46. CURSE OF THE DEMON
46. CURSE OF THE DEMON
(1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
I don't know about you but when I was a kid I was fascinated by that cue-ball headed demonologist Aleister Crowley. To my knowledge there's never been a movie made specifically about him but he's clearly the inspiration for Dr. Karswell, master of the occult in "Curse of the Demon". This is not the kind of man you want to mess with but that's just what a certain Dr. Holden (played by Dana Andrews) is compelled to do. Dana Andrews became a star in 1944 with the highly recommended crime thriller "Laura" (which also starred a young Vincent Price in the role of a sleazy playboy) but, perhaps due to his battles with the bottle, he never lived up to his potential. "Curse of the Demon" may be his finest moment and he does a great job playing the part of a man pursued by intangible supernatural forces. Director Jacques Tourneur proved himself a master of shadow and suspense in the 1940's and all of his directorial talents are on display here. Few horror films after this relied so heavily on (and succeeded so well with) summoning fright through the mere power of suggestion. As far as the storyline is concerned there is a piece of parchment adorned with runes that spells doom for whomever has it when the demon comes calling but, as the song penned years later pointed out, "Dana Andrews said prunes, gave him the runes, and passing them used lots of skills." Terrible chills, indeed.
(1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
I don't know about you but when I was a kid I was fascinated by that cue-ball headed demonologist Aleister Crowley. To my knowledge there's never been a movie made specifically about him but he's clearly the inspiration for Dr. Karswell, master of the occult in "Curse of the Demon". This is not the kind of man you want to mess with but that's just what a certain Dr. Holden (played by Dana Andrews) is compelled to do. Dana Andrews became a star in 1944 with the highly recommended crime thriller "Laura" (which also starred a young Vincent Price in the role of a sleazy playboy) but, perhaps due to his battles with the bottle, he never lived up to his potential. "Curse of the Demon" may be his finest moment and he does a great job playing the part of a man pursued by intangible supernatural forces. Director Jacques Tourneur proved himself a master of shadow and suspense in the 1940's and all of his directorial talents are on display here. Few horror films after this relied so heavily on (and succeeded so well with) summoning fright through the mere power of suggestion. As far as the storyline is concerned there is a piece of parchment adorned with runes that spells doom for whomever has it when the demon comes calling but, as the song penned years later pointed out, "Dana Andrews said prunes, gave him the runes, and passing them used lots of skills." Terrible chills, indeed.
posted by scottra at 3:00 AM
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