Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

A man on the run is hunted by a demon known as the Collector.

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson (as Ernest Dickerson)

Writers:

Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris

Stars:

Billy Zane, William Sadler, John Kassir

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Kassir	...	Crypt Keeper (voice)
Billy Zane	...	The Collector
William Sadler	...	Brayker
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Jeryline (as Jada Pinkett)
Brenda Bakke	...	Cordelia
CCH Pounder	...	Irene
Dick Miller	...	Uncle Willy
Thomas Haden Church	...	Roach
John Schuck	...	Sheriff Tupper
Gary Farmer	...	Deputy Bob Martel
Charles Fleischer	...	Wally Enfield
Tim DeZarn	...	Homer (as Tim deZarn)
Sherrie Rose	...	Wanda
Ryan O'Donohue	...	Danny (as Ryan Sean O'Donohue)
Tony Salome	...	Sirach

Storyline

Brayker is a man who carries the last of seven keys, special containers which held the blood of Christ and were scattered across the universe to prevent the forces of evil from taking over. If The Collector gets the last key, the universe will fall into Chaos, and he has been tracking Brayker all the way to a small inn in a nowhere town. And now the final battle for the universe begins......

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Plot Keywords:

bus | gore | demon | church | pun | 

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Taglines:

Ready for your deadtime story?

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for gore, horror violence, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$21,088,568

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tales From The Crypt Holdings,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a scene in the novel that talks about flying demons attacking the main cast during the time they were going through the tunnels. This scene seems to have been dropped from the final shooting script, for there is no evidence of this scene in the movie. This scene is one of many scenes that can be found in the novel adaptation, based on an earlier draft of the script.

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Goofs

When Jeryline fills the key with Braykers blood you can see it is pumping out,something which would not happen after his heart had stopped.

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Quotes

The Collector: Do me a favor? Don't scream. Just hear what I've gotta say... and then scream.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, there is a short sequence of The Cryptkeeper asking the audience why they are still there and then inviting them to see the next Tales From the Crypt theatrical release Dead Easy (Which was the working title for the follow up Tales From the Crypt film, Bordello of Blood).

This sequence existed on the VHS and DVD releases of Demon Knight, but was removed on the Laserdisc and Blu-Ray versions of this film.

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Alternate Versions

In the Sci-Fi channel version, the scene where Uncle Willy is tricked by the Collector was altered so that the girls in the scene would be wearing bikini tops.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Informers/The Soloist/Tyson (2009)

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Soundtracks

DIADEMS
Written by Dave Mustaine
Performed by Megadeth
Produced by Max Norman & Dave Mustaine
Max Norman appears courtesy of On Yer Bike Ltd.
Megadeth appears courtesy of Capitol Records Inc.

User Reviews

Surprisingly good camp kitsch!

I can't claim to have seen much of the TV show 'Tales from the Crypt', but I saw Bordello of Blood on TV a few years back and found it to be an enjoyably silly piece of camp. I was expecting similar from this film, and that's pretty much what I got - although Demon Knight is clearly better than Bordello of Blood. The film never takes itself too seriously, and that ensures that it is put across to the audience in the right way. Plots similar to the one featured in this film have been the basis for serious horror films in the past, but the fact that this film has a bit of fun with it is definitely in it's favour. The mythology behind the plot is actually quite good, and follows the idea of a 'collector' who is on the trail of a key bearer. The key he seeks contains the blood of Christ, and there are seven scattered across the globe. This is the last one, and if the collector gets his hands on it could spell the end of the world...the final battle is about to take place, only it happens to be in a motel with a motley crew of different characters.

One of the most surprising things about this film is the cast list! The film features performances from two stars who have received praise recently; Jada Pinkett Smith and Thomas Haiden Church. CCH Pounder, who starred in the critically-acclaimed Baghdad Cafe, appears also, while Dick Miller ensures that there's an ounce of cult status among the cast. The lead roles are taken by William Sadler and Billy Zane. Sadler is good enough, but it's Zane who really makes this film what it is. He gets to enjoy himself entertaining the audience as the lead villain, and ensures that every scene he's in is a lot of fun. For an inexpensive film, the effects are also rather good. They do look cheap, but the demons look more realistic than most computer generated effects. The way that the film pans out reminded me a lot of the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino flick, From Dusk Till Dawn in that we've got 'the good guys' trapped with some monsters, and we watch as they get picked off one by one. Overall, this isn't a great film; but its lots of fun, and anyone that enjoys silly horror comedies will be right at home with it.