Demonoid (film)
Demonoid (also known as Demonoid: Messenger of Death, and Macabra: La mano del diablo), is a 1981 supernatural horror film written, produced, and directed by Alfredo Zacarías and based on a story by Zacarías. The plot centralizes on a group of explorers, who find a mysterious hand in Mexico that causes madness and death to whoever owns it. The film, an international co-production between Mexico and the United States, was released theatrically in the U.S. in June 1981 to predominantly negative reviews.
| Demonoid: Messenger of Death | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alfredo Zacarías |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Richard Gillis |
| Cinematography | Álex Phillips Jr. |
| Edited by | Sandy Nervig |
Production company | Panorama Films |
| Distributed by | American Panorama |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | English |
Plot
300 years ago, in a mine located in Guanajuato, Mexico. A satanic cult built a temple where they sacrificed humans to the Devil by cutting off the left hand of their victims. In the present day, couple Mark and Jennifer Baines explore the temple where they find a small casket containing a severed hand which they take back to their hotel room. Later that night Mark opens the casket and is attacked and possessed by the hand. Fleeing to Las Vegas, he wins a fortune by gambling. Hating being possessed, Mark attempts to sever his left hand but is burned to death by his possessed hand. Mark's body is shipped to Los Angeles for burial. Jennifer arrives at Father Cunningham’s church where her husband is to be buried and warns the priest that her husband might still be possessed and requests that an autopsy be performed on the body.
As they talk on the matter, Mark’s severely charred corpse reanimates and bursts from his coffin and escapes. When Police Sergeant Leo Matson arrives to investigate the turn of events he is attacked by Mark who then severs his left hand by slamming it in a door, after which Mark falls dead and the hand immediately possesses the Matson. Horrified, Matson forces plastic surgeon Dr. Julian Rivkin to sever the hand at gunpoint after which the hand shoots a nurse with Matson’s discarded handgun, and murders Matson by brutally ripping the Sergeant’s face off. The hand then possesses Rivken who severs his hand on a train track. The hand later finds and corners Jennifer at her motel and attempts to possess her as well but is saved by Father Cunningham and they both flee to the church. There the hand cuts the power and phone lines and stalks the group, the hand manages to possess Cunningham who then attacks Jennifer with a knife. However he is eventually able to overcome the hand’s influence and stabs his own hand and has Jennifer burn his hand off with a blowtorch and scatter the hands ashes in the harbor. Later, Jennifer is back home, the hand, which somehow survived attacks and kills her.[1]
Cast
- Samantha Eggar as Jennifer Baines
- Stuart Whitman as Father Cunningham
- Roy Jenson as Mark Baines
- Lew Saunders as Sergeant Leo Matson
- Narciso Busquets as Dr. Julian Rivkin
- José Chávez as Pepe
Production
Demonoid was directed by Mexican filmmaker Alfredo Zacarías, who also came up with the film's story. Principal photography began in Mexico[2] on October 22, 1979, with a total of four weeks spent on location in various parts of Mexico City and Guanajuato. Other locations were shot in various locations in California before filming officially wrapped on December 19th that same year.[3]
Release
Demonoid was released theatrically in the United States in June 1981.[4]
Reception
Critical reception for Demoniod has been predominantly negative.
Leonard Maltin gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, criticizing the script, direction, and special effects as "getting in the way of any suspense".[8] Caitlin Huggins from HorrorNews.net gave the film a negative review, criticizing its plot as 'confusing and hurried', as well as its dumb and unlikable characters.[9] Allmovie gave the film 1.5/5, calling it "inept" and summarized by stating, "Even in its best moments, however, this film can only approximate a particularly weak episode of Fantasy Island".[10] TV Guide panned the film, awarding it 1.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "awful" and "ridiculous", and criticized the film's acting and plot.[11] Dan Budnik from The Bleeding Skull called it "a rather tedious demon possession movie with a great title and lots of killer hands running around".[12]
References
- Jeff Rovin (1989). The Encyclopedia of Monsters. Facts on File. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-8160-1824-6.
- "Collecting Life: An Interview with Samantha Eggar Part 2". TerrorTrap.com. The Terror Trap. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- "Catalog - Demonoid". AFI.com. American FIlm Institute. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- Demonoid [VHS]. ASIN 6301004973.CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link)
- Amazon.com: Demonoid [VHS]: Samantha Eggar, Stuart Whitman, Roy Jenson, Narciso Busquets, Erika Carlsson, Lew Saunders, José Chávez, Ted White, Haji, George Soviak, Whitey Hughes, Al Jones, Alfredo Zacarías, Miguel Zacarías, Paul Bagley, Valley Hoffman, David Lee Fein, F. Amos Powell: Movies & TV. ASIN 6301004973.CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link)
- "Demonoid, Messenger of Death". Barnes and Noble. barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- "Demonoid (1981) - Alfredo Zacharias". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- Leonard Maltin (2 September 2014). Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide. Penguin Group US. pp. 585–. ISBN 978-0-698-18361-2.
- Huggins, Catlin. "Film Review: Demonoid: The Messenger of Death (1981)". HorrorNews.net. Catlin Huggins. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- "Demonoid (1981) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". Allmovie.com. Allmovie.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- "Demonoid Review". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- Budnik, Dan. "Demonoid (1981)". Bleeding Skull.com. Dan Budnik. Retrieved 7 August 2018.