I was a big fan of the Tales from the Crypt TV show. Thus, I am a big fan of this movie. It feels a lot like one of the Creepshow movies but has enough gore, humor and OTT carnage to make it stand on it's own as well as being a big screen spin-off.
Brayker (William Sadler) is a drifter who stumbles upon a lonely desert town after an explosive confrontation with The Collector (Billy Zane), a supremely evil being with Satanical powers who is desperate to get his hands on Brayker's mysterious talisman. Brayker spends the night in a shabby motel but The Collector soon turns up and unleashes hell upon the motel and it's inhabitants.
This is where the fun really kicks in. The Collector has fun enticing the residents (made up of Dick Miller, Charles Fleisher, Thomas Haden Church, Brenda Bakke, Jada Pinkett-Smith and CCH Pounder) to join him on his dark quest and steal the talisman from Brayker.
Director Ernest Dickerson (who also did Surviving the Game) does not hold back on the gore as he spoofs 1950's B-movies, honor's the TV show and pays brilliant homage to the Tales From The Crypt comic book legacy. It may seem like a cheap, horror comedy with no artistic integrity but Dickerson successfully pulls of a movie that will satisfy and entertain anyone who watches it.
Of course half of the movie's appeal lies with Billy Zane who acts out the role of The Collector with such wicked charm and delightful evil. You can tell he's having a great time and he makes a formidable villain for Sadler's dishevelled hero.
They should make more Tales From The Crypt movies, but producer's Robert Zemeckis, Gilbert Adler and Joel Silver (Walter Hill and David Giler ducked out) went on to found Dark Castle, the production company behind House on Haunted Hill, Thir13en Ghosts and Ghost Ship.
This new DVD by Universal is better than the old one from Image. This time be get the film in it's proper aspect ratio of 1.85:1 anamorphic with a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The old snapper case is gone and in it's place is a sturdy keep case. Demon Knight is definitely one to get.