Horror Classics

Hi horror fans! My name is Jim McCormick and I’d like to welcome you to “Horror Classics!” This is where you & I get to re-live all the great horror movies of the past. I’ll be reviewing the greatest horror films ever made that are twenty years or older. Some of these films you might be aquatinted with and some might be completely unknown to you. Either way it is my pleasure & purpose to expound on one of my favorite subjects, the horror movie.

In this issue I’d like to talk about two great horror classics that might be somewhat obscure to the younger horror audience, “Curse of the Demon” and “Curse of the Werewolf”. Yes both of these films are cursed with the gift of horror & should be included in any horror maven’s collection!

Shall we begin!

Director extrodinare, Jacques Tourneur’s 1957 “Curse of the Demon” stars Dana Andrews as Dr. John Holden a psychologist who travels over to England to investigate a colleagues savage murder by what seems to be supernatural circumstance. Not one to believe in the reality of the supernatural our good Doctor meets up with Niall MacGinnis in a wonderful performance as Karswell a master Warlock in the black arts. Karswell warns Holden to leave well enough alone or suffer the consinqiunces of his former colleague, but Holden hell bent (in more than one way) to expose Karswell as a hoax, therefore receiving a parchment that seals his doom if not passed on to another before the time is up.

The scene in which this is done is as surreal as they come. Holden receives the parchment in the London Library, but doesn’t realize it. He walks out of the building with his vision blurring & strange music in his head. Later he hears footsteps or should I say footstomps outside his hotelroom’s hallway, but nobody is there.

Director Jacques Tourneur fill’s this movie with such images, creating a total sense of dread and on the edge of your seat suspense as Holden goes through one inexplicable scene after another. You as the audience get a sense of impending doom, as minutes of are venerable doctor’s life tick away.

Holden meets up with other characters along the way that only enhance the whole eerie experience. An Indian Yogi by the name of Dr. Kumar utters the unforgettable line, “He’s most dangerous when being pleasant,” referring to Satan. Also the niece of his late colleague, who tries to convince him of his impending doom, as such happened to her uncle.

As I said before “Curse of the Demon” is filled with stand on the end of your neck hair scenes. One that especially comes to mind is the scene with Holden running through the dark woods outside of Karswell’s mansion. A multitude of small glowing lights in the sky becomes a huge fireball that chases Holden through the woods leaving smoking footprints! Quite well done even by today’s standards! Then there’s the end, which is a masterpiece of suspense all by it’s self!