Audio and Dubbing differences in Demons (1985)

Unless you own an old VHS copy of Lamberto Bava's Demons, then you probably might not remember how different it was from the Anchor Bay DVDs. Perhaps you had watched the VHS a few times back in the day and then in 1999 when that DVD came out you bought it and thought something was off. The different audio tracks for this film is fairly common knowledge I'd say though, so you probably know something about it already. If you're lucky enough to own the new Synapse LE Blu-ray of the film, then you'll have the coveted US dub from your youth with you once again. For me, for that very reason, this Synapse release is one of the greatest treasures in my collection.

I'm going to cover as much as I can on all of the differences that I found myself. I'm going to focus on mostly major things, but also get into some minor stuff. A few things I won't mention all that much is different points where the music starts at slightly different times. Some things to NOTE are that the audio in the US MONO Dub is considerably louder than the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Dub and slightly louder than the ITALIAN dub. Also for the US MONO, the background noise is louder significantly to the point or approaching and in rare cases surpassing some of the original sounds and/or spoken words. NOTE: The following screenshots are from the new 2013 Synapse DVD, not the Blu-ray.

The Opening Credits.

aka Cheryl is one tripped out chick.

Something that everybody who's ever seen the original New World Video VHS misses when they would pop in their Anchor Bay DVD was that famous growl. The film credits start off with a low rumbling noise and once the title screen comes blaring towards you a sinister growl is heard! Now it should be noted that on the original US release the title screen was of course DEMONS and not DEMONI as is shown here on the Blu-ray and DVD versions. Also, whenever I throw a Shriek Show DVD into my player I get the strange feeling that they ripped this shit off. What do you think?

In the US MONO Dub, when Cheryl sees the masked man in the mirror there's a thunderous loud crash heard. In the other versions the music continues playing uninterrupted by this noise.

When Cheryl rides up the escalator and finally comes face to half-face with her masked friend, in the US MONO Dub there's a quick buildup cue and then a loud boom that comes pounding in. In the other versions the music simply comes to a quick stop as he bum-rushes her and stops her dead in her tracks.

The Metropol Theater.

aka It's got a death curse I tells ya! A deeeaaaaaattthh curse!!1

In the US MONO Dub, when the sign for the Metropol light flashes twice and lights up there's a buzzing-type noise to accompany it. Seconds later inside the theater the floor panels light up under the motorcycle, and each light is given its own ding which is really cool. When this whole scene starts there's a very loud grumbling noise, and then a low trembling synthesizer that rages on for a while.

On the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Track, whenever the theater is shown from the outside you hear sinister sounding winds and the cries of fallen angels. These portions of Simonetti's soundtrack are present in the US MONO, but whenever the theater is shown, booms are added and the noises are amplified to give it a more imposing doom type of vibe.

Carmen and Rosemary, our film's heroines.
aka These whores probably are on heroin... but are in need of some high grade antibiotics!

In the US MONO Track, when Werner approaches the silver mask hanging off the motorcycle samurai, a low droned rumbling is heard. The sound comes in waves and when he touches the mask the sound amplifies to strong winds on top of the rumbling. When he tell Liz not to touch it and she asked "touch what?", he goes to touch it again and it's gone. Here the sound intensifies even more and then once again to a trembling strength once Rosemary puts the mask onto her Rick James-looking prostitute face. In the INTERNATIONAL Track none of these foreboding sounds are heard.

When Rosemary's cheek starts bleeding again, she heads off to the restroom. As she opens the red curtain to go through, the Usherette is standing there with a strangely mischievous look on her face. In the US MONO Dub a wailing noise is heard. In the other versions it's relatively silent. You're going to notice a theme here.

When Carmen goes looking for Rosemary in the toilet, she walks in and says her name twice before noticing blood and grue all over the sink in front of her. During this scene in the US MONO Track strange noises are heard once the shot of the sink occurs. These noises are reminiscent of squirmy worms, electric eels and gushing wind. It kind of sounds like a large piece of sheet metal that has been whipped in the wind and then some electronic effects put over it. Also, when Rosemary turns around and exposes her demonic form, ooze flowing from the mouth and all, the sound effects have been expanded upon and amplified. In the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Version there are of course no sound effects at all during the sink shot and everything is all just a bit quieter.

When Rosemary pulls the curtain rope and begins to strangle Baldy and Liz, there's some loud squealing noise that's played in a loop that sounds a bit like a dying elephant or something. In the INTERNATIONAL Dub all that is heard are gargling sounds of the victims being strangled and Rosemary grunting while she kills them.

In the US MONO Dub just after Carmen's transformation, she lunges at that old grumpy fucker and rips a hole in his chest. The very second her claws penetrate his leather like skin, there's a loud "DUNNNNN"-like boom. Afterwards there's a vibrating type noise that rumbles all throughout the tearing of flesh. In the other versions the scene is quiet once again, aside from the squishy sounds, screams and grunts.

Jeeeez! Man, that is some gruesome shit right there. When Rosemary attacks and rips the blue blockers off of Shade's face, there's a low rumbling growl all throughout the scene. In the other versions the scene is silent, other than Rosemary's own growing and the dude's ghaaaastly moans.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

After Tony the Pimp rallies all the worthless lumps of flesh to find a fire exit within the suddenly inescapable theater, it is suggested that "if everyone stays together then nobody will get hurt". Well I guess this lady in the blue dress needs to have her fuckin' ears checked, because as soon a she gets the chance she goes wandering off alone into a dark room. "Fast as a Shark" by Accept is blaring in the background during all of this chaos. The music continues as she looks around the room only to find nothing. Once she turns around, Rosemary jumps from the doorway and rips the wig from her bloodied dome.

U.S. MONO TRACK:

When the woman in the blueish dress enters that dead end room, the music fades out pretty fast just as she walks through the door. For the remainder of the scene all you hear are the screams of the people running, and then a long drawn out, droning noise. When Rosemary suddenly appears to scalp the dumb bitch, some wicked pulsating sounds are heard, like maniacal shock waves through the air. She falls to the floor in anguish and Rosemary fiendishly admires her work. The music resumes once George stumbles across the gruesome scene and yells out "Jeeesus!"

ITALIAN AUDIO TRACK:

The ITALIAN Audio is the same as the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Version, only instead of "Fast as a Shark" by Accept playing, it's "Dynamite" by The Scorpions in the background. Interesting, but totally weird sounding to someone who's never listened to it before. My preference? The US version where the music stops and the droning noise is heard, of course.

Geeks looking for lizards, and the women who love them.

aka Save Our Souls for the Devil.

When the young grave robbing teens are going down further into a crypt, a couple bats fly out from under the rocky side wall. In the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Version the bat can be heard clearly, as can the reaction of the guy who yells "gah!" and the girl's screams. In the US MONO Dub the music blasts so loudly with some distorted squeeling that it's hard to hear either the bat or the dude.

"It says here that Demons are instruments... of Evil!" Just as Bob speaks those words, Jerry blows the dust off the old as all fuck demon mask that he had just unwrapped from its clothed mummification. A sound like a huge devilish rattlesnake thrashes as the dust flies. This awesome tone setting noise of course happens in the US MONO DUB only. It was always one of my very favorite sound effects from the film. When I originally bought the AB DVD and didn't hear it after Jerry knocked the dust of that ancient mask, it damn near wrecked the whole rest of the movie for me. It's that important of a sound effect, seriously.

In addition to that particular sound, there are alternate sounds added on top of the existing music for the movie within a movie. Mostly these sounds are single or double soft bass musical notes, rattling effect noises and drawn out noise. These additional musical tones can be heard both during these scenes and when the film cuts to the audience members - most notably, Tony and his whores. When Tony says "Now we now why you look so good in it" and when Carmen says "See that? Same thing happened in the movie" are two scenes of interest. When Jerry pulls the mask off of his face after saying "Trick or Treat" there is a rattling, then a cool sounding three note cue as the camera zooms in on his face, and more rattling afterwards.

The Coca-Cola Fiends.

aka Coke isn't the only thing getting cut tonight. Yeah I'm talkin' bout that titty meat. Mmm!

In regards to the punk gang's scenes, some smaller parts of the film are completely identical aside from a different voice actor doing his own take with the exact same line. Examples of these are: 1) The overdub in the car where Nina tells Hot Dog that they should "rip off a Ferrari next time", though it clearly sounds like Ripper is who's she's 'speaking with'. 2) The scene where Ripper says "Take the wheel" then proceeds to snort drugs out of the Coca-Cola can before smiling and stating "This shit'd wake up the dead!", is the same in both versions. 3) There's also a quick shot where the punks are walking through downstairs corridors of the Metropol when they first enter the building that's the same in both. 4) Another shot of the punks finding out that they're in the theater but it's deserted. They wonder where the noise was coming from and one of them says "Who gives a shit!" 5) And then after Nina stays behind in that one room they ask where she could be and Ripper says "Probably in the can!". One track says "She's probably in the can", but let's not dwell on details. Let's get into this:

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*Billy Idol's White Wedding plays in the background*

*Ripper snorts cocaine out of a Coca-Cola can*

Nina: "Hey slow down, leave some of that stuff for us."

Ripper: *laughs*

Hot Dog: "My turn."

Nina: "Why don't you find some manners, ya little shit!"

Baby Pig: "Hey get the hell outta here."

Hot Dog: "I said it was my turn!"

Baby Pig: "Well I say this stuff is too good for ya Asshole!"

*The three shake the can and powdery drugs spill everywhere*

Ripper: "What the fuck!? What's a matter with you guys!?"

Nina: "It's not my fault Ripper!!1"

Ripper: "Fuck you! Pick it up. Every last gram."

U.S. MONO TRACK:

*Billy Idol's White Wedding plays in the background*

*Ripper snorts cocaine out of a Coca-Cola can*

Nina: "Hey slow down, leave some of that stuff for us."

Ripper: *laughs*

Hot Dog: "My turn."

Nina: "Why? It's my can Shithead."

Baby Pig: "Unhand it jerk."

Hot Dog: "I said it was my turn!"

Baby Pig: "It's too fucking good for Assholes like you!!"

*The three shake the can and powdery drugs spill everywhere*

Ripper: "What the fuck!? What's a matter with you guys!?"

Nina: "It's not my fault Ripper!!1"

Ripper: "Fuck you! Pick it up. Every gram!"

One of the many dub differences that I first ever took notice of was this scene in which the punks are fighting over the coke in teh Coke can. I remember it being seemingly realistic, you know, as realistic as snorting coke out of a Coca-Cola can can get(!), right? But when I heard the Alternate English Track off of the Anchor Bay DVD, I was just fucking dumbfounded. Nina's talking about "manners" and Baby Pig is saying things like "Well I do believe that these drugs are far too sophisticated for the likes of you" or some shit like that. Quite frankly, it just sounds weird.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*White Wedding continues playing*

Nina: "Oooh, it's even in my panties!"

Hot Dog: "Givin' you a buzz huh?"

Ripper: "All of it! I said all of it!!"

Baby Pig: "Why don't you relax Ripper you had more than your share already."

Ripper: "Shut up! Unless you want me to break your head!"

Baby Pig: "Ohh, that's Rambo talking baby! Oh yeah, go on... be violent."

Hot Dog: "Don't make me laugh Baby Pig, this takes concentration."

U.S. MONO TRACK:

*White Wedding continues playing*

Nina: "Ugh. It's even in my panties."

Ripper: "All of it! I said all of it!"

Baby Pig: "You got trouble gettin' your dope back now Ripper!"

Ripper: "Shut up! Unless you want me to break your head."

Baby Pig: "Ooh, that's Rambo talking baby! Ooh yeah, tough Ripper."

Hot Dog: "Don't make me laugh Baby Pig, this takes concentration."

This one is a bit of a toss-up! There are aspects of both these dubs that I like. First off, Hot Dog saying that the cocaine in Nina's panties is giving her a buzz is just hot, no matter how you look at it. Such a great insert line. But then Baby Pig saying that Ripper's got trouble getting his dope back now is kinda funny. Way funnier than telling him he's had his fair share already.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*White Wedding continues playing*

Nina: "I finished."

*Nina shows Ripper a photo of a baby in nothing but a diaper*

Nina: "You know, this was me. I was one year old."

Ripper: "Already sellin' your Twat huh? *laughs*

Nina: "Fuck you!"

*Baby Pig takes notice of Nina's cocaine covered breasts*

Baby Pig: "Oh lookee here, there's snow in the valley."

*Baby Pig begins grazing her soft flesh with the razor blade*

Baby Pig: "Well, maybe there's some more further down."

*He slides the razor blade across her supple titty flesh and softly cuts her*

Nina: *screams*

Nina: "Wait'll I get near your prick, Piggy!"

Baby Pig: "Must be all the shit in the air that's making you so, gutsy!"

U.S. MONO TRACK:

*White Wedding continues playing*

Nina: "I finished."

*Nina shows Ripper a photo of a baby in nothing but a diaper*

Nina: "You know, this is me. I was one year old."

Ripper: "Already sellin' your Twat huh? *laughs*

Nina: "Fuck you!"

*Baby Pig takes notice of Nina's cocaine covered breasts*

Baby Pig: "Oh lookee here... snow in the valley."

*Baby Pig begins grazing her soft flesh with the razor blade*

Baby Pig: Well, maybe there's some more further down.

*He slides the razor blade across her supple titty flesh and softly cuts her*

Nina: *screams*

Nina: "You're a prick, Piggy!"

Baby Pig: "Must be all the shit in the air that's making you so, nice!"

This scene is pretty much identical. All of the good stuff is in both versions no matter what so there's not that much to worry about. I do like the US track more because I like how Piggy says "nice" instead of "gutsy". But whatever.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Hot Dog: "Shhhhh... you hear that noise?"

Ripper: "It's comin' from in the theater. It's a movie."

Hod Dog: "Nah, that's not a movie."

Nina: "Okay, so what is it!?"

Baby Pig: "It's the Coke in your eeeaaaarrrrrss...."

Nina: *Giggles and snorts some coke*

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Hot Dog: "Shhhhh... you hear that?"

Ripper: "It's comin' from the theater. It's a movie."

Hod Dog: "Nah, that's not a movie."

Nina: "Okay, so what is it then!?"

Baby Pig: "It's Count Draculaaaaaahhh!"

Nina: *Giggles and snorts some coke*

"It's the coke in your ears!" What in the fuck is that? Really. I'm dead serious when I say that I fucking hate that line with a passion. I was so used to hearing Baby Pig say "Count Dracula!" with a freaky look on his face for so long that when I finally heard him say that other line from the original DVD, I felt downright disgustipated! In fact, for the longest time I held a level of disgust while watching Demons - the very many times I did over the years - having to listen to this dub that I disliked so much. It's horribly irritating.

Some guy on IMDB claims that the "Count Dracula" line is in the Italian Dub as well as the US Mono. I personally cannot verify if this is true as I don't speak the language, nor do I know how many different ways there are to refer to The Master's name in Italian. All I do know is that in the language they don't actually say the word "Dracula", and on top of that the Subtitles for the Italian track talks about "cocaine flying". What-ever-the-fuck that means! I may as well be jerking off in the corner through a straitjacket while eating tiny insects off the floor here, because I am oblivious!

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Cop: "Alright kids."

Ripper: "We parked illegally? Sorry officer. We're on our way. Just give me a second, huh?"

Cop: "Hold it, let me see your licence and registration."

Ripper: "Let's go!"
*Ripper shoves the cop out of the way and the punks all run off*

Ripper: "ALL PIGS SUCK!!"

Cop #1: "Stop!"

Cop #2: "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Cop #1: "No. Hold it. It's a blind alley."

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Cop: "Hey kids."

Ripper: "We parked illegally? Sorry officer. We're on our way. Just give me a second, huh?"

Cop #2: "Hold it, everybody out of the car. Put your hands on the trunk."

Ripper: "Let's go!"

Cop #2: "Hey, I said put your hands on the..."
*Ripper shoves the cop out of the way and the punks all run off*

Ripper: "FUCK OFF PIG!!"

Cop #1: "Freeze punk!"

Cop #2: "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Cop #1: "No. Hold it. Hold it. It's a blind alley."

Obviously the US track is the clear winner here. It's far more realistic and the dialogue is just way fucking better. Who in the hell yells out "All Pigs Suck" anyways?! Nobody. "Fuck Off Pig" is a much more down to earth thing to say. It's not like these guys are protesting or some shit... they're criminals, supposedly. And criminals don't speak the way they do in the International dub. Also, the cop yells "Freeze Punk!" Totally an 80's cop thing to say. He nearly went Robo there.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*The punks go running down a dead end street*

Ripper: "We're trapped!"

Nina: "No..."

*The wall mysteriously opens up into a door*

Ripper: "This way. Come on."

Nina: *Giggles*

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Ripper: "Shit, dead end. Come on."

*The punks go running down a dead end street*

Ripper: "We're trapped Damnit!"

*The wall mysteriously opens up into a door*

Ripper: "What the Fuck!?"

Ripper: "This way. Come on."

Now, in the US Dub when the punks are running from the police down the alleyway, for some reason Ripper says "Shit, dead end! Come on." It's pretty funny, but I guess when you're in a desperate situation like that you're not really thinking. "Hurry, run down this dead end!" Understandably, it's not in the INTERNATIONAL Version. But what I always remembered the most about this scene is when the wall mysteriously opens up like a door and a confused Ripper says to himself "What the Fuck!?" It's such a natural reaction to some unexpectedly weird shit like this happening. Having always preferred to watch my old New World Home Video release, I absolutely hated that this line wasn't in the DVD Version.

After the punks run inside the theater, something... scurries out! That something is Werner, the blind man who's just happened to have his malfunctioning eyeballs ripped the fuck out of his skull by Rosemary, and has now transformed into a Demon! Unfortunately for the police who are walking slowly down that closed off alleyway looking for those punk ass criminals, they don't know this strange fact.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*The cops slowly make their way down the alley*

*They see a man in a suit laying face down*

*Cop #2 gets clawed all to shit by Demon Werner*

Cop #2: "Shoot! Shoot!"

U.S. MONO TRACK:

*The cops slowly make their way down the alley*

Cop #1: "Shh.. Ya hear that?"

Cop #2: "Yeah, I heard it. Behind the car."

*They see a man in a suit laying face down*

Cop #2: "Hey buddy. Buddy you alright?"

*Cop #2 gets clawed all to shit by Demon Werner*

Cop #2": "What are you waiting for!? Shoot him! Shoot him!"

Talk about significant. I don't know if they were just going for the minimalist surprise factor for some of these scenes in the INT. Version or what. But once again the US Track is much more believable and interesting. Were the cops being quiet because they thought the punks were hiding? Does it matter? When they see the guy on the ground their first thought is probably that the punks fucked him up so asking if he's alright is the natural thing to do.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Ripper: "What kind of fucking place is this!?"

Nina: "What the hell happened in here?"

Baby Pig: "Find a way out!"

Hot Dog: "Hey! There's a door here, come on!"
*The punks wander around with their heads up their asses*

Hot Dog: "Hey come on... move the machine!! There's a door right behind it."

*Hot Dog tries to enter the room before Ripper*

Ripper: "Asshole!"

Ripper: "This place goes nowhere, let's go."

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Ripper: "What kind of fucking place is this!?"

Nina: "What the hell happened in here?"

Baby Pig: "Find a way out!"

Hot Dog: "Hey! Hey there's a door here. Gimme a hand."
*The punks wander around with their heads up their asses*

Hot Dog: "Hey where ya goin'? Move the machine, there's a door right behind it."

*Hot Dog tries to enter the room before Ripper*

Ripper: "Asshole!"

Ripper: "This place goes nowhere, let's go."

Nothing big here, moving on.

After Nina pushed the chair out of her way with her leg, a low droning noise is heard. Which of course is usually heard right before somebody is suddenly attacked. I wonder what happens next?!

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

*Hot Dog runs out of bullets*

Hot Dog: "Shit! Shit!"

Baby Pig: "Hey do you think they're after our snow?"

Hot Dog: "I don't know Baby Pig, why don't you ask 'em!"

Ripper: "I'm not wasting it on these shitheads, see you guys in hell."

U.S. MONO TRACK:

*Hot Dog runs out of bullets*

Hot Dog: "Shit! Shit!"

Baby Pig: "What are they after?"

Hot Dog: "I don't know Baby Pig, you ask em!"

Ripper: "It's us they want asshole. See you in hell!"

Bitter Old Frank and his Naggity-ass Wife Ruth.

aka This asshole takes his annoying wife to a show, and the bitch wants more for fuck's sake!

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Ruth: "That's strange, I didn't there a movie theater on this street."

Frank: "Been closed for years. Someone's put a small fortune into the renovations."

Ruth: "How come I never noticed it?"

Frank: "You never notice anything darling!"

Ruth: "Don't start, please Frank. I mean it is our anniversary honey."

Frank: "So what! I'm taking you to a show. What else do you want!?"

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Ruth: "That's strange, I didn't there a movie house on this street."

Frank: "Closed down a couple years ago. Looks like they spent some money on it."

Ruth: "How come I never noticed it?"

Frank: "You never notice anything darling!"

Ruth: "Please Frank, don't start. This is our anniversary!"

Frank: "So what! I'm taking you to a show. What else do you want!?"

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Frank: "Whores. You can tell 'em a mile away."

Ruth: "What do you care?!"

Frank: *shrugs*

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Frank: "Hookers. Fuckin' everywhere."

Ruth: "What do you care?!"

Frank: *shrugs*

I've always loved how Frank says "Hookaahhhs! Fuckin' Everywhaah." So I'm totally biased to the US dub, but his comments in the other version rings true as well, and probably make a bit more sense. You can tell whores from a mile away... right? Or is that undercover cops? Wait, which one taps your phone again? Nevermind. And who says "taps your phone" anymore anyways? Man, I must be old as fuckin' hell. Back in my day the only thing I liked to tap was Dat Ass! And look at me now, surrounded by bloodthirsty hookers that all want to kill me. What in the fuck! Where did I go wrong Lamberto Bava? I followed your advice by the slice my goomba.

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH TRACK:

Ruth: "I'll be awake all night after this."

Frank: "Will you shut up!?"

U.S. MONO TRACK:

Ruth: "It's too bloody of a movie!"

Frank: "Ruth, shut up!!!"

Goddammit Frank, take your motherfucking high blood pressure medicine will ya?! You better take off that sports jacket too pal, you're starting to break a sweat. What a grump.

The Hungry End.

aka Where the fuck was that half-masked dude this whole time? Was he on the roof!?

When Kathy becomes possessed by the theater and finally raises her head with a growl, the US MONO Dub has a pulsating synth insert that adds to the intensity of the scene and transitions from background silence to the next song. In the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Version the background of this whole scene is silent aside from some winds at the beginning, and the music starts abruptly out of nowhere before Kathy is shown down on her knees writhing. The music in the US version also starts about five seconds sooner to keep things exciting.

When the masked man appears on the roof in the finale of the film, there's pretty much no background music whatsoever on the INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH Track. This is a long and drawn out scene that could really use some background presence. Well, no worries as the US MONO track has pretty much every single note, chord and sound effect that's been used throughout the entire film all mixed in to a suiting groove fit for this weird fucker and the chaos that occurs. The other versions seem so damn quiet, especially if you're used to the US Dub.

None of this kid's scenes were altered, thank the Dark Lord! His performance was far too brilliant to be changed in any way, shape or form. Hey, this is EerieErik and I hope you enjoyed this thing I just wrote up. It took a while, but since I've seen Demons about a hundred or so times I really knew where to look. Still, this all ended up being twice the size that I thought it would. I probably even missed a few things, who knows. If you know something that I don't, let me know. I'm gonna go pass out now,.