Demon Wind (Vinegar Syndrome LE Blu-ray Review)

Is Demon Wind a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?

Blu-ray Distributed By: Vinegar Syndrome / October 24, 2017

NOTE: The first 3,000 copies sold through VinegarSyndrome.com will include a double-thick limited edition LENTICULAR slipcover designed by Speed Blur.

The strange and brutal deaths of Cory’s grandparents has haunted him for years. Determined to discover the truth, he has returned to the desolate region where they lived, along with a group of friends, to try and uncover the mystery. Ignoring warnings from the locals that the area is cursed, Cory and his friends soon realize that the legend is true, as the Demon Wind, possesses and destroys them, one by one, turning them into monsters from hell.

Taking equal inspiration from THE EVIL DEAD and the visual aesthetics of the early 80s work of Lucio Fulci, Charles Philip Moore’s DEMON WIND is a supernatural shocker loaded with an abundance of gore and extraordinarily good creature effects. Never released on DVD, DEMON WIND comes to Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome in a brand new 2k restoration of its 35mm camera negative.

Jimbo’s Take (4 / 5)

Demon Wind will blow you away!

Those of you old enough to have rented movies from a local video store may recognize the cover. The Demon Wind VHS box, emboldened by its gaudy 90’s neon colors, had an amazing holographic cover that begged to be plucked from the shelf and rented. You may not be able to rent this gem of trash cinema now, but the good folks at Vinegar Syndrome have lovingly restored it to a quality no one has seen, save for the Director himself!

If you act fast, Vinegar Syndrome has a limited edition version of the blu-ray sold exclusively on their website. The limited edition includes a replication of the 3D cover. Seriously, check this thing out! This is the one I bought and recommend, but I’m also a whore for limited editions and nostalgia. But I digress…

Demon Wind exemplifies why Trash Men exists. It’s bad cinema at its finest!

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Surprisingly, I never rented Demon Wind and, in retrospect, that may have been for the best. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this Evil Dead rip-off upon its initial release in 1990. I would have seen it for all of its flaws and cheap tricks and probably loathed it. But a funny thing happens when you’re the right age, and in the right mood for a certain movie. The things that should work against a film turn out to be its greatest attributes. And you suddenly realize that Demon Wind is nearly perfect in a so bad it’s good kind of way.

Virtually nothing works in the film, at least not in a traditional sense. The acting is embarrassing, but serviceable. The writing is poor. The exterior sets look like the cheap facades that they are. It’s the early 90s, so fashion style is horrendous. And is that Emilio Estevez rip-off rocking a rat tail?

Producer Sandy Horowitz says something very telling in his interview on the blu-ray supplements. He states that everyone asks him about the budget of his movies and he never answers. He does say, however, that we would be surprised to learn how inexpensive Demon Wind actually was. No Sandy. No, we’re not surprised at all.

But you know what else? Demon Wind is not boring. It’s fun! And although exterior sets look cheap, the interior sets look remarkably good. It has slimy demon/zombie people. The cast is diverse and plentiful enough that you will see more than your average share of gory deaths. There are some fun and interesting concepts at play; like entering a cabin that isn’t actually there. Or a mysterious fog that chases down anyone who wanders too far away from the cabin. These are all nice little touches that keep the viewer engaged. And it has tits!

I know. Bare breasts in a horror film are nothing new, but here’s why this is worth mentioning. First, The Evil Dead didn’t even have tits! But more importantly, the screenwriter typically creates a weak plot device to lure horny young guys out of safety and into peril. (I.e. the demon has to be naked so the horny studs have motivation to leave their safe space.) What makes Demon Wind so awesome is that the guys seeing the nude demon actually look at each other and say, “Demon…” in a very casual and nonchalant way. They KNOW what it is and what it’s trying to do. They go outside anyway to hunt it, not fuck it. Therefore, the nudity becomes even more unnecessary and gratuitous!

I think a big reason Demon Wind works is because it not only rips off your favorite horror films, but in many cases blatantly steals from and makes them…well, not better per se. It just takes A LOT of your favorite horror tropes and shoves them all into a single package.

Kitchen utensils and knives fly across a kitchen, threatening the lives of our characters. This scene is courtesy of every haunted house film ever made. The Omen had devil killing daggers. So does Demon Wind! Think Demon Wind invented razor tooth demons? Nope! Demons, Demons 2, and Night of the Demons are just a sample of films that came before and had, uhm…well, demons. Need evil rural children? Why watch Children of the Corn when you can watch [dramatic pause] Demon Wind! Want to see zombies raid a house? Don’t waste your time with a timeless classic like Night of the Living Dead. Demon Wind! I think you get the point.

Demon Wind will bring more laughs than scares, and that’s just fine. Frankly it’s refreshing, and the film’s final confrontation makes so little sense that it feels like a cherry on top of a perfect sundae dessert. If you can explain to me why people transform into aliens, or goblins, or whatever is going on, you’ll have my attention.

I would tell anyone that has a taste for great bad movies to pick this up tout suite. However, Vinegar Syndrome’s 2K remaster and the collection of bonus interviews, trailer, and still gallery make this a must own. Grab your limited edition here, while supplies last!

Jamie’s Take (4 / 5)

I’m with Jim on this one, in fact I think I like it even more. While the acting is poor and the production values are cheap, I found this demonic horror film at times a little scary with some great, over the top make up effects. This is what is lacking in all horror films these days: the spectacular use of make-up effects that look so much more gruesome and realistic than anything that is being created in modern horror. The very opening with the main character’s family being murdered after the father becomes possessed by this demon entity has some great bladder effects that would make Dick Smith proud. But I guess millennials and dipshits prefer some guy or gal behind a computer making fake looking monsters and digitizing blood sprays.

Like Jim, I too remember the old VHS box and I can’t remember why I never bothered to rent it. I am unsure what I would have thought but I think Jim is right in that I wouldn’t appreciate the craziness and bizarre conclusion of Demon Wind. In 1990, I was sheltered in my horror, knowing only the great’s like Carpenter, Romero, Cronenberg, Raimi and Craven. I think at the age of 14 I would be more annoyed by the cryptic conclusion with the main character suddenly turning into an…alien? He looks like a deformed penis and then turns back to human again? I don’t know, just see the movie.

There is a considerable high body count too so the movie flows along fairly quickly although I wanted to see more of the smart-ass jock Dell who repeatedly tells his friends who he keeps his girlfriend around. While the acting is sub-par there are worse movies out there with poor acting so this didn’t bother me too much. I may have been more in awe of seeing old school make up gore effects. Sure the movie rips off a lot of movies, especially Evil Dead, but it did so without shame, no wink wink to the audience, it takes itself seriously which adds to the charm and humor, whether it is intentional or not.

Vinegar’s blu ray looks amazing and comes with a DVD copy along with some special features like interviews with some of the cast and crew. I liked hearing stories of Lou Diamond Philips actually being on the set a lot which was in his prime as he was set to do Young Guns II and The First Power. I can say Demon Wind is a hell of a lot better than The First Power.