CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES # 1 - NIGHT OF THE DEMON (A.K.A. CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957))
Ok, Before I start I'm just going to say this - I KNOW that this movie isn't technically a Christmas ghost story (it's actually set at Halloween) BUT - it is based on a story by M.R. James (one of the masters of the Christmas ghost story) and seeing as how last Christmas I reviewed adaptations of his stories (and will be reviewing more this year) I felt that I couldn't really leave it out (I had intended to review it last year but didn't get round to it). So consider this review an appetizer before we start the main course....
DIRECTED BY Jacques Torneur
SCREENPLAY BY Charles Bennett & Hal E. Chester based on the short story "Casting The Runes" by M.R. James.
STARRING - Dana Andrews as Dr. John Holden, Peggy Cummins as Joanna Harrington, Niall McGuiness as Dr. Julian Karswell, Athene Seyler as Mrs. Karswell, Liam Redmond as Professor Mark O'Brien, Peter Elliott as Professor Kumar, Maurice Denham as Professor Harrington, Reginald Beckwith as Mr. Meek, Rosamund Greenwood as Mrs. Meek, Brian Wilde as Rand Hobart.
PLOT - Following the mysterious death of Professor Harrington who was looking to expose the satanic activities of Dr Julian Karswell, Dr John Holden arrives in England to continue Harrington's work.
It's not long before he encounters Karswell who warns Holden to back off and cease his investigation. Karswell secretes a cursed runic parchment upon Holden's person which condemns him to death at the hands of the same demonic entity which killed Harrington. Under the rules of the curse Holden has just three days to live.
With time running out Holden teams up with Harrington's niece Joanna in an attempt to free himself of the curse but the clock is ticking and the Demon is coming...
PERFORMANCES - The two main protagonists Holden (Dana Andrews) and Joanna (Peggy Cummins) whilst giving decent performances are both VERY of thier time in the way that they're both almost stereotypes of what you'd expect a pair of characters in a 1950's movie to be like.
In M.R. James's original stories his heroes are traditionally nearly always slightly crusty academics. Andrew's version of Holden is NOT like this. For a start he's American (it's the same type of deal that lead Brian Donlevy to be cast as Quatermass, unlike Donlevy though Andrews doesn't seem like he's out of place in this type of film). Holden is a bit of a charmer and clearly fancies himself as something of a ladies man.
He's also a straight down the line skeptic (perhaps the only trait he DOES share with his literary counterparts) throughout the movie he's constantly questioning what's going on and seems to have an almost bullheaded determination to find a logical, rational explanation for everything. In fact it's fair to say that he's skeptical to the point of being a bit annoying at times. This is the same type of blanket refusal to accept that anything weird is going on DESPITE THE EVIDENCE OF HIS OWN EYES that frequently used to blight Scully's character in the X-Files. It's fair enough to be a skeptic but does the script REALLY have to reset the character to his default mode every five minutes ?
Anyway this is pretty much how Holden acts for the majority of the film - he strides into every scene with his brylcreamed hair and fedora hat constantly smoking a cigarette, every inch the typical rational 50's leading man, he flirts occasionally with Joanna (who doesn't seem that interested to be fair) and blithely tells everyone they're talking rubbish. It's not until the last ten minutes when he gets ABSOLUTE PROOF that a Demon's coming for him that he even starts to get slightly stressed out. Holden is the very definition of unflappable to the very end. Don't get me wrong I quite like Andrews in this movie but the way the character is written doesn't really sell the jeopardy that he's in.
Andrew's does have pretty decent chemistry with Cummins but again she's so stiffly formal with her cut glass "Queen's English" accent that she's quite difficult for modern audiences to empathise with. Her best scenes are at the start of the film when she first meets Holden on a plane and the two generally seem to annoy each other, eventually though a friendship forms and the two actors spark off each other really well with Joanna essentially becoming Mulder to Holden's Scully.
This film really belongs to Niall McGuiness though with his portrayal of the demon summoning Satanic cult leader Karswell.
Karswell is an odd character in that whilst he's obviously the villain he's by no means typical of the type of villain you'd normally see in films from this era. The main reason for this is that he's actually got a human side to him, he's not just your standard diabolical madman. Karswell is a bachelor who lives with his eccentric elderly mum (Athene Seyler). He has quite a sweet relationship with his mother (who's a dotty old spiritualist), whilst she knows that he's up to no good she also seems to turn a blind eye to his many faults and seems content to just mother him (there's a lovely scene where she expresses concern that he's not married yet and clumsily tries to palm him off on Joanna).
Karswell also seems to be just as afraid of the Demon he's summoned as everyone else is. He knows his deal with the dark powers will probably bite him on the arse one day if he doesn't play ball. It's nice to see these more human touches to the character as it makes him a lot more three dimensional.
Karswell also has quite an amiable nature at first - he's polite, friendly and seems to genuinely regret having to sick the Demon on people, you get the impression he'd much rather sort things out in a more civilised manner but he's already gotten in way over his head. However don't let this fool you because he does have a darker side - there's several points where his mask slips and he comes over as being quite coldly chilling (especially the scene when he tells Holden that he's not a good loser).
There's some great scenes between McGuiness and Andrews as they verbally spar with each other, each man sticking to thier respective viewpoints and totally unwilling to back down. In thier way both Holden and Karswell are each as stubborn as the other. It's like a case of unstoppable force meets immovable object.
My favourite scene is at the local kid's Halloween party where Karswell gives Holden a demonstration of his supernatural powers by creating a wind storm. Holden being Holden still refuses to believe him though.
Yeah - Karswell is a great villain. Easily the highlight of the movie.
SFX - Director Jacques Tourneur famously was dead against the Demon actually being seen in the film, his instinct being to keep the nature of the Demon more ambiguous and thereby imply the possibility that the creature was imaginary after all. The film's producers disagreed with this, presumably wanting a visible monster for marquee value and added the Demon at the end of the shoot without Tourneur's knowledge. I have to say the producers where right in this instance as the Demon in this movie is BLOODY AWESOME !!!!
I mean...just look at him. Just look at him and remember that this movie was made in 1957. He still holds up today for crying out loud.
He's especially awesome (and creepy) when he first appears in this cloud of ethereal billowing smoke which somehow manages to look unearthly all on it's own. He's one warrior of Satan who definitely knows how to make an entrance.
This Demon was so effective that when I first saw this film advertised on the cover of Radio Times magazine in 1980 at the tender age of five he fired my imagination so much that to this very day whenever anyone says the word "Demon" I instantly think of this chap. To me he's THE definitive demon, any other interpretation doesn't even come close.
Unfortunately the other effects aren't so great. There's one unintentionally hilarious scene where Holden breaks into Karswell's mansion and is attacked by a "minor demon" masquerading as Karswell's pet cat. If asking us to buy that a sweet looking kitty is supposed to be intimidating isn't bad enough, the "demon cat" then transforms into a big cat (a leopard or something). As a result of this we're treated to two minutes of the sight of Dana Andrews wrestling with a stuffed toy. It's every bit as shit as it sounds but it's the only real misstep this movie makes.
VIOLENCE - Apart from one character committing suicide in preference to facing the Demon, the Hellspawn itself only actually kills two people in the whole film - Harrington at the film's start (he crashes his car, gets electrocuted and then trodden on by the Demon - it's nothing if not thorough). At the end Karswell falls victim to the Demon - it picks him up in it's massive hands and tears him to shreds before throwing his corpse in front of an oncoming train to make it look like an accident.
RATING - The Night Of The Demon is a curious beast. Dated and so of it's time in some ways and as fresh as the day it was made in others.
Apart from the odd misfire moment it holds together pretty well - the performances are likeable, the villain is great, the special effects are groundbreaking for the time and the all important spooky atmosphere is second to none (aided in no small part by the beautiful black and white photography and the ominous soundscape used on the film's soundtrack).
4 and a half demonic assassins out of 5. An excellent little chiller for Christmas and any other time of the year.
ART -
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment