Episode 244 - My Demon Lover

[Omaxem 232]

Paul, June, and Jason discuss the 1987 comedy horror My Demon Lover. They talk about horny demons, the Mangler, the fully clothed shower scene, the castle in the middle of central park, and more.

 

In which I learned that Nick from Family Ties wasn't played by Dermot Mulroney. 

 

[i'll hold the mike 165]

This was my initial reaction to Jason's view of the movie's message

[DrGuts1003 462]

I was curious how everyone got home after the battle at the castle considering Kaz blew up everyone’s car with that dynamite.

Did he have absolutely terrible aim? Or does Kaz secretly hate cops?

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

The plot description of this from Wikipedia is: 

Quote

A homeless and flatulent street musician without the ability to feel love, becomes a large demon when sexually aroused.

Do we think someone edited this to be funny? Should we add Ron Silva?

[Johnnyunusual 11]

OK, I'm curious: I rented this movie from Youtube I swear every few minutes there's a sound like a lightbulb exploding.  Does every other version of the film have this problem or is the problem with youtube?

[RyanSz 3140]

1 hour ago, Elektra Boogaloo said:

The plot description of this from Wikipedia is: 

Do we think someone edited this to be funny? Should we add Ron Silva?

I saw this too but this was a change made over a month ago, so it couldn't have been anyone who heard the mini-ep and decided to do this. To be fair though from one look at the main character you can tell he's a dude who just drops ass as soon as he's in the middle of a crowd of people, and not silently but just rips it.

[Scary_Mirage 32]

Wow, Paul and Jason got really horny from My Demon Lover. Lines from the intro banter:

I got excited.

He was such a SEMINAL...

It BLEW my mind.

I remember this movie COMING out...

I was so EXCITED to see a movie with Nick but it was too ADULT for me...

And then the story of Paul's strict father and nudity...

 

Omissions:

I can't exactly say I'm surprised you guys didn't notice this because it's pretty esoteric trivia, but My Demon Lover is a knockoff of a Japanese short erotic horror/romance/comedy animated film called "Call Me Tonight." Seriously! My Demon Lover was released on April 24, 1987 whereas Call Me Tonight was released on July 28, 1986 - a whopping NINE MONTHS EARLIER! Call Me Tonight is a comedy about a young man who turns into a demon when he gets sexually aroused, so he calls a telephone sex club operator to help cure him of his strange problem.  Or maybe for some reason 1986-1987 was a  super horny time and two unrelated film productions on opposite sides of the Pacific got the idea to make a comedy about a guy who turns into a demon when he gets aroused, but I WANT TO BELIEVE in the interconnection of the late 80s and demon lovers on people's brains.

 

Call Me Tonight is short and has excellent animation, demon designs, and is bonkers in all kinds of different ways, so if you have half an hour, I'd recommend it as a forgotten gem. There's a Spanish subtitled version on Youtube, and an English subtitled version on Bitchute.

https://www.bitchute.com/video/un-uMOClSp8/

Perhaps Japan got its revenge for being ripped off - My Demon Lover has that wonderful demon hand, and 1993 manga series Hell Teacher Nūbē features a schoolteacher/exorcist who uses his own demon hand to protect his students from ghosts and monsters.

 P.S. Further HDTGM connections: Call Me Tonight was the first in a four-episode series from Animation International Co. (AIC) called "Pink Noise"; the fourth and episode,"Bodyjack", was released in 1987. It's about a mad scientist who creates a device that lets a young man's spirit go into a woman's body so that he can experience sex as a woman. HDTDGM-covered 1992 sci-fi "classic" Freejack sounds like a watered-down version of this lecherous adult short film!  Conspiracy? I say yes!
 

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

I don't think anyone mentioned that a "gris-gris" (pronounced "gree-gree" like Sonia's sister Miguela's store) is actually a word that refers to a charm or talisman that is meant to ward off evil spirits. Maybe this is some oblique rationale for why Miguela survives her attack from the Mangler? Or maybe, considering her sister is psychic, she has some sort of familial passport to the spirit realm and is able to resist somehow?

Or maybe the writers of the movie just had a list of cool sounding spiritual-esque words and picked one at random for the name of the store. Either way, just a little trivium for you.

[doxrus 54]

23 hours ago, DrGuts1003 said:

I was curious how everyone got home after the battle at the castle considering Kaz blew up everyone’s car with that dynamite.

Did he have absolutely terrible aim? Or does Kaz secretly hate cops?

He didn't know his own monster strength, and threw it long, past the water.

[doxrus 54]

So much to unpack in this film:

1) It utilizes the racist trope of "ethnic" people who utilize or connect with occult forces: The Romanian grandmother who applies the curse; the Black street psychic ("Fixer") who shows Kaz his true nature; and Latinx Sonia, who has visions of the Mangler's attack on her sister.

2) Denny is rather infantilized. She has dolls on her bed, wears bear-footed slippers, and has a skirt with big appliqued Scottish terriers and fire hydrants.

3) Denny's position is a metaphor for domestic violence: even when she finds out that her Kaz turns into a monster when aroused, she thinks things will still work out, and that she can "fix" him. He later complains that she's trying to change him, a common male grievance.

4) Phil's fake monster hand just seems to be a clunky attempt at a red herring - that he's the Mangler but a "regular" man who disguises his crimes as those from a monster. There's no diegetic need for him to use that hand when kidnapping Denny, it's just for the audience. This is all soon dropped when we find he's an actual monster.

5) Yes, there is a castle in Central Park - Belvedere Castle, of course not as large or elaborate as Phil's.  But how is there a Monster Castle in the middle of Central Park that no one has noticed?

 

[GrahamS. 803]

Sorry Paul, this is not Beauty and the Beast. This is an attempt to make a rom-com with Freddy Krueger in the lead (yes, the lead is a demon, but what would you classify Freddy as?).

Evidence of this:

The film was produced by New Line Cinema, the company that was made from the success of the Nightmare on Elm Street films.

The demons in this film—particularly Kaz, when he is shape-shifting into the mom and so forth—have incarnations that feel mind-fucky in a Freddy Krueger-ish way.

Kaz occasionally makes wisecracks in a similar style to Freddy.

Women are slashed—or mangled—in a less graphic version of how Freddy mutilates teens.

In regards to the dorky character who is the actual mangler—he has to know he’s a demon. I agree his behavior is weird whichever way you slice it, but while he’s abducting Denny he keeps saying ominous shit—like constantly singing “old time religion”—that doesn’t make sense if he DOESNT know he’s a demon. Plus, in the climax, he blows freezing breath and explodes out of his skin in a way that seems like he KNEW the demon was always hiding under there.

I think the mistake you guys are making in your analysis is that you’re looking for logic where there is none. I loved it, but this horror/rom-com hybrid could only have been made while people were doing rails of cocaine off of every conceivable surface. It is a series of “and then THIS happened!”-style non sequitors instead of a coherent plot.  These weird, abrupt left turns occurred even in the dialog, like when Sonia suddenly starts talking about having to return her boyfriend’s umbrella. I enjoyed it, I’m glad the filmmakers were coked up enough to make it!

[DrGuts1003 462]

I found it interesting that Kaz did not react the same around Denny as he did most other women.  With most women, he seemed to immediately want to turn into the demon, whether it was with the woman on the subway or Denny's friend, Sonia.  But with Denny, he spends a lot of time with her without any issue.  It is not until they heavily start making out that the demon shows any sign of appearing.

At first I thought this might be just another example of the film's inconsistencies.  Or worse, that they were implying that Denny was not as attractive as those other women.  But I think the film was trying to make a distinction between love and lust.  He does not respond the same way around Denny because she is his "true love".

This idea is reinforced by the fact that the sword Sonia grabs from her occult store is labeled as 'the sword of Asmodeus'.  Asmodeus is known as the demon of lust.  In 1589, a German bishop named Peter Binsfeld published an influential list of demons and paired each demon with one of the seven deadly sins:  Lucifer (pride), Mammon (greed), Leviathan (envy), Beelzebub (gluttony), Satan (wrath), Belphegor (sloth) and Asmodeus (lust).  It is said that Asmodeus' dominion is lechery - he causes performance issues when men are with their wives and induces their attraction to other women.

Furthermore, one text described Asmodeus as a demon who perpetually spawns new demons to bring chaos to the world, inciting lechery and excess wherever they roam.  Given that we know both Kaz and Chucky have been cursed by the same person, is it possible that the Romanian grandmother and her granddaughter are agents of Asmodeus who have concocted this honeypot trap to lure young boys in so that they can be made into these demons?

[theworstbuddhist 572]

I don't think I have ever seen this film despite walking by it in the video store approximately one million times. The basic mechanics of Scott Valentine's character sounds an awful lot like Angel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe though.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I really enjoyed this movie and the episode was fantastic  

While I don't think any of us can say for sure whether or not Kaz and Sonia had sex or just made out, I have to agree with Jason that Kaz smoking a cigarette is the accepted short hand for post coital satisfaction. My problem with this, however, is that if Kaz came, and is presumably no longer horny, what guarantee did they have that the lust demon would even stick around?  I mean, I totally get the position they are in, and if it's their only hope of saving Denny, it would be downright irresponsible of them *not* to turn Kaz on, but no one said they had to go until completion.

I'm just saying that it was a pretty dangerous game they were playing with Denny's life, and if I were her, I would still be kind of pissed. 

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

5 hours ago, DrGuts1003 said:

This idea is reinforced by the fact that the sword Sonia grabs from her occult store is labeled as 'the sword of Asmodeus'.  Asmodeus is known as the demon of lust.  In 1589, a German bishop named Peter Binsfeld published an influential list of demons and paired each demon with one of the seven deadly sins:  Lucifer (pride), Mammon (greed), Leviathan (envy), Beelzebub (gluttony), Satan (wrath), Belphegor (sloth) and Asmodeus (lust).  It is said that Asmodeus' dominion is lechery - he causes performance issues when men are with their wives and induces their attraction to other women.

 

1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

While I don't think any of us can say for sure whether or not Kaz and Sonia had sex or just made out, I have to agree with Jason that Kaz smoking a cigarette is the universally accepted short hand for post coital satisfaction. However, my problem with this is, if Kaz came, and is presumably no longer horny, what guarantee do they have that the lust demon stick around?  I mean, I totally get the position they are in, and if it's their only hope of saving Denny, it would be downright irresponsible of them to *not*turn Kaz on, but no one said they had to until completion.

I'm just saying that was a pretty dangerous game they were playing with Denny's life, and if I were her, I would still be kind of pissed. 

What you're saying is that if Kaz actually came, he might have gone from Asmodeus to Belphegor?

[Johnnyunusual 11]

The movie doesn't explain it clearly but the fake hand DOES seem to serve a purpose.  In the scene where Chucky the Mangler is showing Denny is rat and bible he says "I can teach you how to make that glove, like the one I used to chloroform you.  Its real easy."  He then changes the subject to his "lab" and his TNT but that implies he built a hand that he either soaks in chloroform or, more likely from a practicality stand point compared to carrying a sopping glove of chemicals around, has a method of dispensing chloroform, which is probably how he can easily kill his victims despite seemingly being physically normal in his non-demon form.

 

Also, I think Chucky did know he was a demon but it is weird that he never seems to turn into one until the end.  I have two theories about why he didn't turn into one until the end though: one is that he is usually impotent or isn't aroused by simply being around women and perhaps not even murdering them.  The only time his is aroused is when he sees Kaz meaning he's aroused by demons or by the intimidation of Kaz's demon form.  The other is the opposite: he has complete control over his sexual self and can hold everything back until it is useful for defending himself against Kaz.

 

Lastly, Kaz's demon didn't seem to have... a personality.  It didn't feel like it was a seperate entity within Kaz and even when he was threatening he wasn't a specific other character, he was Kaz as a bad/horny dude or playing a character (Date from Hell/Mom).  I feel like the demons in this film aren't fallen angels from Hell but something more like a familiar: a witch's spiritual assistant (according to wikipedia, malevolent familiars are considered demons).  I don't think it had a mind of its own but it had something more akin to a set of preprogrammed actions to repel women while making Kaz overtly attracted to them and inappropriate in public to them, to add to Kaz's suffering.  That said, for the most part it never did seem specific about what transformations for what situation save that the more Denny tried, the more specifically unappealing to Denny Kaz became.

[Cameron H. 23786]

When we first meet Sonia, it’s in Denny’s apartment after it’s been ransacked by Chip because Denny had the gall to throw a birthday party. Sonia is shocked he would be such an asshole just because Denny wanted to celebrate his birthday, at which point Denny clarifies that it was her own birthday party she was throwing.

I’m not sure what’s more upsetting: the fact Sonia didn’t realize it was Denny’s birthday or that Denny had apparently never bothered to invite her best friend in the first place. Either way, when you add Denny’s refusal to visit her best friend’s sister in the hospital, there really does seem to be more behind Sonia’s decision to make out with Kaz than meets the eye.

[muttnik 476]

3 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

When we first meet Sonia, it’s in Denny’s apartment after it’s been ransacked by Chip because Denny had the gall to throw a birthday party. Sonia is shocked he would be such an asshole just because Denny wanted to celebrate his birthday, at which point Denny clarifies that it was her own birthday party she was throwing.

I’m not sure what’s more upsetting: the fact Sonia didn’t realize it was Denny’s birthday or that Denny had apparently never bothered to invite her best friend in the first place. Either way, when you add Denny’s refusal to visit her best friend’s sister in the hospital, there really does seem like to be more behind Sonia’s decision to make out with Kaz than meets the eye.

YES. I was sitting here like, what the hell kind of best friend doesn't know when it's your birthday? And what the hell other kind of best friend doesn't invite you to their party?  That's not best friendship, that's weird mutualism.

[Cam Bert 8145]

The one line that stands out for me is when Kaz runs to take a cold shower to curb his horniness he complains "Damn New York City pluming, you call this cold water?" Water by nature is cold. When it enters a building it doesn't go through a special cold pipe to get colder, it is already cold. There is nothing pluming could do to make the water colder. Granted Kaz is a homeless mentally ill man who sleeps in garbage and probably hasn't had a shower in many a year. Is it the case that his body is so use to washing or bathing in sinks and from hoses that regular cold water isn't that cold to his body? Also, has the inability to get cold water ever really been a complaint? Has anybody ever jumped in a shower and been like "Hey this is warm, I wanted an ice cold shower because I'm a sociopath."

[Cameron H. 23786]

2 hours ago, Cam Bert said:

Has anybody ever jumped in a shower and been like "Hey this is warm, I wanted an ice cold shower because I'm a sociopath."

You’ve clearly never needed to suppress a lust demon. I hope you enjoy the view from your ivory tower.

[Wossamotta U 2]

The nuttiest thing about this episode was June thinking that with 10s of millions on unemployment a 50$/month subscription is affordable. 

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

First of all, Paul was wrong -- Alan Fudge did not play the nerdy guy who becomes the Mangler, he played Phil the police captain. The nerdy guy was played by Robert Trebor, who is perhaps best known for being on Xena.

Also, this movie is character-actor central! There were a lot of folks in here to recognize from other projects (not just Calvert DeForest).

Arnold Johnson, who played "Fixer," is best known as the lead in Putney Swope, Robert Downey Sr.'s great cult satire, and from recurring roles on Sanford & Son.

 

Gina Gallego, who played Sonia, has quite a long IMDb credit list, but I knew her best as one of Rebecca's co-workers on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

And of course, the woman yelling from behind the counter in the health-food restaurant was Lin Shaye, who frequently appears in horror movies and Farrelly Brothers comedies.

 

[GrahamS. 803]

1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

You’ve clearly never needed to suppress a lust demon. I hope you enjoy the view from your ivory tower.

Yeah! Way to call out Cam Bert’s priveledge! But is his ivory tower located in a castle in Central Park? Inquiring minds want to know!

[theworstbuddhist 572]

1 hour ago, Wossamotta U said:

The nuttiest thing about this episode was June thinking that with 10s of millions on unemployment a 50$/month subscription is affordable. 

Hmm, yeah, I assume it's one of those things that only folks in LA would shrug at.

[Cameron H. 23786]

31 minutes ago, theworstbuddhist said:

Hmm, yeah, I assume it's one of those things that only folks in LA would shrug at.

While I’m sure it’s not for everyone, according to their website, The Jane Club provides quite a bit for that $50 price tag—not the least of which is just the opportunity to network with other professionals, which is something you can’t put a price tag on.

It’s not like you’re getting nothing for it, either. It looks like there are daily workouts, meditations, classes, and child care activities. I mean, if the choice is between paying rent, feeding your family, and The Jane Club, then, yeah, I get it. I’d give it a pass. But I don’t think $50 is at all unreasonable for what they’re offering, and it’s not like they can just give it away.