Demonwarp is a 1987 American science fiction horror film directed by Emmett Alston (New Year’s Evil) from a screenplay written by Bruce Akiyama and Jim Bertges.
The movie stars George Kennedy, David Michael O’Neill, Pamela Gilbert (Evil Spawn), Billy Jacoby (Bloody Birthday, X-Ray, Cujo), Hank Stratton (Freddy’s Nightmares), Colleen McDermott and Michelle Bauer (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, The Tomb, Evil Toons).
Plot:
Bill Crafton (George Kennedy) is talking to his daughter Julie inside their cabin in the woods. Suddenly, a Bigfoot-like creature breaks in and kidnaps Julie. A group of teenage campers arrive and they too eventually meet the Bigfoot, with many of them being killed or captured.
It is later discovered that one of the campers went there to find his uncle. His uncle is later found to be the Bigfoot, and that a bigoted Catholic priest used him for his own evil plans. Actually, the priest thinks an alien who arrived from an unknown planet 100 years ago is an angel who is here to be served by him. After unearthing this alien conspiracy and a horde of mindless zombies, the hidden spacecraft is destroyed inside the cave they used to hide it…
Producer Rick Albert and executive producer Mark Amin (Leprechaun series and CEO of Trimark) decided that their first film production should be a genre film, using as many special effects and monsters as the small $250,000 budget could support. To save costs, Rick Albert recruited many of his friends, who were lawyers, to appropriately play the army of zombies.
Special effects maestro John Carl Beuchler devised the initial warped storyline and was going to direct but left the project to helm Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood instead.
The film was shot in just twelve days by Emmett Alston, who previously directed the 1981 slasher movie New Year’s Evil, was the cinematographer for Moonchild (1972) and production manager on Vampire Hookers (1978). Horror genre regular George Kennedy (Death Ship, Uninvited) was paid $15,000 for his work.
In the UK, the 1988 Trans Global Pictures VHS release was cut 1 minute and 7 seconds by BBFC censors.
Reviews:
“So all in all a run of the mill eighties hack and slasher, despite the promise of everything rolled into one. The ending leaves you wondering just what drugs Buechler was snorting when he dreamt up this little beauty? Average…” A Slash Above…
“You figure at some point, the movie would make an attempt at having someone…anyone explain the general plan of the Alien or why/how this is all happening, but no dice. In the tradition firmly established by the earlier parts of this masterpiece, shit just happens… ” Midnight Showing
“I would give them an A for effort at least, and the C stands for creativity. Or something. This film is insanely enjoyable. I would put this film, along with Night Train to Terror and Nightmare Weekend, in my list of horror films that I suspect were secretly made by 13-year-old boys.” The Trashy Horror Charlie Show
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