Rating: 
Summary: Horror classic gets grade-A DVD treatment
Review: 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 hands of a fantastic demon...CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957, 81m 35s): A re-edited version of the above, shorter by 14 minutes, with a couple of scenes rearranged for the US drive-in market. Directed by Val Lewton's erstwhile protege Jacques Tourneur (CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE), and written by frequent Hitchcock dramatist Charles Bennett (YOUNG AND INNOCENT, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT), NIGHT OF THE DEMON is based on the story 'Casting the Runes' by M.R. James and was fashioned as an A-grade shocker (on a B-grade budget) which challenges the notion of unreasoning acceptance/denial of supernatural forces. Dana Andrews (WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS, BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT) plays the blinkered American cynic - cast adrift in a foreign country - who refuses to acknowledge the validity of the demonic threat made against his life, despite all evidence to the contrary, though Bennett's script makes it clear that the movie's central 'villain' (a powerful and charismatic performance by scene-stealer MacGinnis) is afraid of the repercussions which might result if he lifts the curse and relinquishes his magical lifestyle. Both Tourneur and Bennett were reportedly horrified by the post-production tampering imposed by producer Hal E. Chester, who re-edited the picture for its 1958 US debut, retitled it CURSE OF THE DEMON (to avoid confusion with THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, according to 'Video Watchdog' magazine, though 'Iguana' wasn't produced until 1964, which renders Chester's title-change meaningless) and added a monstrous demon to all existing prints on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite the reservations of fans and filmmakers alike, this fearsome-looking creature - which makes a brief appearance at the beginning and end of the movie - generates an authentic jolt of cinematic horror in a film which otherwise prides itself on visual ambiguity. Bennett's script foregrounds the human drama, and Tourneur's first-rate cast (including Athene Seyler [THE QUEEN OF SPADES] as MacGinnis' frightened mother, and Reginald Beckwith [NIGHT OF THE EAGLE] as a dotty psychic) plays it completely straight throughout. There's at least half a dozen powerful set-pieces, including Maurice Denham's terrifying encounter with the eponymous beast, Andrews' confrontation with MacGinnis during a children's birthday party, and an episode in which Andrews is followed through the deep, dark woods by an unearthly, invisible... 'thing' (I'll say no more). Ted Scaife's atmospheric black and white cinematography makes a virtue of the bleak English landscape, and veteran technicians George Blackwell and Wally Veevers contribute some brief but memorable special effects. The final sequence - set within the claustrophobic confines of a late night train, as the hour of Andrews' death approaches - is a small masterpiece of nail-biting suspense. Columbia TriStar's region 1 DVD is outstanding. Both versions of the film are presented here in letterbox format (anamorphically enhanced) at 1.66:1, and are ideally framed. Picture quality is absolutely stunning, with flawless contrasts and deep blacks. Sound format is 2.0 mono. Closed captions and subtitles are provided. CURSE OF THE DEMON has long been considered an acceptable cut of the film and has been circulating on both sides of the Atlantic for many years, but first-time viewers are urged to stick with the original British edition, NIGHT OF THE DEMON (erroneously described as a 'special extended version' on the packaging!). The extra footage contained within this print restores all of the character motivation rendered absent from the US variant, resulting in a clearly superior presentation. There are no extras on Columbia's DVD, but the film itself more than compensates for the lack of supplementary materials.
Rating: 
Summary: By the Pricking of my Thumbs Something Wicked this Way Comes
Review: I am a sucker for old B&W horror films, and Jacques Tourneur was the best, rivalled only by maybe Mario Bava. Both men understood that shadow and light and the grey/silver play in between could set the mood as no colour film movie could. The black and white film could be lensed at such lower light settings, they achieve spooky shadows and the looming sense that something could be hiding in them as no modern colour film ever could. And Night/Curse of the Demon is the genre at its best. This movie takes a premise that demons can be called forth and 'sicked' upon a person by the mere passing of a slip of paper of runic symbols - and proceeds to make believers of the audience. The only sour note in the wonderful production is the monotone perform by Dana Andrews who seems determined not to take the role serious. It is quite a shame it could not have had an actor with the deftness of Ian McShane give breath to the doubting thomas professor. Still, even Andrews lack luster performance cannot sink this marvellous film. Andrews plays a parapsychologist who has come to England to debunk a witch-cult. Once he arrives, he finds the man who asked him to come has been killed under very mysterious circumstances. His niece is convinced he was killed by Carlson, the head of the witch, for she finds a reference in her uncle's diary saying Carlson passed him the slip of paper with runic symbols and then he found his diary had all the pages torn from them after a certain date - the date Carlson said something would come for him. Andrews is a confirmed doubter, but even his faith in logic is rattled has he comes face to face with people of the Auld Ways. He also have been passed a slip with the symbols and Carlson has informed him his time allotted nears - and his diary is found with all the pages torn from it. It is horror films at their best, Jacques Tourneur the master showing how it was done. Be sure to keep an eye out for his I Walked with A Zombie - another masterpiece despite it stupid title.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for the Era
Review: 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. It is a good addition to my film library. I'm glad these oldies are making it to DVD.
Rating:
Summary: You Will Believe
Review: Oddly enough, I had never heard of this film until a couple of weeks ago, but based on the reviews here, decided to check it out. I'd like to thank the other Amazon reviewers for some very sound advice. It's a terrific film. An older Dana Andrews is in England investigating the paranormal and the occult when he gets mixed up with a cult leader who tells him he will be killed by a demon on a particular day, a day which is three days away. Despite mounting evidence, Andrews doesn't believe him, although we the audience are convinced very early on. But will Andrews see the light before it's too late, and could he do anything about it anyways? The film has a creepy quality to it, not only because of the frankly presented subject matter, but also because of the darkly lit black and white photography. There's nothing like b&w to really add atmosphere in a story like this one. The performances are all good, especially the villain, played by Niall MacGinnis in a quietly threatening way. Highlights for me were the children's party, the hypnosis scene, and the climax. The mood and tension builds as the film progresses, and remains strong to the very end. I guess I should put in my two cents about the demon's appearances. I think it worked well at the end, but I would not have shown it at the beginning, instead hainvg the smoke and the sound of it without a visual image. But that's a minor criticism of a fine suspense film. I hope more people have a chance to see this minor classic.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic of Horror
Review: Based on -- and admirably expanding on - M.R. James' story "Casting the Runes", this remains one of the finest supernatural movies ever made. The screenwriter was a Hitchcock veteran and it shows in the tautly structured plot. Niall MacGinnis is superb as the urbane villain, and the film has any number of classic sequences: the seance scene, the scene at the Hobart farm, the Children's Halloween party and whirlwind scene, the scene in the woods -- even the controversial special effects of the fire demon actually work (although it's debatable whether the film would be better without) -- the only special effect that doesn't come off is the scene where Dana Andrews is fighting purportedly with a large wild cat -- obviously fake. But that is a tiny flaw in what is a classic of the genre. Eerie, atmospheric, and highly recommended. Another bit of trivia: this is the film referred to in the opening song of The Rocky Horror Picture Show ("Dana Andrews said prunes / gave him the runes/ and passing them used lots of skills") and also in the scene where Janet collides with atree branch in the "There's a Light" number.
Rating:
Summary: One the great turning points in horror films
Review: 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!)
Rating: 
Summary: Why did I Laugh during a Horror Film?
Review: 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. I had not seen the film before I read the reviews. I was very excited to see the film, I was.
My first comment is this matey, I think it was wise to show the demon at the beginning of the film, as so many of you have objected to. It was wise because otherwise I may not have made it to the end of the film when they showed the demon again. Yes, it looked fake, but it was effective.
The film starts out waaaaay too sloooow. So at least by showing the demon you know you may get more action.
My second comment goes a little something like this, I laughed my little clover leaves off during the seance. When the "medium" starts speaking in tongues and moaning like he is going downhill on a bike on a bumpy road. I don't mean to offend the fans of this movie, but that scene was too much camp, too funny, when the little child's voice started, I almost choked. I got a bigger laugh though when the central character, Dana Andrews goes to Stonehenge, and my friend said "Oh he's at Stone hedge."
I had such a good time watching this film.
Let me see, I do have a good point of the film. During the doctor convention, it was kind of spooky, you know? There is a bunch of students sitting watching a doctor and his patient. The patient is comatose because he had once seen the demon. The doctor shoots the patient up with "amphetamines" (um hum we know what he pimping in that needle). The patient jumps up and runs into the audience, then runs and jumps out of a window to his death. Well it takes him 2 times to get out of the window, the first time he just runs into it and falls down.
Oh I did laugh again during the big finale, when the demon shows up again, picks up the "satanic cult leader" and starts smacking him around. Whew.
Do I recommend this movie? I don't know. I do know I had a good time watching it though.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: Without a doubt this is one of the best movies of all time.
I was on the edge through the whole movie. Great camera work,
great scenery with that dreary English landscape. Rent it, but it, you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: First rate presentations of excellent movie!
Review: THANK YOU to Columbia for giving us BOTH versions of this my favorite horror film from childhood. Very good value for the money!
Rating:
Summary: To What Lengths Do We Seek the Truth...
Review: 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 too late and Dr. Harrington dies in what appears to the public to be an accident . When the American psychologist John Holden lands in London after unpleasant air travel, he quickly learns about the death of Dr. Harrington, and is determined to expose Karswell and the evil cult that surrounds Karswell. As Dr. Holden begins his investigation, he is approached by Karswell who lays a curse on him, however, the skeptical Dr. Holden continues to dig deeper with the help of Dr. Harrington's niece Joanna. Together they are about to reveal something dark and secret. Night of the Demon is an horror film that still can keep an audience in suspense even with the old special effects that where used at the time of making of the film. In the end, the film provides a moment to ponder the scientific method and other things that humans believe the scientific method cannot confirm.
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