favorite movie #13: curse of the demon/night of the demon

Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #13 - Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon (UK) (1957) - Dana Andrews goes to London to debunk a satanic cult and finds himself its latest victim when some mystical runes are passed his way. Creepy, atmospheric, wonderful. The UK version runs 12 minutes longer, and it’s worth tracking down.

halloween memories — barbara steele

Some of my fondest memories are of watching scary movies with my dad when I was a kid. Many of the movies have become favorites of mine as an adult when I have had the chance to see them again - Curse of the Demon, starring Dana Andrews, Jacques Tourneur's Cat People, and when I was a bit older, Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby.

I have always looked forward to Halloween, not just for the costume and the candy (which of course is big), but for the fact that a lot of these old scary movies would be pulled out and shown on late night or cable television. There are many movies which have made a big impression on me, but also a precious few that seem to have fallen out of regular rotation, even on channels like TCM. Two of these lost favorites are Italian horror films and star 60s scream queen Barbara Steele. Castle of Blood, is actually available for sale on TCM's site. The synopsis:

Prepare yourself for the terror that awaits you across the pond in Castle of Blood (1964). Edgar Allan Poe (Silvano Tranquilli) travels to London and makes a wager with a British journalist (Georges Rivière) that he cannot spend an entire night in a haunted castle. Upon accepting the wager, his first night is filled with visits from beyond the grave, of souls who are damned to replay the stories of their demise on the anniversaries of their deaths.

What I most remember is the twist ending — which of course I won't give away here, and Barbara Steele's completely creepy but sexy leading lady vibe. It was easy to see how the hapless hero played by Georges Rivière would fall for Steele.

In Nightmare Castle Steele plays two roles, sisters Muriel and Jenny Arrowsmith. She gets to be a blonde and is as creepy and gorgeous as ever. The synopsis:

A sadistic count tortures and murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, then removes their hearts from their bodies. Discovering that his wife has drawn up a new will giving her fortune to her institutionalized sister, the count marries his sister-in-law. The new wife experiences nightmares and hauntings. The ghosts of the slain return to exact their bloody revenge, until their hearts are destroyed.

Yikes! The movie is actually in the public domain, so enjoy!

casting the runes

Article first published as DVD Review: Casting the Runes on Blogcritics.

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).

The feature runs 47 minutes, but is accompanied by some great extras. A 20-minute film, Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance, also from a story by James, and a 51-minute documentary on the author, A Pleasant Terror: The Life & Ghosts of M.R. James. Fans of James will learn many fascinating facts about the author — it's a real treat. All three films are available with SDH subtitles.

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):

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