CURSE OF THE DEMON (a.k.a NIGHT OF THE DEMON, 1957)

By: Randy Palmer
Date: Thursday, June 07, 2001

Scripted by one-time Hitchcock screenwriter Charles Bennett, and directed by Jacques Tourneur (CAT PEOPLE), CURSE OF THE DEMON must go down in horror history as one of the most memorable monster films ever made. Dana Andrews headlines as Dr. John Holden, who investigates a devil-cult presided over by enigmatic Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis) and becomes a target of the sorcerer's wrath. To keep his followers in line, Karswell uses a rare parchment inscribed with the power to invoke a gigantic demon from hell, complete with bat-wings, talons, fangs, hooves, and a disposition as nasty as its vile visage. The 1958 film is noted for its compact, tensely written storyline and compelling performances by the first-rate cast. In opposition to 1950s expectations, any hint of a romantic sub-plot is jettisoned in favor of an unconsummated and, coincidentally, more realistic affection between Andrews and British costar Peggy Cummins. It's refreshing to see a movie in which a generic 'hero' and 'heroine' have not fallen in love by the final reel: Holden pursues his female interest, but Cummins' character resists his overtures, and there is not even the hackneyed 'all's well that ends well' kiss at the conclusion. Neither is the heroine in need of rescuing; it's the hero who is imperiled by the 'bad guy.' Such refreshing changes were very nearly squelched by the film's producer, Hal E. Chester (who incidentally awarded himself a co-writer credit for interfering with Tourneur's original vision), favoring obvious physical effects over more cerebral shudders. And where Tourneur offered a few long-shots of the hell-beast, Chester spliced in tracking close-ups of the demon's maw in the opening and closing reels, mostly to the detriment of the finished film. Thankfully, CURSE OF THE DEMON was so masterfully acted, photographed, and directed that it survived Chester's tampering and remains one of the genre's outstanding achievementsrarely equaled and (at least so far) still unsurpassed in the Demons from Hell Department.