Kick-Back Friday: #184
A Halloween KBF by guest blogger KTG:Buried in the pile (some might say steaming pile) of campy horror flicks from the 1950s are a few lumpy gems—which, when compared with the rest of the genre, smell positively April fresh. Night of the Demon (1957), a British production, is one such notable exception: a psychological, supernatural thriller, redolent with genuinely creepy atmosphere.
Eminent American psychologist, Dr. John Holden (played by a seemingly unflappable Dana Andrews*), is summoned to a British conference, the intent of which is to debunk a local stanic cult. The coven's distinguished, goateed leader (real-life surgeon Niall MacGuinnis) spends his afternoons performing magic shows for underprivileged children while dressed as a clown**; but the devilish character has a few real tricks up his sleeve, one of which marks Dr. Holden for death in 72 hours at the hands of a hideous hell-beast—an unholy cross between South Park's ManBearPig, the Statue of Liberty, and a flying monkey. Admittedly that description sounds like an unintentional comic misstep, and there are a few in Night of the Demon; but the movie generally prevails with several great frights (one of which features a truly disturbing defenestration), a satisfyingly grisly death, and a chilling final shot.
Boo.
* Despite a role that screams, "DOWNWARD CAREER SPIRAL."
** Confirming once again: Clowns are scary.
Title shot from Night of the Demon, with some kind of creepy font.
