Jacques Tourneur’s The Curse of the Demon follows skeptical psychologist John Holden (Dana Andrews) as he travels to England to debunk a Satanic cult led by the affable Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). But, as it’s mentioned in the film, “[The devil] is most dangerous when he’s pleasant,” evil here really is banal, hiding behind normality. Curse of the Demon is beautifully shot and ambiguously eerie — an atmosphere that’s sadly only broken by the inclusion of a tacky monster at the producer’s request.
—Jason Panella
Arts & Faith Lists:
2012 Top 25 Horror Films — @24