Night of the Demons (1988)

Dir: Kevin S. Tenney

Delightfully unpretentious 80s fun in which the local goth throws a Halloween party in a haunted house. It all goes to Hell, quite literally, as the pretty teenage guests turn into rubber-faced ghouls, hungry for souls. The plot's nothing new but, cleverly, it uses clichés to its advantage, rather than just recycling them cynically. Everything, from the Scooby-Doo-like animation in the title sequence to Dennis Tenney's pipe organ score, just makes this feel like one big ol' midnight movie extravaganza; a love letter to the most absurd elements of the genre from its roots right up to the (then) present day. Gothic set designs straight of Corman's Poe movies collide with garish splatter and more tits than you can possibly ogle in one sitting. What really makes it special is the way it manages to combine high camp with one or two moments that are genuinely creepy/scary. A nice balance. One day there'll be a Kevin Tenney revival and he'll be up there where he belongs with the greats. ***1/2