Review: Attack of the Demons

Overview:

Small town, Barrington, Colorado is the place to be for Halloween. The annual holiday festival includes a carnival, films, and major music events.

As people flock to the mountainous village, local Kevin runs into a couple of former schoolmates. Natalie, who is accompanying her music journalist boyfriend for the shows. And, Jeff, a video game nerd visiting his recluse uncle.

Unfortunately, the festivities are quickly interrupted when the town becomes overrun with demons. Kevin and his friends desperately search for safety, but they may be the last hope of stopping the demonic apocalypse before it spreads.

 

Our Take:

Director/animator Eric Power delivers his second animated feature utilizing cut-paper stop-motion. The film has garnered some success at film festivals and is available to watch on virtual cinemas in time for Halloween. Attack of the Demons will be available for digital purchase on November 3rd.

The cut-paper animation style has been made popular through long-running sitcom South Park. However, it has not been utilized much beyond the controversial television show.  Attack of the Demons reimagines the simple cartoon style for a horror genre. And effectively defines itself with an impressive amount of detail and movement.

The story is a homage to classic monster movies. The basis of the movie could have been almost any 1980s horror flick with a small town being overrun with paranormal entities. And the feel, design, and 90s timeline help to match the theme.

Disappointingly, the screenplay could have used a couple more passes. There are some discrepancies and flat dialogue that would have been better with some rewrites during early production.

For one, the ages of the characters are questionable. Jeff was sent to visit his uncle by his parents prompting, and Kevin lives with his grandmother. But the young characters struggle to remember high school. It is hard to understand how they are dependent upon a guardian, but their schooling was an exceedingly long time ago.

It was also heavily implied that there would be a romantic connection between Jeff and Kevin through their first interaction. The meet-cute involved dreamy imagery, slow music, and an awkward prompt for a date later in the evening. But none of it plays out further. At least one of these characters is portrayed as straight in a later scene. And the conclusion mismatches any romantic storylines whatsoever.

Perhaps this romantic plot was started, and the producers got cold feet when it came to including a homosexual relationship. But it does make the two male characters first interaction very confusing.

The dialogue struggles the most out of everything in the film. There is a couple of minutes dedicated to a philosophical debate over which is better, music or movies. Which is absolutely bonkers as the two are not really comparable, and most of us can enjoy both, often simultaneously. And it is hard not to shake your head at the cliché toxic relationship between Natalie and boyfriend Chet. The two would have worked better as siblings who hated each other. Even as it was, Natalie calling her ex a “dick” after burning him alive was a little too far.

To be fair, this is a horror movie. The genre is not renowned for its impressive script writing and character dialogue. Campiness is a completely acceptable trait for a monster flick.

The animation delivered on the stars of the show, the demons. The amount of work and dedication that went into the intricacies of each individual beast is astounding. The mix of creepers is versatile including giants, animals, traditional demons, and concoctions directly out of John Carpenter’s The Thing. It is impressive without even touching on the landscapes, details, and multiple characters that were put on screen.

There has been a recent surge in animated adult horrors. This is a fun addition to the collection with its homage to campy classic gorefests. The details in the writing could have been better to match the effort put into the animation. Though, overall, it is an enjoyable ride to get invested into and watch a bunch of heads be blown off.  

Seriously, so many decapitations it may be a record.