Film Review: DEMONWARP (1988)

The ‘80s were an amazing type for the horror genre as there was no one particular subgenre that dominated any other.  Between the slasher films, the mutated monster films, and the psychological film there was also room for the occasional alien horror film of which Demonwarp (1988) can partially be included.  The film starts off with a Priest witnessing a space craft crash land.  It’s not until years later that the ramifications are truly felt. 

Bill Crafton (George Kennedy) and his daughter are enjoying a nice day in their cabin (that they rented) in the middle of the woods when they are attacked by a Bigfoot Monster which knocks him unconscious and abducts her.   Crafton then vows to find and kill the monster at any cost.  Several months later Jack Bergman (David Michael O’Neil) and his friends go to this same cabin which is uncle owns to search for his uncle who has been missing for almost a year.  It seems that there have been many disappearances in these woods of which Jack and his friends quickly realize when the Bigfoot Monster appears abducting one of his friends and killing another.  Not only that but this monster has also torn apart their car and stolen particular items from the house; it appears that this monster is intelligent.  Now Jack and his surviving friends must find a way out of the woods before the monster comes back but there are more strange things going on in these woods than just a Bigfoot monster as they encounter dead bodies and bones and victims of the monster now turned into zombies.

Kennedy was a major fixture in horror films in the ‘80s with Death Ship (1980), Just Before Dawn (1981), Wacko (1982), Creepshow 2 (1987), Uninvited (1988) and The Terror Within (1989), to name a few.  He was a big influence for my love of ‘80s horror films but he is given little to do in this film.  The best thing about Kennedy is that he always brings his “A” game whereas much of the rest of the cast is pretty much throwaway especially since they don’t do much for most of the running time of the film.  It’s your typical ‘80s horror film where people get killed one-by-one and a few extra people are thrown in to add more victims.  By the time the film actually gets to presenting more of the obscure ideas of the third act it may too much too late.  Regardless, it’s still an interesting little oddity of the ‘80s that reminds us just how crazy that decade in horror really was.