Demons

A horror film set in a cinema. Free tickets are handed out in Berlin. When the auditorium fills it becomes clear that nobody knows who is putting on the screening. In the film on the screen there is a mask, and whoever wears it turns into a creature. Then a member of the audience touches the same mask and the same thing happens for real. The idea is that interlocking: what happens on screen is repeated in the auditorium, and the audience cannot get out; the doors close as if walled up. The narrative is simple and direct; no character development, no explanation. All the weight is on makeup and effects: the transformations are shown at length and were done by practical methods. The choice of music is part of the film's identity: metal and rock tracks of the 1980s are laid straight over the scenes. Lamberto Bava directed, following his father Mario Bava. Dario Argento is on the screenplay and in the production. One of the more entertaining examples of its kind for anyone who likes Italian horror and the exaggerated gore tradition of the 1980s. For a viewer looking for meaning or consistency, the film has no interest in either, and the violence is very explicit.