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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,019,555, 16 January 1995

Gross USA:

$21,089,146

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,089,146

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

The name of the town Brayker ends up in is named Wormwood. Star Wormwood is considered one of the signs of the Biblical Apocalypse.

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Goofs

When the group is trying to escape through the mine shaft, Jeryline goes off on her own when she hears something. At first, she has her blue denim shirt on. The scene switches to her point of view, and when it shows her again the blue shirt is off and she is just wearing her white undershirt. We see her point of view again, and when it switches back to showing her once more, it shows her taking the blue shirt off.

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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

References Aliens (1986)

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Soundtracks

Tonight We Murder
Written by Al Jourgensen (as Alain Jourgensen) / Paul Barker / Frank Nariello
Performed by Ministry
Produced by Hypo Luxa & Hermes Pan
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Ministry appears courtesy of Sire Records

User Reviews

A fun pastiche of EC Comics pulp

I was a big fan of the Tales from the Crypt TV show. Thus, I am a fan of this movie. It feels a lot like one of the Creepshow movies but has enough gore, humor and OTT carnage but it just doesn't have enough scope to brake away from the TV show and stand alone as a big screen movie.

Brayker (William Sadler) is a drifter who stumbles upon a lonely desert town after an explosive confrontation with The Collector (Billy Zane), a supremely evil being with Satanical powers who is desperate to get his hands on Brayker's mysterious talisman. Brayker spends the night in a shabby motel but The Collector soon turns up and unleashes hell upon the motel and it's inhabitants.

This is where the fun really kicks in. The Collector has fun enticing the residents (made up of Dick Miller, Charles Fleisher, Thomas Haden Church, Brenda Bakke, Jada Pinkett-Smith and CCH Pounder) to join him on his dark quest and steal the talisman from Brayker.

Director Ernest Dickerson (who also did Surviving the Game) does not hold back on the gore as he spoofs 1950's B-movies, honor's the TV show and pays brilliant homage to the Tales From The Crypt comic book legacy. It may be nothing more than a cheap, horror comedy with no artistic integrity but Dickerson still successfully pulls of a movie that will satisfy and entertain anyone who watches it.

Half of the movie's appeal lies with Billy Zane who acts out the role of The Collector with such wicked charm and delightful evil. You can tell he's having a great time and he makes a counterpoint villain for Sadler's dishevelled hero.

They could have made more Tales From The Crypt movies, but producers Robert Zemeckis, Gilbert Adler and Joel Silver (Walter Hill and David Giler ducked out) went on to found Dark Castle, the production company behind House on Haunted Hill, Thir13en Ghosts and Ghost Ship.