Night of the Demon / Curse of the Demon (1957)
April 3, 2025 4:23 PM - Subscribe
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.
Plot description from IMDb. Yes, there's a trailer, which has a number of spoilers (I guess that spoiling the movie in the trailer is an older approach than I'd thought).
100% / 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, though it's not clear which version all the reviewers saw. The film is available in various cuts, including Jacques Tourneur's original 96-minute edits and various studio-mandated cuts which are 13 minutes shorter.
Directed by Jacques Tourneur from a screenplay by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester, based on the story "Casting the Runes" by M.R. James. Starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, and Athene Seyler.
JustWatch listing.
Plot description from IMDb. Yes, there's a trailer, which has a number of spoilers (I guess that spoiling the movie in the trailer is an older approach than I'd thought).
100% / 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, though it's not clear which version all the reviewers saw. The film is available in various cuts, including Jacques Tourneur's original 96-minute edits and various studio-mandated cuts which are 13 minutes shorter.
Directed by Jacques Tourneur from a screenplay by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester, based on the story "Casting the Runes" by M.R. James. Starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, and Athene Seyler.
JustWatch listing.
This is shockingly effective if you’ve never seen it, particularly given how old it is.
posted by wittgenstein at 7:09 AM on April 4
posted by wittgenstein at 7:09 AM on April 4
I am of two minds -- I think this amazing film would be even more amazing if we never saw the demon, but the demon does seriously kick some ass.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:42 AM on April 4
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:42 AM on April 4
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What I didn't like: one white actor portraying a British-Indian character, and the phrase one of the characters uses to refer to Native Americans (I can believe it was accurate to the time and place--1950s London--but as a Floridian in the 2020s it rankled me). Also, I wish that Tourneur had won the fight with the studio over whether to show the demon.
What I did like: everything else. The ambience, the writing, the cinematography, the pacing, even the acting--I think this remains a solid horror film.
posted by johnofjack at 4:30 PM on April 3