Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon

 

 

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I've always had a soft spot for 50s/60s Brit shockers that didn't come from Hammer: this is among the best of 'em. As fog-haunted and spectrally lit as the bulk of DEMON is, its most unnerving scare comes in broad daylight: Karswell's garden party being interrupted by a momentary tornado. When a horror movie can rattle you in natural light, somebody's doing something right!
Another good omen is a film where the villain is hands-down the most engaging and interesting character. I don't mean to invoke creaky truisms about the Appeal Of Evil with that remark, either: Niall McGinnis hardly seems villainous at all here - he's cautious and canny, of course (as anyone who can conjure up fifty-foot demons must of necessity be) but otherwise a jovial, good-natured and charming fellow one wouldn't mind playing a game of chess with (no side-bets, though!). And compared to dour dipso Dana Andrews - the stone-faced 'hero' - he looks that much better besides. Andrews by this point was well on his way to pissing away his career via alcoholism. The sad thing is you can clearly see it in his late 50s/60s performances. (At least here, he mostly seems hung over...which works to the role's advantage. Check out WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS from 56 when he was REALLY in his cups. He damn near staggers through that entire picture!)
Given his decided lack of charm & warmth as Holden [and compounded by the character being written as a skeptic so uberskeptical he seems at first simply boorish, and by the film's climax, a complete knucklehead] I do think DEMON could have been a lot more satisfying had the Andrews character learned too late the truth of the situation by being torn limb from limb by the titular beastie. It would've added a satisfying closing-the-circle frisson to the tale while essentially sending the same message to the audience: mess with the Devil and you get the horns. The payoff Tourneur does give you is a bit of a cheat, as Karswell gets 'lawyered' into his demise, so to speak, whereas Andrews' Holden emerges from his near-fatal ordeal having learned nothing from the experience - not even the literal truth of Leo Durocer's maxim that God watches over fools, drunks and third basemen. His last line, "Maybe it's better not to know", kinda says it all.
Oh, and for the record, I'm not as aesthetically offended by the visualization of the demon as some other Amazon scribes are, having seen that spiky-headed, big-nostrilled bad boy on a FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND cover as a lad & thinking surely this was the coolest monster ever. Could've done without some of the sound effects, though - particularly the sound of wheels squeaking throughout the Demon's two scenes. Most likely these were unintentional, but I keep 'seeing' two crewmembers lugging him forward on a dolly every time I hear it.

The distributor advertising this DVD as a "Double Feature" stretches the truth a bit. "Curse of the Demon" is merely the shortened American version of the British film "Night of the Demon." The American version runs thirteen minutes shorter and is by far the weaker cut of the film, if still a fine piece of work. It's a nice feature to have the complete American cut on this disk for the sake of comparison with the original, but this is hardly a "double feature." And there's no reason to watch the edited, shorter version when you have the superior British original of one of the seminal horror movies of all time on the same DVD.

"Night of the Demon" hit theaters in 1957 and marked a turning point in macabre cinema. Director Jacques Tourneur had made some important 1940s horror films ("Cat People," "Leopard Man," and "I Walked with a Zombie," as well as the film noir classic "Out of the Past") that moved against the grain of the gothic fantasies that Universal produced during the 1930s. With "Night of the Demon," Tourneur cemented the idea of the modern horror film, where the terrors of the gothic, demonic, and supernatural appear within the realm of the modern, everyday world -- the essentially rational setting of the contemporary times. The success of this film would eventually lead to such movies in the following decades as "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist," which took place in the recognizable contemporary world, where the invasion of supernatural forces seemed all the more ghastly.

The screenplay comes from the short story "Casting the Runes" by master Victorian ghost story writer M. R. James. (You can find this story in an excellent and currently in-print volume of the same name.) In the story, a professor and practitioner of the black arts, Karswell, has found a way to send demonic forces against his academic foes by passing them a slip of paper covered with magical runes. The movie expands the premise: Karswell (Niall MacGinnis, who played Zeus in "Jason and the Argonauts") leads a witchcraft circle and uses his rune-tracker to send a demon after his opponent, professor Harrington. After Harrington's death, his American friend, psychologist Holden (Dana Andrews), comes to America to learn more, but scoffs at the idea that anything supernatural could lurk behind Harrington's death. Unfortunately for Holden, Karswell feels threatened enough to decide to send his murdering monster after the American.

Tourneur brilliantly films the movie in a split style, dividing between realistic, bland daytime scenes, meant to have an almost documentary feel, and increasingly warped and bizarre nighttime scenes as the curse of the demon moves closer and closer to Holden and it becomes harder for him to deny the truth of what is occurring. The demon itself is a point of controversy among film students. Tourneur was famous for keeping his horrors hidden, and some people believe that he never planned to show the demon at all, but the producer forced him to shove it up front. The appearance early in the film of the full demon might have been an error (it would have worked better to save it for the finale), but its materialization at the end is pretty incredible and it's hard to believe that Tourneur wouldn't have wanted the ending any other way. This is (excuse the pun) one hell of a demon. Designed by Ken Adam (who would later create the sets for most of the James Bond films, as well as "Dr. Strangelove"), the monster looks like it leaped from the freakiest medieval woodcut representation of Hell. The special effects and sounds accompanying it are also eerie and disturbing.

Andrews is a bit stodgy in his part, but Niall MacGinnis makes up for it with his scene-stealing role as Karswell. MacGinnis is both a bumbling, whimsical British professor (complete with a doting and scolding mother), and a cold-blooded sorcerer -- often both in one scene. The ending of the film, involving the passing of the runes, is both funny and incredibly tense, leading to one of the most stunning climaxes in horror films. Peggy Cummins as the love interest is delightfully perky and intelligent, much more so than female leads in most horror films.

The only extra on the disk is the inclusion of the American cut. However, the film is in perfect condition, and is finally shown in the original aspect ration of 1:1.66 (a typical European screen format infrequently seen in the U.S.; it's halfway between the shape of a TV screen and the typical 1:1.85 that most American movies are shot in today). "Night of the Demon" is essential horror film viewing for anyone who wants to understand the development of the genre into its current form. (And I have to repeat it, that's one helluva demon!)

Based on a story "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James. Professor Henry Harrington (Maurice Denham) was going to expose a devil cult as a hoax. We see him become demon chow right up front. Still it could be psychological. Now Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews) with the assistance of Joanna Harrington (Peggy Cummins) will travel the same dark road in an effort to prove that the cult leader Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis)is a harmless magician with an over active imagination. With only two weeks to find out does he prove it or become demon chow himself.

I saw the duel versions of Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon. Even though the picture is sharp there are still all the little glitz and dots from an old film. Save some time and just watch the British version.

The only distraction is a slip of rune strewed parchment that is supposedly self elusive floats around on a wire that may not have been covered because no one suspected the film to have that good of resolution.

A little added plus is the fifty's technology; look at the telephones for example.

See "Burn, Witch, Burn /Night of the Eagle" (1962) based on "Conjure wife" by Fritz Leiber

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the Era
I enjoyed this movie not because it was such a good horror film but because it was representative of the era, the time it was made. Predictable and not horrifying. Read more

Published on Oct 10 2003 by S. Mitchell

2.0 out of 5 stars Why did I Laugh during a Horror Film?
I read some of the previous reviews of this film right here on Amazon. I read the reviews and I was excited about seeing the film. Read more

Published on July 27 2003 by Mount_Olympus

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
Without a doubt this is one of the best movies of all time.
I was on the edge through the whole movie. Read more

Published on Jun 26 2003 by Larry J. Mccoy

5.0 out of 5 stars First rate presentations of excellent movie!
THANK YOU to Columbia for giving us BOTH versions of this my favorite horror film from childhood. Very good value for the money!

Published on May 12 2003 by James Milton

4.0 out of 5 stars To What Lengths Do We Seek the Truth...
Dr. Henry Harrington visits Julian Karswell late one evening when he is struck by fear. He pleads to Karswell to hold back the evil forces that he has released, however, it is... Read more

Published on April 6 2003 by Kim Anehall

4.0 out of 5 stars Horror classic gets grade-A DVD treatment
NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957, 95m 39s): A sceptical American psychologist (Dana Andrews) travels to London to expose a notorious witch (Niall MacGinnis) who curses him to die at the... Read more

Published on April 4 2003 by Libretio

5.0 out of 5 stars Great film gets great DVD presentation.
Columbia/Tristar Home Entertainment are to be highly commended for their classy DVD presentation of one of the best supernatural horror films ever made. Read more

Published on Mar 8 2003 by Peter W. Many

5.0 out of 5 stars Long live Hobart!
This film is not only essential for the collector of 50s classics, but it is truly one of most atmospheric movies of all times. Read more

Published on Jan 15 2003 by Larry L. Hoffman

5.0 out of 5 stars Conjured Perfection
There's not a lot to say about "Curse of the Demon" (well there is, but...). If you've seen it, you know. If you haven't seen it, why not? Read more

Published on Jan 12 2003 by Tim Hewitt

5.0 out of 5 stars CURSE OF THE DEMON....
I just received this as a gift having shamefully neglected it in DVD form. I saw it years ago but just never picked it up again. Read more

Published on Dec 23 2002 by Mark Norvell

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