review for Demon Knight on AllMovie

The tension runs high and the blood runs EC Comics red in Tales From The Crypt's first feature Demon Knight. Mixing scares, humor, down and dirty gore, and a nifty style thanks to director Ernest R. Dickerson, this film succeeds in all the places it should. William Sadler and Jada Pinkett lead a great bunch of character actors through each and every turn in this romp -- though it's Billy Zane who really owns this movie! His devilish grin ends up stealing every scene as the ultimate charming minion of the underworld. Zane brings it all to the table in this one, creating one of the funniest and most wicked villains seen in years. With exceptional Pumpkinhead-esque demon FX to back him up, and groan-inducing Crypt Keeper scenes bookending the film, Tales From The Crypt hits a home run on the fun scale with Demon Knight... it's just too bad they couldn't keep the momentum going with the next installment -- the sad, plodding, Dennis Miller wise-cracking dud Bordello Of Blood.