Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 21, 2017

“Demon Wind” is not a great movie, but it’s a fun movie. The 1990 release explores the mess of an evil encounter at a rural location, offering another helping of young people heading where they shouldn’t, unable to successfully defend themselves during monstrous encounters. Perhaps everything in the film makes sense to writer/director Charles Phillip Moore (making his helming debut), but he’s not especially skilled at providing proper exposition to help secure critical turns of plot. However, bouts of incoherence tend to add to the viewing experience, which is loaded with gore zone visits, macabre encounters, and bewildering events, keeping “Demon Wind” just absurd enough to enjoy.

Cory (Eric Larson) is on a mission. Joined by his girlfriend, Elaine (Francine Lapensee), Cory is driving into rural America, on hunt for a farmhouse that once belonged to his grandparents. After a brutal reunion with his estranged father, who committed suicide soon after their meeting, Cory is searching for answers in the middle of nowhere, asking his friends to join him for a long reunion weekend where he hopes to unearth a few clues as to why his bloodline seems cursed. Joined by Dell (Bobby Johnson) and Terri (Lynn Clark), Bonnie (Sherry Leigh) and Jack (Mark David Fritsche), and Stacy (Jack Vogel) and magician pal Chuck (Stephen Quadros), Cory quickly discovers that the property he’s investigating was once a battleground between good and evil, with his grandmother, Regine (Elizabeth Ince), dealing with the Devil long ago. Accidentally reawakening ancient evil spirits, the gang is targeted for possession by a brute force who faces a unique challenger in Cory, who learns more about his ancestors to defend against doom.

Moore doesn’t make it easy on himself by introducing so many characters in “Demon Wind.” It’s difficult to understand why, but Cory stages something of a group therapy session for the rural weekend, finding this incestuous gang with extensive history together assembling to support their pal, but also dealing with a few unresolved issues. Thankfully, Moore doesn’t labor over the sticky details of simmering antagonisms, painting the crew in primary colors for more efficient storytelling, keeping Dell a bully, Jack a confidant, Elaine remains emotional support, and Chuck…well, he’s a magician who’s also an expert martial artist. Chuck’s the best, and receives the grandest entrance of anyone in “Demon Wind,” peppering the gang with tricks and a kung fu demonstration. It’s a hilarious display, and sets the tone of Moore’s movie, which starts with a furrowed brow, but develops into ridiculousness in a hurry, and in the best possible way.

There’s a Cabin in the Woods-style set-up for “Demon Wind,” which brings the pals into a cursed farmhouse, accidentally summoning a mysterious threat with undefined powers. What evil is capable of is a mystery in the movie, with some poor saps turned into bloodthirsty demons who enjoy spitting up goopy fluids, while another character is zapped into a doll, containing her to a plastic prison. There’s aviary imagery and a topless seductress (adult film star Tiffany Million accepts the thespian challenge), and there’s the titular enemy, with a patch of determined fog bussing supernatural antagonists around the area, leaving the friends with no escape. It’s Horror 101, but “Demon Wind” is spirited and manages to do something with very little money, keeping special effects coming and, eventually, every actor has to deal with make-up work, generating an appealing war zone of hideous creatures and destroyed bodies.

Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Offering a 2K scan of the OCN, "Demon Wind" offers filmic impact on Blu-ray. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers inviting detail for this macabre collection of evil encounters. Textures on monster make-up and human victims are preserved throughout, and set decoration is open for study. Facial particulars are also vivid. Colors are tastefully refreshed, pushing through with bold primaries, including strong greenery during the opening road trip. More gruesome encounters deliver deep reds and yellows, and costuming provides varied hues. Skintones are natural. Delineation is secure. Grain is nicely managed. Source is in great shape, while a few rough patches appear to be an inherent issue.

Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix does show some signs of age, with a few fuzzy sections around reel changes, and highs are on the sharp side. Dialogue exchanges are satisfactory, handling scary reactions and dramatic endeavors with relative ease, and the group dynamic is preserved. Surrounds are best with demonic explosions, generating necessary chaos with appropriate loudness. Scoring retains presence, preserving its synth throb. Atmospherics are lively, capturing wide open spaces and tighter confines. Hiss is present but not distracting.

Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (26:27, HD) with Sandy Horowitz is a somewhat scattered talk about "Demon Wind," with the producer admitting shock that anyone would still be interested in the picture decades after its initial release. Working on a few movies at the time, Horowitz was won over by crew member Charles Phillip Moore's pitch for a low-budget chiller, permitting him a chance to become a director. Horowitz explores his career origins as a young man in Jamaica, and his somewhat hands-off approach to "Demon Wind," which was completed without his participation.

• Interview (16:31, HD) with actress Sherry Leigh provides an overview of her casting and the on-set mood of the production, which was completed in difficult conditions, also dealing with the pains of actual fog, and not just the nightmarish stuff used in the movie. Leigh chats up her co-stars and shares interest in her fanbase, reaching out to her admirers at conventions.

• Interview (19:57, HD) with cinematographer Thomas Callaway traces his adolescent obsession with film all the way to Hollywood, where he took odd jobs before suddenly finding himself with a career in the industry. Callaway shares details about the "Demon Wind" shoot, which offered numerous technical challenges that made for long, frustrating days, while the camera equipment itself was procured from Ron Jeremy. Callaway goes in-depth with film and camera woes, and even highlights the participation of Lou Diamond Phillips, who appears in the picture as a heavily made-up demon (joining wife Julie Cypher, who was the second second assistant director).

• Interview (20:17) is an audio-only conversation with editor Christopher Roth, who also covers his career origin story, working extensively in genre entertainment on film and television. Roth has some choice words to share about producer Paul Hunt, who wasn't exactly a cheerleader on-set, and he shares the pain of working with "Demon Wind" footage, facing all types of challenges to get the movie into shape.

• Still Gallery (3:52) collects a few foreign promotional materials and a large selection of BTS snaps, including one with Lou Diamond Phillips, proving his participation.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:09, HD) is included.

Demon Wind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Demon Wind" really winds up during the grand finale, which pits mutated forces against one another in a bizarre showdown that remains compelling, but probably only makes sense to Moore, who's not one to explain all the details he tries to pack into the effort. "Demon Wind" goes abstract often, but it magically never derails, remaining just campy enough to engage and wholly concentrated on creating a large amount of Raimi-esque hellraising to keep viewers on high alert. It's not a polished endeavor, barely keeping itself together, and could never be mistaken for classy cinema. But as bottom shelf junk food goes, the movie is a hoot and accomplishes quite a bit for the lunch money budget it's working with.