OVERLAY REPORT

In the production of **_Demons_ (1985)**, directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento, several key elements and scenes were either improvised, added "on the fly," or conceived spontaneously on set. While the film had a script co-written by Dardano Sacchetti and Dario Argento, the production was characterized by a "guerilla" style of filmmaking where logic was often secondary to visceral impact. According to behind-the-scenes interviews and director commentary, here are the specific details of improvised or spontaneous moments: ### 1. The Glowing Eyes (On-Set Idea) One of the most iconic visual elements of the film—the demons' **glowing eyes**—was not in the original script. Director Lamberto Bava came up with the idea spontaneously while filming in the dark theater. * **Specific Detail:** To achieve the effect without a large budget for special optics, Bava used **refractive paper** (similar to scotch-lite) on the actors' eyes. When the camera lights hit the paper at a certain angle, it created the eerie, luminous reflection seen when the demons emerge from the shadows. ### 2. The Helicopter Scene (Spontaneous "On the Fly" Addition) The scene where a **helicopter crashes through the theater roof** is frequently cited as one of the most "random" moments in horror history. In interviews, Dario Argento has noted that Bava loved to "add things kind of on the fly," whereas Argento preferred meticulous planning. * **Specific Detail:** The helicopter crash was a late addition intended to provide a "deus ex machina" escape route for the protagonists. While technically "scripted" by the time it was shot, it was an addition made during the production phase to ramp up the spectacle of the finale, which screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti noted became much more focused on gore and stunts than his original story-heavy draft. ### 3. Geretta Geretta’s Performance (Rosemary) Actress Geretta Geretta, who played the prostitute **Rosemary** (the first person to transform), had a background in **improv comedy** with a group called "Rusty Nails." * **Specific Detail:** Geretta has mentioned in interviews (such as in the documentary *In Search of Darkness*) that the chaotic energy of Italian sets allowed her to lean into her improv roots. While her dialogue was largely dictated by the script (and later dubbed), many of her physical mannerisms during her early transformation scenes in the bathroom were developed through her own experimentation on set to make the "demon" persona feel more animalistic and threatening. ### 4. The "Coke-Punk" Subplot (Script Padding) The scenes involving the **punks snorting cocaine in the car** (featuring characters named "Baby Pig" and "Ripper") were largely improvised and expanded to act as "meat" for the film’s body count. * **Specific Detail:** These characters were not part of the core "Metropol Theater" story initially. Bava and the producers added these scenes to pad the runtime and ensure the demonic infection spread beyond the theater walls. Because these actors were often non-professionals or stuntmen, their dialogue and interactions in the car had a high degree of loose, unpolished improvisation. ### 5. Dialogue and Dubbing It is important to note that *Demons* was filmed using the "English-language/International" style common in 1980s Italian cinema, where actors often spoke their lines in their native tongues (English, Italian, or German) and were **dubbed later**. * **Specific Detail:** This process often led to "improvised" dialogue during the ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) stage. Lines like Bobby Rhodes' (Tony the Pimp) iconic exclamation, **"An instrument of evil!"**, were often adjusted by voice actors in the studio to better fit the lip movements or to add more "flavor" to the campy tone of the film, which differs from the literal translation of the Italian script.