Curse of the Demon (1957)/Also Known As Night of the Demon**

 

What I always love about this film is how John Holden remains such a skeptic practically the entire film, despite all the reasons to the contrary to take Karswell seriously. He uses pragmatic thinking, considers any talk of black magic or witchcraft, demons and devils, a load of nonsense, hogwash Karswell's cult swallow, pooh-poohing superstitions and beliefs in the supernatural. But when a mental case is awakened from a trauma-induced fugue state, willing to do whatever he could to avoid the enchantment piece of paper handed off to John Holden by Karswell, that changes everything. When a threat develops in a burning, smoking ball of flame, coming right at you from the sky, that might have a way of altering perspective. Sure at the end, John Holden didn't see Karswell picked up by the creature of the curse, palmed in one hand while shredded with the talons of the other hand, before being dropped into the rails of a train station, but he sure couldn't wait to get that paper with the enchantment out of his possession and off to his adversary. I always liked Andrews, especially in the 40s. He was finally in a Twilight Zone episode in the fourth season as a time traveler failing to alter history as he thought best. I figure most folks probably consider this his best of the 50s. His skeptic continues to scoff and reject the possible otherworldly danger Karswell has unleashed through his dabbling in the dark arts. The downside of that is Karswell inviting the danger to himself. Karswell's mother sure realizes that her son's actions were, umm, inconsiderate. You can certainly see that when Karswell's ego is bruised, his desire to prove a point is maybe too big a temper tantrum. 5/5

 

A skeptical scientist(Dana Andrews), investigating the death of a doctor friend, does not easily accept the fact that a wealthy cultist(and leader of a Satanic Worship Cult)has placed a witchcraftian curse on him which, in three days, will bring forth a demon to kill him. Despite warnings from those around him, including the niece of the deceased doctor he was supposed to visit and a séance which yielded the dead spirit of the deceased doctor trying to tell him to cease his impromptu investigation, he'll be shaken from his hardened disbelief in anything supernatural when certain occurrences beyond reality begin to happen.

Intelligent and well-acted horror film makes all the right moves showing a realistic man who doesn't believe in things he can not see with his own eyes until those supernatural situations supposed victims of superstition believe do occur forcing him to accept what he has, for so long, disbelieved. You have the typical marvelous B&W cinematography which is a constant in films from Tourneur, not to mention, a pretty creepy demon monster. Fascinating use of Stonehenge in it's depiction of witchcraft lore and how they represent a symbol of the rise of demonic spirits. - November 24th, 2006

(added 10/29/2011):You know, the more I watch this, the better it gets. I think it is the wonderful balance of atmosphere, the sinister (we have seen the monster and know it exists, unlike the cynical hero), the dread of the idea that death could be on the horizon (the film is like a ticking time clock, always keeping us aware that the hero's time is running out), an intelligent script which looks at skepticism and superstition (or the belief in the supernatural) from opposing viewpoints (Dana Andrews, a psychologist who doesn't waver easily at the threats of those around him, only truly recognizing the truth of what we know all too well at the very end when the evidence is credible enough to warrant caution and action & Niall MacGinnis as a practitioner in the dark arts who may have deciphered an evil ancient book, featuring incantations and other spells, responsible for passing the parchment (with runic symbols found inscribed on one of the stones at Stonehenge), including familiar tropes us horror fans know all too well (the séance which Andrews treats with obvious contempt and disregard, supernatural occurrences caused by MacGinnis such as the windstorm and a house cat turning into a tiger, attacking Andrews, and a session of hypnosis which unveils the motives of Karswell, the importance of the parchment, and the need to escape a gruesome fate by ridding yourself of this cursed piece of paper). I think, ultimately, it is the photography and mood the director establishes right from the start—presentation always a plus in regards to setting up the major threat (s) of the picture—along with the characterizations and smart dialogue (I think Andrews' intellectual exchanges with colleagues like Professor Mark O'Brien (Liam Redmond) and Indian Professor KT Kumar (Peter Elliot), who do believe there are things that cannot just be explained away through logical means (regarding the supernatural), really benefit this film)that separate it from the usual creature feature fare more concerned with mayhem and destruction than plot and performance. While I might have preferred the Val Lewton approach (maybe not seeing the monster, leaving it up to us to determine if the creature was real or imagined by victims so convinced, their demises resulted from mishaps of their own making), the monster sure is effective. Interesting revelation regarding how Karswell accumulated his elegant lifestyle and lavish abode through the fear of others, telling his mother (periodically throughout the picture because she was concerned for Andrews' well being) she needed to butt out. Karswell had achieved an extravagant existence by preying on believers who literally pay him to remain safe from harm!