Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon

No, this is not a creature feature double bill in the traditional sense: Curse of the Demon is the 82-minute truncated 1958 U.S. version of the original 95-minute 1957 British film Night of the Demon, both of which are included here. Directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People), this moody, atmospheric cult classic thriller stars Dana Andrews as skeptical American scientist John Holden ("all good scientists are from Missouri"), who--as the film opens--is en route to England to join a commission charged with discrediting the purported black witchcraft circle run by the mysterious Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). After Holden arrives, he discovers that one of the members has already died under bizarre circumstances, but that doesn't stop our "show me" man of science from verbally baiting and bearding Karswell, who responds in a manner befitting anyone who happens to have Satan on speed dial: he calmly informs Holden of the date and time of the latter's impending death. I won't reveal any more, except to say that Val Lewton protégé Tourneur's creepy little subversive chiller serves up both decent goosebumps and stylish noir-influenced b&w cinematography, making for solid entertainment. On the technical side, the DVD transfer is somewhat marred by dirt and scratches, but that's primarily near the beginning of the film (on both versions--which are not that substantially different, as only one major scene was excised from the shorter U.S. release). Recommended. (R. Pitman)