film #2 of hoop-tober 2.0 demons 2 follows the "bigger is better" mindest of most horror sequels, and while that's often a recipe for failure it works surprisingly well this time around. lamberto bava is back at the helm with argento again co-writing and producing. this time they appear to have had a bigger budget and they use it to good effect. the narrative thread between the first and second film is a little sketchy but does anyone really care about that in a series like this? no, what's important is that we get enough story to keep us invested and fill the rest with inventive effects and cheesy fun. that's what we get here. the acting this time around is just as over the top as the first time and perhaps more so, but it's also more knowingly so. the characters are at least a tiny bit more developed and the apartment building setting is made good use of. the horror references come hard and fast, much as they did in demons. and sergio stivaletti's creature effects are impressive for a mid-80s low-budget horror flick. also, it tickled me that while most of the demons become gleeful killing machines, emo girl sally becomes an emo demon. it may be a bit sacrilegious to say, but i actually enjoyed demons 2 more than i did the first one.