The Man In Black (Demons)

The Man In Black is the main antagonist of the 1985 Italian horror film, Demons. He is the entire reason the demon infection began in the first place. He is portrayed by Michele Soavi.

Background
While not much is known about The Man In Black, a movie within the movie suggests that he was once an ordinary young man by the name of Jerry. Along with his two friends and his girlfriend, Jerry stumbled across the tomb the famed fortune teller, Nostradamus. The group soon discovered Nostradamus's prediction of a demonic apocalpyse, along with metal mask in the shape of a demon.

Ignoring his friends' warnings, Jerry tries the mask on and subsequently turns into a demon, resulting in the deaths of all his friends.

It is unknown how or when he regained his humanity, but Jerry eventually covered half of his face in a metal mask and adorned a black trenchcoat and chains, becoming The Man In Black. Hoping to spread the demonic infection to an even wider range, The Man In Black began passing out tickets for a free movie screening at The Metropol, where the bulk of the film takes place.

Events during the film


The Man In Black is first seen stalking the heroine of the film, Cheryl, through a deserted portion of a Berlin subway station. Although she is able to successfully run ahead of him, The Man In Black seemingly teleports in front of Cheryl. A fearful Cheryl is relieved to find that The Man In Black is only passing out tickets for the screening of a film to be shown in the previously unheard of theatre known as The Metropol. After giving Cheryl another ticket for her friend, Cathy, The Man In Black rebuffs her many questions and continues on with his job.

That same night, all of the people The Man In Black previously invited to the free screening curiously ventured into The Metropol, their minds open as to what the film may be. After trying on a mask similar to The Man In Black's, a prostitute by the name of Rosemary inadvertantly infected herself with a plague which would soon turn her and the other movie patrons into bloodthirsty demons fresh from Hell. The next time we see The Man In Black, he is only a reflection on the projection booth's window, seemingly watching Cheryl and the others as they try to find a way to stop the film which they believe to be the root cause of the demonic infestation.

The Man In Black makes his final appearance near the film's ending. After escaping The Metropol with the help of a grappling hook, Cheryl and her love interest, George, search the roof for a way to make it down to the street. However, The Man In Black immediately intercepts them, knocking Cheryl onto her side and leaving George dangling from the building. As he attempts to kill George, The Man In Black is suddenly impaled through the back with the grappling hook by Cheryl. Regaining their composure, the lovers press down on his head until it is penetrated by two bars of rebarb, ultimately killing The Man In Black.

Although he was killed, The Man In Black's ambition to create a demonic epidemic is ultimately successful as the majority of Berlin, Germany is either brutally killed or transformed into demons, including Cheryl.

Events in The sequel
Although The Man In Black never appears in Demons 2, the mini apocalypse he created in the end of the original film is a significant plot point in the story.

Set a few years after the events from the original film, a documentary about the aftermath of Berlin's destruction airs throughout a high rise apartment building, showing that was once a beautiful city as a vacant wasteland. While the documentarians believe all of the demons are dead, one revives itself and ultimately kills the entire film crew. Realizing that it's only behind a television screen, the demon is able to escape from the television and begins to mold the world in The Man In Black's vision all over again.