HORROR BUSINESS Episode 47: Bava Pt. II: Return Of Son Of Bava (DEMONS & DEMONS 2)

Greetings, and welcome back to Horror Business. We have one awesome episode in store for you guys. On this episode we’re discussing films by Italian director Lamberto Bava with Demons and Demons 2.


We start by talking about what we’ve seen or done lately in the field of horror. We talk about Rocksteady Rush, The Witch In The Window, Castle Rock, The Nun, and a few recent showings we caught at the Mahoning Drive In.


Up first is Demons. We give a basic rough outline of the movie. We discuss how, despite sometimes falling short in the acting, the look of the movie, be the cinematography or the practical effects, give the movie a very dreamlike feel. We then talk about how the movie feels “mired in the ‘70s’” despite at times looking very ‘80s. We talk about the influence of Dario Argento in the film, in that some of the lighting is done strictly for atmosphere and serves no other purpose aside from being visually unsettling.

The depictions of punks and pimps in the film are discussed. The idea of the film being partially about the cinematic viewing experience is discussed, as is the idea of the film as something criticizing and even mocking horror movies that provide stale and clichéd origin stories for their monsters. The complete lack of logic in the movie being a strength is discussed, in that the movie leans so hard into the weirdness of itself that it ends up being stronger for it. The “red headed ticket taker” as an example of the classic giallo red herring is examined.

The more “fantastic” elements of the movie, including the action movie sequences, are discussed, as is how the ending of the movie adds to the non-Lynchian “dreamlike” feel of the movie. The movie as a depiction of an “80s teenaged fantasy” is discussed. The Demons franchise, and the European practice of promoting entirely unrelated films as belonging to a franchise they don’t belong to, is discussed.

Up next is Demons 2. We begin by talking about how the movie is largely just a rehash of the first one, but with less atmosphere. For example, moving the setting from a stylish movie theatre to a modern apartment building takes away from the atmosphere of it.

The lack of clarity as to what movie we are seeing (are we watching a movie within a movie within a movie, or is this a direct sequel to the first movie that takes place in the ruined world of that film?) is examined.

The movies few strengths are examined, but we spend most of the time lamenting how this movie tried to be an unconventional sequel by not carrying on the same storyline of the first film all the while trying to recreate the high points of the first film.


Justin Lore

Greetings and salutations. My name is Justin Lore, and in addition to being a real life pawn star, an obsessive dog dad, and a falsely accused Lovecraft apologist, I am the creator and co-host of the podcast Horror Business and the communications manager and assistant editor of Cinepunx. I saw Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ at the age of six and horror films have been a large part of my life since then. Favorite directors include John Carpenter, George Romero, David Lynch, James Cameron, Wes Anderson, and David Cronenberg. I don’t eat animals, I abstain from the partaking of drugs and alcohol, I think ‘Friday The 13th’ is the most overrated franchise in film history and if I ever saw Metallica live and they played ‘Blackened’ there’s a decent chance I’d be led out in handcuffs because the pit would get murdered.

Email: repairmanxjack@gmail.com
Twitter: @repairmanxjack
IG: @repairmanxjack
Justin Lore

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