NIGHT OF THE DEMON {1980}

 NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A REAL GRINDHOUSE MOVIE!

 

Debatably the Bigfoot movie to end all Bigfoot movies, this 1980 absolute freakin' gem directed by James C. Wasson (with absolutely no skill), written by Mike Williams and Jim L. Ball (with absolutely no skill) and acted by a cast (with absolutely no skill) is one of the best movie-watching experiences you'll ever have!!!  I mean seriously.  Pretty much from the first scene, NIGHT OF THE DEMON is more fun than a barrel of Sasquatch.  College Professor Nugent and his class of knuckleheads go out to the woods where a whole bunch of people have been recently killed (not a bright idea whether or not there's an actual Bigfoot out there - - I mean, SOMETHING or SOMEONE is killing these people so maybe it's not a very good idea for a camping trip!). 

There's really no suspense because right at the beginning of the movie we see Prof. Nugent in a hospital bed with the bottom half of his face bandaged while Dr. Paxton and Police Inspector Slack (Priceless name right there!) discuss how the Prof is the only survivor of the group.  Despite losing half his face, Prof. Nugent seems downright happy to relate the story of what happened in flashback.  Also frequently during this flashback, Prof. Nugent causes a second-level flashback when he tell his students the story of each of the people who were killed earlier by the alleged Bigfoot.  See, NIGHT OF THE DEMON is a many-layered onion of a movie so don't scoff! 

When the Prof tells each killing story, we cut to actual see each one.  The class is also told by some locals that there's a reclusive Crazy Wanda who lives deep in the woods who was ostracized because she had an illegitimate baby and whose father ran a local devil worshipping cult that worshipped Bigfoot . . . although in a later flashback of Crazy Wanda's story her father is actually a bible-thumping religious nut who ostracizes his own daughter because she got pregnant from Bigfoot.  And by the by, while Bigfoot is doing the nasty with Wanda, her father is watching from the front porch with shotgun in hand

. . . . and does nothing except call Wanda a tramp who 'deserves it'.  He could've like . . . oh, I dunno. . . . shot Bigfoot in the head to stop him from boinking his daughter.  Maybe.  Ya think?  

Every single thing our cast of (human) character does makes absolutely no sense (by internal logic in the movie itself OR by objective logic from the viewer).  I found myself saying "Why would they DO that?!?!?" almost every 5 minutes.   But this, of course, is what makes NIGHT OF THE DEMON such an entertaining powerhouse.  Oh, but I haven't even mentioned the kills.  Ohhhhhh, the kills!  Every single kill in the movie . . . and I mean every one without exception . . . is absolutely hilarious.  The first real kill is a flashback of a couple boinking in a van and I cannot describe how absolutely magnificent this scene is.  I mean, I don't often laugh out loud while watching a movie but I was rolling during this scene.  No description can do it justice. You just have to see it.  From the utter stupidness of the way the sex scene itself is played out to the absolute goofiness of the Bigfoot attack itself to the stunningly bad-acting of the nekkid woman as she reacts (pricelessly)

all the way to the terrible direction with lingers much too long on several shots both of the guy and the goil.  And this is only the first of a litany of absolutely magical, hilarious kills throughout the entire film.  I mean, right to the end each kill is hilarious.  Now that's a hell of a batting average.  There's that absolutely priceless 'sleeping bag kill'; if you think Jason's sleeping bag kill was fantastic, wait'll you see THIS one!  Oh wait, and then there's the 'penis yanking scene' when a biker stops to take a leak.  Yep, ole Bigfoot reaches right out from the bushes and grabs ahold of that sucker and . . . . well, you REALLY need to see this film!

Anyone watching NIGHT OF THE DEMON and doesn't have the greatest time of their life is frankly missing the whole point of the movie and the angels shall weep for them.  Really. Possibly the most fun I've had watching a movie during this whole Halloween Countdown!

Oh.  And it's also GREAT to know, via Nick Cato's marvelous SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE book that NIGHT OF THE DEMON played on a double feature with the giant rat movie OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN (another fave) at the Staten Island Amboy Twin Theatre circa 1983.