begob A father subjects his daughter and son to a quack's experiments in order to cure them of their bad blood ...Gothic clash between primitive science and primitive religion, as an inherited malevolence racks up the body count of the local village girls. The story provides suspense over the identity of the villain, but oddly the hero plays a minor role so there's a real nihilism that doesn't fit with the Hammer formula.The story telling isn't great. We're given the usual lavish costumes and sets and earthy locations, but the set up isn't tense, since the locals seem content with the aristos up the hill despite what must be dodgy past relations. There's one interesting scene with the villagers in a ritual to kill death, but it didn't tie in with any theme in the main story.Editing sometimes odd: one glimpse introducing a victim as she waves bye bye to dad, then a pursuit through the woods. The only impressive photography is when the aunt steps into frame in front of the Count and the quack.Biggest drawback is the acting, which has to deal with a very wordy script. The old fellas ham it up, with wobbling jowels and arms flung wide, while the daughter drifts about in a state of feeble anxiety. The nude scenes are nice, and the killings are more or less gory.Music nothing special.Overall: Interesting, yet confused and uneven.

Scott LeBrun The folks at Hammer Studios take one of their usual Gothic environments and use it for a more cerebral and subtle film than what their fans are used to. The title really does make it quite clear: the "demons" here are those that dwell in the human mind, affecting mental stability and having a profound effect on the next generation. It does take the time to include some more exploitable elements - namely, gore and nudity - but these moments feel gratuitous given the nature of the balance of the film.It takes place in Bavaria where a Baron named Zorn (Robert Hardy) is afraid of his children, afraid that they have inherited the madness of their predecessors. They do seem to be showing the signs. More than anything, the Baron is convinced that they are possessed. A self styled psychiatrist named Falkenberg (Patrick Magee) and his young associate Carl (Paul Jones, formerly of the band Manfred Mann) arrive on the scene, using radical methods to probe the psyche of father and children (Gillian Hills, Shane Briant). Meanwhile, the local villagers are convinced of the existence of demons, and spurred on by a wandering priest (Michael Hordern), they determine to take care of the problem."Demons of the Mind" does appear to divide the audience, but this viewer would consider himself in the camp that considers this one of the more interesting and hence more effective of the latter day Hammer productions. Australian director Peter Sykes creates a suitably eerie atmosphere, which is enhanced by wonderfully spooky music composed by Harry Robertson. The script by Christopher Wicking is heavy on symbolism, and it offers meaty roles to a sterling bunch of actors, with the under-rated Hardy delivering the goods in a particularly great role. Magee is fun as always as the hard-driving psychiatrist, and good looking pair Hills and Briant are affecting as the troubled kids.The film does end on a very Hammer-esque note with angry torch bearing villagers set for a final confrontation, but getting there is every bit as enjoyable. Those horror fans looking for different offerings from Hammer are advised to give this one a look.Eight out of 10.

The_Void Well I went into this with high expectations, but unfortunately Demons of the Mind failed to deliver. I'm a big fan of Hammer Horror, and since I've seen most of the big ones; this one has been at the top of my 'must see' for quite some time. It has to be said that Demons of the Mind represents one of Hammer's most ambitious projects, but that can't be seen as a compliment to the film as it just doesn't work. Demons of the mind does benefit from some good production values, and actually reminded me a lot of Ken Russell's The Devil's because of the way that it fuses good acting and cinematography with a purely B-movie plot. The plot is overly complicated, and focuses on a pair of children who are kept locked up by their father, a man who fears that the children may have been 'infected' by their insane mother. The boy keeps escaping, and coincidentally a lot of dead girls are turning up in the woods. The father keeps them separate as the boy is attracted to the girl, and the plot thickens when a doctor who stands to make a fortune if he can 'cure' the children turns up...Demons of the Mind was directed by Peter Sykes, who also directed one of the studio's worst efforts in the form of To the Devil a Daughter two years later. Clearly, he is not Hammer's most adept director. The film features a handful of British horror stars - most notably Patrick Magee and Shane Briant, both for different reasons. Magee is one of the most underrated and unique British horror actors, and he always manages to increase the credibility of anything he stars in - even if it is something like this. Briant, on the other hand, starred in a handful of Hammer Horror flicks during the early seventies and failed to make much of an impression after the first one. Briant was noticeable in Straight on till Morning for his ridiculous haircut, but since then failed to make an impression. The film really lacks what Hammer's big guns bring to the table - Cushing and Lee are sorely missed. The plot mumbles along for most of the duration, and by the end I wasn't too bothered what happened. I can give this film plaudits for the production values and for some notable sequences - but overall, Demons of the Mind isn't one of Hammer's finest hours.

InvasionofPALs This 1972 horror/suspense thriller is a truly odd film. I really like this movie, but those who don't like weird Hammer Studios horror films ought to tread warily. The atmosphere is eerie and just plain creepy sometimes. The plot is better left seen than described, but this film is for patient viewers who don't mind not having the plot spelled out for them -- but who like to try and figure things out themselves. And there are lots of things to figure out! When I watched this movie the first time I really had no idea how it would end. This film also made me wonder how the people who concocted the story came up with such a diffuse plot with so many different things going on at the same time. Truly boggles the mind. No pun intended! It's a mad movie with a fiery finale.