DEMONS (1985)
Starring Urbano Barberini and Natasha Hovey
Lamberto Bava, son of Italian horror icon Mario Bava, teamed up with slasher movie maestro Dario Argento to create this kick-ass, action-packed gore-fest that ranks as one of the most entertaining horror films of the 1980s. Argento co-wrote the screenplay while Bava directed.
Tickets are passed out on the streets of Berlin for a free screening of a horror film about demonic possession. When attendees arrive, they discover that they're locked inside the moviehouse—and the demonic possessions they saw taking place on screen are beginning to happen to the patrons of the theater. Anyone who is bitten by a demon becomes a demon, and it isn't long before only a few survivors are left standing. The film borrows from "Evil Dead," "Tombs of the Blind Dead," George Romero's zombie films and John Carpenter's "The Fog."
Fast-moving, with an awesome rock score by Goblin and a number of other artists, this stands out as one of Italy's all-time best splatter movies. Be sure to watch the entire film—even after the final credits—for a kick-ass twist ending.
The tagline: "They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs." Producers swiftly cranked out a inferior health-spa horror sequel, "Demons 2."