Black Demons is a typical cheesy Italian zombie movie, although this one was filmed after that sub-genre had peaked. Made in 1991, the low budget and corny Euro-trash style make it feel 10 years older. There’s even use of the word “Negro” without a hint of shame or irony.
The plot concerns six black slaves in Brazil who are raised from the dead via — what else? — voodoo. They’ve sworn vengeance against white people for having…well, done what white people did to slaves back in the day. And who can blame them? Frankly, I had a hard time buying them as bad guys. Anyway, it’s pretty obvious, then, that the title is a misnomer; Black Zombies would’ve been more accurate (and Boring-Ass Black Zombies would’ve been the most accurate), but Black Demons was used to capitalize on the success of the Demons series of films.
Needless to say, this is a cheap film with terrible acting and little plot, but it’s no worse than many such Italian cinematic farces. Those seeking gore have a few scenes to tide them over, but the zombies spend way too much time just walking around, biding their time. Biding their time??? Since when do zombies bide their time? When’s the last time you saw a zombie just standing in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike? It certainly doesn’t do anything to combat the stereotype of black folk being shiftless. Plus, they use weapons to kill their victims and can’t even bother to eat them; how lazy can you get?
With all of the previous movies with hordes of mindless killing machine-type zombies, how are we going to be scared by six slow-moving zombies who only come out every now and then, killing one person at a time, if they even attack at all? Plus, you can hear them from a mile away, what with rattling chains on their feet and arms. For dead slaves who’ve been blinded, they do seem to have pretty good vision, though. That’s more than can be said about the two (count ’em, two) victims who get an eyeball ripped out with a hook. Invite the kids!
