Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon is a marvel, every bit the equal of those wonderful Val Lewton-produced thrillers of the early Forties: movies like Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie.
The story is diabolically delicious. A devil-worshipping cult leader named Karswell (well played by Niall MacGinnis) puts a curse on a disbelieving professor who has involved him in a public scandal and who has mistakenly taunted him to "do your worst."
As the movie opens Prof. Harrington's time is almost up and he knows it. He rushes to Karswell's palatial country house (which has been paid for by his fearful followers) and begs him to "call it off." Karswell has previously invoked, through witchcraft, a fire demon to destroy the professor. He did this by slipping him a parchment with ancient runic symbols. It is this parchment which controls the professor's destiny. If he wants to live his only option is to pass it on to someone else. Unfortunately for him, it burned in a fire.
He comes to Karswell to admit he's 100% wrong and asks him to put a stop to it ("I've heard it, I've seen it, I know it's real").
Unfortunately, some things are more easily started than stopped and it's out of Karswell's hands. He tells the poor sap he will do what he can (which is nothing) only because he doesn't want him hanging around when whatever is going to happen happens. Harrington drives off only to be attacked and killed by the demon Karswell has called forth, although it appears as if he died accidentally by a falling power line.
Soon Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews) arrives to follow up on Professor Harrington's investigation of Karswell's devil cult. He is even more skeptical than Harrington (skepticism, he feels, is the "scientific attitude") and tells Harrington's colleagues that demonology and witchcraft has been discredited since the Middle Ages and that those who believe in the supernatural are wrong.
Harrington's niece Joanna (Peggy Cummins) isn't so sure, however, and feels that Holden may be in real danger. The kindergarten teacher suspects that something horrible happened to her uncle and that his death can't be explained away as an accident. If it were an accident, she argues, why was his body so mutilated?
Holden doesn't know what he's up against and considers Karswell a harmless faker when he sees him dressed up as a clown, performing a magic act for the local children. Karswell is polite and genial, with a sweet mother who is proud of her homemade ice cream. Mother feels her son "really ought to be married, but he's so fussy." Karswell hardly seems threatening, but as someone comments: the devil is most dangerous when he's being pleasant.
Curse of the Demon contains at least three great scenes. First, there's an eerily effective wind storm that Karswell conjures up to impress Dr. Holden, who remains stubbornly unimpressed.
Then there's an after-dinner living room scene where Holden discovers—with the help of Joanna—the parchment that Karswell (the sneak) has slipped him. The paper jumps out of his hand and is propelled towards the fireplace as if it were alive, only to be stopped by the grate.
There's also a terrifically creepy nighttime scene where Holden breaks into Karswell's house and stumbles upon a number of surprises. The ending is also a whole lot of fun, but I won't give that away.
Curse of the Demon is beautifully shot by Ted Scaife, with plenty of dark, noir-like shadows. It's rich in style and atmosphere and has a terrific score. Tourneur, clearly a proponent of the Val Lewton "less is more" school of filmmaking, gives us a chilling, thought provoking and exciting movie where imagination takes center-stage, personalities are nicely painted, and our basic fear of the unknown is played against us. Shots of Stonehenge—a familiar site—somehow even take on a menacing air. The movie, based on an M. R. James story, doesn't bludgeon us over the head like a lot of modern horror, but is subtly effective.
Note: an early appearance of the monster has been the subject of complaints from horror purists. Tourneur, himself, disapproved of it being so explicitly inserted. My own take is that while it's probably a flaw, it's a very minor one.
Dr. Holden Dana Andrew a psychologist knowledgeable about the occult is dismayed by a friend's strange death leading him to investigate a demon-worshi...More at Family Video
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