Haha, I didn't notice that at all! There were a few little inserts that I think are Miramax's handiwork - extra gore shots during the morgue sequence, and an extreme-close-up of the Dust Devil's demonic features when he jumps at Ben and Mark in the car.

Still downloading Demoniaca, looking forward to seeing it - speaking of which, sorry to sound impatient Sic, but did you do the scan of the video sleeve? Like I said, I'm a bit of a collector of these things, and would be really curious to see the back as well as the front. (Saddo, moi? )

No worries, Jimbo.

I'll try to get it done tmw. Things have gotten rather hectic down here, hopefully something will come which I could share with you folks soon.

Until then... everything is under control.

The image has been uploaded.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/ ... oniaca.jpg

Thanks a lot sic! I was actually hoping more for the VHS sleeve, but not to worry, that's very cool as well. Just finished watching the download of Demoniaca - bloody hell, that colour scheme's all over the place! And what was with all the boom mikes?!

The film was shot on open matte, and the 4:3 aspect ratio unintentionally reveals the boom mikes. You don't see them with the 14:9 (Ch4/UK VHS) or 16:9 ratios. I believe HARDWARE was shot the same way, which is why you don't really "lose" any of the image by looking at the full-frame version. Then again, the framing of the shots might slightly differ from what Stanley and Steve Chivers were going for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_matte

I've spent the last few days working on a comprehensive list of differences between the Miramax cut and the Final Cut, including screencaps from the Demoniaca VHS. With any luck, it should be posted on my film blog by the end of the week. You'll all be the first to know.

EDIT: Okay, so I got bored and finished it today. Enjoy!

http://terrorobscura.blogspot.com/2007/ ... -1992.html

James, the site you're referring to is Between Death and the Devil. It's hosted by Everything is Under Control.

Anyway, good job.

Whoops, many apologies, just corrected that.

Two things so far I didn't know:

- Peter Atkins writing the alternate monologue
- Miramax shooting additional pick-up shots

Could you name the sources for these, I'd love to check them out.


'There is also some additional dialogue from the policemen at the beginning of the dream (before Ben enters the room) that is not in the Final Cut: "the Haarhoff woman is here sir."'

I believe the initial line is audible in the new sound mix (courtesy of Subversive Cinema).

To be frank, Peter Atkins writing the alternate dialogue is merely an educated guess. I saw him at the top of the acknowledgements list in the end credits, and figuring that Stanley wouldn't have any part in the assembly of the Miramax cut - perhaps I'm wrong here? - and Atkins' Miramax ties (via Hellraiser III and IV), I guessed there would be a connection. But as I said in the article, it's all conjecture at this point. It may just be that Atkins and Stanley are friends and RS are thanking him for some bit help or another. But then again, Miramax put together those end credits for their version, which were then carried over to the Final Cut. Hmmm...

The Miramax pick-ups are also guesswork - but it's been all-too-common for them to get another director to shoot not just pick-ups, but whole new scenes to their taste - Hellraiser IV was a great example, where original director Kevin Yagher wound up taking his name off the film because more than half of it was re-shot by hackmeister Joe Chappelle (Halloween 6, Phantoms). Again, it's merely gossip on my part, but come on; that shot of the masked Hitch walking away from the burning car doesn't even really look like a Stanley composition, does it? (For one thing, where did the burning car come from, and why doesn't Wendy see it in the distance? Typical Miramax/Dimension illogic here...)

I've heard there are a few little differences between the Laser Paradise and Subversive versions of the Final Cut - someone wrote a message on the IMDB board complaining about one shot in particular from the finale.

Oops, doesn't look like Stanley and Atkins were friends. From Stanley's British Horror Cinema article:

And my last message for the night - anyone know where this cover comes from? I know it's almost the same as the French one, but someone had this in their Photobucket album:

Excellent comparrison JamesF. Many thanks for all the info.
One thing though - the extra narration by John Matshikiza can you or anyone confirm whether this was recorded under Stanley's supervision or compleatly seperate under Miramax orders?

"DRE: I read that you never saw the version Miramax put out.

RS: It's too painful. It was a real harsh. It's not all their fault, they tried to do everything they could with the material they had. They were working without the benefit of being able to go back to the rushes. The stunts, the truck accidents and the head explosion don't really work in the Miramax cut because they're culled from a much earlier stage of the post production. I obviously had nothing to do with the additional voice over. It was just too painful to want to go near."

- Suicide Girls interview

For anyone who may be interested...

Highlights from the Demoniaca version