TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT [1995 / 2015] [Collector's Edition] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] Ready For Your Deadtime Story!
A mysterious drifter known as Frank Brayker [William Sadler] possesses the last of seven ancient keys that hold the power to stop the forces of darkness and protect all humanity from ultimate evil. But the human race is safe only so long as Fank Brayker can evade the demonic “The Collector” [Billy Zane] who has gathered the other six keys.
In his obsessive quest for the key, “The Collector” rallies an army of ghastly cadavers against Frank Brayker and the inhabitants of a run-down hotel. Armed with automatic weapons, sacred blood and sadistic humour, Frank Brayker and the strong-willed Jeryline [Jada Pinkett-Smith] must lead the other guests in a gruesome battle against “The Collector” and his evil horde of ghouls.
Infested with a talented cast, thrilling special effects and the Crypt Keeper’s deadpan delights, ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ is directed by genre vet Ernest R. Dickerson and features a strong supporting cast featuring Thomas Haden Church, CCH Pounder, Brenda Bakke, Dick Miller and Charles Fleischer.
Cast: John Kassir (Crypt Keeper voice), Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Dick Miller, Thomas Haden Church, John Schuck, Gary Farmer, Charles Fleischer, Tim DeZarn, Sherrie Rose, Ryan O'Donohue, Tony Salome, Ken Baldwin, Chasey Lain, Reda Beebe, Te-See Bender, Traci Bingham, Ponti Butler, Veronica Culver, Tina Lawrence, Elaine del Valle, Mim Parker, Dale Swann, Mark David Kennerly, Peggy Trentini, Kathy Barbour, Tina New, Stephanie Sain, Graham Galloway (uncredited), John Larroquette (uncredited) and David Wurawa (uncredited)
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
Producers: A. L. Katz, Alexander B. Collett, Dan Cracchiolo, David Giler, Gilbert Adler, Joel Silver, Richard Donner, Richard Edlund, Robert Zemeckis, Scott Nimerfro, Walter Hill and Wendy Wanderman
Screenplay: Cyrus Voris, Ethan Reiff and Mark Bishop
Composer: Edward Shearmur
Cinematography: Rick Bota (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 98 minutes
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures / Shout! Factory
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Horror fans that came of age in the 1990’s have fond memories of ‘DEMON KNIGHT,’ a film that wasn’t necessarily planned to be a ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT’ film but was modified to fit the genre format. The film stars William Sadler as Frank Brayker, a stranger who rolls into town and checks into a crumbling hotel, run by the great CCH Pounder, who later on delivers the best middle-finger salute in film history.
The story: A dusty stranger, Ex-soldier Frank Brayker [William Sadler] rocks up to a sleazy boarding house, looking for a room and negating to mention that he’s just escaped by a fiery car accident hours earlier. Who was chasing him? Well, it was “The Collector,” in the form of Billy Zane, looking to retrieve a special artefact from Frank Brayker. Failing to get his way, The Collector summons a group of demons to slaughter the inhabitants of the boarding house and retrieve the artefact.
The hotel is a rogue’s gallery of miscreants, grifters, grease balls and broken souls and they’re played by an equally diverse set of actors like Thomas Hayden Church, Charles Fleischer and of course, the inimitable Dick Miller, all of whom deliver top notch, wonderfully committed turns.
While Frank Brayker is setting up shop, a giggling Billy Zane bounty hunter, the demonic “The Collector,” appears and enlists the local authorities to help him find the supposedly dastardly drifter. And when he does finally find his quarry, he promptly sheds his skin (not literally, anyway), decimates his Co-companions and reveals his true nature, that of a grinning hunter is the embodiment of a demonic “The Collector” sent from Hell to retrieve the last of six keys that will unlock the portal between this world and the underworld, and guess who has the key?
Again, many horror fans of a certain vintage age hold ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ in very high regards and it’s easy to see why. The storyline is borderline epic, the special effects are stunning, especially the films virtual practical make-up FX meltdown. The cast are well wicked, the screenplay is witty and very tongue in cheek humour, Jada Pinkett Smith gives a career best performance as a tough heroine who faces down the Devil, the sex and gore firmly pushes the ultimate boundaries of its R rating, director Ernest R. Dickerson keeps it stylish and but it is Zane…Zane…Zane all the way, in definitely giving his most crazy, super-sonic performance of his acting career.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a TALES FROM THE CRYPT horror comedy film if a certain host with the most didn’t pop up to say hello. Naturally the Crypt Keeper voiced by John Kassir, bookends the film in his own inimitable way; directing and producing his own horror comedy film that has just as much gore and naked flesh as the main feature.
What ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ does best is sustain a look and tone that bring a comic-book's broad strokes into the realm of a live-action film without seeming too mannered or arty. The film's gooey monsters with their electric green eyes and ferocious voracity are among the more convincing zombie demons to be found in a recent horror film. The horror comedy film wears a brilliant phosphorescent grin. Unlike ‘Bordello of Blood,’ I actually had never seen ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ which of course came before ‘Bordello of Blood,’ and while it’s hardly perfect; but I definitely had a hoot watching it and the humour and horror excels, and seeing the fantastic Billy Zane chewing up the scenery, makes the whole thing so worthwhile watching and especially to go along with a brilliant respectable ensemble cast including the equally brilliant William Sadler, who serves extremely well as the lead and worked well opposite the more Billy Zane’s, zaniness brilliant type cartoon character.
Overall, ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ deserves to be in any self-respecting fright fan’s Blu- ray collection ASAP, especially for those who have yet to see the fun filled horror film freaky picture presentation. Shout! Factory has done a really superb job in giving this cult horror classic the Blu-ray disc treatment it deserves. ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ should definitely make its way into many horror hounds’ viewing rotation, looking and sounding even better than ever.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT MUSIC TRACK LIST
HEY MAN NICE SHOT (Written by Richard Patrick) [Performed by Filter]
FALL GUY (Written by Rollins Band) [Performed by Rollins Band]
MUSTANG SALLY (Written by Mack Rice) [Performed by Wilson Pickett]
BABY, I LOVE YOU (Written by Ronnie Shannon aka Roosevelt Shannon) [Performed by Aretha Franklin]
1-800-SUICIDE (Written by A. Berkely, RZA, A. Hamilton and Prince Paul) [Performed by Gravediggaz]
CEMETERY GATES (Written by Pantera) [Performed by Pantera]
RAPP PAYBACK (WHERE IZ MOSES!) (Written by S. Brown, J. Brown and H. Stallings) [Performed by James Brown]
TONIGHT WE MURDER (Written by Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker and Frank Nariello) [Performed by Ministry]
MY MISERY ... (DEMON KNIGHT) (Written by Robb Flynn) [Performed by Machine Head]
DIADEMS (Written by Dave Mustaine) [Performed by Megadeth]
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ arrives at last onto the Blu-ray format from Shout! Factory, thanks to their licensing agreement with Universal Pictures, and it has a really excellent 1080p encoded transfer image, retaining the film’s brilliant 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Fans of this comedy horror genre will be happy to know that the film begins with the original Universal Studios logo. Detail overall is a huge improvement quality, with a few exception of optical effects sequences, this was made prior to the extensive use of CGI and digital effects. Contrast is extremely well-rendered, even for such a darkly-lit film. Colours are consistent and not over-saturated. This is probably the best ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ has looked in years, so well done Shout! Factory for doing a great professional job.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ has a brilliant choice offering either a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio or a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, where you get to hear those wonderful spooky demons shriek and growl with great ghoulish pleasure and definitely you cannot go wrong in enjoying two audio options, but I personally would go for the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio to enjoy the audio mayhem on display in the ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ and it all comes together to create a very dynamic surround experience, especially with all the wonderful car crashes, stunning explosions, shattering glass, guns firing, lots of wonderful icky mutilations, which is totally glorious all the way for your ghoulish enjoyment. As a bonus you have the never-released score by celebrated film composer Edward Shearmur and are one of the best of his career, and it sounds excellent with either audio options.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Michael Felsher and Ernest R. Dickerson: First up we are introduced by Michael Felsher, who informs us he is a DVD Producer and Filmmaker, who in turn introduces us to Ernest R. Dickerson the director of ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT,’ who informs us he is very pleased to be doing this audio commentary of his film. Michael Felsher asks Ernest R. Dickerson how the project came about and Ernest says that at the time he was actually involved with the post production on his second film ‘Surviving the Game,’ and his Agent informed him about the possibilities of getting involved with the film ‘DEMON KNIGHT,’ because at the time they did not have a Director in mind, and so they invited Ernest to a meeting and of course had to meet several people involved with the film and one of those were Joel Silver. Ernest was asked if he had ever watched ‘Tales from the Crypt’ TV shows, and informs us he watch the TV show now and again, but he was a great fan of horror comic books. We find out that for Ernest it was not his first experience with the horror genre, as he worked on the ‘Tales from the Dark Side’ as a cinematographer with the New York crew. Ernest is asked again why he likes the horror genre and he tells us that he likes the tales of mystery and likes the challenge of the imagination and has read loads of horror and science fiction since his childhood. We find out that the script for the ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ was an original script and not linked to the ‘Tales from the Crypt’ and Ernest was hoping that there would be more stories in the future for the ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ film genre. Ernest informs us that he had to get involved with Richard Donner, especially with the editing and also tells us he is a massive fan of Mr. Donner’s ‘SUPERMAN’ film, as well as the ‘Lethal Weapon’ films, and of course ‘The Omen.’ Ernest didn’t want to film all of the films night time location shots, so they only did the minimal where required, but the rest of the film was shot in a decommissioned airline aircraft hangar at the Van Nuys Airport in California, which is where the bulk of the film was shot, as that way Ernest had full control of the elements, whereas with outside locations shots you are not in control of the elements, but with an indoor shoot you can work to normal hours. Ernest really loved getting the actor Dick Miller, as he is a massive fan of this actor and he feels he brought out the best performance in this film. Ernest loved the “old school” effects in this film and felt it was the best they have ever produced, especially with the glass paintings, glass matt shots and especially the demons that were done by Todd Masters. When we see “The Key” finally revealed, we find out that it was designed by the Christiaan Production Studios and it was Christiaan Wagener who showed Ernest the designs. Ernest also informs us that he is a massive fan of the Alfred Hitchcock’s work; in the way he can portray horror, where he loves to lure the audience into a false sense of security, especially relating to up and coming part in the film where “boom” Billy Zane punches his fist through the Sheriffs head. We find out the budget for the film was $10,000,000 and that today would only cover for the food and refreshments, but despite this low budget, Ernest feels the finished film has a look of a budget of $30,000,000 and again was helped with a 40 day shoot schedule. As the film progressed there were a lot of script changes, dropping some scenes and also adding new scenes, plus the ending of the film had a massive change. In the film when William Sadler talks about the soldier in the First World War scene, he mentions that the soldiers name was Dickerson, and of course Ernest mentions this, as it is his Surname and must have been a long lost cousin, but of course Ernest’s comment was very tongue in cheek humour. They talk at length about the brilliant composer Edward Shearmur and what a wonderful job he did and I second that, as it really adds to the atmosphere and tension to the film. Where near the ending of the film where Billy Zane does the dancing with the young lady that is left after all the carnage, well this is the different ending to the original script, because originally “The Collector” shows his true self that he was the demon made of fire, but they decided the ending of the film was a much better ending. Right near the end of the film where we are at the premiere of the film, where there is a guillotine that chops of the narrator’s head, we are informed the two guys doing the job were mention by Ernest as Gill and Allen, but I have no idea who these guys are. As the credits roll up the screen Ernest really praises all the work he did on directing the film and feels the film has stood the test of time and that all the crew and actors were always eager and keen to turn up to work on the film and again praises his work on the film and enjoyed reminiscing on the good times he had while doing the audio commentary and also telling us that he really enjoyed watching the film after all this time and again I second this, as it was a very enjoyable experience watching this film with the brilliant audio commentary and I know you will equally get a lots of joy out of this audio commentary and I give it a brilliant 5 star rating.
Audio Commentary with Special Make-up Effects Creator Todd Masters, Visual Effects Supervisor John Van Vliet, Special Effects Coordinator Thomas “Brooklyn” Bellissimo, and Demon Performer Walter Phelan: Here we get introduced to all the commentators and first up is Walter Phelan [Demon Monster Performer], Todd Masters [Creature FX Producer and Supervisor], Thomas “Brooklyn” Bellissimo [Special mechanical Effects Supervisor] and John Van Vliet [Visual Effects and Animation Supervisor] who welcome us all to this audio commentary. They all comment about the original opening sequence, that was done by Boss Films, that was originally done for the HBO TV Series, and at the end of the opening sequence where the puppet pops up out of the coffin, this was done by Kevin Yagher. With the start of the actual film, we get lots of technical jargon that goes right over my head. Now like the previous audio commentary all comment how all the crew and actors really enjoyed working on the film. They really praise Rick Bota, who was the cinematographer and was a very important to the film, as he really knew how to shoot the monsters and make them look real good; as they say he was a real top notch cinematographer. They also give high praise to Ernest R. Dickerson the director and how he was hands on with the project and a huge plus is that he originally trained as a cinematographer. When Billy Zane cuts his hand and all the green blood that pours out of his hand onto the ground, the green liquid in question was produced was from loads of “glow-sticks” and they had to cut open loads of them the get the right amount of liquid to produce the scene. But what we keep hearing all the time is lots of the same old technical small talk details that went into the making of the film and starts to get very boring and to be honest I don’t know why the included this second audio commentary, because it is not very informative and to be honest the first audio commentary is far more professional and interesting, especially hearing the comments from the direct Ernest R. Dickerson, and so all in all this particular audio commentary will only be of interest to people who work in the film industry.
Special Feature: Egyptian Theater Q&A Session Panel Discussion from the American Cinematheque featuring actor Dick Miller, Special Effects maestro Rick Baker and Director Ernest R. Dickerson [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:46] The Q&A session was taken from the second night of a three day retrospective of Dick Miller’s work, held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California on the 6th December, 2014. The event included the Special Guests as already mentioned for an in-depth Q&A’s, and at the event they had a Triple Feature on the second night of ‘GREMLINS;’ ‘GREMLINS 2: The New Batch’ and ‘DEMON KNIGHT.’ We are at the DAY 2 sessions in the Egyptian Theater where they have just finished watching a film and this is where they start the Question and Answer session with Dick Miller, Rick Baker and Ernest R. Dickerson. Here we have Michael Schlesinger being the moderator asking the questions and first up is Dick Miller [Actor], who by the way looks absolutely ghastly and so old looking, who also has a ghastly pony tail, that always looks so bad on a man his age and especially going bald and one other annoying thing is the terrible microphones they use, as you have a job to hear what they say. Next up is Rick Baker [Legendary FX Artist] with another ghastly pony tail and jokes that he is the son of Dick Miller and is asked by Michael Schlesinger about his involvement with the film ‘GREMLINS 2: The New Batch.’ And finally we have the director Ernest R. Dickerson of ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ and are asked about his contribution with this film. One thing Ernest R. Dickerson informs us that he was a massive fan of all Roger Corman films. To sum up this Q&A Session is to declare I thought it was a complete waste of time, not only because of the crap sound and we hear no new information about particular films the three guests have been involved with and this extra would have been better off on the cutting room floor and should have never been included. And to sum it all up the American Cinematheque panel discussion, while appreciated in its inclusion, is a bit too amateurish to compete with the other, expertly produced special features.
Special Feature: Under Siege: The Making of ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [40:00] Featuring interviews with Director Ernest R. Dickerson, Co-producer A.L. Katz, Screenwriters Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, and Mark Bishop, Stars Billy Zane, William Sadler, Brenda Bakke, Charles Fleischer, John Schuck and Dick Miller, Editor Stephen Lovejoy, Special Make-Up Effects Creator Todd Masters, Special Make-Up Effects Artists Scott Coulter and Scott Wheeler, and Demon Performer Walter Phelan. This is very nice and fascinating feature starts off with William Sadler [Actor] and talks fondly about the film ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ and why people really enjoy the film. Next up is Billy Zane [Actor] and he talks about how people who loves his character in the film, long after its initial cinema release. Next up is Ernest R. Dickerson [Director] and cannot explain why people still love his film. So from then on the proper special feature starts and here we find Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris the screenwriters who talk about their love on working on the film ‘DEMON KNIGHT.’ Next up is A.L. Katz [Co-producer] who informs us that it was originally going to be a three movie deal of ‘Tales from the Crypt’ anthology. Next up is Mark Bishop [Co-screenwriter] who also collaborated on ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ screenplay. We find out that some very interesting information is that we hear that the ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ script had been hanging around for 6 to 7 years, which also had loads of changes. Next up is Todd Masters [Special Make-Up Effects Creator] who really loved working with Ernest R. Dickerson. Next up we have Dick Miller [Uncle Willy] who also loved working with Ernest R. Dickerson who is also declared a very sweet guy, but boy a very nice joyous thing is that here Dick Miller really looked so much better than at the Q&A Session in the Egyptian Theater. Billy Zane tells us that he also loved working with Ernest R. Dickerson, as he was always very calm and also in control at the same time. Once again William Sadler is also in awe in his praise of Ernest R. Dickerson. We find out that most of the film was shot over 40 days, and three quarters of it was shot in a massive old empty aircraft hangar, but one technical problem that they could not control, is that birds were nesting in the ceiling. Another person who gives great praise of ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ is Scott Coulter [Special FX and Animatronics] who thought the special effects were totally brilliant for the time of the filming. We also get a special input from Charles Fleischer [Wally Enfield] and Brenda Bakke [Cordelia] who said it was always hot on the set. When they brought all the dirt in for the crucifixion scene, most of it was manure and it stunk so badly. We also find out that when Billy Zane turned up for the short, they got a surprise to find out he was bald, but when you see most of his films he has hair, but it is revealed they were wigs which he had a case of them and asked what wig he should wear, but the director said he preferred him to bald for the film, which I also am pleased, as he looks so much better, which originally his baldness happened when he was working in London and when someone shaved off any hair he had left, they said he looked so good and cool and he felt his look was now based on the Genie in the animated film ‘ALADDIN.’ But everyone in this special feature really praised Billy Zane, who they all felt he stole the show and I agree with them 100%. The also thought Dick Miller was equally brilliant in the film, which I agree and especially with all the films I have seen him in, especially all the Joe Dante films. One little interesting snippet of information we hear about from Scott Wheeler [Prosthetic Supervisor] is that Dick Miller hated wearing his prosthetic, but despite the hard work in wearing it, Scott Wheeler said he was a real pro. We get to meet John Schuck [Sherriff Tupper] who as you may know was in the film ‘MASH’ and also talks about his false prosthetic head that Billy Zane punches his fist through the head and talks about all the gung that was inside the head. So all in all this is a really fun and fascinating special feature and is definitely well worth viewing, especially hearing every ones input and the lovely comments on working on the film.
Special Feature: Still Gallery [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:40] Here we get to view a brilliant collection of 66 promotional stills and lobby cards images. To view this feature in full, you have to us the chapter button on your remote to move the image either forward or backwards with this slide show. With the 66 images on view, you get to see scenes from the film and individual images of some of the actors that featured in the film. Some of the images are slightly grainy, but some are really good, and there is a mixture of colour and black-and-white images, plus you get some publicity shots as well as the film cinema posters. The whole sequence is silent. We are also informed that some of the photos were courtesy of Brett Cameron.
Theatrical Trailer [1995] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:00] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT.’ But what a crying shame they could not even find a decent trailer in the proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio. But despite this, it is still a brilliant presentation.
BONUS: Reversible Blu-ray Cover: You can choose either between the Scream! Factory’s new artwork or the Original Film Poster.
Finally, ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT’ has been a much-requested title for the format, and horror fans of this film genre should be well pleased by this Collector's Edition treatment it has received from Shout! Factory. ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ is a brilliant horror cult film that sadly barely exists anymore and definitely deserves to be. ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT’ is a terrific solid brand of horror comedy with a built-in appreciation, and it is a crying shame that the second attempt at bridging the gap between television and feature film would be with the sadly let down ‘Bordello of Blood.’ While there has been an ongoing attempt to reintroduce ‘TALES FROM THE CRYPT’ format for a new generation of horror fans, so far nothing has manifested itself. There’s a lot of good in that legacy, and some not so good. ‘DEMON KNIGHT’ is among the best of this terrific solid brand of horror comedy. Just ENJOY it, because this film was made for all of us. Fans of the film and the TV series will be pleased to add this to their Blu-ray Collection library, because Shout! Factory packs out this Blu-ray disc with their usual assortment of brilliant bonus extras, as well as a double-dose of special features charting the behind-the-scenes action; that are totally edifying and funny as hell and will make you care even more about the films themselves. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
