When we look back on our childhoods, who among us can’t fondly recall being possessed by murderous demons? Reading IMDb’s plot summary of The Demon Murder Case, a 1983 telefilm, I felt stirrings of nostalgia and decided to track down this horror flick that was sure to play like a home movie. Sadly, the synopsis — “A young boy is taken over by demons who force him to commit murder” — is deceptive. The worst that Demon’s bedeviled pipsqueak Brian Frazier (Charlie Fields) does is anger a sputtering bishop (Burning Rage’s Eddie Albert, sounding more like a revivalist grifter) by blowing raspberries at God.
There is a murder, committed by an adult late in the film, that comes out of nowhere. Its circumstances, in keeping with the rest of The Demon Murder Case, are nonsensical. The screenplay, credited to William Kelley (soon an Oscar winner for Witness), isn’t just inchoate, it is genuinely imbecilic. If you wish to understand the particulars of how a malevolent spirit called the Beast came to reside within Brian, or how it hopscotches into the body of another character, you’re out of luck. This courthouse exchange between Brian’s sister and a reporter typifies the quality of the writing:
Joan: What did you do, then, to get rid of the devil in [Murderer]?
Nancy: Well, we haven’t done anything for [Murderer] as of yet. But he still definitely needs a full exorcism.
THE DEMON MURDER CASE (1983)
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before the murder and its trial, in which defense attorney Richard Masur (Rent-a-Cop, Wild Horses) argues his client is innocent because “it’s impossible […] to manifest the specific intent when he’s demonically possessed,” there is first an exorcism. It occurs only after priests and psychiatrists have established that Brian is likely inhabited by a demon; the differential diagnoses were schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome.
Guy and Charlotte Harris (Andy ‘Gramps’ Griffith and Beverlee McKinsey), walking studies in demonology based on the controversial Ed and Lorraine Warren*, consult on the case, translating the Beast’s blather and arming the Fraziers with holy water. Another participant in these clashes between darkness and light is Ken (Kevin Bacon), the boyfriend of Brian’s flame-haired sister (Liane Langland). Their overripe domestic drama derails The Demon Murder Case completely, awkwardly shifting it from bland horror retread to bland William Inge ripoff.
While Griffith and McKinsey enliven things considerably and keep you guessing about their characters’ motivations, most of the cast seems uncertain of its mission. Director William Hale, possibly distracted by Lace, doesn’t attempt to mold the screenplay into something coherent. Viewers have no choice, then, but to take amusement where we can find it, as when Ken earnestly tells Brian — at the mercy of the Beast, whose fury rattles the house — “Don’t you know I love you? Don’t you know Jesus loves you? Say you love Jesus, Brian. Say you love Jesus.”
Then there’s nonbeliever journalist Joan (Cloris Leachman, Someone I Touched), enthusing “I’d love to see a levitation!” as she tries to wangle an invitation to an exorcism. Wasting Leachman in a throwaway role was an odd choice: she would’ve been funnier as Brian’s mother, especially when the Beast, voiced by Harvey Fierstein, starts jabbering away. From Torch Song Trilogy to Edna Turnblad, I couldn’t love Fierstein more. How great would Demon have been if he’d rasped withering insults to Leachman, perhaps about her wardrobe, rather than generic taunts to Brian’s family and priests?
Click here for more reviews of occult-themed films, including “Satan’s School for Girls” and “The Cat Creature.”
*The Harrises were based on Ed and Lorraine Warren, controversial paranormal investigators with ties to many of the dumbest hoaxes in recent memory. “The Demon Murder Case” took its inspiration from the Arne Cheyenne Johnson trial, which was chronicled in Gerald Brittle’s “Devil in Connecticut” and retold in a “Conjuring” film. On a related note, my parents-in-law are amateur paranormal investigators, which my wife and I learned after accidentally encountering ghost-hunting paraphernalia in their car’s trunk. I only wish that I were joking.
Streaming and DVD availability
The Demon Murder Case hasn’t been released on DVD, though bootlegs circulate; it streams on YouTube as of this writing. If that changes in the future, you can report dead links in the comments below and I’ll try to find a replacement.
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Cranky Lesbian is a disgruntled homosexual with too much time on her hands. Click for film reviews or to follow on Instagram.
Michael
Whoa, this one sounds like a big ol’ mess! What a cast, though. The heyday of the telefilm certainly offers a seemingly endless supply of head scratchers, doesn’t it?
Cranky
Absolutely! The cast was a huge draw for me but the end result makes you wonder if they didn’t just assemble all the players on the studio lot and have them draw straws for this project.
Lisa
Any TV movie with Harvey playing the voice of Satan, along with Richard Masur in the cast, I’m in. Double that with Andy Griffith, and I can’t believe I missed this one in its first run!
Cranky
Agreed! It doesn’t matter how bad the material is (and often it’s pretty bad), I’m always happy to see Masur. Which is good because he never stops working.