Curse of the Demon

Original title: Night of the Demon

1957
Approved
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

16K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

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B-Horror Dark Fantasy Folk Horror Psychological Horror Psychological Thriller Supernatural Fantasy Supernatural Horror Suspense Mystery Witch Horror Fantasy

American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

16K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,167

3,010

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination

Videos1

Trailer 2:10

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Photos94

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Jacques Tourneur never planned to show the monster but to leave it instead to the audience's imagination. However, the studio insisted that the monster be shown and added it in post-production, allegedly without Tourneur's consent, approval, or involvement. "The scenes where we really see the demon were shot without me. All except one: I shot the sequence in the woods where Andrews is pursued by this sort of cloud." [Tourneur himself in Midi-Minuit Fantastique 5.65]. He also said, "It should have been unveiled bit by bit without it ever really being shown." [in Cinefantsatique; '73]

Goofs
At the beginning, when Professor Harrington is driving to Dr. Karswell's residence, the steering wheel is on the left, and the POV is from the passenger seat, looking at the right side of his face. On his way back to his home, it's a mirror image of the original (flipped shot).

Actually, the car is narrow, and it is an optical illusion that the steering wheel on the left. It is a right-hand drive vehicle as can be seen when he looks out the window at the Lufford Hall sign at the gate, as well as when he exits the car at the house.

Quotes
Professor Henry Harrington: It's in the trees! It's coming!

Alternate versions
This film exists in three English language versions: (1) The original British release under the title "Night of the Demon", (2) Columbia's edited version for release in the U.S. under the title "Curse of the Demon", and (3) over 20 years later, Columbia replaced their edited U.S. version with the original British version but with the title also changed to "Curse of the Demon". Columbia's DVD release contains both the edited and restored U.S. versions. Although the cover remains the same, Columbia's more recent copies of the their DVD release removes the U.S. version with the restored footage with a print of the original British release with the title "Night of the Demon".

Connections
Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Curse of the Demon (1970)

Soundtracks
Plain Song
(uncredited)
Music by Fela Sowande
Chappell Recorded Music Library

User reviews281

Review

Featured review

10/10

Tourneur strikes again

This film comes with two quality labels: it stars Peggy Cummins (best known for 'Deadly Is The Female' a.k.a. 'Gun Crazy') and is directed by Jacques Tourneur who had already shown his talent for suspenseful films with the RKO classics Cat People and I Walked With A Zombie. So you know what to expect: suspense and quality.

By now of course, technology changed a lot of how films look and it is the "show less - scare a lot" attitude of Cat People and I Walked With A Zombie that made them into the classics that they are. 'Night of the Demon' (a far better title than the American 'Curse of the Demon' - and if you see the film, you'll know why) has one nasty side effect: you see the demon and it's a film demon from the 50s. No matter how scary the film makes the demon, he looks like the thing you see on the cover of the movie box. It could be scarier. But now comes the best part... it doesn't matter! Because the suspense comes from something else in the movie and that is what makes this film so great. Dana Andrews is coming to England to prove that a so-called satanic cult is nothing more than a bunch of fakers and illusionists. The cult leader, however, puts a spell on him and warns Andrews that he will die in a few days. Other 50s film that depend more on the monsters and demons do have that problem: e.g. Roger Corman made some movies that could've been a lot better and scarier if the monster had either been more convincing or given less screen time.

Like in the other two films by Tourneur I mentioned, you always sense something scary could happen. That is what makes films work. In 'Night of the Demon Tourneur' succeeds in scarying you on some occasions when you least expect it. Combine that with cleverly built-up suspense and you know why you should watch this classic. Even if you don't like horror films in general.