THE DEVIL RIDES OUT and NIGHT OF THE DEMON: A DOUBLE DOSE OF DEMONIC HORROR FILM REVIEWS FROM SANDRA HARRIS.
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. (1968) BASED ON
THE NOVEL BY DENNIS WHEATLEY. DIRECTED BY TERENCE FISHER. WRITTEN BY
RICHARD MATHESON. PRODUCED BY ANTHONY NELSON KEYS. MUSIC BY JAMES
BERNARD.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: ASSOCIATED
BRITISH-PATHÉ,
HAMMER FILM PRODUCTIONS AND SEVEN ARTS PRODUCTIONS.
STARRING CHRISTOPHER LEE, CHARLES
GRAY, LEON GREENE, PATRICK MOWER, NIKÉ
ARRIGHI, SARAH LAWSON, PAUL EDDINGTON AND EDDIE POWELL.
NIGHT OF THE DEMON. (1957) BASED ON
THE STORY 'CASTING THE RUNES' BY M.R. JAMES.
DIRECTED BY JACQUES TOURNEUR.
STARRING DANA ANDREWS, PEGGY
CUMMINS, NIALL MACGINNIS AND ATHENE SEYLER.
I've chosen to review these two superb
horror films together for two reasons. For one thing, I had the great
pleasure of watching them both on the big screen recently. It was at
the Irish Film Institute as part of their HAUNTED LANDSCAPES: A
SEASON OF FOLK HORROR fortnight-long
festival. I was surprised but thrilled
at
their decision to hold a folk horror festival in the middle of
summer, haha.
I
can't even tell you guys how absolutely amazing it was to see these
two gems of classic horror on a full-sized cinema screen. To have
Christopher Lee, the Goat of Mendes, Mocata's burning blue eyes and
Dr. Julian Karswell's gargantuan
Demon
towering over me as I huddled in my seat with my winegums and a huge
soppy hero-worshipping grin on my face was one of the best cinematic
experiences of my whole life.
I only wish you guys had been there too so we could have all
appreciated these great old films together. You'd have had to buy your own popcorn,
though. I'm not made of bloody money...!
The second reason that I'm writing a joint review for these two films
is that the plots are actually quite similar. They're based on the
writings of two of the most revered horror writers of all time,
Dennis Wheatley and M. R. James.
I
especially love a nice bit of M. R. James. Ever seen the
black-and-white screen adaptation of his story WHISTLE
AND I'LL COME TO YOU, MY LAD starring
Shakespearean actor Michael Hordern? It's so deliciously creepy that I had
to sleep with the lights on after watching it late at night.
Anyway,
let's briefly (I
say 'briefly' now but I'll probably ramble on for pages as per
usual!)
compare the plots of both movies. In THE
DEVIL RIDES OUT, Christopher
Lee plays the handsome and extremely aristocratic Nicolas, Duc de
Richleau.
In
1920s England, he is forced to do battle with a charismatic but
deadly Satanist by the name of Mocata for the soul of his chum Simon,
played by the guy who years later went on to play Rodney in soap
opera EMMERDALE. I
think he married Diane the barmaid, though it's so long now since
I've seen it that I kind of forget who was doing what to whom and for
how long...!
Mocata,
the quintessential Englishman, is so charming and personable that
it's easy to see why Simon and the beautiful exotic Tanith have been
seduced by him and his coven of followers-slash-devil worshippers,
The Left Hand Path. The scene where he's using his eye-power on Marie
Eaton (the wife of the eventual YES,
MINISTER!) is
quite literally spellbinding. Those piercing eyes see
right
through you. I'm not kidding...!
The
Duc is aided in his fight against evil by his other pal Rex, whose
devotion to the lovely but misguided Tanith is touching to see. The scene where the two men
see 'the Goat of
Mendes, the Devil himself!' perched
on a rock during a Satanic orgy is probably my favourite one, though
I've always been afraid of the Devil in goat-form.
Well,
in any form, really, as I was brought up as a devout Irish Catholic girlie (is there any
other kind?), but
especially in goat-form. That just really creeps me out, for some
reason. Maybe it's the horns. They're
so horny...!
The
showdown at the end between the Duc and his friends and all the black
magic evils in Mocata's demonic arsenal is just electrifying. The whole film,
put together by a collection of people whom I would describe as
'Hammer royalty,'
is
atmospheric and frightening and there isn't a horror fan alive who
wouldn't enjoy it. No wonder so many fans of Hammer Horror think that
THE DEVIL RIDES
OUT, also
known as THE
DEVIL'S BRIDE,
is one of the film company's finest works.
NIGHT
OF THE DEMON, sometimes
called CURSE OF
THE DEMON, is
not a Hammer film, but it's none the less fantastic for it. Dr.
Julian Karswell is the Mocata of the film, if you know what I mean.
He's the compellingly persuasive and intellectually brilliant
Satanist who lives in a fabulous English country house with his dear
old Mum. He seems like quite a nice chap, really, but we know
differently.
So too does American psychologist Dr. John Holden, who plays the
Christopher Lee/Duc de Richleau role in this film. Though at first he
doesn't believe in black magic, he changes his mind pretty
sharpish-like when he experiences some of Dr. Karswell's evil powers
first-hand.
It's then up to John and his pretty sidekick Joanna
Harrington, the niece of one of Karswell's victims, to put a halt to
Karswell's gallop before he goes all apocalyptic on their asses,
never mind medieval...!
The sightings of the Demon on the big screen were, quite simply,
staggeringly effective. Because everything was magnified, like, a
bazillion times, I noticed things I'd never picked up on before on my
titchy little DVD screen. The Demon was a whole heck of a lot scarier
like this.
The
windstorm at the childrens' Halloween party is another unforgettable
scene, as is the one in which poor old traumatised Rand Hobart
undergoes hypnosis to jog him out of his Demon-induced catatonia. Now
there's a
sentence you don't hear every day...!
The entire film is eerily
atmospheric and I was nearly holding my breath right up until the
unforgettable climax. It's truly splendid stuff. Both films, in fact, are bona-fide cinematic masterpieces and we'll
surely never see their like again, more's the pity.
For anyone who's interested, here's a full list of all the films that
were screened during the festival. There are a few proper little
crackers in here, so feel free to envy me, haha.
WITCHFINDER
GENERAL- 1968.
THE WICKER
MAN- 1973.
HAMMER'S
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT- 1967.
VALERIE
AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS- 1970.
BLOOD ON
SATAN'S CLAW- 1971.
HAMMER'S
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT- 1968.
NIGHT OF
THE DEMON- 1957.
THE BLAIR
WITCH PROJECT- 1999.
Can you spot the odd one out, nudge nudge, wink wink? Answers on a
postcard, please...!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA
HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
Loved 'The Devil Rides Out', and was an avid reader of Dennis Wheatley novels in my younger days. Add Christopher Lee -- the ONLY Dracula, as I have often said (sorry - LOL)-- and what could go wrong?
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen 'Night of the Demon', but I am now encouraged to look it up.
Great review, Sandra. :)