Dèmoni 2: L'incubo ritorna (1986)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Lamberto Bava

Writers:

Dario Argento (writer)
Lamberto Bava (writer)

Release Date:

February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The Nightmare Returns

Plot:

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

Plot Keywords:

Demon | TV | Birthday Party | Trapped | Resurrection

Cast

David Edwin Knight	...	George
Nancy Brilli	...	Hannah
Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni	...	Sally Day
Bobby Rhodes	...	Hank, gym instructor
Asia Argento	...	Ingrid Haller
Virginia Bryant	...	Mary the Prostitute
Anita Bartolucci	...	Woman with Dog
Antonio Cantafora	...	Ingrid's Father
Luisa Passega	...	Helga Haller, Ingrid's mother
Davide Marotta	...	Tommy the Child Demon
Marco Vivio	...	Tommy
Michele Mirabella	...	Hooker's Client
Lorenzo Gioielli	...	Jake
Lino Salemme	...	Security Guard (as Pasqualino Salemme)
Maria Chiara Sasso	...	Ulla, partygoer with camera

Also Known As:

Demoni 2 (Italy) (short title)
Demons 2 (USA)
Demons 2: The Nightmare Is Back (USA)
Demons 2: The Nightmare Returns (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

91 min | Canada:88 min | USA:88 min (R-rated version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

Company:

DACFILM Rome

Trivia:

The scene where Hannah (Nancy Brilli) has a baby was not part of the original script. Originally, Hannah's baby would become a demon inside her and claw its way out of her. This scene was taken out when Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento decided they wanted a happier ending.

Quotes:

Joe: [to his friends, upon finding a hideous, lethal supernatural creature lying dormant in a dark spooky alley] There's no danger!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A cena col vampiro (1988) (TV)

Soundtrack:

De Profundis

call it THEY CAME FROM WITHIN meets NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

While better than the first (it actually has a plot), the film suffers from lapses in logic and a confusing plot that doesn't make complete sense.

It's highly derivative of David Cronenberg's early seventies flick, They Came from Within a.k.a. Shivers. there are also elements of Night of the Living Dead thrown in so to add some flavor. even the demons infiltrate the inhabitants via a t.v. and there is one scene in this that is a complete ripoff of another Cronenberg film, Videodrome.

the gore effects are well done and the acting is all over the map, though better than the first film. the film gallops along without any rhyme or reason as to what went on before, and this quick pacing helps keep the enjoyment factor higher than usual.

a lot of people hate this film compared to the first, and while it's a completely different type of film, on it's own terms it's not that bad.

FYI:the newly released uncut version by Anchor Bay runs a full 3 minutes longer than the edited R-rated version and is the one to see.

rating:7