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Night of the Demon

From Alfawiki
Night of the Demon
Company typeFilm
IndustryMotion picture
Founded1957
FounderHal E. Chester, Frank Bevis
ProductsHorror film

Night of the Demon (known in the U.S. as Curse of the Demon) is a 1957 British horror motion picture directed by Jacques Tourneur, featuring performances by Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, and Niall MacGinnis. The film, produced by Hal E. Chester and Frank Bevis, is an adaptation of the M. R. James tale "Casting the Runes". Its narrative centers on an American psychologist who probes into a satanic sect in England that is connected to several mysterious fatalities.

Disputes emerged between producer Chester, director Tourneur, and screenwriter Charles Bennett over Chester’s demand to depict the demon visually; ultimately, Chester’s viewpoint prevailed. To boost the film’s marketability, the original 96-minute version was shortened to 82 minutes for its 1958 U.S. release under the title Curse of the Demon. This version was frequently shown as a secondary feature, often paired with films such as The True Story of Lynn Stuart or The Revenge of Frankenstein.

Though it did not achieve significant box office success at first, Night of the Demon has since been critically lauded and is considered a landmark in horror cinema. It currently holds a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 critical reviews.

Plot

In England, Professor Harrington confronts his adversary, Dr. Julian Karswell, urging him to remove a curse in exchange for ceasing his investigation into Karswell’s Satanic cult activities. Following Harrington’s death in a car accident officially attributed to electrocution, Dr. John Holden arrives at a conference where Harrington intended to reveal the cult’s secrets. Holden discovers that Rand Hobart, implicated in a murder case and now catatonic, is the sole connection between Harrington’s demise and Karswell. While others lean toward supernatural explanations, Holden remains doubtful.

Holden encounters Karswell at the British Museum Reading Room and subsequently meets Joanna, Harrington’s niece, who provides him with her uncle’s diary detailing his fears about Karswell’s influence. At Karswell’s Halloween gathering, he boasts of conjuring a windstorm and foretells Holden’s death within three days. As Holden investigates further, he uncovers a runic parchment that Karswell covertly slipped to him at the library.

In search of clarity, Holden hypnotizes Hobart with his family’s permission; under hypnosis, Hobart confesses he was "marked" for death through receipt of a runic parchment but escaped fate by passing it on. When Holden presents Hobart with the same parchment obtained from Karswell, Hobart panics and dies by leaping through a window.

Joanna invites Holden to participate in a séance during which Harrington is contacted; it is revealed that Karswell possesses the key to interpreting the runes within a rare book. Skeptical of the séance’s validity, Holden breaks into Karswell’s residence but is attacked by a shape-shifting feline before being saved by Karswell himself. Despite warnings from Karswell, Holden flees after being pursued by supernatural entities.

Holden learns that Karswell has abducted Joanna and is en route by train to Southampton. As the predicted time of Holden's death approaches, he secretly slips the parchment into Karswell’s coat pocket. The parchment then flies away and bursts into flames while Karswell chases it along the railway tracks. A demon manifests and assaults Karswell; authorities later discover his body and assume he died in a train accident. Holden leaves with Joanna instead of pursuing further investigation.

Cast

Production

The screenplay rights for "Casting the Runes" were held by writer Charles Bennett, who adapted it into a script titled The Haunted. He sold this to independent producer and former actor Hal E. Chester before relocating to the United States. Bennett later regretted this decision, especially after RKO expressed interest in acquiring the screenplay for him to direct, with potential casting including Robert Taylor and Dick Powell.

Chester considered Bennett’s original script overly restrained and "too British," according to Tony Earnshaw, which led him to commission blacklisted writer Cy Endfield to undertake substantial rewrites; however, Endfield received no official credit. Director Jacques Tourneur was hired based on Chester’s recommendation but experienced conflicts with him during filming, particularly concerning a wind effect scene where Tourneur suggested using airplane engines instead of electric fans. Lead actor Dana Andrews sided with Tourneur, going so far as to threaten resignation if Chester did not grant the director full creative authority.

Filming took place at notable locations such as Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire (standing in for Lufford Hall), Stonehenge, Bricket Wood railway station, and the British Museum Reading Room.

Despite Tourneur’s preference for leaving the demon unseen to preserve suspense, producer Chester and co-producer Frank Bevis opted to depict the demon both at the beginning and conclusion of the film. Stop-motion specialist Ray Harryhausen was approached to design the demon but was unavailable due to his work on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Tony Earnshaw’s analysis suggests that revealing the demon early was a strategic choice intended to intensify tension by confirming the supernatural presence. Bennett expressed strong displeasure with these alterations and remarked that he would confront Chester if given another opportunity.

Theatrical

Night of the Demon debuted in November 1957 in the United Kingdom, presented alongside the American feature 20 Million Miles to Earth. When released in the United States in June 1958 under the title Curse of the Demon, it was shortened to an 82-minute runtime. The title was changed to prevent confusion with The Night of the Iguana. The American version omitted several scenes, including visits to the Hobart family farm and Stonehenge, along with certain séance sequences. Additionally, the British Library scene was rearranged. In U.S. theaters and drive-ins, Curse of the Demon was often shown in double bills with either The True Story of Lynn Stuart or The Revenge of Frankenstein.

Home media

In the United States, Columbia TriStar Home Video initially released the movie on VHS in 1986 with a runtime of 83 minutes. This was followed by a 96-minute Continental edition issued by Goodtimes Home Video Corp in 1988. That same year, Image Entertainment/Columbia Pictures brought out an 81-minute LaserDisc version. A 2002 DVD release included both the Continental (titled Night of the Demon) and the US cuts.

Within the United Kingdom, Encore Entertainment/Columbia TriStar distributed a VHS version in 1995. The film made its UK DVD debut on 18 October 2010, presenting both available versions. Later, on 22 October 2018, Powerhouse Films' Indicator label released a Blu-ray edition featuring four different cuts of the movie as an all-region format.

Critical reception

At the time of release, critics commended director Jacques Tourneur for his confident approach to occult subject matter, highlighting standout moments such as the storm ritual and library sequences. However, some reviewers found the demon’s visible appearance less effective.

During a 2010s poll conducted by Time Out, industry experts placed Night of the Demon at number 52 among the greatest horror films. Renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese counted it among his top eleven scariest horror movies.

The film is widely acknowledged as an early example of British folk horror, with Little White Lies describing it as "possibly the second film brought into existence within the folk horror genre," following Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it maintains a perfect approval score of 100% based on seventeen critical reviews.

In other media

Kate Bush incorporated the phrase "it's in the trees, it's coming!" from this film into her 1985 track "Hounds of Love".

Dark Ambient musician Lustmord sampled the line "It was the night of the Demon" from the film’s hypnosis scene in his 2011 composition 'Ixaxaar', featured on the album 'The Monstrous Soul'.

See also

References

Notes
Bibliography
  • Bansak, Edward G. Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career. McFarland, 1995. .
  • Earnshaw, Tony. Beating the Devil: The Making of Night of the Demon. Tomahawk Press, 2004.
  • Fujiwara, Chris. Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall. McFarland, 1998. .
  • Peary, Danny. Cult Movies 2: Fifty More of the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful. Dell, 1989. .

External links

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