Black Demons (1991)

Three college students, another couple, and their housekeeper are besieged at a remote Brazilian plantation by a group of zombies raised from the grave by a voodoo curse.

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Umberto Lenzi (story), Olga Pehar (screenplay)

Stars:

Keith Van Hoven, Joe Balogh, Sonia Curtis

Cast

Cast overview:
Keith Van Hoven	...	Kevin
Joe Balogh	...	Dick
Sonia Curtis	...	Jessica
Philip Murray	...	Jose
Juliana Teixeira	...	Sonia
Maria Alves	...	Maria
Cléa Simões	...	Wetnurse
Justo Silva	...	Witchdoctor
Rita Monteiro	...	Mucuma Dancer
Felix Lorival	...	Zombie
Paul R. Goodman	...	Zombie
Tony Martins	...	Zombie
Gleis J. Pereira	...	Zombie
Sérgio Costa Andrade	...	Zombie (as Sergio Costa)
Louis Karlson	...	Zombie

Storyline

Three American college students, Dick, his sister Jessica, and her British boyfriend Kevin, are traveling through Brazil on vacation when Dick, after attending a bizarre voodoo ceremony, develops strange powers. When their jeep breaks down near a small plantation in the jungle outside Rio, the site of a former slave rebellion 150 years ago, Dick uses his powers to raise the dead of six executed Negro slaves whom target the college kids and the residents of the plantation to seek revenge for their deaths.

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Plot Keywords:

euro trash | trash movie | z movie | exploitation film | italian exploitation | 

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Taglines:

They will tear, rip, and bite anyone in their path of vengeance.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director Umberto Lenzi clashed with actor Keith Van Hoven frequently during the making of the film.

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Connections

References Batman (1989)

User Reviews

Demons to some. Zombies to others.

Black Demons tells the story, or at least tries to, of an ancient curse which brings back six slaves from the dead to kill those pesky white folks we are stuck with throughout the movie. Black Demons is also known as Demons 3 just to cash in on the earlier films' success. They don't have anything to do with each other though. Whatever you want to call it this is still a movie about zombies and not demons. Interestingly it remains Umberto Lenzi's only contribution to the proud tradition of Italian zombie films. Most people would argue that Nightmare City is a zombie film as well, but Lenzi has stated it's about infected people. I'm inclined to agree.

There really isn't anything particularly memorable about Black Demons. The zombies look pretty darn cool, chains and all. We are also treated to a couple of entertaining eye trauma scenes and a bloody stabbing to the throat. They are the highlights of the movie, which really is a shame since the story actually has a lot of potential. I mean black zombies coming back and killing white people just screams fun. It would have been great to see Lenzi option for a politically incorrect movie to shake the establishment. Perhaps the zombies could have utilized some of the oppressive tools used on them once upon a time? Unfortunately, he doesn't and we're left with a rather mediocre effort. That means a terrible film to non-horror aficionados. The most remarkable thing about Black Demons is that it's from 1991, when the look all the way only suggests the 80s. I know remnants from previous decades always linger, but this one takes the prize. You could do worse, but wouldn't you rather watch a better Italian zombie flick? Bruno Mattei's excellent Hell of the Living Dead or even Zombie 4: After Death are both better choices.

Shriek Show provides us with a Lenzi interview where he mostly dismisses the movie and criticizes the actors. Good stuff.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

5 January 1991 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Black Demons

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmakers S.r.l.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1