Demons & Horror: Rivals of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

Demons are malevolent supernatural beings prevalent in religion, occultism, folklore, and mythology. They scare, trick, possess, and kill humans. They are a major archetype of horror movies. In this book, film critic Steve Hutchison reviews and ranks 50 of the best horror movies featuring demons ever released. How many have you seen?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: May 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393248675

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Rivals of Terror 2019

Demons & Horror

INTRODUCTION

Demons are malevolent supernatural beings prevalent in religion, occultism, folklore, and mythology. They scare, trick, possess, and kill humans. They are a major archetype of horror movies. In this book, film critic Steve Hutchison reviews and ranks 50 of the best horror movies featuring demons ever released. How many have you seen?

Ghostbusters

1984

Three unemployed supernatural investigators start a ghost hunting business.

Here’s a perfect mix of comedy, horror and fantasy that will get straight to your heart and guts. In a way, it is also a light superhero story. Because it is perfectly suitable for a child as much as the general audience, Ghostbusters is eerie, makes you jump, shiver, but features virtually no gore. There are monsters, though, and plenty of them. The effects are amazing and one of a kind.

The score and soundtrack play a big role in delivering a fun supernatural aura that penetrates the screen. While some of the creature effects are a little cheap, most of the ghost effects blend well with the picture. This one isn’t all about visuals. The characters and the story are compelling and the dialog is catchy.

The actors are perfect in their roles and their performances are close to flawless. Ghostbuster isn’t shy on effects, making use of animatronics, rubber suits and an abundance of color keying. Get ready to be entertained all the way through; sucked in a surreal New York that gets increasingly sinister as subplots converge.

8/8

Evil Dead II

1987

A man fights demons inhabiting a remote cottage from which he cannot escape.

Evil Dead 2 both follows and remakes 1981’s The Evil Dead, which was inspired by a no-budget short. The Evil Dead was straight horror and this one invests in slapstick humor. The storyline is an expansion of the previous one, but the twists and turns are fresh. The costumes and make-up are refined and more camera-friendly. The practical effects have been enhanced, too.

Ash, the survivor guy and late bloomer from the original film is still played by Bruce Campbell. He is, more than ever, at the center of the story and into his character. Ash’s story arc is more intricate, yet hilarious. He is now both inexhaustible and pissed. This is his descent into madness. The script doesn’t take intellectual detours and delivers well-paced terror, gore and fun.

Evil Dead 2 is the product of its initial creator, Sam Raimi, so character design, imaginative cinematography, dialog and pacing meet the highest standards. Evil Dead 2 is the quintessential supernatural horror movie and reinforces the cabin in the woods cliche that it popularized and arguably founded. It has everything the fan can possibly wish for, and then some!

8/8

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

1987

Teenagers held in a mental institution become the victims of a mad man who invades nightmares and kills through them.

Fully established now, the