Psychologist Dana Andrews is on his way from America to attend a convention in London and in answer to a friend's cry for help. In fact we see that friend, Maurice Denham when the film opens up. He's at the house of another scientist Niall McGinniss who's been experimenting big time in the occult. Denham is scared and begging for his life, begging for McGinniss to call off some kind of evil force that is pursuing him.
The evil force gets him of course and when Andrews touches down in the UK he learns from Denham's daughter Peggy Cummins about what has happened to her father. That only arouses Andrews's curiosity.
But the message of Night of the Demon is that there are some things that nature means we should not disturb. Andrews learns that almost too late.
As was typical back in the day, the British film industry to get a wider distribution of their product sometimes imported an American star for their films. In this case Dana Andrews is with an all British supporting cast.
But as another viewer pointed out the film really belongs to Niall McGinniss the scientist who summons up evil forces from another plane of existence he can't control. His comfortable way of living for himself and his mother Athene Sayler comes at a price. McGinniss is charming and deadly at the same time.
Jacques Tourneur learned well at the feet of Val Lewton, the master of such films as these. After over 50 years the film still holds up well. Viewers today will be as scared as they were in 1957.
The evil force gets him of course and when Andrews touches down in the UK he learns from Denham's daughter Peggy Cummins about what has happened to her father. That only arouses Andrews's curiosity.
But the message of Night of the Demon is that there are some things that nature means we should not disturb. Andrews learns that almost too late.
As was typical back in the day, the British film industry to get a wider distribution of their product sometimes imported an American star for their films. In this case Dana Andrews is with an all British supporting cast.
But as another viewer pointed out the film really belongs to Niall McGinniss the scientist who summons up evil forces from another plane of existence he can't control. His comfortable way of living for himself and his mother Athene Sayler comes at a price. McGinniss is charming and deadly at the same time.
Jacques Tourneur learned well at the feet of Val Lewton, the master of such films as these. After over 50 years the film still holds up well. Viewers today will be as scared as they were in 1957.