Synopsis: A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns who were murdered 500 years earlier, and the ghosts now set out to kill the group and townspeople alike.
I thought I had seen all that Lucio Fulci had to offer. That is until I stumbled across Demonia digging through what the streamers had to offer. If you are a fan of Italian horror or exploitation films of the 70’s and 80’s then Fulci is a name you should recognize. His career spanned decades. His works in exploitation horror films was damn near required material in my younger days.
As the landscape of production changed, Fulci began to move away from cinematic offerings. He began to focus more on television and home video releases. Demonia was rumored to be his grand return to theatrical cinema. But alas, the film failed to gain distribution anywhere. There were even rumblings that he attempted to have his name removed from it completely after that. Upon my own viewing, this feels like one of his weakest films so I completely understand.
There was a Canadian team of archaeologists. During a séance Liza (Meg Register) experiences a vision of crucified nuns. A few months pass. Then they are off to Santa Rosalia, Sicily to investigate Ancient Greek ruins. The locals begin to warn them to stay away from the monastery overlooking their dig. So of course, Liza heads there to investigate.
Behind a chamber wall, she discovers the badly burned remains of five crucified nuns. Soon after, supernatural murders begin to occur. The team and townspeople alike are dispatched in various ways by an ethereal nun.
Liza begins to dig deeper into the history of the monastery. Finding out that back in 1486, the nuns were tortured and crucified beneath their convent. Suspected of engaging in sexual acts with the young men of the village and making a covenant with Satan himself. These are all unconfirmed acts though considering the men in question soon disappeared.
There are a lot of things going on with this one. Although there were brief glimpses of Fulci’s distinct style, overall it was an incoherent mess of nunsploitation with a supernatural twist. The majority of the runtime was me trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Waiting for the random townsperson to spout a bit of exposition. Effectively explaining what was happening.
Demonia is badly dubbed but that’s to be expected (and sometimes part of the charm). The story is meh and not very engaging. The effects are second rate. The acting is over the top and not in a good way. Plain and simple, this film is just a mess.
If you are a Fulci completionist though, by all means sit down with this one. But if you ask me, I would tell you not to waste your time. I found this one on Tubi.
.5 out of 5
So grab your popcorn, kill the lights and join me again tomorrow as we continue our journey on this strange little trip down the 31 Days of Horror rabbit hole. See you soon…
