A difficult character, often not appreciated, perhaps also because of an important surname. But even if you are not part of the circle of hi fans you must recognize that "Dèmoni" by Lamberto Bava, as well as being the best work of the director, is one of the fundamental movies of every horror fans.
Well, we have to say that Lamberto Bava plays on the safe side or, to say it better, they let him to play it safe. Producer of "Dèmoni" is Dario Argento, screenwriters as well as Bava, Dardano Sacchetti, Franco Ferrini and Dario Argento. Special effects entrusted to Sergio Stivaletti and music by Claudio Simonetti.
Even in front of the camera things are not bad at all, there is a surprising Natasha Hovey innocent protagonist of light and funny comedy titled "Acqua e Sapone" by Carlo Verdone, Urbano Barberini and many other expert actors such as Karl Zinny, Geretta Geretta, Stellio Candelli and Fiore Argento, the first daughter of Dario, already seen in "Phenomena".
Therefore, more than a flat road for a film that plays a lot on the skill of Stivaletti that saves a simple story, with a rather normal direction.
However "Dèmoni" exerts its perverse charm, either for the setting, or for the fact that although the story is linear, it is full of events. Indeed only of events. Few useless dialogues and few moments of connection created above all to increase the bodycount or to ironize a little (as in the case of the blind at the cinema).
Meta-cinema, with endless quotes and a clear enough reference to Romero, are the things that a certain audience likes and that therefore raise this film.
The exterior of the damned Metropol, the place where the scene takes place, is a happy and intuition. It’s a twentieth-century building, with references to the Art Noveau, existing in Berlin at Schöneberg, inaugurated in 1906 as a 1,100-seat theater, with its concert hall. A luxurious place for the bourgeoisie of the time. After World War II it became a cinema, before becoming the "Metropol" nightclub and being a reference for Berlin’s nights, with many famous guests (David Bowie, Nina Hagen, Depeche Mode and others) until the fall of the wall. Then this charm was a bit 'off, and the building has become of historical interest and the place in 2005 has changed its name to "Goya". It closed at the beginning of 2017.

We are in Berlin and a strange guy with a face half-covered with a silver mask (Michele Soavi) gives free Metropol’s cinema tickets a new cinema in the city. Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) and Kathy to escape a boring lesson accept the invitation. They are not the only ones, because there are also two guys named George (Urbano Barberini) and Ken (Karl Zinny), a prostitute named Rosemary (Geretta Geretta), with her protector Bobby Rhodes) and a colleague (Fabiola Toledo).
Rosemery scratches herself with a strange mask hanging in the foyer and feels bad shortly after the beginning of a film about some boys who desecrate the tomb of Nostradamus. It is the beginning of a wave of infections/violence that harshly hits everyone in the cinema and outside it.
A pleasant work, certainly saved by a Sergio Stivaletti that with his special effects can convey a sense of disgust and discomfort. Personally, we do not see deeper messages as we read in some reviews. It's just entertainment, a great entertainment, ruined in part by the clumsy attempt of "Demons 2" a year later.