Film Review: Demons Iii: the Ogre (1988)

Dispensing with everything that came before it, this in name only sequel in the DEMONS franchise finds writer/director Lamberto Bava exploring the nature of a mythical ogre rather than the infestation of demons from the previous two films. DEMONS III: THE OGRE is a nice somber thriller but nothing of what has become expected in the DEMONS pantheon of films.

This film finds Cheryl (Virginia Bryant) and her husband Tom (Paolo Malco) visiting Italy from the United States as Cheryl is a horror novelist trying to finish her latest novel. The nightmares of her imagination begin to come alive when she begins to see an ogre of her childhood past materialize here, in Italy. As she delves deeper into the catacombs of the home she is renting she begins to wonder what is real and what is imagination and if she will be able to save herself and her family before it is too late.

On its own DEMONS III is not a bad film but with the stigma of the DEMONS franchise looming over it this film has tough shoes to fill which it is unable to do. Unlike the second film, which was too much like the original, this film has nothing in common with the first film except with the inclusion of Bava’s involvement. It’s a darker film with almost no humor and is more of a drama then a horror film to begin with. Those expecting a DEMONS retread will be sadly disappointed.

What THE OGRE does have going for it is a tightly written film by Bava and Dardano Sacchetti (whom the story was originated by) that delves into the psyche of a horror novelist and how sometimes there can be more truth than fiction in what they write. It’s a suspenseful and atmospheric film on par with any great Stephen King story (only with an Italian twist).