Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when cable, the web and streaming step in to provide an instant movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick and see if it’s worth your time. This week it’s the schlockfest remake of 1988’s “Night of the Demons”.

The Story: Angela needs some cold hard cash.  So she plans a blowout Halloween party in a creepy-ass house that has seen murder, mayhem and general mysterious stuff in it’s past.  Hey, demons have been waiting for a moment like this to break through to our world.  Think they’re gonna let this opportunity slide?  Did you read the title of this movie?

The Good: The soundtrack is killer.  Seriously, I want to add all of these songs to my Spotify account for my Halloween 2011 mix.  Remarkably good FX for a low budget splatterfest.  Maddie’s last-minute attempt at saving the day is so kick-ass I want to shout it from the rooftops, but I’ll let those willingn to put up with the averageness of this movie find out for themselves.  Shannon Elizabeth seems to relish the role of Angela, and has her tongue firmly in cheek as she cranks it to 11.  Monica Keena (Entourage) is also game for the role of not-so-virginal heroine Maddie.  All the ladies are slut-tacular, costume-wise (hey, it’s Halloween after all; getting slutty is the law).  So if you like your horror wearing corsets and skin-tight tank tops, this is the place.

The Bad: Fat Edward Furlong.  There, I said it.  Yes, everyone is beautiful no matter what they look like (except for assholes, who seem to ooze jerkdom from their pores like moldy maple syrup).  But Ed doesn’t look simply big-boned, he looks tired from an all-too-recent bender.  And that’s depressing no matter what.  Ed as Monica Keena’s love interest just doesn’t make sense, and with the complete lack of chemistry between the two that relationship lands with a clunk.

Things get crazy in a bad way sometimes, as if they had so many great ideas for deamon-ness that they threw it all in just so they wouldn’t waste it.  It ends up a mashed up mess that’s difficult to really enjoy.  With so many flailing tentacles, bloody ripped off faces and the like, it’s tough to get all that in one shot, and so much of it passes by too quickly to really absorb and enjoy.  All the daylight shots in this film look overexposed, so I guess they funneled the money they had into FX rather than cinematography.

Oh, and a plot point that nagged at me: if there was a survivor the last go-round, why didn’t they do to her what they tried to do to the handful of survivors near the end?  Then again, these demons seem awfully lazy for horrible spirits determined to turn the Earth into a living hell.  Tip from me to you, undead masses; don’t wait ’til the last 30 minutes of the night to bust out your moves.  Strike while you have hours to go.  You’re welcome.  Remember me when you take over the world.

The Everything Else: The art decoration in the house makes me wanna amp up for this year, though I suspect in my city rowhouse of doom it’d just look like a vacant, which isn’t scary, it’s just sad.  Oh, and there seems to be a bit of confusion on when this gem was first released; IMDb has it listed as 2010, and Netflix/Wiki has it as 2009.  So yes, I went with IMDb on this one.

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?:  For Halloween.  After all the good stuff has already been watched and everyone’s half asleep/drunk.
Should you see it?: If you’re a Shannon Elizabeth fan, or don’t mind campy-bad horror, yes.  If you’re looking for a good scary film, look elsewhere.
Netflix average rating: 2 Stars
My rating: 3 Stars