I never liked this movie as much as I was supposed to. Many B-movie horror fans typically love this film and have a great time with it, so I ask myself why am I not as impressed? There is enough talent here to be able to have made a stellar picture. The great Dario Argento serves as producer and co-writer, while Lamberto Bava directs. I found the make-up and special effects were good, but overshadow the rest of the production. Perhaps the over-the-top gore gags kept people entertained. It certainly kept me from getting bored with the generic, linear story.

It’s the type of film that held no expectations for me. A bunch of different people are trapped in a theatre overrun by demons. Ok, this is a good idea, but what else is there??? Well, within the crowd, we focus on stereotypical relationships. We have a burly, bald, black man (Tony) with a handlebar moustache holding a hot girl on each arm. Then there are two teenage girls (Cheryl and Kathy) who skip school for the movie event. Complimenting them are two teenage boys (George and Ken) who notice the girls and try to pick them up. There’s also a bickering middle aged couple who we know will die early and another young couple who separate from the crowd and try to make their own way out of the theatre but will surely die. In an attempt to not make the movie feel too claustrophobic we are introduced to four (uninvited) cocaine-snortin’ punks who illogically end up inside the theatre.

The film starts with a peculiar man with a metal mask and magician costume walking around the train station handing out invites to the secretive showing at the shady Metropol theatre. The theatre house starts filling up and one of Tony’s girls tries on a scary metal mask in the lobby which cuts her face while she’s taking it off. Once everyone is in their seats the movie starts. It’s a horror movie about four young friends who want to meddle with the grave of Nostradamus in a crypt. One of them tries on a metal mask similar to the one Tony’s girl got cut with. The mask turns whoever puts it on into a demon, both onscreen and in the theatre. In one of the best scenes in the movie (the real one) the infected girl transforms into a demon. Whomever she scratches also turns into a demon. Everyone panics while friends turn into demons and attack. All exits are locked and there seems to be no way out. Some barricade themselves in the upstairs balcony. There’s plenty of demons killing folks in cruel fashion but I felt that after the many attacks some of the magic was lost and the movie did nothing original with the story.

Throughout the film I kept asking myself if I’ve missed something. Why was this happening and who was involved? The only two odd characters pertaining to the theatre were the metal mask magician and the lobby attendant, a beautiful but purposeless red-head. The lobby girl ushers people in, and walks up and down the theatre with a flashlight doing nothing of importance. Then the guy in the metal mask doesn’t show up again till the end where he tries to kill George. Ok, so he’s bad...but what’s his purpose? The mask that turned folks into demons was part of an exhibit in the theatre lobby. Was he hoping someone would pick it up, put it on, and welcome the demons upon the earth? Give me a break! Someone in the crowd thought the movie they were watching was possessed, but after they destroy the film nothing changes. Oddly enough, there was no projectionist, the film was running automatically...and should I care? Oh this is so creepy. Once again, give me a break, or should I say, give me some answers, some background story, some depth! At the end we find out that it has become an epidemic outside of the theatre. This sounds too much like a zombie movie to me. Bava, you should have kept it local and woven life into the occult origins of the mask or the history of the evil theatre.

I thought that by watching this movie a second time I would appreciate it more. It’s still just a run of the mill 80s zombie-like horror flick with fun gore and a cheesy demeanor. The big names like Argento and Bava will still attract folks today but possibly not convince some that it’s more than what I have just described.

- Jorge Antonio Lopez