Tales of the Crypt: Demon Knight

with Billy Zane, William Sadler, John Kassir
Written by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, Mark Bishop
Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson
(Silver Productions/Universal Pictures)
by Paul Lee

Like an insidious blood-drenched carnival ride, Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demons Knight is fun for freaks of all shapes. Those of us who’ve waited a long time for a decent horror movie in a vast desert of intellectual and lame comedies can finally be satisfied. And along with the film, Atlantic Records has released a dark collection of mostly searing songs as a soundtrack to Demon Knight.

This little festering gem of a film fits right in with such wonderfully mad shows as Creepshow and The Evil Dead 2. There’s plenty of gore and grotesque humor to quench any ghoul’s bloodlust. With the pairing of Billy Zane (the psycho boat-boy in Dead Calm) as the glibly evil and charismatic demon-lord and William Sandler (the villain from Die Hard 2) as the super-stressed and reluctant hero, Demon Knight begins with a bloody bang. Add to this a good supporting cast, some nasty, nasty demons, a claustrophobic setting and wonderfully colorful and gory effects, and you have a creature-feature that will gleefully outrage Jesus wackos.

The soundtrack to Demon Knight suits the carnage of the movie. Monsters like the Melvins, Ministry, Sepultura, and Machine Head populate the album with some brutally wonderful songs. Only about 10% of the packaged soundtrack was actually in the movie, but the album is worth the mayhem. We also get a Megadeth song, “Diadems,” that recalls the glory of their older, darker days and a cool tune used to good effect, “Hey Man Nice Shot” by newcomers Filter. Even Henry Rollins and his band make a decent offering with “Fall Guy.”

If you crave the nastiness and sick humor missing from the screen in modern times, then Demon Knight may just be your cup of gore. If your hunger demands more than that, get the soundtrack too.