Scenes like the childrens party, despite being simplistic, are rather creepy. They believe in things in the dark, only we tell them its not so. Tourneurs shadowy, moody films which seemed to mix gothic themes with film noirish imagery had an immediate appeal. This isnt at all related to the 1957 film by the same name which actually had a demon. And all this from out of a tortured production that saw huge studio interference and a completion of the film without the consent or involvement of the director. This 1958 american release is a reedit of tourneurs original 1957 british film. Night of the demon is one of the best if not the best horror films from the late 1950s. Night of the demon is a 1957 british horror film, produced by frank bevis, directed by jacques tourneur and starring dana andrews, peggy cummins and niall. The reason they changed the title, according to bennett, was that they didnt want it to be confused with the night of the iguana. Night of the demon 1957 the occult can be a scary thing, as is shown in jacques tourneurs night of the demon. James it starred dana andrews as skeptical professor john holden, peggy cummins as the lessskeptical joanna harrington, and niall macginnis as evil but charming cult leader julian karswell.
It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by dr. Night of the demon 1957 letterboxd your life in film. It uses flashbacks as a device to tell the story, which was. It simply nails the horror atmosphere along with telling a thoroughly intriguing and sinister story. Its success starts a clear line of powerful and enjoyable occult films ranging from night of the eagle, the devil rides out and the omen. Night of the demon actually earns its monster, because its taken such pains to ground the otherworldly in the gritty land of noir, lending credence to joannas suggestion that you could learn a lot from children. Rent night of the demon aka curse of the demon 1957. Night of the demon 1957 first scene of the demon youtube. Night of the demon is a 1957 british horror feature film directed by jacques tourneur cat people. It was directed by jacques tourneur and produced by hal e. Chester, based on the short story casting the runes by m.
James fills the viewer with a sense of lurking dread and suspense qualities tourneur excelled at. Night of the demon is a 1957 horror film from auteur jacques tourneur and is one of the most involving, thought provoking and downright terrifying pictures ever made. Met dana andrews, peggy cummins en niall macginnis. Toronto film society presented night of the demon 1957 on monday, october 27, 2014 in a double bill with the seventh victim as part of the season 67 monday evening film buff series, programme 2. Night of the demon is a 1957 film starring dana andrews, peggy cummins, niall macginnis. An american psychologist visiting london finds himself investigating a satanic cult he suspects is responsible for more than one unexplained death. Forget the monster its as crap as everyone says it is. I was just a kid at the time, and yes, it may have been past my bedtime, so the thrill of staying up late to see it might have meant i enjoyed it all the more. Nightfall is a 1956 american crime film noir directed by jacques tourneur and starring aldo ray, brian keith and anne bancroft the lowbudget film is remembered today for camera work by cinematographer burnett guffey. Night of the demon jacques tourneur, 1957 senses of cinema.
Curse of the demon 1957, which was released in england as night of the demon, also belongs in this select group though it has had a much harder time eluding its reputation as a bmovie horror film an accusation brought on by the producers insistence on making the demon a. The film sets up a familiar story about a man of reason forced to. John holden ventures to london to attend a paranormal psychology symposium with the intention to expose devil cult leader, julian karswell. Curse of the demon 1957 american professor john holden arrives in london for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of devilworshiper julian karswell. Ive loved night of the demon 1957 since i first watched it on telly many moons ago with my dad. The opening scenes are at stonehenge on salisbury plain, wiltshire. Night of the demon is a film directed by jacques tourneur with dana andrews, peggy cummins, niall macginnis, maurice denham, year. The point being that while night of the demon released in the usa as curse of the demon might look a bit wonky, its a decent 1957 movie, but like a lot of british genre films, including several ive looked at in the last couple months, it could have been made at pretty much any time in the preceding decade. The directors 1957 occult classic continues to cast a long, sinister. Night of the demon is a 1957 british horror film, produced by frank bevis, directed by jacques tourneur and starring dana andrews, peggy cummins and niall macginnis.
The romany revenge, horror radio shows, cbs mystery theater, terror, sus. Night of the demon 1957 directed by jacques tourneur. With all the films use of cinematic techniques, the urgent pace of the investigation gives night of the demon an almost clinical sense of the real. Overall, night of the demon can perhaps be seen to reopen the door to the occult side of horror film.
Rent night of the demon aka curse of the demon 1957 film for free as part of our trial offer. I remember seeing this movie as a kid and that final scene really scared me. Night of the demon, movie, 1957 pictures provided by. In praise of night of the demon, jacques tourneurs protofolk horror. Ive always loved this film right from the first time i saw it many years ago.
Night of the demon moves the story of casting the runes forward to the fifties, contemporary at the time of the films release, although the original story was first published in 1911. This is a really fun conversation between our hero, and the villain of the the original night of the demon movie. Night of the demon 1957 rightly regarded as a genuine high point in both british horror and british cinema, night or curse of the demon is that rarest of rare things an actually scary horror film. Night of the demon packs a powerful punch despite featuring no gore or. Night of the demon has an enormous subtlety to its horror. Despite being bookended by appearances of a crudely animated demon whose brief appearances were insisted upon by the producers, the film is mostly an exercise in understatement. I walked with a zombie, starring dana andrews, peggy cummins and niall macginnis. Display as images display as list make and model make and year year category importancerole date added new ones first episode appearance ep. This film exists in three english language versions. Jamess casting the runes, the film was atmospherically directed by the legendary jacques tourneur, who had built his reputation with an exceptional string of val lewtonproduced horrors, including cat people. A nice double billing of the night of the demon and curse of the demon is available and the movie is still very stylish to this day. Night of the demon is a great film and if you havent had the chance to see it seek it out. He spends most of the film trying to convince others with his reason, although by the opening scene the demon has already been revealed. This film night of the demon had already been made long before then but i first saw it after the id already watched the tv version of the original story.
An occultist dispatches his enemies by raising a giant medieval devil. If you look hard you may find the scottish laird trapped in the body of a giant frog in the maze 1953, or the witchcraftcreated flying stone eagles in night of the eagle 1962, but the most interesting appeared in a splendidly sinister, quiet little film called night of the demon 1957 also known as curse of the demon. Night of the demon 1957 dana andrews peggy cummins niall macginnis maurice denham athene seyler liam redmond reginald beckwith ewan roberts peter elliott rosamund greenwood brian wilde richard leech original soundtrack clifton parker production design ken adam cinematography edward scaife. The films director jacques tourneur made two of the finest films cat people 1942 and i walked with a zombie 1943 for producer val lewton who patented this brand of ambiguous psychological horror. Night of the demon aka curse of the demon bluray 1957. Brilliant and genuinely scary filming of mr james classic horror story casting the runes, slightly let down by the studios insistence on giving the ambiguous demon thumping great closeups at the beginning of the movie. The film is a rather loose adaptation of the story that allows an american sceptic to take the lead role making it more attractive to the american film audience. Jacques tourneurs 1957 horror film contains curses, witchcraft and a massive demon. Travel guide to film locations for night of the demon 1957, in hertfordshire, wiltshire and london.
Jacques tourneurs night of the demon 1957 largely continues the directors subtle, suggestive approach to horror. The closing scene of the 1957 classic, night of the demon. American professor john holden arrives in london for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. Comes with a doublesided poster, and an 80page liner notes book by kat ellinger, m r james on ghost stories, a history of the films production, a profile of witchcraft consultant margaret murray, the films history with the bbfc, a look at the different versions of the film, contemporary critical responses, a look at charles bennetts original scripted ending, and film credits. By the early master of horror jacques tourneur cat people, i walked with a zombie, etc. Night of the demon, 1957, by the great noir director jacques tourneur, is a genuinely frightening horror movie, starring dana andrewslaura,and a host of.
This is the best dread film of its era and one of the most horrifying ever. Tourneurs great, late film night of the demon 1957, starring his friend and fellow toper dana andrews, may be the finest motion picture ever made by two kneewalking drunks. Holden, as the eternal sceptic, sternly protests that its easy to see a demon in every dark corner, while the wind howls spookily outside. Youll want to see this classic based on the short story casting the runes by m. Similarly titled films like the 1957 british horror film night of the demon and the 1988 american. Yet night of the demon gripping, intelligent, eerily entertaining. Curse of the demon starring dana andrews, niall macguinnis, peggy cummins and maurice denham. Night of the demon jacques tourneur, 1957 mr james is the greatest ever practitioner of the english ghost story. One of the things that peaked my interest in this one was my dad, who mentioned it as one of the creepiest films hed seen when he was younger.
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