Night of the Demon

Hal E Chester was a former 'Dead End Kid' and child actor turned producer of such films as 'Crashout' [which is highly recommended] and Ray Harryhausen's, 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'. Around the same time Chester was acting, Frenchman Jacques Tourneur was getting his big break at RKO's 'horror unit' under maverick producer, Val Lewton. Directing the justly famous [and big hit] 'Cat People' and The Leopard Man', Tourneur made a name for himself with horror films. Moving quickly to a-pictures, Tourneur became known for his classic noirs [Out of the Past] and adventure movies [The Flame and The Arrow]. For reasons that remain unknown and despite his obvious talents, by 1956 Tourneur found himself on the slide, back to directing b-pictures. This is how Hal E Chester and Jacques Tourneur worlds would collide. Charles Bennett was a former associate of Alfred Hitchcock and wrote most of his early classic screenplays including 'The 39 Steps'. He owned the rights to M R James's classic ghost story, 'Casting the Runes'. Producing a screenplay, it was picked up by Chester who eventually offered the directing gig to Tourneur. Tourneur turned to his friend Dana Andrews to star as Dr Holden in the film. The role of the villain Karswell would go to Irishman Niall MacGinnis while other British character actors [Seyler, Denham, Redmond] would fill out the cast. Changing a male character in the short story for a female in the screenplay provides a heroine and gives an opportunity for good bi-play between Andrews and Peggy Cummins. Karswell is the leader of devil worshippers who can summon up the winds and demons to do his bidding whether to terrify or to, murder. There follows a battle of wits between Holden and Karswell. It's claimed that the villain is based on Alistair Crowley, the self styled 'wickedest man in the world' but this is unlikely to be the case given he was unknown to M R James when the story was written. Much more likely is the academic, Oscar Browning, according to one of the many excellent documentaries on this special edition. Night of the Demon is a difficult film to describe, other than to say, an avowed sceptic [Dana Andrews] enters the world of magic and curses and comes to believe in it. The rational against the irrational. Science verses mythology. Reason versus the devil. It's likely that Tourneur intended to use the 'suggestion' of the demon, in the same way he had done with 'Cat People'. There would probably have been a 'demon' at some point but Chester began interfering annoying both director and star. Supposedly, against the director's wishes, Chester included the demon at the beginning which missed the whole point of the picture. Personally, I like it, with its odd expression, probing tongue and boss eyes. It's not scary unless you're under ten but the weird swirling clouds that accompany it are creepy and disconcerting. Harryhausen could have used his stop-motion effects for the monster [which wouldn't really have worked] but he was diplomatically working elsewhere rather than having to put up with Chester again whom he disliked. Despite Chester's meddling, it nevertheless, remains a minor masterpiece and is justly regarded as one of Britain's finest b-horror movies.I wanted to write a review of the superb Blu-ray Italian release [La Notte Del Demonio] with 2 cuts of the movie but I never got around to it. This Indicator release shares that wonderful image with its pleasant film grain and its solid audio. You can see with the product spec that the Indicator Blu-ray is loaded with extras. There are both cuts [the UK/US and the European], a 'making of' featuring Cummins, contributions from Christopher Frayling [swapping his poncho for a mac], the affable Kim Newman, an anaylsis of the Clifton Parker score, superfan Scott MacQueen, a commentary by Tony Earnshaw [who pointed out things I've never noticed before], a booklet and a poster, all housed in hard cardboard case. Watch it for Halloween, you know you want to.

We're always told that the U.S. release-print was the shorter version and both are offered for comparison on the new dvd. But when I first saw the film brand-new in Cardiff in 1957 on a Columbia double-bill with TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH it was also the shorter version. Only on TV later on were the little snippings restored including one whole scene - Holden's visit to the Hobart farmhouse - which left me rather confused. Had Karswell put a hex on me back then ? For God's sake Julian call it off - on second thoughts no, hang on, leave it alone, I rather like it....Tourneur's cracking thriller begins, like OUT OF THE PAST, with a car-journey. But this one's at night and in panic as Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham) speeds to Karswell's stately abode "paid for by his followers" to beg release from a curse that's borne frightening fruit. He promises to stop prying into Karswell's dark activities and the gentleman-Satanist (Niall MacGinnis) seems amenable to a deal until a quick look at the clock tells him - and us - that the Prof's left it a bit late. He sends the man home with reassuring words but on the way Harrington meets a gruesome death in a bizarre and haunting 'accident'. His colleague Dr. Holden (Dana Andrews) arrives from the States to further their investigations, regarding Karswell as a harmful fake. The two men meet in the British Museum where Karswell contrives to pass him unawares a slip of paper bearing runic symbols (as Harrington had received) and leaving a visiting-card on which the date of Holden's imminent death is momentarily visible. Holden takes up the invite ostensibly to view a rare book on witchcraft in company with Harrington's niece Joanna (Peggy Cummins). They find Karswell in the mode of an affable magician holding a Hallowe'en party in the daylight for the local children. The men engage in ironic discourse laced with hostility as they stroll in the grounds and Karswell whips up a mini-cyclone as a party-piece just to show what he can do. After more hair-raising encounters at night Holden finally learns the secret of the symbols from a catatonic cult-member (Brian Wilde) whose memory he re-activates. The paper must be returned to the giver or the previous recipient will pay the ultimate forfeit - the crux of the M.R.James short-story from which Charles Bennett's superb script is expanded. Holden is sufficiently un-nerved to intercept his adversary on an escape-train and make the crucial switch and Karswell gets his savage comeuppance on a railway-line. Again enough room is allowed for the outside world to view it as an accident though Holden and Joanna, whom he's saved from abduction, exit the scene quickly (like the lovers in CAT PEOPLE). "Maybe it's better not to know."I tend to be divided on the issue of 'not showing the monster', Val Lewton's precept in the movies he did with Tourneur which are pleasingly referenced here. The front office insisted the Demon be pictured in its two appearances, I have no quarrel with that though it would have been more effective, I think, to have kept it off-camera until the climax. It certainly made an indelible impression in close-up, rather less so at a distance where at one point it seems to be coming up the road on a trick-cycle ! Well, that's show-business.Dana's not too convincing as a psychologist, his brash box-office scepticism and hectic sleuthing more in keeping with a tabloid-snoop or private-eye, a familiar role indeed for fading Hollywood stars in British B-movies of the Fifties. His leading-lady, similarly, has the cute appeal of a Lois Lane but zero gravitas for anything more particularly considering her beloved uncle had just been "horribly murdered." MacGinnis, on the other hand, is an absolute joy, chillingly persuasive yet vulnerable, he's sold his soul and can't buy it back without triggering his own destruction. His doting hapless mum (wonderful Athene Seyler) wishes he'd pack all this in and marry some nice girl and to help resolve the current problem arranges a seance. It goes badly wrong and so does the scene, unfortunately, played too broadly for a comical effect and the film takes a tumble. But Tourneur's meticulous authority keeps it on track for most of the time so that, faults and compromises and all, it adds up to a great little dark delight.

Excelente película, poco conocida pero imprescindible y llena de suspense y misterio.

Amazing Quality, I am in Canada and it does play on my Xbox One. My favourite all-time Horror flick!Packed great and sent quick, Highly Recomend.

This review is for the Blu-Ray Limited Edition of 'Curse of the Demon' and 'Night of the Demon' released by Powerhouse in November, 2018.First off, this is a U.K. release but is an all region release. Therefore if you are a customer in the United States, the discs play perfectly on regular Blu-Ray players. No need to wait for a U.S. release.This is clearly a 5 star release and I'd give it 6 stars if I could.This is an excellent and well deserved release for an excellent movie. This edition of this movie has more extra's than I've ever seen for a release. The extra's make this edition a must own.*****IMPORTANT NOTE ON THE LENGTH OF THE MOVIE***** It had been generally accepted that the UK version was longer than the U.S. version for many years. This is not the case. The original theatrical runs of each country used an 82 minute long version. The movie is slightly different in each version but roughly the same length. The full 96 minute version surfaced many years after the original release.Ultimately, I was quite confused as to the U.S. version and the British version. According to this release, the UK version's theatrical run was 82 minutes as was the U.S. version. It was always my understanding that the UK version was Night of the Demon and was 96 minutes long. In this release, the original 96 minute version is called the UK pre-release version and the U.S. reissue version. One of the extra's included is called 'Cloven in Two' and it goes in depth about the changes and different versions. Scott MacQueen gives more details about the release history in 'The Devil Gets it's Due'. Also in the extra's, I discuss the changes below in a section called 'DIFFERENCES'.BLU-RAY: There are two discs. The first has two cuts of the movie in two different aspect ratio's and the second disc has two cuts(3 if you include the super 8 version) of the movie along with all the extra's.Here are all the versions of the movie you get:Night of the Demon full-length pre-release version (96 minutes) - 1.75:1 aspect ratio - 2K BFI restorationCurse of the Demon U.S. reissue version (96 minutes) - 1.75:1 aspect ratio - HD remasterNight of the Demon full-length pre-release version (96 minutes) - 1.66:1 aspect ratio - 2K BFI restorationCurse of the Demon U.S. reissue version (96 minutes) - 1.66:1 aspect ratio - HD remasterOn the second disc:Night of the Demon theatrical cut (82 minutes) - 1.66:1 aspect ratio - HD remasterCurse of the Demon U.S. version (82 minutes) - 1.66:1 aspect ratio - HD remasterCurse of the Demon - Super 8 version (7 minutes) - This is silent with subtitles and obviously condensed. I believe this is one of those movies that were advertised in 'Famous Monsters of Filmland'.I watched the Night of the Demon full length pre-release version with the 1.66:1 ratio. The 1.75:1 ratio cuts off some of the picture. The picture is quite good. It is sharp most during the indoor scenes and softer during the outdoor scenes. Overall it's quite nice. I wouldn't give it a 10/10 but perhaps a 7 or 8 out of 10 is in order. I don't have a trained eye and didn't see much difference between the different versions as far as picture quality goes. Of course I just looked at the first few minutes of each and didn't really check out a large portion of the different versions.EXTRA'S:-Audio Commentary with film historian Tony Earnshaw, author or 'Beating the Devil: The Making of 'Night of the Demon'.-Speak of the Devil: The Making of Night of the Demon - This is an excellent documentary on the making of the movie. It features the female lead, Peggy Cummings. It's about 20 minutes long and I wish it were longer. It is quite informative. They debate the merits of having the monster shown or not shown. This was made in 2007.-Dana Andrews on Night of the Demon - This is an interview by historian, Scott MacQueen taken in 1972 with Dana Andrews and his wife Mary Todd. It was taken backstage. I found this to be very interesting. Dana Andrews is quite frank in his discussion. Andrews seems to remember every detail of the production. This is surprising considering all the stories about his alcoholism during the production. I suggest listening to this.-Hal E. Chester at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films - This was made in 1996 and is 51 minutes. This is an interview with the producer of 'Night of the Demon'. This interview discusses Chester's career and does not focus on 'Night of the Demon'. Chester is animated and quite cynical at times. It takes almost 39 minutes into the interview before he discusses the movie. He calls Dana Andrews a drunk. He spends most of the remainder of the interview telling Dana Andrews alcoholic stories.The following are all made in 2018:-Cloven in Two: This is very well done and compares every scene that is changed in the two different versions of the movie. There are also many changes that were made to accommodate the cut scenes. This feature goes into great detail and it is 23 minutes long.-The Devil's in the Detail - Christopher Frayling discussing the film. This is 36 minutes long. He discusses different aspects of the movie. He discusses the author of the story 'Casting the Ruins' that this movie is based on. He discusses the author and differences between the story and the movie. He discusses the merits of having the monster as opposed to not having it. He also discusses the production design along with the designer.-Horrors Unseen - An interview with Chris Fujiwara, author of 'Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall' - This featurette is 21 minutes. This is a discussion of Tourneur's career and focuses on 'Night of the Demon'. It was on the back of his performance at RKO with the Val Lewton movies that he was promoted to 'A' movies.-Sinister Signs - This is 21 minutes long. It is an analysis with author of 'Nightmare Movies', Kim Newman. Newman points out all the things he finds fascinating about the movie.-Under the Spell - Horror writer Ramsey Campbell discusses 'Night of the Demon'. This is 19 minutes. Campbell is very enthusiastic about this movie to say the least.-The Devil Gets His Due - Scott MacQueen discusses the films release history. The author tells the story of how the longer version of 'Night of the Demon' came to light. He also notes that the UK cut is mistakenly believed to be the longer cut.-The Truth of Alchemy - Roger Clarke discusses the author, M R James.-The Devil in Music - This is what you'd expect. It's a discussion of the music in the movie composed by Clifton Parker. The discussion is by David Huckvale and is 11 minutes long.-A Note of Fear - Scott MacQueen talks about the films score in a 10 minutes discussion.-Casting the Runes - This is a 1984 recording of the story that 'Night of the Demon' is based on. It last 53 minutes.-Escape: 'Casting the Runes' - This is a 30 minute radio adaption from 1947 of the story.-Super 8 version (7 minutes): original home cinema version. This is a clip from one of those home movie ads you used to see in magazines like 'Famous Monsters of Filmland'. This version is silent and subtitles are added to discuss the action and dialogue.-Isolated music and effects track-Original theatrical trailer-Image Gallery-UK premiere on Blu-RayThere are subtitles.WHEW!!!!...Now those are some extra's!DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 'NIGHT OF THE DEMON' and 'CURSE OF THE DEMON':-Night of the Demon was the U.K title of the film.-Curse of the Demon was the U.S. title of the film.-The movie as filmed was 96 minutes long. This version was never seen until many years later. This version was not shown in the theaters and the existence of a 96 minute version was only a rumor for many years.-The only cuts that were actually requested by the censors in the UK had to due with dialogue that involved satanism and Hobart's sexual descriptions. The 14 minute's worth of cuts that followed were done by the distribution companies in order to make them more viable for double features.Once the movie was released the following changes were made to the two different shorter versions:-About 14 minutes were cut from the movie in order for the movie to be more viable as part of a double feature in the theaters in both the UK and the U.S. In the UK version the movie was opened with '20 Million Miles to Earth', also 82 minutes long. The movie was also released in the U.S. as part of a double feature.-For whatever reason, the Columbia logo at the beginning is slightly different in each version.-In 'Night of the Demon', the opening sequence at Stonehenge lasts longer. 'Curse of the Demon' cuts the last two lines of dialogue from this sequence.-'Night of the Demon' has slightly longer opening credits. Each version has a different producer credited. The end credits are slightly different also.-The opening driving sequence was shortened slightly.-Several scenes of Karswell with his mother are either cut altogether or shortened.-The scene on the plane is shortened considerably. Holden asking the flight attendant for help is cut as well as Joanna's scene with the flight attendant. The scene with Holden having his hat knocked off is changed. It uses a different take in each version. Finally the scene showing the plane landing scene is cut.-40 seconds of the conversation between Holden and the journalists is cut.-The phone conversation between Holden and Karswell is cut-The scene with Karswell and Holden in the library has part of the conversation cut.-Some of the conversation between Joanna and Holden is cut.-When Holden first visits Karswell's home, Karswell's magic show is reduced and the windstorm is cut slightly.-Joanna and Holden discussing dinner while in the car is cut.-The entire sequence at the Hobart farm is removed.-Part of the seance is removed.-Part of the Ambulance scene is removed.-There are other minor changes made using different takes for lead ins to subsequent scenes and the musical score is changed to accommodate the changes. Also the order of some of the scenes is changed in the two versions. Some of the scenes use different takes and cuts to eliminate references to missing scenes.Most cuts are in first half of the movie.-The 96 minute version of the movie was pretty much unknown until the 70's. Scott MacQueen in the extra's says he received the long cut script in 1975 and saw it for the first time in 1978. MacQueen confirms that the 96 minute version became mistakenly known as the UK cut.PLOT/SUMMARY: The movie starts with a man, Professor Harrington driving toward the home of Julian Karswell. Harrington is investigating Karswell and wants to discredit him. Karswell is supposedly the head of a satanic cult. Harrington begs Karswell to remove a curse. Karswell tells him it's too late. Harrington leaves and a Demon appears to be attacking him but Harrington gets electrocuted by a power line before the Demon gets to him.Dr. John Holden, a psychologist travels to England to assist Harrington. When he arrives he finds out about Harrington's death. He is determined to continue the investigation into Karswell. At Harrington's funeral he runs into Harrington's niece, Joanna. Karswell confronts Holden at a library and asks Holden to visit him in his home to discuss the case against him. While at the library, Karswell slips a piece of parchment into Holden's files. This is a death curse. Holden has 3 days before the time of his death. Holden and Joanna both continue to investigate Karswell. Holden does not believe the curse is true while Joanna does. They gather information through various means until shortly before the 3 days are up, Holden learns that if he passes the parchment off to someone else then he will no longer be cursed but the recipient of the parchment will be cursed. Meanwhile, Karswell is attempting to skip town.PRODUCTION:- This movie was based on a story called 'Casting the Runes' by M.R. James which was published in 1911.- Curse of the Demon was released as the second half of a double feature in 1958.- The director Jacques Tourneur is well known for his horror movies at RKO under Val Lewton. They were 'Cat People', 'The Leopard Man' and 'I Walked with a Zombie'. The scenes with the Demon were not shot by Tourneur. He thought the Demon ruined the movie and did not want a monster in the movie. Producer Hal E. Chester insisted on there being a monster.- From listening to the extra's, we are told that Dana Andrews had personal issues at the time of the film but ultimately was not a problem. He had become an alcoholic and later on in life he was active in alcoholic rehabilitation issues.-The producer Hal E. Chester was disliked by just about everyone on the production. He argued extensively with the director Jacques Tourneur.COMMENTS:- I love Jacques Tourneur as a director. I thought all of his Val Lewton movies were excellent.- Even though I like the complete movie, I can't argue with some of the cuts made to the U.S. version to speed things up. The scenes with Karswell and his mother were useless and meant nothing. The airplane scene wasn't important either. I thought the Hobart farm scene was a good scene to have kept in. I don't think they should have cut that scene. Ultimately the seance didn't mean a whole lot since it didn't really have an effect on the movie so it's OK to have cut that scene down.-It is well known that the director Jaques Tourneur did not want a monster in the film. He wanted the monster's existence to be ambiguous much as they were in his Val Lewton movies. You are never really quite sure if it exists. His production designer Ken Adams says that the Tourneur wanted the footprints to be the only sign of the demon.-I think most people would agree that the demon looks excellent. I especially like how creepy it looks in the distance. The closeup is not bad but the distance shots were better. The closeup look good, it's just that the face has a bit too much movement and looks 'rubbery'. Overall, I like the inclusion of the demon. I think it's one of the best looking 'monsters' from the 50's.-It's my feeling that the Demon should have been included because it worked out. My problem with the inclusion of the Demon involves using him twice. I think they should not have shown the Demon at the start and saved it for the end of the movie. Hindsight is 20/20, but what I think I would have done is to show the Demon from the point of view of Karswell only in the final scene only. Leave it ambiguous as to whether it was in his mind just like Tourneur did in his RKO, Val Lewton movies.-While listening to the extra's, Dana Andrews reveals that he felt including the Demon ruined the movie. He obviously hated the producer too.RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: This is a 5 star release all the way. I'd give it 6 stars if I could. 5 stars for the movie, 4 stars for the picture, and 6 stars for the extra's!I think this is one of the best science fiction and horror films of the 1950's and it deserved this excellent release.Highly Recommended for fans of movies of the occult.Highly Recommended for fans of 1950's science fiction and horror.Highly Recommended for fans of black and white movies in general.Highly Recommended for fans of the director Jacques Tourneur.Highly Recommended obviously for fans of Dana Andrews.Thanks to Powerhouse for this terrific release.

I watched this film as a kid on the school’s projector. Loved it then, love it now. Lots of atmosphere, good acting and slow build tension. Modern film makers should look T this and see how it is done. No over the top CGI, (yawn), just a solid spook film built around a good script.

Mit diesen Worten warnt der ältere Professor O’Brien (Liam Redmond) seinen jüngeren Kollegen, den amerikanischen Psychologen John Holden (Dana Andrews) vor seiner Neigung, einer rein positivistischen Weltsicht anzuhängen und mit verbohrtem Skeptizismus alle Anzeichen für die Existenz eines bedrohlichen Dämons zu verleugnen. Fast fühlt man sich hier an die Worte Baudelaires erinnert, nach denen die schönste List des Teufels die sei, uns davon zu überzeugen, daß es ihn nicht gebe.Wie mein geschätzter Rezensionskollege Gavin Armour schon sagte, drehen sich Besprechungen des von Jacques Tourneur gedrehten Horror-Klassikers „Night of the Demon“ aus dem Jahre 1957 in aller Regel um die Frage, ob es klug oder schädlich war, dem Monster so viel Leinwandzeit zu geben – und auch die folgende Besprechung wird um diese Frage nicht ganz umhinkommen können. In „Night of the Demon“ geht es um das Duell zweier Männer – nämlich des amerikanischen Skeptikers Holden, der nach England eingeflogen wird, um den Hokuspokus-Charakter einer Sekte angeblicher Dämonenanbeter aufzudecken, und Dr. Karswells (Niall MacGinnis), des Anführers dieses Kults, der eine solche Untersuchung mit allen Mitteln verhindern und lieber weiter im Obskuren operieren will. Bei seiner Ankunft wird Holden gesagt, daß Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham), der Mann, der ihn aus den Staaten nach England beorderte, in der Nacht zuvor bei einem Autounfall ums Leben gekommen sei. Wir Zuschauer wissen allerdings, daß es kein normaler Unfall war, sondern daß der Professor durch den Anblick eines Dämons so in Angst und Schrecken versetzt wurde, daß er diesen Unfall verursachte. Holden trifft andere Kollegen Harringtons sowie Joanna (Peggy Cummins), die Nichte des Professors, denen gegenüber er unverrückbar bei seiner Ansicht bleibt, die vermeintlich übernatürlichen Vorgänge um die besagte Sekte müßten sich auf eine natürliche Erklärung zurückführen lassen. Bei seiner ersten Zusammenkunft mit Karswell hingegen wird der Amerikaner, ohne es zu bemerken, mit einem Fluch belegt, der ihm – Karswell eröffnet dies erst bei ihrem zweiten Zusammentreffen – noch genau drei Tage Lebenszeit beläßt, wenn er sich nicht bereiterklärt, seine Untersuchungen einzustellen. Zwar bleibt Holden skeptisch, doch nach und nach mehren sich auch für ihn seltsame Anzeichen, die seinen Rationalismus, wenn er sie recht bedächte, ins Wanken bringen müßten. Erst kurz vor Ablauf der drei Tage ist Holden bereit, der Situation so, wie sie sich darstellt, ins Auge zu blicken, doch wird er noch genug Zeit haben, den tödlichen Fluch von sich abzuwenden?„Night of the Demon“ hat eine lange und wechselvolle Vorgeschichte: Der Drehbuchschreiber Charles Bennett, der unter anderem das Script für einige frühe Hitchcock-Filme – darunter auch Hitchs ersten Tonfilm, „Blackmail“ (1929) – verfaßte, wandelte 1955 M.R. James‘ berühmte Gruselgeschichte „Casting the Runes“ in ein Drehbuch um, das er „The Bewitched“ nannte und dem Produzenten Marcel Hellman anbot. Als dieser das Drehbuch jedoch dem British Board of Film Censors vorlegte und die Auskunft bekam, daß er ohne jeden Zweifel mit einem X-Rating rechnen müßte, schreckte er angesichts des hierdurch deutlich eingeschränkten Zuschauerkreises vor einer Verfilmung zurück. Wenig später begannen sich jedoch die Hammer-Studios für den Stoff zu interessieren, da man in der X-Wertung eine wirksame Werbemaßnahme witterte. Produzent Hal. E. Chester holte für den Film den amerikanischen Regisseur Jacques Tourneur ins Boot, der sich mehr als zehn Jahre zuvor zusammen mit Val Lewton durch Werke wie „Cat People“ (1942) und „I Walked with a Zombie“ (1943) als Meister des indirekten Horrors einen Namen gemacht hatte, wobei die Entscheidung, den Horror nur anzudeuten und nicht direkt auf die Leinwand zu holen, freilich zunächst eher einem engen Budget geschuldet war, bevor man schließlich aus der Not eine Tugend machte. Tourneur drehte „Night of the Demon“ denn auch in dem für ihn typischen Stil: Extreme High Angle Shots und ungewöhnliche Kamerawinkel sorgten für surreale und beunruhigende Effekte, Chiaroscuro beschwor die Atmosphäre des Films noirs herauf, von unsichtbaren Füßen in den Sand gesetzte Spuren oder eine weiße Hand, die unversehens am Bildrand auftaucht und auf einem Treppengeländer ruht, bewirken Schockeffekte, Überblendungen von einer Katze zu einem Leoparden suggerieren eine Verwandlung, und ein vermeintlich leutseliger, aber latent und plötzlich offen bedrohlicher Schurke – Niall MacGinnis stiehlt Dana Andrews hier mit routinierter Leichtigkeit den Film – fasziniert und beunruhigt den Zuschauer gleichermaßen. Leere Korridore in einem Hotel atmen unbestimmtes Grauen, und ein kleiner Zettel, mit Runen bekritzelt, gewinnt ein unheimliches Eigenleben, wenn er sich aus Holdens Griff losreißt und ins Kaminfeuer fliegen will – eine Szene, die Tourneur lange in der Schwebe läßt, wodurch er den mit Hintergrundwissen ausgestatteten Zuschauer einer wunderbaren nervlichen Belastungsprobe unterzieht. All das ist Gänsehautkino vom feinsten, am besten des Abends bei gedämpfter Beleuchtung und sturmfreier Bude zu genießen.Allerdings verfiel Chester im nachhinein auf den Gedanken, all dies reiche nicht aus, und man müsse den Dämon schließlich auch sehen. So beauftragte er, kaum daß Tourneur die Dreharbeiten beendet und dem Set den Rücken gekehrt hatte, den Special-Effects-Papst George „Banger“ Blackwell damit, ein Filmmonster zu erschaffen, und ließ einen seiner Mitarbeiter das Drehbuch an entsprechenden Stellen ändern sowie die von dieser Änderung betroffenen Passagen neu inszenieren, so daß wir des Monsters zweimal in all seiner Häßlichkeit angesichtig werden. Einmal unglücklicherweise gleich im ersten Akt, wenn es Professor Harrington in den Tod schickt. Man kann diese frühe Enthüllung des Grauens – die Regel, gegen die Chester hier verstieß, sollte Steven Spielberg erst Jahre später formulieren – bedauern, doch trägt sie andererseits dazu bei, daß der Zuschauer von vornherein weiß, wie unangemessen und gefährlich Holdens Skeptizismus ist, was den Film mit einem hohen Maß an tragischer Ironie versieht. Freilich kann nicht geleugnet werden, daß die Sichtbarmachung des Monsters den Film auch eines großen Teils seines gesichtslosen Grauens beraubt, doch hat Tourneurs meisterhafte Inszenierung an vielen anderen Stellen solch starke Akzente gesetzt, daß man dies noch ohne weiteres verschmerzen kann.Bennett, Andrews und Tourneur waren von Chesters nachträglichen Änderungen alles andere als begeistert. Während Andrews‘ Kritik vergleichsweise mild ausfiel – er merkte nur an, daß diese Entscheidung die letzten Worte des Filmes, „Maybe it’s better not to know“ ad absurdum führe –, sprang vor allem Bennett vor Entrüstung im Dreieck. Freilich war er – zu Recht – von seinem Drehbuch so angetan, daß er einräumte, diese Änderungen hätten sein Script nur halb zerstört, weil es eben so gut war, doch er tobte gleichwohl mit Bezug auf Chester: „[I]f he walked up my driveway right now, I’d shoot him dead.“ Glücklicherweise hat Chester Bennett nie beim Wort genommen.Die Frage, ob das Auftauchen des Monsters, das für die 50er Jahre freilich recht ordentlich in Szene gesetzt wurde, wenn man einmal Gordon Douglas‘ drei Jahre zuvor aus der Taufe gehobenen Riesenameisen als Vergleich bemüht, dem Film nun unwiderruflich geschadet habe oder nicht, muß wohl jeder für sich selbst beantworten. Dazu muß man nur folgendes tun: Anschauen … und gruseln, denn gruselig ist „Night of the Demon“ allemal.Die der Rezension zugrundeliegende DVD stammt vom Label Mediumrare und bietet den Film in einer sehr ordentlichen Qualität. Es gibt keine Untertitel, doch die englische Tonspur – sie ist die einzige, die es hier gibt – ist so klar und die Darsteller sprechen so lupenrein britisches Englisch, daß es keine Verständnisschwierigkeiten geben sollte. Als Extras gibt es zum einen ein 24seitiges Booklet mit vielen Stills und einer kenntnisreich geschriebenen Hintergrundgeschichte von Marcus Hearn und Jonathan Rigby – die der Rezensent für einige der oben angeführten Informationen zu Rate zog –, eine Bildergalerie sowie die vollständige amerikanische Fassung des Filmes unter dem Titel „Curse of the Demon“. Sie ist von 91 Minuten auf 78 Minuten gekürzt worden, da der Film in den Staaten als Double Bill mit Terence Fishers „The Revenge of Frankenstein“ (1958) gezeigt wurde.