Demon Knight (1995) directed by Ernest Dickerson (The Walking Dead) is an action-packed slasher full of guts, gore, and evil demons. The film stars William Sadler as hero, Brayker, Billy Zane as The Collector, and Jada Pinkett Smith as badass Jeryline. The fate of humanity rests in the hands of unlikely duo, Brayker and Jeryline. They fight off demonic douchebag, The Collector, who unleashes an army of demons. Brayker has an all-powerful key to protect humanity. But can Brayker and Jeryline stop The Collector in time to save the universe?
With an epic 90’s soundtrack, innovative kills, and empowered female characters, Demon Knight has everything a good slasher should. The film opens to the Crypt Keeper’s (John Kassir) haunted house with that familiar Tales from the Crypt theme song. Suddenly I’m back in 1995, watching this movie on a tiny TV. Though I’d seen this flick as a teenager, I somehow forgot it existed.
Thanks to the amazing and brilliant people behind Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019) I was reminded of how important Demon really is. After watching Horror Noire, I learned that Jeryline was one of the very first Black Final Girls. A Final Girl is the slasher’s female survivor that subverts normative gender stereotypes to ultimately kill the killer. In short, she’s the badass bitch who doesn’t need a man to save her. As Horror Noire so brilliantly touched upon, the problem with Final Girls? They tend to be white—really white.
I couldn’t think of a better film for Women in Horror Month than Demon Knight, a slasher with one of horror’s first Black Final Girls. While directors like Wes Craven (People Under the Stairs) did their best to have diverse casts in their slashers, it is rare to see a non-white Final Girl. Jada Pinkett Smith who plays Jeryline in Demon also plays the stereotypical, sacrificial minority who dies in the beginning of Scream 2 (1997).
While a humorous, satirical commentary on horror’s predilection for killing people of color first, Scream 2 did not remedy the issue. Throughout the Scream franchise, Black characters are routinely killed off in the beginning and relegated to sidekick roles. Just two years before Jada plays the opening death scene girl in Scream 2, she gets to play the hero in Demon Knight.
Not only does Demon deliver fast-paced action, suspense, and brutal decapitations, we also get to see strong Black women have agency in their own lives. Instead of being sidekicks or victims, Demon Knight creates strong roles for women while giving us the tits and gore we deserve. Think about it. Off the top of your head, how many Black Final Girls can you name? If all you came up with was Aaliyah from Queen of the Damned, add Horror Noire to your watchlist now.
After the Crypt Keeper’s trademark intro, we open to bloody clothes strewn across a bed and a scantily-clad, busty blonde. The fake-breasted broad whispers into the landline, “Killing him was almost better than sex” as we pan out to a crime scene. As the blonde continues her landline sex, the corpse that’s supposed to be dissolving in a vat of acid is suddenly alive.
The mucus-corpse grabs an axe and heads upstairs, parts of his body dropping off along the way. We hear a blood-curdling scream as it pans out to a movie set. Turns out we haven’t even started the movie yet. Crypt Keeper is the filmmaker ala Scream 4 when the movie keeps restarting.
Finally, the real movie begins as two cars barrel down a dark, winding road. Hero Brayker is being chased by the demonic Collector to the tune of Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot.” The drag race ends in a brilliant Michael Bay-style explosion and both men walk off unscathed.
We follow Brayker into the strange town of Wormwood, New Mexico which is being haunted by demons. Demons that aren’t so easy to kill. These monsters are like cockroaches you can’t kill by decapitation. You have to shoot them in the eyes or force the magical key blood down their throats. The demons in the movie are well rendered. They’re Alien-gooey and shoot awesome neon green light out when they die. Really makes me miss the era of 90’s horror, before all this cartoony CGI shit.
Brayker is also a really cool character. He’s this supernatural cowboy with Jewish stars on one hand and the blood of Christ on the other. I mean if you’re going to fight the demons, might as well go with two religions, right? He enters a former church which is now the Mission Hotel run by Jeryline and Irene (CCH Pounder).
Irene is not here for your shit. She’s the type of badass bitch who can get her arm ripped from her torso without missing a beat. Brayker and The Collector bring their fight into the Mission Hotel and that’s when things get interesting.
We find out that denim-clad Jeryline is on work-release from jail and takes orders from no one, except Irene. The Mission Hotel has some questionable food choices, but they do boast an on-call sex worker, so that’s a nice amenity.
Once the Collector and his demons enter the hotel, Irene walks calmly to the sink and loads her shotgun. The demons kill off a few victims but they’re not getting Irene. One of the zombie-looking demons rips Irene’s arm right off. All she does is say, “Gimme that,” nods at a bottle of vodka, and takes a big swig. Let’s just say Irene is going on my zombie apocalypse team, no question.
While badass Irene and Jeryline usher the rest of the guests and workers into the mines below the hotel, Brayker has these weird acid flashbacks. Shots of multiple crucifixions, demons, and wars flash through Brayker’s mind as the team moves further underground. Jeryline is our fearless leader through the tunnels along with one-armed Irene in tow.
Although Brayker has sealed off the mines with protective blood from JC Superstar himself, the Collector can still enter through people’s minds. The Collector is a great metaphor for the political propaganda of the time. In 1995, it was the era of Slick Willy’s “tough on crime” propagandistic War on Drugs. Much like the Clintons convinced voters that Black people were “superpredators” with “no humanity” who deserved matching public policy, the Collector is a fan of propaganda himself.
Made just a year after Clinton’s 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, largely responsible for the overrepresentation of people of color in our nation’s jails, Demon Knight provides brilliant commentary on propaganda. Like Clinton, the Collector has a scratchy, Southern drawl that he uses to coax people into submission. “I’ll always love you,” says the Collector. “Come with me,” he whispers, promising people safety, freedom, and love. Billy Zane is absolutely perfect for this role. He’s your typical, charming, douche bag promising people the world just to steal their souls and drain their bodies.
The Collector sets his eyes on Jeryline and tries to convert her to the dark side. “You’re so pretty,” he tells her, as she stands there, unsure of whether to give in. “You can travel the world,” he promises her. But this isn’t Jeryline’s first demon apocalypse. She leans over as if to say, “oh yeah?” spits in his dumb face and walks away.
What’s so fascinating about Jeryline as a Final Girl is that’s she’s not your typical white virgin. Jeryline isn’t going to fall for the killer’s traps. She doesn’t give a fuck what the killer says, she’s not going down without a fight. Since we’re used to seeing a rather white cast of Final Girls like Sidney, Laurie, Ripley, and Carrie, Jeryline is a welcome respite from this typecasting.
Jeryline and Irene’s characters show the audience that heroes don’t have to be white—final girls don’t have to be white. Even back in 1995, when America was led by a faux-Democratic war hawk, we get real representation of Black women in horror. Jeryline and Irene aren’t the opening scene deaths, the sidekicks, the victims. These women are the real heroes, stronger than any male character in the film.
I’m not saying that I have a problem with the white Final Girls on which my feminist horror column is based. I’m saying there’s no fucking excuse for the underrepresentation of Black women in film as heroes, instead of victims. Hopefully, in the wake of Peele’s groundbreaking work in Get Out (2017) and US (2019), we’ll see more changes in the horror industry.
While Irene makes it through most of the film, achieving more than opening kill scene status, she isn’t going to survive. As the demon-fighting team runs low on bullets, Irene finds a supply of grenades and knows what she must do. Sacrificing herself so that others stand a chance, Irene straps grenades to her chest and suicide-bombs the hell out of the demons. Irene’s final words are her famous tag-line, “Suppertime!” as she blows up the demons in a murder-suicide.
Jeryline mourns briefly then moves on because she’s got a universe to save. Much like Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) strategy for surviving an entire Scream franchise, Jeryline knows there’s no time to cry. Brayker sees this bravery and passes on the powerful Christy key to Jeryline, saying “You’re the chosen one.” Then Brayker drops dead, having found someone worthy of carrying on his mission.
Imbued with Brayker’s powers, Jeryline faces off the Collector, drenched in protective Christ-blood. Dark red blood covers Jeryline’s face like war paint as the Collector attacks her. He beats her, throws her in a shower curtain/body bag, and drags her downstairs. Reminiscent of Tina’s death in the first Nightmare (1984), we fear that this may be the end of Jeryline’s story.
Collector Zane has the powerful key and dances Jeryline’s body around like a Tom Petty music video. How will she kill him? Collector can’t be stabbed in the eyes like the other demons and she no longer has the key. Turns out that Jeryline took a swig of Christ-blood from the key and has held it in her mouth this whole time.
Just when we’re sure the Collector has her, Jeryline spits the blood in his face, as he bursts into flames and dies. Boom. The Collector morphs into his true form as the Devil, suggesting that some men are just demons in human skin. Jeryline gets dressed, takes the key, and grabs a bus out of town. Because saving the universe from a demon apocalypse is no big deal for Jeryline.
She’s not just the Final Girl, Jeryline’s now the new Brayker, savior of humanity. A new Collector arrives but he’s too late as Jeryline has already sealed the bus with protective blood. We pan out to the Crypt Keeper who tells us of Jeryline’s fate. The Crypt Keeper arrives at the premiere of Demon Knight and says, “Jeryline lived happily ever after. She’s traveling the world and having a fabulous time.”
Turns out that Jeryline didn’t need a man to see the world. All Jeryline needs is herself because women aren’t just half-humans wandering around, waiting for men to complete them. Jeryline shows us the power of the Final Girl, empowerment, agency, and the ability to do whatever the hell she wants.
So if you’re into gore, grunge, and Final Girls, Demon Knight is the slasher for you.