Zombat5
I have watched this film many times and it just gets better.Fantastic set pieces such as the seance scene and also in the lunatic asylum.Niall MacGinnis absolutely steals the show as the sinister Dr Karswell.Ok the demon itself is a bit 'rubber bands and bits of string' (hell, it was made 60 years ago) but that absolutely does not matter as the film is pure atmosphere from start to finish.If you haven't seen it already you're in for an absolute treat!
jadavix
Jacques Tourneur's "Night of the Demon" is a classic horror tale which is notable for more than just scares: it was proof that horror and film noir do go together.Film noir invariably depicts a protagonist lost in a conspiracy of corruption that he is powerless to understand. You aren't supposed to be able to comprehend the plots of "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep". That's deliberate: the main character can't understand it either, and our own confusion allows us to empathise.In "Night of the Demon", which is incorrectly regarded as a straight horror tale, despite coming from the man who brought us "Out of the Dark", another film noir masterpiece, we see a hero familiar from noir: a hardened, skeptical investigator who is tired of the world he is best suited for: one of illusion, gullibility and the strong preying on the weak. Sound familiar? He even wears a fedora.The difference is that our hero investigates the paranormal, but he is no Fox Mulder. He is a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic, incredulous like all film-noir heroes. He talks and acts like one who's seen it all; it doesn't take a genius to predict that the case at the centre of "Night of the Demon" will surprise even him."Night of the Demon" is brilliantly shot by the master Tourneur, and features special effects that still look impressive today. It moves along superbly, and has several fantastic set pieces. It's an unmissable horror classic.
sol-
Skeptical of black magic, devil worship and superstition, an arrogant psychologist gradually begins to question his scientific convictions after the mysterious death of a colleague in this horror thriller from Jacques Tourneur. The film has been criticised over the years for overtly showing the title demon given that Tourneur's earlier 'Cat People' was a pioneer psychological horror movie where everything was implied rather than explicitly shown. Emerging from smoke and clouds, the demon is utterly unsettling though and adds a welcome degree of creepiness to the tale even if its appearance obliterates all ambiguity. Its appearance also adds more dread to the tale with Dana Andrews coming off as foolish in his attempt to rationalise everything and suspense coming from the question of whether he will open up his mind to the possibility of black magic being real before it is too late. In fact, the only significant drawback of the film is how difficult a character Andrews is to like with his smug and frequently condescending attitude and demeanour. Niall MacGinnis is delightful with his questioning of "where does imagination end and reality begin?" and the final ten or so minutes of the movie are utterly intense with a strong sense of impending doom. Several images from this final stretch are absolutely haunting and linger in the mind long after the film has concluded.
Johan Louwet
This horror certainly has good atmosphere. But when you think the real visual horror sequences of the demon actually harm the movie more than improve it, that's not good. Holden, the skeptical scientist is dull as dishwater, seriously lacking chemistry with Joanna Harrington. I think with her as the lead character it might have been more fun. It doesn't sound right that I actually had more sympathy for Doctor Karswell who is supposed to be the villain and would not have been disappointed had Holden died. Despite the plot or main character couldn't grab me I really liked the séance and hypnosis scene. Thanks to those scenes and the character of Karswell it the movie escapes a failure.
AD
