Well, I missed it by 24-hours, but it's still not too late to wish Peggy Cummins a happy 87th birthday.
In case you didn't know, she's the last surviving member of the cast of my all-time favourite film, Night of the Demon.
Here's wishing you many more to come, Miss Cummins!
The film stars Dana Andrews in the lead role of Dr. John Holden, but it's Niall MacGinnis - as the Aleister Crowley-like Julian Carswell - who masterfully steals the show.
Packed with strange and spooky goings-on in the woods, monstrous demons, glowing balls of light traveling through darkened trees, supernatural big cats, witchcraft, and some memorably sinister characters, Night of the Demon has a curiously Fortean element to it.
If your idea of a horror film is just seeing a bunch of bland college kids getting hacked to pieces one-by-one by some character in a mask and amid a mass of modern-day special effects, then this most definitely isn't a film for you.
However, if (like me) you are a devotee of atmospheric, black-and-white horror films from decades-past, then Night of the Demon is one you will definitely want to catch.
If you've never seen it before, you are in for a treat!
PS: It was released in the US as Curse of the Demon (with several key scenes omitted), so don't get confused...
Right! The Brit version is way better, though its terrific either way.
ReplyDeleteThe director, Jacques Tourneur, has an amazing set of moody movies. He directed another wonderful thriller: CAT PEOPLE (1942).
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