Check out our reviews of Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood - recent Scream Factory Blu-ray's below:
Demon Knight
Not being familiar with the Tales From The Crypt TV series I was not sure what to expect from the spin-off films but was pleasantly surprised by Demon Knight. It is a fun action horror film with some comedic elements featuring some great special effects. The cast is filled with a bunch of great actors that bring a lot to the table resulting in a well acted film that takes an average but solid story to another level. Demon Knight is essentially a siege film and with these types of films the characters are the most important part because nobody wants to watch a bunch of characters they don't like in basically one set area.
Demon Knight is a siege film in which a demon is after a special key held by a mysterious man. When the mysterious man visits a small motel on the outskirts of a dusty town, the inhabitants inside get forced in to action as they now have to fight for their lives as demons close in and only the mysterious man knows how to defeat them.
One of the main things that makes this film work is the great ensemble cast. Every actor is at the top of their game, particularly Billy Zane as the evil demon. For films like this where most of the film takes place in one location, it is important to have characters that are both interesting and diverse otherwise the characters begin to blend in and it is difficult to differentiate the characters throughout the film. This is where Demon Knight gets it right. There is a big diverse cast with each character having a different and distinct personality.
Demon Knight will not appeal to everyone because of its less common mix of horror, action, and comedy. It does each of those genres decently but never great in any. As a result the film is fun but not great. As well if you are not a fan of the genre mixture then you will get less enjoyment out of it, particularly if you are looking for a strictly horror film since the film don't have much horror or suspense. Fortunately, the lack of horror and suspense is made up in the great effects and death sequences. A lot of exploding bodies and gooey monsters.
Overall Demon Knight is a cool action horror film that features some good performances, great special effects, and a fun story. Deserving of more praise and definitely one of the better horror films of the 90's. This film is a perfect example of a fun horror film that you throw in and have a good time with.
Special Features:
-Audio Commentary with director Ernest Dickerson: An interesting commentary with some good information and tidbits on how he got involved with the film, the making of the film, and the reaction to the film. Pretty good overall but there are some moment of silence and some instances where the interviewer had trouble getting the director engaged in discussion.
-Audio Commentary with special effects creator Todd Masters, visual effects supervisor John Va Vliet, special effects coordinator Thomas Bellissimo, and demon performer Walter Phelan: A commentary track that is obviously focused more on the effects side of the movie but still contains a lot of interesting stories on the shoot of the film. A solid commentary track that gives a lot of cool info on the what type of effects were used in the film and how they were created.
-Under Siege: The Making of Demon Knight - featuring interview with director Ernest Dickerson, co-producer A. L. Katz, screenwriters Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, and Mark Bishop, stars Billy Zane, William Sadler, Brenda Bakke, Charles Fleischer, and more (40 mins): A great making-of feature that features a good majority of the cast and creators. Full in depth making of for the film. The biggest take away from the film is that just about everyone in the movie had a sincerely amazing time making this movie. Overall a very worthwhile making-of that is filled with a bunch of great details about the making of the film.
-Panel Discussion from the American Cinematheque featuring director Ernest Dickerson, actor Dick Miller, and Special Effects maestro Rick Baker (8 mins): Not a whole lot going on here as much of the discussion focuses on Gremlins and Gremlins 2. Just some quick mentions of Demon Knight and how the director was a big fan of Dick Miller and was surprised and excited that he said yes to doing Demon Knight.
-Still Gallery
-Theatrical Trailer
Bordello of Blood
Bordello of Blood has some decent aspects but a very troubled production tacked on with a weak story has resulted in a rather forgettable film, especially when compared to the other Tales from the Crypt film Demon Knight. Watching the film for the first time their was something off about the male lead in the film. Almost every line was delivered in the same fashion so that even funny lines fell a little flat because of the delivery. After watching the making-of documentary it becomes more clear as to why there was acting problems in the film.
They story of the film is surrounded by a bordello that is filled with vampires that kill anyone who enters. A women's brother has gone missing and she hires a private detective to try to find him. The investigator learns where her brother has gone. As the two continue to investigate, the truth about the bordello comes out and now they have to fight for their lives.
Comparing the two films might not even be fair. Demon Knight is about twice as good in every possible aspect. This is likely because with Demon Knight everyone was onboard with the project and only minor behind the scenes problems existed. While with Bordello of Blood the leading actor didn't want to be there, some of the producers were not very thrilled with the movie being made, and just a lot of tension between actors. Essentially everything that could go wrong with the making of the film did. So as you can see one film had passion behind it and the other had a poor attitude, which makes it no surprise that one if superior to the other.
While Bordello is definitely the lesser of the two Tales From the Crypt films, it has a couple of positive aspects as well. Particularly, the supporting cast in the film puts in some solid performances that are unfortunately over shadowed by the weaker acting of the main characters. Also, while the story is not all that great in the film there are some genuinely funny moments worth checking out. In the end the positive aspects of the film are unfortunately obscured by the troubled production.
Overall Bordello of Blood is a decent movie that suffers from a bunch of behind the scenes production problems. The story itself is fun and has some good comedic elements that unfortunately fall flat a lot of the time. Knowing the problems behind the scenes helps give a better appreciation of the film and the elements that do work. In the end the film is a passable horror comedy that does feature some good performances by the secondary cast. If you can get past some of the questionable acting from the main actor then their is a chance that you will enjoy this film.
Special Features:
-Audio Commentary with co-write & producer A. L. Katz: Avery good commentary than goes in depth on the production troubles of the film. Katz is not a big fan of the film because all he sees are the background problems with the film and the overall unenjoyable experience of making the film, however he respects fans who enjoy the film. Also a general discussion of the Tales from the Crypt series takes place at points throughout the commentary.
-Tainted Blood: The Making of Bordello of Blood - Interview with factory Corey Feldman, Angie Everhart, Erika Eleniak, co-writer & produce A. L. Katz, editor & second unit director Stephen Lovejoy, and special effects creator Todd Masters (35 mins): A solid making-of that goes in depth with all of the behind the scenes troubles that plagued the production. Interesting to see all the different sides to production problems with everyone involved having one common enemy, Dennis Miller.
-Video Promo
-Still Gallery
-Theatrical Trailer
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