Demon Slayer (2004 Video) User Reviews

Passable, yet entirely forgettable.

[capkronos · 5/10 · 18 February 2005]

Forced to do community service, five juvenile delinquents are chosen by some sketchy clergymen to help clean up a large abandoned former mental hospital. They includes gang-banger Tyson (Howard Williams, Jr.), goofy horn-dog Phillip (Adam Huss), bitchy slut Claudia (Hanna Lee), nice girl Tamara (Monique Deville) and moody goth girl Alicia (Michelle Acuna), who may even have another connection to the story altogether. Oh yeah, the place (which is full of trash and in bad need of a new paint job) also has a past history as a whorehouse AND as a place of demon-worship, so an evil force is eventually unleashed and things get out of control. People scream, people run, people die, people come back as zombie-killers... You know the drill.

Oddly, this film takes a longer-than-usual amount of time to kick into gear and in the meantime we have to endure the token horror-movie filler (flashback sequences, nightmare sequences, bathtub sequences, sex sequences...) The general premise is completely worn-out, but the script actually strives for some character development, which is unusual for a direct-to-video genre film. The acting is also surprisingly tolerable. The photography is a little too dark.

Hell, I sat through it without 1.) falling asleep OR 2.) using my fast-forward button, which is saying something for a film released by Roger Corman's New Horizons Home Video.

Let's play silly

[tributarystu · 4/10 · 11 October 2003]

There's one thing I've learned after this: don't trust the categories shown on IMDb. Someone most obviously omitted "comedy". I'll change that.

SPOILERS

I think I'll keep this quite short. The movie is about a haunted house and about some "kids" who are sent there to clean everything up. And eventually die, of course. How would a horror movie be without deaths? Strangely enough you have to quite wait for them. But once one comes, they all come. The movie has a few scary moments, just one bit too little, but it does gain the little it loses because of the bit horror missing through it's, let's say, humorous part. It all starts once the Mexican priest, "demon slayer" appears. He brings it all. The mucho-guys start being scared, the women become responsible, and dead, it depends. The film doesn't really promote any philosophies or teachings, not seriously at least. The actors, well, they're as you would expect them to be. It's too bad it takes quite much for the movie to actually begin and once it does it also ends soon after. Directional wise it's OK. Not too brilliant, though. Not that I would have expected differently.

Silly horror.

Typical Slasher Film with a Dash of Humor

[innocuous · 5/10 · 22 October 2006]

"You kids have done and excellent job...except for the maggots."

Up until the priest says this, you might actually think that this film is trying to take itself seriously.

This is a fairly enjoyable film. The SciFi channel shows it on a regular basis and it is a whole order of magnitude better and more competently made than, say, "Intermedio" or "Shapeshifter".

One irritating thing about this film is that, being a B-film, there's no sanitized overdubbed version. Since there's a lot of profanity, you get these ridiculous gaps in the conversations that make you think you're on a cell phone. SciFi will gladly show you knives penetrating flesh, spurting blood, rolling heads, and entrails, but you sure don't want to be exposed to the F-word.

Also, like most teen movies, there are a lot of naked boobs. The "Blur Squad" probably had to work weekends to get this one ready for TV.

But at least the color balance is consistent and the editing isn't making you scratch your head. (In "Intermedio", for example, the director wanted to show characters going back the way they came in a crawlspace under a house. To do this, the film was simply reversed from the previous scene, resulting in all the writing on the characters' t-shirts being reversed as well. Lesson from film school...don't put any writing in scenes you're going to flip into a mirror image.)

Worth watching on a Sunday morning.

dull and silly

[cyberdlf · 1/10 · 17 August 2006]

I thought this film took too long to get to the "excitement," such as it was. And when the demons started possessing the girls it because silly... some of this facial expressions made me laugh rather then be scared. And those priests... talk about over-acting to the point of looking silly!!! I can't believe that I rushed home to watch this. The few special effects that they had were good at times, and at others... well, not so good. I think it could have been very interesting if more thought had been given to making this a real movie about a real demon slayer. Why they gave it this name I do not know because the demon slaying priest did not last very long, and if the lead girl was supposed to be the "slayer" she didn't do that great either considering her glowing red eyes at the end. I saw this movie on Sci Fi Channel and considering their track record for bad movies I guess I should have known better.

Hannah Lee...a future star?

[jet1985 · 24 August 2004]

The premise is simple enough. A group of wayward teens are sentenced to clean up an abandoned insane asylum and along the way encounter evil spirits, gruesome murders and demonic possession. All the makings for a popcorn horror film.

A bit corny but the one true highlight of this otherwise forgettable film is Hannah Lee who plays "Claudia." She commands the screen and gets the most mileage out of her character. Hopefully, this will be a good springboard for better opportunities because it would be a shame to see her waste her talents in these types of roles. I hope to see more of her work in the near future.

Pace.......slow.......zzzzz (spoilers)

[jerronspencer · 2/10 · 28 September 2004]

'The whores are evil, and only a disjointed story can save the day.'

****SPOILER****

Five delinquents are given the chance to do community service by fixing up an old mental hospital. Of course, the patients killed the staff and themselves, and the whole thing was built on the site of a demon worshiping bordello.

Well shot with good camera work, but the story and dialog were weak and the sound was frustrating. The fact that the 'demon slayer' character was introduced an hour into the film is the best example of the too-slow pacing.

There were some neat bits of editing when the lead had visions of the past, but nothing strong enough to outshine the clumsy script.

avoid like the plague

[yamcha198 · 1/10 · 15 February 2006]

this is a pitiful movie. most B-movies, at least on script have some good things about them, but this isn't a B-movie, its worse, its a Z-movie... the story is full of holes, the acting is bad. Also, the budget(or lack there of) shows, there are several scenes in which one would think that they would just write out for budget reasons. The scenes involving guns are laughable, it seems they used a cap gun. Several of my friends have made movies with a handi-cam and no budget, which have featured better Special effects The writing is horrible, and the characters(as they are introduced as) are all worn out stereotypes. Do your self a favor and not rent this pile.

Straight to video nasty

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 9 November 2018]

DEMON SLAYER is an ultra-cheap, straight-to-video piece of supernatural horror with a blaxploitation feel. The setting is a creepy old abandoned mental hospital, where a bunch of obnoxious teenagers are assigned with cleaning up the place. Before long they're being assailed by the unknown and turning into nasties in scenes which rip-off THE EVIL DEAD. This is cheap, cheap, and even cheaper, and quite laughable at times. The script is written by somebody with a tin ear for dialogue and as for the performances, well, it's obvious that the actors aren't really fussed by the experience. Who can blame them?

seriously, best Corman film i've seen in years!!!

[mrkurtrussell · 9/10 · 16 January 2003]

ok, we all remember "piranha," and the sequel. and we remember the triumphantly average "battle beyond the stars." and we've all at one point or another, tuned in to some really bad Roger Corman movie late at night... and maybe we don't even know who Roger Corman is, but we've all seen at some point in time, one of his many horrible 'B' movies. and of course, we all understand that these movies are somewhat meant to be stupid. no story, no character development, and atrocious acting... and i reluctantly saw "Demon Slayer," expecting all of the above to once again stand true. but HARK, i was surprised beyond belief to see that this movie was in fact pretty damn good. (albeit a corman film...) i'm not comparing this to anything but other corman films, in which case it deserves a 10!! no joke. it still has it's moments of 'B' movie plot-points. but overall, i think this newcomer, "James Cotten," (who apparently wrote and directed it) is going to be big someday. in my opinion, if this movie gets distributed correctly, and advertised correctly, it could become an underground cult-classic. (a-la, evil dead, evil dead II, and army of darkness...)

good job guys! oh, and the sound design was truly stand-outish. very slick work.

Watch if for the sake of B-movies!

[insomniac_rod · 6/10 · 8 August 2005]

Direct to video Horror B-movie that works for what it is. Let's see, "Demon Slayer" has great nudity, sex, gore, and an interesting story. The movie has no big budget but it's good to see that it's producers spent a lot of effort in creating a "solid" b-movie.

Hannah Lee is one foxy lady and one of the reasons for you , b-consumer, to get this movie.

There's some voluntary (and involuntary) humor mostly provided by the two male leads. The white "punk" guy is funny when it's needed and the though "brotha" delivers some funny lines. The references to Morpheus and Shaft are somewhat funny. The rest of the cast is very good. The priest with the patch in the eye delivers some weirdness with the plot with lines as "in the name of God, Frida Kahlo, etc.". And stating he's the "demon slayer!". The non sense in the movie makes it enjoyable and entertaining. There's some good gore and a crepy atmosphere in the movie.

Please, watch it if you're a die hard lover of B-Horror flicks. It's an okay way to kill 90 minutes.

Brilliant, great stuff... for what it is.

[mrmikemaxfield · 10/10 · 16 January 2003]

For what it is, (a 'B' movie, distributed by the infamous Roger Corman) "Demon Slayer," was actually really good.

seriously, if you can get passed the template of cheesiness, and "read between the lines," so to speak, you can find a story, with actual levels of character development. in other words, it seemed like the director did the best he could with what he was given. and the acting was surprisingly great. especially the lead male roles. nice stuff!

and i have to say, especially when compared to other Corman movies, the sound design was deeply immersing, and correct me if i'm wrong, but i think it was actually in 5.1... very good stuff, it made it feel bigger than it is!!!!

Funny Horror

[unionjack222 · 10/10 · 14 January 2003]

I saw this movie at a screening in Hollywood, and I have to say, it was far more entertaining than expected. From the start, the movie let's you know that it's not trying to be anything more than it can, even before it sinks into the wild antics of an over the top, eye patch wearing, Mexican priest.

If you are looking for true horror than this might not be it, but if you're willing to suspend your love of the over priced Hollywood feature, and just want to have fun in the campy way- I'd recommend it.

I found the movie to be very entertaining.

[cottentale · 10/10 · 30 December 2002]

For a movie of this type, filmed with the budget allowed, I found this movie to be very entertaining with a good story line and very good acting. It kept your interest throughout with enough comedy to keep your interest and enough intrigue to keep you wondering what would happen next. Congratulations to the cast and crew.

Pretty decent and surprisingly watchable

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 14 November 2021]

Trying a new method of reform on teens, a group of troubled youths is sent off to clean an old asylum for community service where they find a book that shows the asylum was built on a brothel whose members worshiped an evil Aztec God and must get out before succumbing to the threat.

This was a pretty good surprise. The film's greatest strength is its rather enjoyable cheesy atmosphere that's enough to give this a high watch-ability. It's mostly centered around the slow-burn build-up that focuses on the group's arrival at the asylum and the various hints that something isn't right with the pace that leads to the revelation of the book and what it leads to. Knowing the background on the group that previously inhabited the asylum and their set up there, including the Satanic origins found strewn over the asylum found during their clean-up, the investigation into the mysterious whorehouse that was originally built and flashing shots of their history all create an eerie and chilling backstory that sets everything in motion. Once this setup is in place, the film starts in on a series of impressive series of supernatural action that keeps the film watchable. The various visions are pretty creepy involving flashes of the cult sacrificing their victims by chopping them to pieces or seeing animals which aren't that, and the best is the snake gag in the bathroom which has a small twist to it rather than being a traditional gag that makes the scene work. It has a couple of nice shock moments here and there featuring the ghostly spirits suddenly appearing out of nowhere as well, and the high-energy finale involving demon possession, an onslaught of otherworldly figures, and the few gore scenes, which isn't over-the-top but is more effective for that, carries enough to like that really holds this one up as the film really isn't all that bad. There really wasn't a whole lot of things wrong with it. The most obvious one is the very slow beginning that at times is really a struggle to get through the first half. There's a lot of bickering amongst the group that really doesn't do much other than drag out the film with useless scenes that are merely reinforcements of what was known earlier and really gets old fast as there's yet another scene of the group arguing with each other. That also puts all the action at the back end of the film, meaning that it really gets going towards the end and is a little slow as it starts itself off. It's a little clichéd as well, as there are several other films with pretty much the same general plot. It hardly finishes itself in a predictable manner but then it doesn't really show much change while doing so either. These are the two main problems with the film.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity, several Sex Scenes, Graphic Violence, and drug use.

Entertaining

[prettygal55 · 10/10 · 13 February 2003]

I thought the film was entertaining. I also saw it at a screening at the Los Angeles Film School.Much better than Corman's other stuff. The acting was okay, but Layon Gray and Adam Huss really carried the film. Overall well done-- will there be a demonslayer 2 ???? yeah right.

Teens in trouble from troublesome demons

[Dr. Gore · 27 September 2004]

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

A bunch of teens head to an abandoned hospital to work off their community service. They're going to scrub the place clean for the community. Bad luck strikes the troubled teens as demons happen to be infesting this particular hospital. Somebody call the slayer.

"Demon Slayer" is fairly lame. Once again, the video box cover sings me sweet love songs only to have the movie break my heart. Maybe my standards are too high. What the heck am I saying? My standards are on the floor! No, no. This slayer is lame.

There is some nudity so I can't totally condemn this one. There is a little bit of demon action at the end but not nearly enough. "Demon Slayer" relies on the actors to bring the drama. Bad call. They weren't bad actors but Lord they weren't good. There should have been more demons and less drama. That would have made my night.