26th Nov2020

‘Attack of the Demons’ Review

by Alain Elliott

Features the voices of: Andreas Petersen, Thomas Petersen, Katie Maguire, Eric Power | Written by Andreas Petersen | Directed by Eric Power

Horror and animation don’t exactly go hand in hand. I’m not exactly sure why, maybe it is because when people think of animated movies their minds always think of children’s or family movies. Even when you ink of animated horror, my mind goes to A Nightmare Before Christmas, Paranorman, Monster House or Coraline. All very entertaining movies but still aimed at children. But in recent years there have been a few more ‘adult’ horror animations with Resident Evil: Degeneration and Seoul Station, while anime has always, on a smaller scale, been pushing horror with films like Vampire Hunter D and Blood: The Last Vampire. Attack of the Demons though is very different from any of these.

This is a good thing though. It might not look as ‘polished’ as many of the above films, this is a low budget movie and even using animation doesn’t cover that up. Personally, I love the style that the filmmakers have used. And because it’s animated, the director has been able to do things he wouldn’t be able to otherwise, even with the cheapest looking CGI. Be that a bloody rabbit and chicken scene, the fantastic bright colours of the whole movie or a giant demon – in fact all of the demons look awesome. Body parts being blown apart, blood everywhere, nothing is held back at all and perhaps because of the cartoon nature of it all (and because of the comedy) nothing feels quite as brutal as it probably should.

Attack of the Demons is full of likeable characters and while the voice acting isn’t perfect, the actors do the job well enough for the viewer to get behind the three main characters. The trio are a refreshing change from the usual lead movie characters and the relationship between all three of them is really enjoyable. There is one other character who meets a brilliantly funny untimely death. They are so likeable that I’d happily watch them in future sequels or even a series where each time they face new demons in new places. I think there’s so much that could be done with them.

This film is clearly made by fans of the horror genre and it’s good to see. Despite the humour and plenty of cheesiness – both of these are definitely intended and work well – but there’s no changing the fact that this is a horror movie. And like every great genre movie, Attack of the Demons has a fantastic musical score. It’s varied, ranging from building tension to catchy tunes to entertaining horror-tinged music – it really is a stand-out part of the movie.

Being animated alone makes this stand-out from many other horror movies but the story is so over-the-top, original and fun too that it’s impossible not to enjoy. Director Eric Power has spoken about continuing with animation and I hope he continues with blood and gore and monsters.

**** 4/5

Attack of the Demons is available now on DVD and On Demand from Dark Star Pictures.

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