Billy Zane is unbelievable in this film. His performance is one of the most enjoyable displays of acting ability I've had the privilege to watch. If your a budding actor or drama student you should get a copy of this and study it. Very rare you get something as unique and brave as this character on film. Zane was made for this role and he is truly electrifying in every scene. This and Dead Calm are his best performances and I often wonder why he never made the really smash hit big budget movies the likes of Will Smith, DiCaprio, Keanu Reeves etc are accustomed to, as he's better than all of them. He nails every scene with indulging wit and seductive charm, taking a fundamentally nasty character and turning him into a very likable, unforgettable villain. Presumably because this is a Tales From the Crypt movie it was largely underrated at the time of release which is a shame. This is what acting is all about.

For 7 seasons, Tales From The Crypt was one of the most imaginative shows on cable. Fellow fans of the show will remember that it wasn't about the blood and gore, but the interest in the show came from it's unique characters and that amazing twist at the end, that is why I made Demon Knight my Halloween movie. The film start with an exciting chase and a mysterious man who shows up in a small New Mexico town. He is a protector against the dark forces that mean to take over the world. Once his location is discovered, he and his fellow halfway house residence are surrounded by demons and must survive the night. The shows was 30 minutes of pure intrigue, but the films, which are obviously longer, have been huge disappointments. While you still get those unique characters and stories, they still only have about 30 minutes worth of story to tell. That means they have to fill the rest of the film with a lot of gore, and trust me, it gets old in a hurry. The lead is played by veteran character actor, William Sadler, who has never really been a star. He's been in a ton of stuff, and everyone knows his face, but he's never had one character that you can really identify him with. He was pretty good in Demon Knight and most certainly fit the interesting character, but personally I felt he was a little too old for the role, as seen in many of the action sequences. Sadler has a ton of help from a large supporting cast, including a then unknown actress named Jada Pinkett. Demon Knight wasn't a bad film, but it's certainly not what I've come to expect from Tales From The Crypt. The film was much to straight forward and lacks that interesting story we've come to love over 7 seasons. If you're a die hard fan of the show, I'd recommend seeing Demon Knight, but if you're not, then you can really skip this one.

"DEMON KNIGHT" is a criminally underrated masterpiece of 1990s B-cinema; I argue that it stands with other genre siblings like THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS and DEAD ALIVE as an overlooked gem composed of everything enjoyable about the horror movie experience.DK is incredibly fun. Bloody, gory, goofy fun, but it's also quite surprising. It accepts its limitations, both financial and thematic (due to being a "Tales From the Crypt" project) and embraces them with all the enthusiasm and grandeur it deserves and some that it doesn't. It accepts that its premise is fundamentally far-fetched, but also accepts that to the characters, its nothing short of completely real, and so the story and the cast treats it as such and that is what sets it above other, disappointing kitsch horror films that stray into the meta or take themselves overwhelmingly seriously for an underwhelming concept.What sells this film more than anything else is the cast; it's a testament to the craft to watch them work here. They never wink to the audience or treat the material with disdain, but instead, give it all they have (without veering into parody or kabuki), and that sells the importance necessary to invest in the characters and care about their plight. Virtually everyone in this film except Dick Miller is cast against type, and given a character in stark contrast with the ones they are usually given in films and TV outside. The most notable is Thomas Haden Church, who devastates his charming, adorable iconic role of Lowell in "Wings" as the loathsome, irredeemable, belligerent Roach. Sadler in particular is affecting as Brayker, who is a character of such quiet dignity and resignation that I truly wonder why he hasn't been offered more roles like this since. The true standout, however, is Billy Zane, who has such unparalleled charisma and humor that had this film been recognized at its time for its greatness, Zane would be remembered for The Collector and not for TITANIC. Zane's performance as The Collector is nothing less than on par with Christoph Waltz's Landa in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.If that sounds like hyperbole, then you have yet to see the evidence to the contrary.You really can't go wrong as a horror movie fan, casual or serious, with giving this film a go. Even if you don't find it to be your cup of tea, you'd be hard pressed to argue that it wasn't worth your time.DEMON KNIGHT is actually worthy of your time. Give it a shot.

I saw this movie for the first time around 13 years ago, I was just a kid. Back in the day me and my dad went to Videoland every 2 weeks or so and rented 10 flicks at a time for a week, VHS off course. For my age ( around 10 ) I was interested in very different movies then my classmates or friends. I always picked out action, ninja and horror movies, like Commando, Gremlins, Highway to Hell etc. This time I picked Demon Knight, as well as 9 other movies which off course I can't remember. But the funny thing is, I never watched a single one of them. Yes people, for 7 days straight I was sucked into Demon Knight. I was so impressed by this movie back then, that I watched it like 15 times in 1 week. For me this movie is a cult classic and is one of my favorite movies of all time. I grew older, so I know a "good" movie is something like Godfather or the Dark Knight ( generally speaking ) but the memories from this movie from when I was a kid are still engraved into my mind and I can watch it anytime with full enjoyment. Sorry for the small back story but I really wanted to try and tell why I love this freaking movie.This movie starts off with a drifter named Brayker ( William Sadler ) trying to get away from a cowboy-like dude called The Collector, which is a role meant to be played by Billy Zane. This guy just nails it, and is definitely the star in this movie. After a car crash with a big bang, Sadler makes a run for an old church converted into a bar. This will be set piece for the whole movie. We find out that Sadler has a mysterious Relic and Zane is a demon working as a collector trying to get the relic back to his masters. Because before the earth was created it was ruled by demons, and they had 7 keys to keep the planet in darkness. Then god came along and divided the keys and drove off the demons. The key Sadler holds is the last one they need to bring back eternal darkness. I know it sounds cheesy and it is, but it doesn't really matter. Inside the key is blood, which can be used to seal doors and windows to create a blood barricade so the demons can't enter, this idea always fascinated me and I remember playing as a kid with colored water to replicate this tool.This movie has it all. 8 People stuck in a bar getting attacked by the demons of darkness. You got your typical asshole Roach, the friendly old uncle Willy, local prostitute Cordelia, nerdy type guy Wally, big momma Irene and the young Jada Pinkett Smith adding some drama to this movie. But Billy Zane is king as the collector, an evil character with a laid back style and lots of twisted humor. After the first dull 15 minutes, sh!t will hit the fan when Zane just punches right through a police officer's head, Classic ! And it gets better, we even see an arm getting ripped off, brilliant. Zane brings out some demon sidekicks, really ugly looking bastards, but they look cool, to get into the hotel and attack. The lame thing is, that you need to shoot 'em in the eyes to kill them, I've seen that before. What I also liked about this flick was how Zane tries to bribe everyone in change for their souls. Uncle Willy for example got into a dream-like scene where he was surrounded by dozens of women, topless ! Awe-some movie people. Zane as star, and Sadler respectively second playing a believable character on the run for his life and that off the entire world. We see fists through face punches, arms getting ripped off, explosions, blood, demons, boobies. This is a classic !