Chattanooga Film Festival 2020 Review – Attack of the Demons

Attack of the Demons is like The Evil Dead by way of South Park.  An absurd, funny, violent animated horror film made out of what looks like stop-motion construction paper.  It’s an absolute blast and one of the best films I saw at the 2020 Chattanooga Film Festival.

The year is 1994 and in the small town of Barrington, Colorado it is the 10th annual Halloween Festival, a night where the entire town comes out to celebrate their favorite holiday.  The main attraction that everyone is going to is a “Battle of the Bands” concert that is taking place in the middle of town.

But not everyone is at the concert.  Kevin (voiced by Thomas Petersen) is the only one attending a screening of a 1970’s Italian horror film, Jeff (voiced by Andreas Petersen) is the only person over the age of twelve at an arcade, and Nat (voiced by Katie Maguire) is the only one at a dive bar seeing her favorite band.

When the concert gets a surprise visit from a demonic cult member who chants the a siege of mutating demons back to life, the town starts to get overrun and attacked by them.  It is then up to Kevin, Jeff, and Nat to come together and use every skill they have to stop the demon apocalypse.

What’s great about Attack of the Demons is how simple its plot and story are.  This is horror-adventure 101.  Kevin, Jeff, and Nat, former high school friends who lost touch over the years are now back on this one fateful night, are put in an absurd situation and must use their specific set of skills and knowledge, most of which they got from movies, video games, and music, to overcome these demons.  They get some help along the way form Jeff’s uncle, who is the one character who was always prepared for something like this, yet everyone thought he was crazy, including Jeff.  There’s a guy who has been studying this demon cult for years and knows everything about its history.  We also get Nat trying to get over a boyfriend who doesn’t treat her right and Kevin facing a tough, tragic decision while the demons attack.  This all classic horror adventure stuff and it’s done to perfection here.

The animation is great.  The rawness of it hooked me right from the opening scene.  It looks like the first episodes of South Park but with brighter colors and unique character designs.  The dialog is snappy and funny and the movie doesn’t shy away from the gore and chaos the demons inflict on the town.

Animated horror movies are a genre that I really love and Attack of the Demons reaffirmed my love for the genre.  Cool animation coupled with a solid story and excellent dialog make Attack of the Demons top-tier horror animation.

Attack of the Demons played in the FEATURES category at the 2020 Chattanooga Film Festival.

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