plot
Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham) is mysteriously
murdered, seemingly as the result of a demonic
manefestation. His collegue, psychologist John Holden (Dana
Andrews) denies the evidence, until in the company of the
professor's neice (Peggy Cummins) he finds himself the
next victim...
dvd review
story
An excellent film, originally released in the UK as Night of the
Demon, and cut in the US and released as Curse of the
Demon, this dvd includes both versions of the
film.
The story is based on one by M.R. James,
and is directed with style and charm by Jacques Tourneur.
A blissfully enchanting and macabre horror, blending
perfectly the blissful English countryside, witchcraft,
demonic incantation and a sceptic.
American Dana Andrews finds himself
battling against unseen forces in a very effective set up,
as he tried to discover the cause of his collegues death,
and continue his expose of a devil-worshipping cult in
the area. The direction is slick and dramatic, and
tension is built to a succesful climax with the use of
low key lighting, highlights in the night scenes (during
which most of the film is shot), and prominant shadow in
the daylight scenes.
Whilst one does get to see a little too
much of the titular demon, the rest of the film is well
constructed and includes some excellent performances,
notably the one by Brian Wilde (UK televisions Porridge, and Foggy in Last of the
Summer Wine), as a man on the edge following his
escape.
There are echoes here of the Dennis
Wheatley adaptations by Hammer, and strong suggestions of
Hammer's yet to come The Witches, Devil Rides
Out and To The Devil A Daughter. Night of the
Demon is about as good as it gets.
Lovingly constructed, it even makes use (one
of the rare cinematic occasions when this is done) of the
great monument of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain,. tying
it in with the mystic runic symbols which are the main
concern of the mystery. Essential viewing for horror fans.
transfer
Presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen (according to the dvd
box, though this ratio is notoriously ambiguous on dvd
transfers), in high definition black and white. Both
prints are a little dirty, but clean themselves up as the
film progresses, and look and sound very good and very
clear, with excellent contrast and atmosphere. Sound is
in mono.
The opening Columbia logo on the US version appears
slightly cropped on top and bottom. The end credit not so,
and the UK print seems perfectly aligned.
Design
Simple designs, with a b-movie poster feel which
betrays the excellence of the films contained therein.
The only problem being the selection menu from which you
chose the film to watch (US or UK cut), does not allow
you to return to it once you see the first version, and
must only be selected again from the start.
extras
Essentially there is little extra on the dvd. As well as
the US cut Curse of the Demon, you are
presented essentially as an extra, the longer UK cut of Night of the
Demon on the same disc, so you get nearly three
hours of viewing.
Theatrical Trailers
Fright
Night (1min 24) Anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen.
Short and acceptable trailer for the 1980s genre film.
The
Bride (1min 36) Transfer is around 1.78:1
anamorphic for the Sting film. Quite retro, but rather
misplaced on this particular disc. As was the other
trailer, still at least Sting is English.
Subtitles here presented in
removable yellow font in English, Fench and Japanese.
SUMMARY
An excellently chilling film in either version, combined
with some fine performances from the cast - only Andrews
seems out of sorts. The photography and direction are
excellent, and the chance to see two versions for the
price of one is not to be missed. Essential viewing.
Compulsively attractive.
RJES
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