Demonium

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Demonium
Directed by	Andreas Schnaas
Produced by	Andreas Schnaas
Written by	Ted Geoghegan, Sonja Schnaas
Starring	Andrea Bruschi, Claudia Abbate, Joe Zaso
Distributed by	Anthroproject Films Orange Film SNC
Release date(s)	2001
Running time	120 min.
Language	English
Budget	$1,400,000 (reported)
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Demonium is a 2001 horror film by German director Andreas Schnaas. It stars Andrea Bruschi, Claudia Abbate, Maurizia Grossi, Giuliano Polgar, Joseph Zaso, and Charlotte Roche.

Demonium was filmed in Rome, Italy and the nearby Castello di Lunghezza in early 2001. It was released on DVD in the UK later that year but, as of 2008, has not been officially released in any other territories.

[edit] Plot

The film tells the tale of a group of friends who meet at the sprawling estate of a recently-deceased relative. While attending the reading of his will, they are killed off, one-by-one, for their inheritances. It culminates with a showdown between the killers and remaining family members, with the secret recipe to a miracle drug hanging in the balance.

[edit] Critical Response

Although Schnaas' largest budgeted film (at a reported 1.4 million), Demonium features substantially more dialogue than his previous features. While it showcases his trademark gore throughout, the picture received critical jeers because of its pacing and nearly-incomprehensible dialogue (in English, spoken by an all-Italian cast). The language issue is the primary reason it has yet to be released in most English-speaking territories.

[edit] Follow-up

Schnaas followed this film with a more traditional gore piece, 2003's Nikos. It also starred Joe Zaso and was written by one of Demonium's screenwriters, Ted Geoghegan.