Adam Gierasch, the writer-director of the upcoming remake of Night of the Demons, told SCI FI Wire that he was nervous about re-imagining the iconic horror film.

"[I was worried] that people were going to hate me," Gierasch said in an exclusive interview at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles over the weekend. "I do look at the Internet message boards, and they do hurt my feelings, and I know in a lot of ways it's a lose-lose situation. But if I could put f--king punk rock, demon buttf--king and have the ultimate Halloween party movie, then I would be happy, and I did that. So I just tried to please myself more than please others."

Night of the Demons is a remake of Kevin Tenney's 1988 horror film of the same name, which follows a group of young adults who accidentally unleash an evil demon during a seance at a Halloween party. Gierasch spoke to SCI FI Wire after a panel at Weekend of Horrors, where he appeared alongside cast members Monica Keena, Shannon Elizabeth, Bobbi Sue Luther and Tiffany Shepis. The following is an edited version of that interview.

What did you think worked in the original that you wanted to capitalize on, and what did you think could be improved?

Gierasch: I wanted better acting, and I wanted a party that looked like a party. There were a lot of characters that sort of "looked" punk in the first one, and I wanted real punk music in there and the characters to just look like people. And Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I wanted it to be a celebration of that.

How do you define what the rules are going to be in terms of what these creatures are going to be able to do?

Gierasch: We started from scratch—we started the mythology from scratch. The movie is similar, but the mythology, we made it up. It's an arbitrary philosophy, but it works: The demons are allergic to rust.

What kind of atmosphere do you think works for getting great performances out of these actresses?

Gierasch: For everybody to be relaxed, for everybody to be taking it seriously. For people to know their lines, for people to prepare, and then, on set, be there for them. Be there to give them acting notes, to tell them what I wanted, to be there for them when something's upsetting them, whether it's in the movie or it's in life. To try to be there and be their friend.

Is there something that you're most excited to have people see?

Gierasch: Yes. You saw it, the first scene that I showed you. I want people to see that. I like the next scene, the Bobbi Sue Luther and Angela dance scene; that has a nice bloody end to it. It has a wonderful twist ending. I want people to just sit and rock out, get high, get drunk and realize that this is a party. It's a fun party, and it makes me smile when I watch it.