We’ve now reached Day 17 of Spooky Season!! Today, I’m sharing the next installment of my series, Original vs. Remake! Since it’s the Halloween season, I thought it would be perfect to compare the 1988 and 2009 Night Of The Demons films. Both set on Halloween, a group of friends party at an abandoned house only to be haunted by the demons residing in it. I hope you enjoy and let me know which one you prefer! (MAJOR SPOILERS!!!)

Ok let’s start with, as usual, our protagonists in the film! When it comes to the original film’s characters, I truly wondered why they ever hung out together. I get that they were different groups brought together for the party and one guy crashed, but it really didn’t seem like anyone got along. It’s kind of hard to enjoy a film when the people you’re supposed to be rooting for are so unlikable. When it comes to the dynamic of the group in the remake, it was a much more fun atmosphere. It was obvious they were friends and they were there to just have a good time.

Now, onto specific characters! First up is our gracious host, Angela! Although I think both Shannon Elizabeth and Amelia Kinkade did a fantastic job with the roles, the advantage definitely goes to the O.G.. In the original, Angela was a horror obsessed girl who just wanted to host a party to give her friends a good scare on Halloween. In the remake, Angela hosted the party because she was desperate for money, which kind of took the spirit of the holiday away. That was literally the only problem I had with her and even that was a bit of a stretch.

Time to talk about our final girls, Judy (O) and Maddie (R). With Judy, she was the very typical damsel the entire film. She had one smart idea in the film, but she literally only survived because other people were helping her out. Now, this may not be considered a bad thing usually, but compared to the bada** we got with Maddie, it’s hard not to side with the remake on this one. She figured out what the demons wanted, made her own demon-hurting weapons, and figured out how to outsmart them and get out of the house before they could possess her. Now, I’m debating considering this a tie because even though Judy was a so-so final girl, Rodger was a hell of a final guy. He was one of the smartest guys in the original film, he was not only able to save himself, he selflessly went back and saved Judy.

Now onto our antagonists: the demons! Looks-wise, the original demons were freaky as hell. They were brutal, sadistic, and they actually scared me the first time I watched the film. However, I like the origins of the remake’s demons, and the fact that they needed to possess a specific amount of people in order to bring Hell on Earth. This made the stakes even bigger because it wasn’t just the group of friends in danger, it was the whole world. This is a tough one to decide but when it comes to scare-factor, the remake demons just didn’t have what the originals had. That goes with overall atmosphere of both films too.

This one is just a small comparison but I felt compelled to include it: the pacing of both films. Now, I personally prefer a fast pace to a slow one, and the original’s pacing was just so slow, especially with all of the pauses to tell the stories of the house. It brought the film to a stand-still a couple of times.

Now, it’s time to discuss Angela’s famous dance scene. Both scenes have fantastic music and the set-up for both were well executed. I love that the remake stopped the dance with Suzanne when she realized she and Angela weren’t even touching the ground anymore. However, the advantage goes to the original here. The music was perfect, the dance itself was iconic, and when the strobe lights started flickering and Angela teleported from one side of the room to the other, it was superb!

Finally, we’ve reached the films’ endings! Now, both endings were intense and had a satisfactory conclusion. The advantage goes to the original for a couple of reasons. The first is the remake had a very typical “oh, I just survived the night and I’m going to walk away with a smile on my face even though all of my friends are dead” kind of vibe. When Judy and Rodger were walking home, they definitely exuded the trauma that they’ve just been through the night before. It was certainly more realistic and less corny. Plus, the scene with the old man and his wife was so random and shocking, it was a great ending!

This was a very difficult decision for me because I genuinely enjoy both films. Both had wonderful elements that I loved, and unfortunately, both also had their flaws. I think with all I had to consider, I guess it’s pretty obvious that the original film was victorious in this round!