Every Night of the Demons Movie Ranked, Worst to Best

1988’s Night of the Demons is a gory, silly, cult classic, and here’s how it, its two sequels, and a 2009 remake stack up, worst to best. Dark Castle’s 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill sported the tagline “Evil loves to party,” but that very much applies to Night of the Demons as well. In many ways, the film captures what so many horror fans loves about the genre’s 1980s output, with cool kills, great practical special effects and make-up, lots of eye candy, and a general creative spirit of entertainment at all costs.

Like many of the 1980s most cherished horror films, Night of the Demons wasn’t received well by critics, but really, this kind of genre effort just wasn’t made for professional reviewers. It’s a mix of the demonic possession and slasher genres, and really doesn’t care about pleasing anyone who doesn’t love those types of films. This spirit was at least attempted to be continued in Night of the Demons‘ sequels, as well as its remake.

Did the Night of the Demons franchise live up the promise of its debut movie, or is this another case of rapidly diminishing returns? It’s time to head to Hull House and find out.

4. Night of the Demons 3 (1997)

People often complain about sequels they deem unnecessary, but in Night of the Demons 3‘s case, that complaint seems accurate. It adds nothing new to the franchise, is in many ways a direct retread of the first film, and fails to impress in any real way. Amelia Kinkade is back as franchise villain Angela, but even she seems fairly uninterested, kind of going through the motions. The cast of potential victims this time out is poorly acted and hard to care about, the gore is poorly done, and the movie’s production design and cinematography just looks extremely cheap overall.

3. Night of the Demons (2009)

As far as horror remakes go, Night of the Demons 2009 isn’t terrible. To be fair, it’s also not particularly good either, it’s just kind of there. The remake’s biggest saving grace is its cast, including recognizable faces like Thirteen Ghosts‘ Shannon Elizabeth, Freddy vs. Jason‘s Monica Keena, and Terminator 2‘s Edward Furlong. The running time is also only 93 minutes, so the film doesn’t overstay its welcome. There are some decent effects, effective kills, and various types of Halloween debauchery taking place. It’s a fine one-off watch for those who like the original.

2. Night of the Demons 2 (1994)

Some fans consider Night of the Demons 2 to be slightly better than the original. We wouldn’t go that far, but it’s definitely a fun, satisfying sequel, and the change of primary setting from a haunted house to a Catholic boarding school for teens is inspired. Amelia Kinkade remains fun as Angela, and the film’s protagonist is her sister, leading to an interesting dramatic setup. The cast is actually quite good overall, especially kindly nun Sister Gloria, and Christine Taylor in an early role. The special effects and kills are once again impressive too, making Night of the Demons 2 a great double feature with the first film.

1. Night of the Demons (1988)

As mentioned previously, Night of the Demons is basically a Halloween party with monsters, and is much more about the audience enjoying themselves than being scared. Really, none of the films in this franchise care that much about terrifying the audience, although there are still lots of bumps and jumps. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, especially when coupled with a great cast of demon-meat, including mid-1980s scream queen Linnea Quigley, a great location, and lots of great practical gore and make-up effects.

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