‘Night Of The Demons 3’ Blu-Ray Review – Horror Sequel Feels Out Of Step With The Franchise

It’s Halloween! The gates of Hull House have creaked open once again and Angela (Amelia Kinkade) is waiting for her treats. When a group of rambunctious teens take refuge in the foreboding funeral home to escape the law, they soon realize their grave error. Packed with thrills, chills, and bloody spills, Night Of The Demons 3 is a party to die for!

For thoughts on Night of the Demons 3, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/Kzb-KRvQnOg?si=BI9_XbW-qNjQBc8A&t=293]

Video Quality

Night of the Demons 3 debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Scream Factory with a 1080p transfer that seems to be from an older source, but it appears previous physical media formats did not release this one in the original aspect ratio as we have here. This presentation is not the most impressive even considering the budget-conscious nature of the production. The film is aesthetically very displeasing, yet we are at least grateful the source is in decent shape with nicks and scratches not showing up often. The film has a very soft appearance with detail showing up mostly in more amenable lighting conditions. Black levels stumble with a milky appearance and a bit of crush when exploring Hull House. Colors are fairly saturated but are not given a chance to show off consistently. The most striking visual elements are the grody special effects, production design, and clothing. This Blu-Ray release gets the job done but could use a refresh in the future. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a good DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio stereo track that represents the film to the best of its abilities. The music from Dennis Michael Tenney (brother of Kevin) is a high point of the film as it comes through without any signs of damage or distortion. Dialogue likewise flows through flawlessly in all scenarios. Environmental noises such as gunshots or screams are delineated well within the mix. The low end provides a small amount of texture within the source roots. Scream Factory has delivered a fine audio experience that is unlikely to displease. English SDH subtitles are provided for those who want them.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary #1: Director Jimmy Kaufman provides a new commentary track moderated by Gregory Abilar (several Google searches could not confirm the spelling) in which the filmmaker promises to “hold nothing back” in terms of detailing his experiences making this film. It is always fun to get a commentary with a bit of spice behind it, so this is a blast to listen to with its many candid discussions. 

• Audio Commentary #2: Writer Kevin S. Tenney and Special Effects Artist Roy Knyrim take the same approach on their commentary track as they discuss their frustrations with the movie, the impact of shooting in Canada, things that were changed from the script, the time crunch for the special effects, their appreciation of the cast and various crew members, and much more.  

• Interview with Director Jimmy Kaufman: A new nearly 39-minute interview with the very colorful Kaufman in which he discusses his background, carving out his own style for this entry having never seen the other films, his thoughts on the script, the realities of the production, the casting process, and much more that gets very candid. 

• Interview with Writer Kevin S. Tenney: A new 18-minute interview with the filmmaker who discusses his inconsistent involvement in the series, his thoughts on the direction of the film, his major problem with the house, having to reshoot portions of the movie and more that makes you realize how compromised the film is compared to what it could have been. 

• Interview with Producer Jeff Geoffray: A 17-minute new interview with the producer in which he discusses the development of the sequel, the business side of the film industry, working with Jimmy Kaufman, the working relationship with the studio, and much more.

• Interview with Actor Amelia Kinkade: A 22-minute new interview with Angela herself who discusses returning to the series, shooting in Canada, the difficulty of getting work outside of the horror genre, working with director Jimmy Kaufman, the tone of the film, how the film got her into writing, and much more.

• Night of the Demons 3 Director’s Cut: The Director’s Cut version of the movie (1:38:28), is provided here in rough standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. Some moments have been muted for music rights issues. 

• Night of the Demons 3 TV Cut: The TV Cut of the movie (1:28:09), is provided here in rough standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

• Behind-The-Scenes Footage: There is a 40-minute collection of behind-the-scenes footage provided here. 

• Alternate Title Sequence: There is a 10-minute collection of alternate title sequences provided here. 

• Dailies: There is a 47-minute collection of dailies provided here. 

• Trailer: There is an 11-minute collection of trailers provided here. 

Final Thoughts

Night of the Demons 3 is quite a step down for the franchise as the production company seemed adamant about taking away any potential momentum the movie may have had in favor of slashing the budget. There are elements to appreciate in this one, but it never quite feels cohesive to the universe established. The film is visually unappealing, and the direction given to the performers does not do them any favors. The film is not an abomination, but it is a pretty big misstep that could have been avoided with a little more care. Scream Factory has provided the film with a Blu-Ray release that delivers a fair A/V presentation and a tremendous amount of special features. In fact, the special features are entertaining enough to add to your collection even if you are not a huge fan of the movie. Recommended 

Night of the Demons 3 (Collector’s Edition) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.