Demon Knight
From AwardAnnals
| This creative work has a long or truncated description. Please review the creative work guidelines concerning descriptions and edit down or replace the description. |
 | |
| Director(s) | Ernest R. Dickerson, Gilbert Adler |
|---|---|
| Distributor | Universal Studios |
| Honors | |
| Ernest Dickerson, one-time cinematographer for Spike Lee and director of Demon Knight, said during the initial release of this film that he chose the project because he was a lifelong fan of the horror genre. Other horror fans should be thankful, because without Dickerson’s enthusiasm and visual sense, this derivative gorefest wouldn’t come close to the entertainment level that it ultimately achieves. The film was the first big- screen adaptation of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt series, a show based on the EC comic books of the ‘50s. Like… | |
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
Ernest Dickerson, one-time cinematographer for Spike Lee and director of Demon Knight, said during the initial release of this film that he chose the project because he was a lifelong fan of the horror genre. Other horror fans should be thankful, because without Dickerson’s enthusiasm and visual sense, this derivative gorefest wouldn’t come close to the entertainment level that it ultimately achieves. The film was the first big- screen adaptation of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt series, a show based on the EC comic books of the ‘50s. Like Creepshow before it, Demon Knight blends fair amounts of blood, sex, and knowing comedy with a paper-thin plot that doesn’t leave a bit of room for subtext. Dickerson understands this, so instead he pumps the flick full of eye-popping visuals and gorgeous camerawork, and populates it with terrific character actors (especially Billy Zane, who really has fun, and William Sadler) who don’t seem to care that their characters have little identity. Everyone seems to be giving this tiny project everything they’ve got, while never taking it seriously for a minute. We’ve seen the story before: A diverse bunch (a hooker, the town drunk, the ex-con, etc.) is locked in a rundown hotel and is forced to battle the Legions of Evil massed outside and determined to get in. Regardless, Dickerson, shooting with as little light as possible, manages to create some tense moments. There’s a lot wrong with Demon Knight’s shallow premise, and you could make a checklist of the movies it gleefully steals from (Night of the Living Dead and The Evil Dead are two of many), but thrill-seekers who prefer laughs with their grisly special effects and gratuitous nudity should have a mindless blast watching it. —Dave McCoy
—
Director Ernest Dickerson injects a hearty dose of dark humor in this stylish comic-book horror tale. Based on the campy cable horror series (which was inspired by the 1950s E.C. comic book series of the same name), this tight, modestly budgeted little thriller stars William Sadler as an intense stranger who arrives at a run-down boarding house in flight from the Collector (a cocky, droll Billy Zane). The Collector is after an item in the stranger’s possession, which turns out to be a holy relic, and when his efforts end in failure he explodes in a demonic fury that reveals his evil origins, laying siege to the house with an army of zombies and infiltrating the minds of each the boarders with insidious fantasies. It’s a seedy Grand Hotel by way of The Exorcist, cooked up with plenty of gore and a smattering of sex, and served with dry wit. Dickerson effectively balances the horror and the humor, maintaining a surprising intensity and an unforced mythic dimension within lurid B-movie conventions. —Sean Axmaker
