Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight
Starting in 1989, the Tales From The Crypt series on HBO was one of the greatest breakthrough TV series in cable history, smashing the boundaries imposed by the alphabet soup networks to give us something that they never could: A TV horror anthology based upon the old, controversial EC Comics horror stories that were so gruesome in their day that they had parents’ groups up in arms long before either heavy metal or pornography, hosted by the manically laughing Crypt Keeper, in essence a really dirty looking muppet with a penchant for really bad puns and a habit of talking about any given story as if he himself had some vague personal connection to them (notwithstanding the episode where they literally laid out his origin story). And what stories! Stories that usually featured A list talent both in front of and behind the camera, but more importantly, featuring gruesome gore and makeup FX that was usually so visceral that it often surpassed anything seen in theatrical horror movies at the time due to the ultra strict MPAA guidelines (whereas HBO didn’t have to answer to anyone except their paying subscribers). Eventually the decision was made to finally produce a full length (albeit low budget) theatrical motion picture under the Tales banner, and in doing so the producers dug through a number of original horror movie scripts floating around Hollywood before settling upon this one that was released in 1995. The two most interesting things were that its release was still nearly two years away from the late 90s horror boom that would kick off with Wes Craven’s Scream and thus as a result both critical and box office reaction was a bit tepid. But the fact remains that what came out of this effort at the hands of director Ernest Dickerson was quite simply (and arguably of course) THE single best horror movie of the 90s, with such a solid, airtight script and a strong cast of dependable actors that the final result was really just too epic and awe inspiring even for the Crypt franchise, as it actually managed to create its own mythology (with unrealized franchise potential) that was so original and spellbindingly crafted that one almost wishes that the annoying bumper segments with The Crypt Keeper at both the beginning and the end were altogether dropped so that this story concept could have expanded on its own (which it sadly never did). The whole thing starts off with a wild car chase, and the premise that these two mysterious men (neither of whom are actually human) have actually been chasing each other for an infinite amount of time, although early on it’s unclear just exactly which one of them is good and which one is evil, but what we do know is that one is in possession of some kind of important artifact and that the other one wants to take it. The nameless pursuer (called “The Collector”) is played by Billy Zane, one of the least regarded major stars in recent history (despite his surprisingly three dimensional “villain” in Titanic) who here marks his territory as one of the best examples of seductive (male) evil in cinematic history, a highly powerful being with the ability to change his personality and even his voice (“a fuckin ho dunk, po dunk…”) while still maintaining a loose, relaxed, yet cold as ice demeanor about him at all times, coming across as a fun loving guy who nonetheless carries a deadly serious intent about him and as the movie goes on, manages to claim his victims in a different style than that of someone like Freddy Krueger, choosing to not so much come at you with your worst fears in your dreams but rather preferring to lure you out to him with your greatest temptations (as false as his promises usually are) so that one would “let him in” of their own free will so that they would lose their souls, become possessed, and then do his absolute bidding (which is usually to go after any remaining survivors), but overall, Zane is so deadly smooth and charismatic in the part that indeed a whole franchise being built around him really does seem like a pretty good proposition. In contrast to this we also have William Sadler as Frank Brayker (the “Demon Knight” of the title), a once mortal man now tasked with a knowledge and responsibility that is so completely overwhelming that one kind of wonders just how he retains his sanity with what he has on his conscience, endlessly looking over his shoulder while also protecting a special mystical key filled with blood (including partially that of Jesus Christ Himself) if not for the fact that he truly knows that Zane getting the key would literally bring about that of the Armageddon itself, and when tasked with this kind of a role, Sadler (best known for playing villains and an hilariously offbeat Grim Reaper in the second Bill and Ted movie) really gets to shine here like never before or since in his career, not only matching Zane step for step acting wise but also successfully bringing a grim, world weary presence to the table as a guy who really does KNOW all of the true secrets of the universe but yet must still keep a low profile while moving from place to place. Moreso, for a guy who’s played a good number of action movie villains, Sadler succeeds at coming off as being quite the rugged action hero himself, even as he clearly longs for the peace that death would bring and is waiting for just the right time to pass on this mission to another. In time, both these two memorable characters find themselves at a run down motel that used to be a church in the middle of nowhere, where they encounter a group of very human characters who all happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, with Brayker not so much protecting them from Zane and his small army of demons but instead rather observing the small group themselves in order to see who amongst them possesses the greatest amount of strength to survive the night. They include the sassy owner of the place (underrated character actress CCH Pounder), her put upon seemingly only employee on a work release program (Jada Pinkett), a sad eyed yet sexy prostitute (Brenda Bakke), a drunken old timer whom everybody has seemingly gotten used to having around (another character acting legend in Dick Miller), the local sheriff (John Schuck) and his bumbling deputy (Gary Farmer), a apparently mild mannered postal worker (Charles “Roger Rabbit” Fleischer) with a pathetic lovestruck crush on Bakke whom it later turns out might have been the creepiest character in the whole movie, and a grade A white trash asshole (future Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church) who not only challenges Brayker’s leadership and his taking charge of the whole situation but who openly suggests to the others just simply giving Zane and the demons exactly what they want so that they can just walk on out of there (even as Brayker tells him point blank that they would just kill him anyway). And so the standoff in this isolated setting begins, with Zane’s greatest weapon being his innate ability to always just KNOW what any potential victim’s greatest weaknesses and desires might be and thus use it to his advantage (his seductive monologue to Bakke’s hooker is so superbly written and expertly delivered that it might just be the highlight of the film even as it could possibly hit too close to home for certain female viewers) while Sadler just does what he can in order to stay alive and advising the others to do so as well. The film expertly mixes moments of horror with that of humor in the best 80s style (with Zane’s somewhat spontaneous and likable sense of humor serving to relax both the viewer as well as his victims before he strikes like a cobra) and the gore and makeup look stunning also, particularly the demon minions during their “birth” scene and in several demon possessions and attacks throughout the film with gruesome results. As said, the potential for sequels, prequels, and spinoffs was endless and yet sadly never came to be (especially since at least one more helping of Zane’s sinister creation would have been most welcome) but ultimately it is in the final revelations of the story and how all of these events were actually a part of a “greater plan” that was seemingly foretold all along that lends this film a far greater weight than maybe even Tales From The Crypt itself deserved, not being so much a cheesy horror tale from a pulpy comic but rather instead a fully realized, fully fleshed out masterpiece of the genre with enough great moments here to carry its own weight so that it can hold up favorably against other efforts and no doubt when it comes to underrated villains, giving us one that’s for the record books as being amongst the all time best when it comes to seductive evil…
10/10