Curse of the Demon (1957)

easily one of the best of the 50s genre movies, "Curse of the Demon" almost always get viewed here at Xeno-Central on Hallowe'en. the story of witchcraft vs science here is just so well done and scary and suspenseful one can't help but watch the whole thing through.

Now, while I call this "Curse of The Demon" it's really the UK version "Night of the Demon" I am watching. it's the longer, better version. oddly enough, when I bought the VHS tape from GoodTimes back in the early 90s, it had the "Curse" title, but what was on the tape was the complete "Night" version.
I learned of this while attending a screening of "Curse" in the mid 90s, and wondering why it had been edited down. I figured it was a tv print, but was then told the story of how it was edited for US consumption, and that somehow, the VHS video tape was the British print with the US title.

the fine DVD has both versions on it, but I would have liked a small documentary about the movie itself (there's a fine book out about it, Beating the Devil: The Making of Night of the Demon which is the ultimate on the subject) talking to as many of the people involved that are still around. it doesn't even have a trailer! but what's important is the movie, overall. and both look pretty darn good.
I used the picture here because this movie was a big influence on the makers of Equinox, and they had a similar book as well. one could well think this was the same book in that movie and in perhaps the Evil Dead features.

I love the iconic demon as well. it's very well done and quite an effective puppet. I know some fans would prefer to wonder if the demon was "all in the mind" but it works well. sometimes it's also good not to be so ambiguous about the clash of good and evil.