Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, horror comics were all the rage. With titles like The Haunt of Fear, Adventures into the Unknown, and The Vault of Horror, the stories brought to life the nightmares of children of the day, splashing the pages with blood and gore, and the kids ate them up. When it came to horror comics, EC Comics led the pack, scaring the pants off young kids. At least until the Comics Code Authority forced them to tone things down. But despite the comic industry’s self-imposed regulations, one title of the EC Comics bunch will be remembered due to the massive popularity it gained 40 years after its initial inception: Tales From The Crypt.
Tales From The Crypt first aired on HBO in 1989. The pay-station partnership allowed the series to take bold risks with its content without having to dial back the horror, gore, or gratuitous nudity, which made it an instant hit. In fact, it was such a hit that the show spawned two feature-length films. The first film, Demon Knight was released in 1995 and starred William Sadler, Billy Zane, and Jada “Not Yet A Smith” Pinkett.
The film opens with the familiar HBO opening sequence as the camera tracks through the ins and outs of a haunted house, all set to the backdrop of Danny Elfman’s memorable theme song from the show. Viewers are treated to a meta-scene featuring the Crypt Keeper, host and mascot of both the show and the comic, in his own send-up of the movie industry. Corny puns and cheesy 90s stop-motion animation litter the scene just before ol’ CK introduces the tale people paid seven bucks to see. (It’s true. There really was a time when movies were under $15.)
Sadler stars as Brayker, a mysterious drifter on the run from Zane. Zane’s character is never officially named in the film but is credited as “The Collector.” After a fiery car crash, Brayker stumbles into drunk Uncle Willy (Dick Miller) and is taken to a decommissioned church turned rundown hotel to hide out.
There, Brayker is introduced to the whole range of horror movie tropes: the sassy proprietor (CCH Pounder) and her cantankerous employee (Pinkett), the flirtatious prostitute (Brenda Bakke), the mousey ex-postal worker (Charles Fleischer), and the town lout (Thomas Haden Church). Eventually, the dopey sheriff and his dopier deputy join the crew, having been duped by The Collector into helping him find Brayker.
The Collector explains that he’s looking for a relic shaped like a key. When the relic is discovered, things go awry as the sheriff intends to arrest Brayker AND The Collector. But The Collector doesn’t stand for this and quickly turns and punches the sheriff through the face. Yes, through the face.
Using his black-light-assisted-glowing-green blood, The Collector raises an army of demons, trapping Brayker and our motley crew inside. As the demons try to force their way through, Brayker uses blood inside the key to seal the exits, creating a supernatural barrier that demons can’t penetrate. He also explains that shooting the demons in the eyes releases their tortured souls, but also results in a devastating green electrical effect. At this point, most of the audience has no idea what the heck is happening, but heads are exploding, bodies are flying everywhere, and we’re barely a half-hour into the movie.
The story behind the demons and the key is told over time through a series of flashbacks and a light sprinkling of exposition from Brayker. It all started with Genesis and the creation of the Earth. The planet was inhabited by a race of demons who crafted seven keys. When God said, “Let there be light,” He scattered the keys across the cosmos and the demons fled. But the demons have collected six of the keys and if they get the seventh…Hell on Earth.
What makes Demon Knight work as an extension of Tales From The Crypt is that it’s not a continuation of any previous episode. Instead of mining what was already there, the filmmakers decided to create something new. Demon Knight certainly feels like it could have been an episode of the HBO show, just expanded in format. Longer running time, bigger star recognition, bigger budget effects. Though Tales worked wonders within its limitations, being allowed more freedom certainly helped to make it shine.
At its core, Demon Knight is religious horror. Maybe not along the same lines of The Omen or The Exorcist, but the artifacts in Demon Knight tie back directly to Jesus Christ, and the return of the demons are in defiance of God’s creation. But unlike those other films, Demon Knight doesn’t rely on religious mythology for its horror. It’s an out-and-out creature feature, spotlighting some of outrageous-looking demons to boot. This is good versus evil at its purest; with the army of good facing off against the army of evil. There’s no allegory here, just a bunch of gore.
And though everything within Demon Knight makes it seem like a train wreck, it still holds up. Much of this is likely due to its setting. Like From Dusk Till Dawn, Demon Knight takes place in one main location: the old, run-down church. This gives the movie a sense of claustrophobia and forces the characters to fight for their lives. There’s no running away from this; it’s either face down the demons or become one of them.
Through all of this, Billy Zane makes Demon Knight what it is. He takes the role of The Collector and has real fun with it. From the time we meet him, Zane oozes personality through his pearly white teeth. He comes off as a charismatic rapscallion, a man that anyone can see is holding something back, but he’s just so damn charming that you don’t care. Even when he’s punching through the sheriff’s face and causing utter chaos, his words seem to have a soothing tone, implying that everything will be OK if you just help him. He tries to get the key through any possible means, which includes seducing the inhabitants of the hotel with promises of their utmost desires. He approaches them each individually and though some relent, most give in to his words. And it’s hard to blame them. When a sweet-talking, smooth-voiced man comes promising to give you all the love you want, or to get you drunker than you’ve ever been, or just promises to let you leave alive, it’s hard to disbelieve him.
The film ends as would be expected from Tales From The Crypt; with an overall sense of foreboding. Tales never left readers entirely satisfied. Yes, we get the classic Hollywood “happy ending” where a main character walks away alive, but there’s always that twist at the end the reminds viewers that it’s not over (whatever “it” is).
Demon Knights is schlocky, gory, and, at times, downright ridiculous but that’s in no way a criticism. There are a lot of things it does right and a lot of things it does wrong. But at the end of it, it’s a fun movie with some halfway decent mythology and a few scares scattered within. If you’re looking for a good “Halloween Movie Marathon” entrant, this would make a good addition.
