Based on author M.R. James's classic ghost story of the same name, Casting the Runes
is a British television production from 1979. Television producer Prudence Dunning (Jan Francis) is drawn into a mystical world of alchemy, curses, and evil. She is pitted against occultist Julian Karswell (Iain Cuthbertson) who has "given" her a runic scroll — a scroll that contains a curse, and unless she can find a way to counteract it, possessing the scroll will result in her death.Prudence is at first skeptical, but is more convinced of Karswell's evil power as strange things keep happening to her. She is aided in her quest to break the curse by her friend Derek (Bernard Gallagher).
Horror movie fans may recognize the story of Casting the Runes. It had been filmed before as Curse of the Demon
(or Night of the Demon, as it was known in England) in 1957, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, and Niall MacGinnis as a chilling Karswell.Casting the Runes is an entertaining, spooky story. If this is the viewer's first encounter with the work of M.R. James, they will be sure to want to check out the author's classic ghost stories
as well.Addendum: the truly superior offering, and one of my all-time favorite classic horror films is Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon, directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie):
6 comments:
Thank you -- I wasn't aware of the series, and I'll have to see if I can track it down. (Netflix doesn't seem to have it.) The Jacques Tourneur film is one of my very favourites, and an excellent example of the principle that, the less a horror film shows, the more effective it can be ...
I first saw Curse of the Demon on TV as a kid and loved how it scared the bejeebus out of me. I read the original story as a teen. It was great too, but prefer the film. A few years ago I picked up the US/UK combined DVD. The UK version has a few extra scenes that add a bit of background to Karswell's devil cult. Acorn Media (based in DC, I think) sends me a lot of these to review through Blogcritics. they also have Acorn TV online, so you might be able to watch it online. I think they have a "try it for free" offer, you might want to check them out. : )
I was actually able to pick up a cheap copy of the Casting the Runes video. Rings some interesting changes on the original, so I'm quite grateful you brought this to the attention of your faithful readers. :) It was, of course, nowhere near as good as the Tourneur, which was made equally cheaply but with better writing. Doesn't matter, though -- I quite enjoyed seeing the new version, in part due to nostalgia. You see, back in the early seventies, one of the local tv stations in Baltimore imported a whole slew of cheaply made British tv movies, mostly horror / supernatural / mystery sort of things, of which this Casting the Runes reminds me. Same production values, same sort of music, overall same general "feel", and definitely about the right time period. Loved them all!
What I really appreciated was the documentary, A Pleasant Terror, which provided me with a lot of background I didn't have before. Most interesting were some of Jonathan Miller's insights, e.g. the one that compared people like M. R. James to perpetual schoolboys with their love for horror and puzzles. I'd never thought of that before, but ... yeah, that actually does fit.
Thank you for this post, Elizabeth! --Mario
I'm so glad you liked it, thanks! I'm lucky that some of these items come across my path and I am able to se them and share them. I think this film was part of a British series, ITV Playhouse, according to http://irishgothichorrorjournal.homestead.com/TelevisionReviews4.html#anchor_65. Wikipedia has a bit on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_Playhouse.
Casting the Runes also reminded me of Dark Shadows, and in a strange way, The Avengers, although the latter had better production values. Both are still big, nostalgic favorites of mine.
I love films by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People, Nightfall, Out of the Past), and Casting the Runes has always been a favorite.
Thanks for continuing to encourage my celebrating these films.
"Thanks for continuing to encourage my celebrating these films." It's like being at a film festival with a friend, comparing notes like this. I enjoy it, and appreciate your insights, and not only on vintage material. More than once, your reviews have prompted me to rent a film or see it in the theatre -- even where we disagree (we did on Brave on some points), your reviews and ruminations are well written and clearly stated. I've learned to trust them. --Mario
Oooh - now I'm dying to hear what you thought of Brave!
: )
Post a Comment