Besides an ill-advised ending with a desperate attempt at shock value which just looks tacked on, and infected humans pursuing college kids who are as scary as a Barbie doll, "The Demented" does what it can with a overtly familiar premise: terrorist attack using bio weaponry turns a rural town and surrounding area into flesh hungry, claws-out fiends. They run feverishly when not locked in this mannequin stance ripping at their hair on cue. It starts with pretty couples, friends from the university, gathered at one of their own's cabin in the woods by the lake. Then what once were neighbors become stark raving mad rushing ghouls. Crazed editing and virtually no gore or zombie violence hamper this even more. Looked like a regional production in Louisiana. Sarah Butler of I Spit on Your Grave 1 & 3 is one of the victims, of the remaining three who can't jump a fence in time, with the mob of crazies catching up to her... attractive and not a bad actress, this film does her a disservice. Good to see an African- American character make it to the end. If you don't want the kids to survive just have the chopper out of reach! You still achieve the grim result without getting cute. Town sequence, like the chase in the alleys, up stairs, and from elevator to upper and lower floors provide some excitement. There's a decent scene where heroism as a pursuit of keys by climbing from the room, out a window, on a roof, to the ground, back in the house, in the kitchen, to retrieve keys, leads to a decision on whether to leave or return for your friends. Lots of bodies flung from vehicles. Carefully concealed violence speaks on the limited budget available. Early scenes feature the girls and guys discussing their relationships and futures, all of which face annihilation. Kayla Newel of The Vampire Diaries is really the lead actress of the cast, with Butler the second behind her. Michael Welch (I watched him in Hansel & Gretel Get Baked recently) is Butler's suspect boyfriend who is uncovered to have slept with her friend, with a sense of humor to match. He gets it early, the jerk. Richard Kohnke is Newel's insufferably nice boyfriend she feels smothered by. Ashlee Brian is the more heroic and athletic of the bunch with Britney Alger, his girlfriend tied to a one night stand with Welch, sealing her fate to leave the film early
Review of The Demented
