And after a long hiatus, we near the end of my paper.  Today we finish the 90s with me discussing Tales from the Crypt Presents:  Demon Knight and its character, Jeryline.  This part had to be done differently than the entire rest of the paper, as there really is no book or essay that analyzes this movie for me to quote.  Thus, most of the citations in this section come from the movie itself and most of the analysis comes from my own interpretation of events in the movie.  In addition, there is a little more in terms of citations:  David Holden's review of the film in the New York Times, and Dave Kronke's review of the film in the Los Angeles Times.  I have yet to decide whether the next part of this will be the final one or not.  I may split the conclusion (about female protagonists in the new millenium) into two parts, may not.  We shall see.  And of course, spoilers be found within.  Continuing:

While The Silence of the Lambs has transcended its genre to be described by some as one of the greatest movies of all time, another movie which features a hybrid female protagonist released in the same decade was passed over by critics and is generally underappreciated by many. That film is Ernest Dickerson's Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight. The movie deserves a place in this essay because an argument can be made that Jeryline, the female hero of the film, does represent a change and departure from characters in previous films, a fact that is not necessarily diminished by a low box-office gross or by a panning given by some critics. The film is slightly different from Silence and the other films discussed thus far in that its main protagonist is a male, nomadic vigilante named Brayker. Brayker's job is to protect an ancient relic that contains a mixture of the bloods of Christ and all the artifact's previous guardians from a demon leader called "The Collector". Prior to the film, they have been chasing each other for years around the world. At the beginning of the film, predator and prey have ended up in Texas after a fiery car crash destroyed both their cars. Brayker escapes to a mission that has been refurbished into a motel. Meanwhile, the Collector manages to convince local law enforcement that Brayker stole the relic from him and leads them to the mission to collect his quarry. Inside the mission, Brayker meets with the group who will become his allies as the movie progresses. The Collector soon arrives with lawmen in tow to retrieve the mysterious relic. However, his plan fails as both men are arrested due to the fact that both of the cars in the accident were found to be stolen. At this point, the Collector chooses to reveal his identity in a very violent manner, killing one of the policemen in the process. After Brayker hurts him by burning his face with the side of the artifact, The Collector calls forth demon hordes to retrieve the instrument for him, thus setting off a gory battle in the mission that lasts throughout the night. Through the fight, almost all of the allies are killed in some way, either by their own choice or through the temptations of The Collector. This includes his seduction of the sexually promiscuous tenant, his plying the town drunk with alcohol, and his double-crossing what one might call the town jerk after tricking him into retrieving the key for him. As the movie reaches its final act, Brayker, a child found in underground mines named Danny and the hotel's housekeeper, Jeryline are the only ones left alive, hiding in the hotel's attic. Brayker realizes at that point that Jeryline is meant to be his successor for multiple reasons. These include the fact the Jeryline has avoided the Collector's seductions thus far and that she understood the appropriate usage and reverence for the blood in the relic. After Brayker is mortally wounded by a possessed Danny, he officially passes the position on to her, burning the relic's seven-star mark into her hand and refilling the vial with his own protective blood.

It is at this point that the protagonist role in the movie shifts from Brayker to Jeryline as she goes on to defeat the Collector through multiple methods. These included covering herself with the blood in the vial to trick the Collector into thinking she was injured, and storing some of the blood in her mouth after the Collector had captured and begun to clean the blood off her and empty the vial. By doing this, she was able to spit it in his face, vanquishing him instantly. The movie ends with her refilling the vial and embarking on her personal quest to protect the artifact from the new Collector.

One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the examination of the evolution of Jeryline through the movie from her initial appearances as a housekeeper with a problem with authority into the heroine who is protecting us all. Jada Pinkett Smith's portrayal of Jeryline, in one of her least remembered yet most underrated roles, has been described in reviews as "[bringing] a depth to her role that the script never even hints at" (Kronke) and "[playing] a crucial role in the story" (Holden). From the beginning, Jeryline does not look feminine in almost any way. Her hair is cut very close to her head, and she wears jeans and dress shirts in a style that seems to show that she does not particularly care about looking like the perfect woman or sex object, contrasting with the character of Cordelia who embodies the stereotypical sexually-active prostitute stock female horror character. The first time we see her in the movie, Jeryline is shown to have a form of an independent streak, butting heads continually with the manager, Irene. A back story is then told in which Jeryline is revealed to have served time in jail for stealing and is only working in the hotel as part of a work release program. Interestingly, Brayker appears to realize from the moment he enters the house that she will be the one to carry on the fight as he tends to focus on her and her past more than any other tenant. Jeryline even seems to test the idea of being a heroine at certain points during the film. At these times, she goes at the head of the group in attempts to lead tenants to safety. She is also the first to ask Brayker about what is inside of the vial. She is the one who is the primary caretaker of Irene shortly after her arm is removed in an attack. She is also the only member of the clan to decide to separate from the group during the mine sequence, rescuing a survivor in the process.

While throughout the movie she tends to appear to be just as terrified and weak as the other characters (both male and female) in the face of the demons, she does show her true self at one point by willingly disobeying Brayker's orders and following him while he sealed the upstairs. When questioned about why she came upstairs, Jeryline's simple response speaks volumes about her similarity to Brayker and her incongruity with the rest of the tenants: "I just thought you might need some help" (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight). As the sequence goes on, Jeryline's trust in Brayker is revealed as is her curiosity about him as a whole. However, the most interesting aspect of Jeryline's character, and the action that appears to be central to Brayker's assurance that she is the one to protect the relic and the world, can be seen during the two separate times where The Collector attempts to seduce Jeryline in much the same way as he overtook many of her colleagues.

His first such attempt occurs while the tenants are hunting for the missing Danny. Shortly after Jeryline searches under a bed, she resurfaces in a dream-like world which The Collector has created. Over the course of this sequence, The Collector makes numerous promises. They particularly involve the idea that, by joining him, she will be able to escape the middle-of-nowhere lifestyle she has been forced to take and will be able to see the world. He also argues that Brayker will die in attempting to save them and protect the key, showing Jeryline a vision of Brayker being devoured by the demons. He concludes by promising her that, if she helps him, he will let her go and will make sure that nothing bad happens to her in the new era his ascension to power will create. After she spits in his face, thus vehemently declining his offer, The Collector attempts to gain control over her in general, saying: "You will give me what I want, that's just the way it is. And the sooner you figure that out, the better" (Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight). While Jeryline is visibly shaken by this and does outwardly appear to be in a trance-like state, she has the strength and self-control to break free of the Collector's grasp in the end. It is unfortunate, however, that this willpower is not enough to protect Brayker from dying in the attic. Intriguingly, though Brayker does appear to realize that The Collector has attempted to make a deal with Jeryline and acts on faith that she has fully refused it when he passes the key on to her:

-"Brayker look I can't do this, all right? I'm not the right type of person for this shit."
-"He tried to seduce you didn't he?"
-"He tried."
-"You're exactly the right type of person" (Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight).

Shortly after Brayker's demise, Jeryline succeeds in fooling The Collector with the aforementioned blood trick, only to be captured in a shower curtain shortly thereafter and cleaned off. The Collector brings her downstairs, takes the key, and begins his second seduction. In this attempt, he claims he wants to bring her back to hell with him to be his wife. While making this proposition he dances with and spins her rapidly, thus raising the question of whether or not he suspected the ruse of the blood in her mouth. At one point, The Collector becomes increasingly frustrated at her lack of response and even makes a remark that perfectly underlines the difference between Jeryline and many of the female protagonists who preceded her: "WHAT THE HELL IS THERE TO THINK ABOUT? There was a time when a coy silence was appreciated in a woman. Well this is not one of those times! And you're really starting to piss me off!" (Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight). He also attempts to claim that he loves her, though he is unable to speak the words. It is shortly after this that Jeryline spews the blood at him and kills him. In that way, Jeryline is both vanquishing her demons in the movie and attempting to vanquish a stereotypical feminine role. In both of The Collector's seductions, he attempts to gain Jeryline's trust through claims of love, wealth, prosperity, or beauty. However, none of these matter enough to her to cause her to ally with evil. It is interesting to note that in the same movie, Jeryline's foil character, Cordelia, does fall for this particular trick willingly, owing to her history with an abusive boyfriend. In many ways, Jeryline's two acts of defiance in this movie define her as a hybrid protagonist. Through her assertions she vanquishes previously held stereotypes of a woman's role in film and assumes the role and characteristics held by the male hero through much of the movie. In this way, some claim that her character has become just as memorable in retrospect as Brayker and The Collector, even if the movie itself was forgotten somewhat.