‘You could learn a lot from children. They believe in things in the dark…’
Jacques Tourneur may not have the same cultural cache as John Carpenter, Wes Craven or Sam Raimi, but the horror films he turned out for RKO Pictures (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Leopard Man etc) have been hugely influential, and have become more lauded over time. Night of the Demon arrived over a decade after Tourneur’s purple patch, but it is still incredibly effective…
Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews), an American professor, travels to London for a parapsychology conference, and finds himself investigating devil-worshipper Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis) instead. He is assisted in his investigation by local academic, Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham), and his niece, Joanna (Peggy Cummins).
Based on M.R. James’ short story, Casting the Runes, Night of the Demon is a precursor to British folk horror and served as an influence on everything from The Ring to Drag Me to Hell. While the decision to show the demon in the opening scene perhaps robs the film of some much needed ambiguity, it also sets the stall out early that we are dealing with something genuinely demonic. While Tourneur objected, the demon itself is impressively rendered, and this raises the stakes for everything that comes after.
In terms of performance, Andrews is a suitably Jamesian academic – sceptical, arrogant, hubristic – but it is MacGinnis as the Alistair Crowley inspired Dr. Karswell who really impresses. His beard may not be authentic, but his performance is. He even manages to convince as a creepy clown – pre-dating Pennywise by a good thirty years.
Curse of the Demon is beautifully lit and shot, and it perfectly captures the feeling of the uncanny that was James’ stock in trade. Its scares may seem quaint by modern standards, but the creeping dread that it still inspires is very real.
