Demonwarp (1988)

Demonwarp is set in the ominously named Demonwoods where Bill Crafton (George Kennedy) has rented a cabin, while enjoying a game of trivial pursuit with his daughter Julie (Jill Marin) a huge Bigfoot type creature breaks in knocking Bill unconscious & killing Julie. A few weeks later & Jack Bergman (David Micael O'Neill) along with four of his friends arrive at the cabin, the cabin belongs to Jack's uncle Clem (Joe Praml) & he has gone missing & Jack intends to find him, warning his friends about the infamous Demonwoods which has a long history of people reporting sightings of monsters, murders & even UFO's they all agree to help find Clem. However the first night they are there the cabin is attacked by the Bigfoot creature which leaves two dead & takes a toaster. Jack is determined to get to the bottom of the terrifying events & eventually discovers an alien spaceship nearby in which the owner has been using zombified humans to repair his craft as well as eating naked young girls...Directed by Emmett Alston this crazy mix of horror & sci-fi is actually quite entertaining in a bad sort of way although I don't think I would go as far as to describe it as good it is fun, an oddball mix of gore, horror, sci-fi, monster film with a fair amount of nudity too at lest Demonwarp is rarely dull. Having said that Demonwarp is also rarely amazing, at about an hour & a half in length it moves along at a fair pace even though there's a slightly dull middle third which spends far too much showing people wander around Demonwood Forest. The character's are very thin, Jack gets a little back-story but otherwise the other character's are pretty empty cardboard cutouts. Where Demonwarp shines is it's various clichés & plot ideas that come together at the end in an ending that feels like it belongs to a different film than the hour or so that preceded it. There's Bigfoot creatures, zombies, aliens, human sacrifice, sex, nudity, gore, big George Kennedy & not one but three 'it was all a dream' twist endings which is maybe some sort of record. The script builds-up & with various strange aspects being thrown into the story there's just about enough here to make you want to know the answers to the questions posed & keep you watching.There's an interesting interview the writer of Demonwarp on the internet in which he says several things were changed like Crafton was apparently to had set up spike pit traps but they couldn't afford to dig the pits & used bear traps while the two girls were meant to go nude swimming but they couldn't afford the plastic to line the pond & that too was changed while the hiker was added after they discovered the film under-ran (75 minutes instead of 90) & needed to pad the time out a bit. The obvious low budget doesn't help matters but the main Bigfoot monster suit isn't too bad & is used sparingly with quick cuts, the alien at the end isn't that great while the gore is alright with a cut out heart, a ripped-off head, someone has a stick stuck in his stomach & there are some surprisingly good looking zombie make-up effects as well.With a supposed budget of about $225,000 this is still competently made & looks alright considering the impoverished production, filmed at the Brosnon Canyon & Topanga Canyon both in Los Angeles. The acting isn't great, it's not terrible but it's not great. George Kennedy looks a little disinterested although his daughter Shannon Kennedy turns up as one of the sunbathing babes & gets her head ripped-off.Demonwarp is a mad late 80's gore horror monster sci-fi film that is quite fun & entertaining if you just go with it, Demonwarp isn't a masterpiece but it's perfectly watchable & the final oddball twenty minutes is worth watching.

While not as bad as THE CREEPING TERROR (how could anything be?), this confused mess definitely ranks (literally) right down there with some of the worst. As someone else wrote, even a couple of topless bimbos can't begin to save this dreadful piece of crap. It wouldn't have taken much for a competent director/screenwriter to turn this into a truly hilarious comedy. As it was it had me giggling in frank disbelief at the absurdities on screen. A 'Bigfoot' monster that's taken high school auto shop classes? Must have, given how it cleverly disabled that engine. But wait! It's not a monster movie, it's a zombie movie, as shown by the Romero retreads seen shuffling about. Although that's not right either as you've got aliens. But are they aliens? Where does the 'demon' part from the title come in? Actually, this film doesn't know WHAT the heck it wants to be. I can only conjecture that George Kennedy, an otherwise fine actor, is staying up nights wishing he could find ways to destroy every copy of this abomination.

I saw "Demonwarp" when I was real young, and for years searched to find out it's name (for I had been to young to recall it when I first saw it) and find a way as to how I could possibly see it again. All I remembered was that George Kennedy was in it, and I could vaguely recall some of the scenes. 15 years later, my search came to a conclusion, as I not only learned it's name by "investigating" the films of George Kennedy, but I was also able to purchase a former rental copy of it off of eBay. I just recently sat down and watched it again, and I now give you my comments on this old friend that I've become acquainted with once more. As a rule for viewing B-movies, especially in the horror genre, you can't set your expectations too high. You know beforehand that the B-movie is not going to be along the lines of "The Godfather" or "Citizen Kane", or any of the other movies regarded as some of the greats. So there's no reason to seriously bash a B-movie; simply, take it for what it's worth. Yes, with the exception of George Kennedy, and perhaps one or two bright moments from the other actors, the acting ability portrayed in "Demonwarp" is pretty poor. You'll notice it especially when two or more characters are arguing in the film (it actually happens quite often). Although technically their words are focused on the same subject, their portrayed emotions are so different (sometimes really hokey and lame) that you would think they're arguing about two separate things. I guess just not enough acting school, or poor talent to boot. The director is not the greatest either, but then again, we shouldn't expect him to be. There are far too many drawn out "chase" scenes of people running through the woods, being chased by a horrible monster. Especially the scenes regarding the lone hiker/photographer. This guy never utters a single word (other than screams), and yet we are forced to go through numerous snippets of him running through the woods, over and over, before we find out what's going to happen to him. So yes, those are the bad parts of the movie. But as most people who view "Demonwarp" note, there is a really unique and unexpected ending to the film. I don't want to say anything in more detail, for fear of spoilers or ruining a potential surprise, but the last 30 minutes or so of this film "Demonwarp" EXCEED expectations. The majority of B-horror movies would not take the surprise twists and turns that do occur towards the end of "Demonwarp". I'm a regular surveyor of movies; just the same as anyone else. I particularly enjoy horror films, and have seen a good deal of them, but I truly was surprised by the sudden "creativity" (for lack of a better word) used to bring this film to a conclusion. My advice to those who view this film: Take it for what it's worth. You know beforehand that it's not going to be anything spectacular, so don't expect it to be. But feel free to enjoy it's good parts, including the unique final portion of "Demonwarp".

I rented this movie at Rogers video, and may I say that it was quite alright even if it was made on a low budget, but it would definetely stood a chance at playing in theatres. A neat horror-science fiction gorefest. There's good supporting roles by Billy Jacoby(whom I remembered being a regular for a while in that bland sitcom "Silver Spoons") and by cult B-movie scream queen Michelle Bauer and boy did she ever scream when she first spotted that alien monster and was topless too running away from it. They both had quite good parts. It's a rare video to find, but if you come across from it, rent it! Worth checking out!