Demonoid

Director - Alfredo Zacarias (The Bees)
Starring - Samantha Eggar (Metalocalypse), Stuart Whitman (Superboy), and Roy Jenson (Red Dawn)
Release Date - 1981
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Up from the depths of Hell comes the ultimate horror"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I miss the days when I could go into the local video store and browse the movies only to rent one based solely on the box art.  I can't remember how many horror gems I picked up as a kid just because the box art looked bad ass or had a partially nude hottie on it.  One of the many films I remember looking at and never renting was the 1981 horror flick Demonoid: Messenger of Death.  The film just never sparked my interest so I never checked it out.  Not long ago Vinegar Syndrome announced that they would be releasing the film in a DVD/blu combo pack.  If Vinegar Syndrome had grabbed the film to distribute then it must have been decent.  I reached out and they were kind enough to send one my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a married woman who visits a mine in Mexico with her husband.  The miners are afraid of the mine and refuse to enter due to an ancient curse.  The pair enter the mines to prove that everything is fine where they find an altar and tomb belonging to the left hand of a demon.  The left hand is set free and posses people turning them diabolical.  Stuck in the center of the madness is the woman and a priest who must stop the left hand from killing everyone.

     I had no idea what to expect from this movie.  I had no idea what the story was about, what year it was made, or who all was cast in it.  The artwork was kinda cool but it did not draw me in like the VHS artwork for films like Sleepaway Camp, Re-Animator, Fright Night, Funhouse, and so on.  After watching the film now I am glad I skipped out on it.  The acting in this one is decent for the most part.  Some of the cast does a solid job while others are clearly there for a paycheck with no regard to their legacy and namesake.  They make no attempt at actually acting and just spit dialogue out of their mouth like vomit.  The story for this one is rather strange but does focus on the Satanic scare of the 80s.  Before 1981 there had been dozens of films focused around satanic cults and devil worship along with several horror films following an evil hand but I can't think of any film the combines the two.  Though it does win at originality it fails to offer up any sort of entertainment.  The story we get does feel pieced together with several segments that just feel out of place.  This throws the overall story off greatly resulting in some confusion for those that actually follows the story.  Finally, those of you looking for blood and gore will sadly be let down.  Though the film does have some deaths, and a few hand hacks, the kills were a huge let down and offered some very poor practical effects.  I have seen dozens of no budget features that have better kills and effects than this one.  Overall, Demonoid was a huge disappointment.  The story nor the kills lived up to the awesome box art this film proudly displays.  This one one I can not recommend so skip it.