Demon Knight

The least horrible of the three modern Tales from the Crypt films, Demon Knight follows William Sadler’s mysterious Brayker as he seeks refuge from a vicious demon (Billy Zane) within the confines of a small-town hotel – with the movie detailing the battle that predictably ensues between the pair and the impact the carnage has on the various locals caught in the middle. It’s ultimately clear that Demon Knight‘s biggest problem is an inability to comfortably, organically fill its feature-length running time (ie this likely would’ve been far more effective as a half hour television episode), as the movie, which starts off relatively well, suffers from a padded-out midsection that’s rife with needless interludes. (There are, for example, far more dream sequences than are even remotely necessary.) The decidedly unfocused nature of Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, and Mark Bishop’s screenplay paves the way for a narrative that veers wildly between kind of watchable and hopelessly tiresome, with the ensuing lack of momentum making it almost impossible to work up any real interest in Sadler’s character’s ongoing exploits. (This is to say nothing of the scarcely-developed supporting cast, as folks like Thomas Haden Church, CCH Pounder, and Dick Miller are trapped in the confines of one-dimensional victim-type figures.) And although Zane delivers a gleefully over-the-top performance that remains a rare bright spot, Demon Knight, which builds to an action-heavy yet rather interminable climax, is simply unable to wholeheartedly justify its existence as a big-screen endeavor.

** out of ****