Night of the Demon (1980 film)

Night of the Demon
VHS released by VCII Incorporated
Directed by	James C. Wasson
Produced by	Jim L. Ball
Screenplay by	Mike Williams
Story by	Jim L. Ball
Starring	Joy Allen Rick Fields Bob Collins Michael Cutt Jody Lazarus Michael Lang Melanie Graham
Music by	Stuart Hardy Dennis McCarthy
Cinematography	John Quick
Edited by	Joy Rencher's Editorial Service
Production company	Aldan Company
Release date	1980 (1980) (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Night of the Demon is a 1980 horror film directed by James C. Wasson, and written by Jim L. Ball and Mike Williams.

Bill Nugent, an anthropology professor, awakens in the hospital he was brought to after having been found in the woods with his face mutilated; Nugent had ventured into the wilderness in search of Bigfoot with five of his pupils, all of whom are missing. An inspector interviews Nugent, who begins his story, which starts with Carla Thomas, the daughter of one of the cryptid's victims, asking to accompany Nugent and four of his students on their expedition to find proof of Bigfoot's existence. A flashback depicts Nugent showing Carla and his class recovered footage of Bigfoot attacking a picnicking family, whose remains were never found. Bigfoot's involvement in the disappearance of the family was deemed a hoax by the authorities, who have also labeled evidence suggesting the monster's involvement in other deaths in the area fake. Carla addresses the classroom, reveals the evidence of Bigfoot's involvement in her father's murder appears to have been tampered with, and tells of one woman's account of witnessing the creature maul her lover, who was dragged from the vehicle they were having sex in, and left to die on the windshield.

That night, Nugent assures his wife that he and his companions will be fine, despite the university revoking its sanctioning of the expedition. The next day, Nugent and his group camp out at Carlson's Landing, owned by Lou Carlson, who despite previously sharing information about Bigfoot with the authorities, acts evasive towards Nugent, brushing off the professor's questions. A student bribes Carlson with alcohol, and learns about a recluse named "Crazy" Wanda, a woman supposedly connected to Bigfoot. Elsewhere, a hunter is impaled when Bigfoot throws him onto a jagged branch.

Nugent and his five companions reach a nearby town, and question the residents about Wanda, learning that she went mute after having a stillborn and deformed baby, and is the daughter of a deranged preacher known as Emmet McGinty, whose followers (rumored to be inbred, cannibalistic, and practitioners of human sacrifice) live nearby in almost total isolation. As Nugent and the other five discuss their findings, they are spied on by the sheriff, who smokes a cigarette identical to ones a student found in an ashtray in Carlson's house. The sextet reach the end of the river and set up camp as Nugent discusses a biker killed via manual emasculation nearby. In the middle of the night, the explorers are awakened by chanting, and happen upon the rumored cult (which includes the sheriff) performing a Satanic sex ritual involving Wanda, and an effigy of Bigfoot. Nugent scares everyone off by firing a gun into the air, and in the ensuing commotion the statue of Bigfoot catches on fire.