Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

 

Based on the darkly comedic and pretty brutal stories from horrorcomics, 'Tales from the Crypt' was at first an anthology-film in the 70s, but then the name became way more commonplace thanks to the television series. The series was also a lot funnier and twisted and introduced the world to the Crypt Keeper, a zombie puppet that had bad puns and a shrill laugh that were both insanely catchy. So of course plans were made to create several films following the ideas of the series, only with a bigger budget and of course more of a story to fill the runtime. In total three of these were made but this one, being the first, is still the best of the bunch by a long shot. 

So if you like your horror with a good dose of fun and jokes, you'd better be ready.

On a lone desert highway (crap, there is that earworm again) two cars collide. From one of these, Brayker emerges, clutching a key of sorts. He heads into town, but eventually ends up in a church that is now a motel with some assorted dregs of humanity (a postal worker, a douche, a prostitute, mechanic, drunk and the proprietor). Meanwhile, a suave young man also appears, saying he is hunting Brayker as he has something that is of value. 

And then we're off!

Turns out Brayker is insanely old and the keeper of a key that originally held the blood of Christ, but is also one key of seven, of which six are already in the hands of demonic entities. The suave young man (Billy Zane) is a demon lord. He lays siege to the motel and of course one by one the occupants are either swayed by his proposals or outright killed by demons. But will our unlikely hero prevail or will he finally fall to the darkness?

Yes, it's pretty classic and standard by all accounts, but this film has something that a lot of similar projects lack: decent actors giving it their all, and a big chunk of humour. Not kidding, aside from the horrific incidents at times (and some are pretty gruesome) there's always room for levity. This mostly comes from Billy Zane, who relishes in his role and goes all out. The one scene where he suddenly produces a sponge from his mouth is sidesplittingly brilliant. His impromptu dance routine and swearing once he realizes he can't get into the church feels totally unscripted and is hilarious. He truly is thé reason to watch this. But everyone does their absolute best. William Sadler is great as Brayker and he brings the necessary gravitas and the rest just follows suit. 

What is also expertly done, are most of the special effects. Yes, the lights and assorted 'lasers' that shoot out of the demons' eyes are a bit flat, but the practical effects both of the monsters and the gooey stuff, is unequivocally excellent. 

So you see: this is just a damn good time, both for fans of horror and darkly comedic films. 

It is a real shame that the follow-ups didn't quite reach this level, and it is only after several years that this one garnered its status, but it is never too late to (re)discover this little gem. You won't regret it.