FantasyHorrorMystery

Night of the Demon

- Who will be the next in line to defy the curse?

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. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.

Release Date : 1957-11-09

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Sabre Film Productions Ltd.

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles : Curse of the Demon

Cast

Character Name : Dr. John Holden

Original Name : Dana Andrews

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joanna Harrington

Original Name : Peggy Cummins

Gender : Female

Character Name : Dr. Julian Karswell

Original Name : Niall MacGinnis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor Henry Harrington

Original Name : Maurice Denham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Karswell

Original Name : Athene Seyler

Gender : Female

Character Name : Professor Mark O'Brien

Original Name : Liam Redmond

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Meek

Original Name : Reginald Beckwith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lloyd Williamson

Original Name : Ewan Roberts

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor K.T. Kumar

Original Name : Peter Elliott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Meek

Original Name : Rosamund Greenwood

Gender : Female

Character Name : Rand Hobart

Original Name : Brian Wilde

Gender : Male

Character Name : Inspector Mottrarn

Original Name : Richard Leech

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective Simmons

Original Name : Lloyd Lamble

Gender : Male

Character Name : Superintendent

Original Name : Peter Hobbes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chemist

Original Name : Charles Lloyd Pack

Gender : Male

Character Name : Librarian

Original Name : John Salew

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Hobart

Original Name : Janet Barrow

Gender : Female

Character Name : Farmer

Original Name : Percy Herbert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Air Hostess

Original Name : Lynn Tracy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hobart's Brother

Original Name : John Harvey

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Alan Beaton

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Hyma Beckley

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ballard Berkeley

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ernest Blyth

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Wallace Bosco

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Daniel Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jimmy Cains

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : George Curtis

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Richard Duke

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Shay Gorman

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Laurence Hepworth

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Walter Horsbrugh

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Arthur Howell

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Anthony John

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Dan Lester

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Leonard Llewellyn

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Michael Peake

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Paul Phillips

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Anthony Richmond

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Peggy Scott Sanders

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Terry Sartain

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Leonard Sharp

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Bert Simms

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Robert Brooks Turner

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

You know, the devil has something here. Very pleasant. Dr. John Holden arrives in England to attend a paranormal convention where the recently deceased Professor Harrington had intended to expose Dr. Julian Karswell as being the leader of satanic cult. Upon learning of Harrington's death, Holden finds that the only link to the mysterious death and Karswell's alleged cult is an accused murderer called Rand Hobart, who is currently in a catatonic state. While Harrington's niece Joanna is convinced her uncle was felled by supernatural forces, Holden sets about debunking it all as pure hogwash. Something that may yet prove to be fatal to his well being? Prior to 1957, director Jacques Tourneur could boast on his résumé psychological horror classics I Walked With A Zombie & Cat People, the simmering pot boiling Western Canyon Passage and the rightly heralded film-noir piece that is Out Of The Past. He was in short the perfect choice to direct this loose adaptation of M.R. James' story "Casting the Runes". Why then? That producer Hal E. Chester chose to interfere and not let Tourneur have full rein to deliver a supernatural picture that is more about what you don't see is actually what scares you? Is open for scornful debate. The problem, and the source of much discussion over the years, concerns the demon of the title. Goofy looking and at once taking away the quizzical factor for the audience, Chester had the demon appear both at the beginning and the end of the piece. It was also featured heavily in the film's advertising material (it's on the poster for instance), which quite frankly killed off the minuscule chance the less than scary vision had of shocking the audience. It's now all the years later considered across the board that it would have been better to not have seen the demon at all, certainly at the least to not see it at the beginning of the film. Thankfully though, and with much credit to Tourneur, his team and the cast, Night Of The Demon is still a nerve pulling piece of work that shines bright today as a true classic horror picture. After the demon has shown its unremarkable face, we follow Holden (a knowingly effective and stoic turn from Dana Andrews) as he delves deeper into murky waters that he's convinced do not exist. Only to realise he's in a devilish trap laid by the creepy Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), a trap from which he must escape or face the dire consequence. The tension has been built up beautifully by Tourneur, tension given an added dimension by Ken Adam's spookily adroit set designs. So come the glorious train station finale, nobody can be quite sure what will happen, and this in spite of us knowing the existence of the said demon thanks to the appearance of "it" at the beginning. The film was cut by 12 minutes and retitled Curse Of the Demon for the American market, but both versions have readily been available in disc form in the US. Odd then that in the country where the film is proudly called one of its own better horror entries, it had to wait till 2010 for a home disc release! That is almost as criminal as Chester's insistence on the demon appearing at the start of the film. Only almost mind you. 9/10