Demons 2 (1986)
★★½ — Demons 2 (1986)
Demons 2 arrived in 1986 as the direct follow-up to the Italian horror hit of the previous year, produced once again by Dario Argento and released through DACFILM Rome. Where the first film confined its carnage to a Berlin movie theatre, this sequel transplants the demon outbreak to a ten-storey apartment block, trapping a sprawling cast of residents and visitors as the infection spreads floor by floor. The setup is lean, the ambition modest, and the tagline, "The Nightmare Returns", does a fairly honest job of managing expectations. It was conceived and shot quickly, very much riding the commercial wave of its predecessor, and that context colours almost everything about the film that followed.
Lamberto Bava, who also directed the original (reviewed here: Demons), returns to the director's chair, though the dynamic between Bava and producer Argento is worth noting for anyone trying to untangle where one sensibility ends and the other begins. Bava came from solid Italian genre stock, his father being the legendary Mario Bava, and he had a reasonable handle on crowd-pleasing horror mechanics. The film sits comfortably within the broader tradition of Italian genre cinema of the period, a lineage that produced everything from the feverish energy of Nightmare City to the operatic weirdness of Cemetery Man. Italian horror at this time operated with a certain freewheeling disregard for internal logic, and Demons 2 is no exception to that tendency.
The cast is an interesting mix of familiar faces and future names. David Edwin Knight and Nancy Brilli anchor the film as a young couple among the building's residents, giving the audience a relatively grounded point of entry into the chaos. Bobby Rhodes, who appeared in the first film in a different role, is back in a similarly no-nonsense capacity, and his physical presence gives certain scenes a bit more weight than they might otherwise carry. Perhaps most notable in hindsight is a very young Asia Argento, daughter of the producer, appearing here in an early screen role before she became a significant figure in European cinema in her own right. Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni rounds out the principal cast in a performance that leans into the film's more heightened, cartoonish register.
Dario Argento’s Demons 2 doesn’t so much continue the story of the first film as it does replay it, same premise, same panic, different location. This time, the demonic outbreak spreads not in a Berlin cinema, but during a live TV broadcast from a high-rise apartment block in New York. The possessed tear through families, friends turn on each other, and the infection spreads via bite, scratch, or just bad luck. It’s chaotic, occasionally gory, and undeniably silly but it lacks the grim novelty that made the original a cult hit. Argento isn’t directing this one (it’s helmed by Lamberto Bava, with Argento producing), and the difference in tone is clear. The stylish dread and synth-heavy atmosphere of the first film are gone, replaced by a glossy, almost cartoonish aesthetic. The set-pieces are loud and messy rather than tense or terrifying, more zombie home invasion than supernatural horror. The demonic makeup is still impressive in places, but the pacing drags, the characters are forgettable, and the whole thing feels like a by-the-numbers sequel made to cash in on the franchise name. That said, there’s something oddly entertaining about its over-the-top chaos especially the finale, which descends into full-blown apocalyptic madness. It’s not scary, not deep, and certainly not art but if you’re in the mood for a dumb, gory 80s horror romp with rubbery monsters and people screaming on live TV, it delivers. Just don’t expect the same sleazy magic as the original. A passable, if pointless, follow-up. 2.5 stars for effort and a few grim laughs.
Honestly, that sums it up pretty well for me. There are moments where the sheer volume of the thing, the screaming, the rubbery prosthetics, the increasingly unhinged set design, becomes its own kind of entertainment, but it never quite earns the goodwill it's borrowing from the original. I've sat through plenty of 1980s horror that knew exactly what it was and wore that proudly, films like Re-Animator being a decent benchmark for how to pitch gleeful excess just right. Demons 2 gets close to that energy occasionally but keeps stumbling over its own pacing. Worth a watch if you're already a fan of the first one and have ninety minutes to spare, but maybe keep your expectations parked at the door alongside the rubbish bags. Some sequels add something. This one mostly just adds noise.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1986 | Watched: 2025-08-17
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Demons 2 (1986) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Arrow Video Amazon Channel · Shudder Amazon Channel · Bloodstream · ARROW
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Lamberto Bava: Demons (1985)
More from Italy: Nightmare City (1980) · Cemetery Man (1994) · One Way or Another (1975) · Chicken for Linda! (2023)
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
