video library owner let me borrow the most monstrous films, as long as I said "It's for my dad"! I still vividly remember borrowing Derek and Clive Get the Horn, naively thinking the title was a reference to fucking car horns (I was only nine!) because of Confessions of a Driving Instructor and all that. I was momentarily disappointed when it turned out to be two men I'd never heard of sitting in a dark room talking a lot, but they had me at the "mother" sketch.

[Johnny Townmouse]

HAHA!

Yeah, the little fella really didn't seem to care that I was renting out the most appalling films - some of them just bad, some of them like Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave being the sort of films that 12-year-olds should not see. I remember he recommended Psychomania which I still love to this day, despite how corny it is.

[Nelson Swillie]

The only film my parents banned me from seeing was Death Wish II. No fucking wonder!

http://videarn.com/video.php?id=17356
SERIOUS WARNING - Do not watch this at work. Or anywhere else. It's still fucking horrible nearly thirty years later.

Back on topic. Night of the Demon was released on DVD by Vipco in the nineties - same cut-to-hell print that surfaced on VHS in 1994. The 'digitally remastered' claim on the sleeve turned out to be a contemptible lie. I'd love Network or Anchor Bay to do a decent job on this. Probably never happen though.

[VegaLA]

Back on topic. Night of the Demon was released on DVD by Vipco in the nineties - same cut-to-hell print that surfaced on VHS in 1994. The 'digitally remastered' claim on the sleeve turned out to be a contemptible lie. I'd love Network or Anchor Bay to do a decent job on this. Probably never happen though.

Yeah, I remember standing in my local vidStore around 1992 with a few friends and a Zombie Flesh Eaters poster caught my eye. Mid conversation I ran over to see why and saw it was being re-released by Vipco uncut. Uncut my testicles, the lying fucks.

Cheers for the link Nelson, i'm not one for YouTube viewing but if anyone knows of any other sources please PM me. I'm on a mission to collect all those Video Nasties of the late 70s early 80s.

[Epic Bisto]

There's a company in the US called 'Code Red' - they're putting it out, along with a load of other former nasties such as Mardi Gras Massacre and Nightmares In A Damaged Brain (which is in temporary limbo because of damaged negatives and cash flow problems - speaking of which, I read some interview with the director...he really loves himself and says his film is one of the best horror films ever, etc).

I'd like to see this film. I know it was aired on Zone Horror years ago, but I never had the chance to tape it. The US DVD might be worth looking out for once the release date is confirmed.

[VegaLA]

I managed to get 'Nightmares in a damaged brain' quite easily, but not sure what title I got it under. Will check when I get home tonight.

I'll also be googling 'Code Red', thanks for that.

[Jake Thingray]

Noticed the "Dana Andrews leaves thread disappointed" tag, I thought it was going to be about that film as well, with a really rather good performance from Foggy Dewhurst. Does Nelson Swillie only like 1980's sleazoid rubbish?