Nick Moon ( Khristian Fulmer, The Night Shift) is a P.I. Not a private investigator like Magnum P.I. but a paranormal investigator. He handles cases involving ghosts, demons, cursed artifacts, etc. In the world of Demon Squad, where demons and other creatures of the night openly walk among us you would think Nick would be a rich man. But like all classic P.I.s, he’s broke.
So when heiress Lilah Fontaine (Leah Christine Johnson) shows up with a missing father and a strange artifact he’s interested. But, like all classic mysteries, there’s a lot more than meets the eye going on here. Nick and his assistant Daisy (Erin Lilley) are about to get themselves in way over their heads.
Demon Squad, (previously titled Full Moon Inc. and Night Hunters), in case you haven’t guessed, is a classic film noir with the gangsters replaced by monsters. While fairly common in books there are not too many filmic examples, probably the best known being 1991’s Cast A Deadly Spell.
Director Thomas Smith (The Night Shift, Backwoods) co-wrote the script with Erin Lilley and they did a good job of matching its aspirations to the rather low budget. The various creatures are mostly created via masks and makeup with the CGI kept to the occasional bit of magic. It’s kept small scale apart from the final confrontation and looks convincing.
There’s also not a lot of gore effects to run the budget up. Demon Squad is pretty much a PG-13 or even PG level film, so those looking for the red stuff will be disappointed. Indeed those looking for a serious horror film will probably be unhappy as well. This is an enjoyable, lighthearted take on a couple of genres that are popular with movie geeks. And I’m fine with that, enough so that I’d be happy to see Nick and Daisy return in the sequel the end hints at.
Demon Squad will be available on DVD and VOD via Wild Eye Releasing on June 25th.