The Temple of Dagon

Thanks to Brother Hodgeson's wonderful links, I managed finally to read the story that inspired "Curse of the Demon" a low budget British horror classic.
This has also allowed me to compare the story with my memory of the film, and see that Lovecraft's shadow fell heavily upon the script.
The M.R. James original is very good, and could have been adapted with few changes, but the actual film is a real masterpiece.
With few funds for effects, the movie uses a shoot around style, which can be very effective in horror stories.
The demon which makes two brief appearances, is done with miniatures, and bears a suspicious resemblance to 'Gorgo', the English entry into the Godzilla rip off frenzy.
No spoilers here, find the film, but a simple outline won't hurt.
Dana Andrews is an American professor at a conference in Britian, where he has the occasion to see a mental patient, a member of an obscure rural cult, examined under hypnosis.
This is all part of an informal investigation of the death of a collegue, shown at the beginning of the film.
The heavy of the piece is one Karswell, obviously based on Crowley, an occultist and leader of the cult.
The rural setting of the cult, the seriously wierd seance scene, with a eye to the banality of evil, the Karswell character and his mother(surpriseingly sympathetic, too, they give the impression of people who have stepped into the occult world, and can't get out), the scientific investigators and scholorly trappings-pure Lovecraft, Miskatonic in exile, the slow realization of Andrew's character that there really is supernatural jiggery-pokery in progress, and his descent into actual peril.
The claustrophipic, paranoid atmosphere is very much HPL.
The film is also shot in B&W, and done dark, hard to see, and very harsh, rapid shots are the rule, abrupt cuts and stark exteriors abound.
If not for the second rate title, this might be a well known classic, on par with "Dracula" and "Frankenstein".
The film is certainly an expansion of the original James story, and a very good one.
Find and watch this one, tell me what you think?

next time i'm at the video store, i'll check the horror section. seems the american cut of the film is called night of the demon

Yes, it has another title as well.
Another forgotten gem is "Raw Meat" with Donald Pleasance, I saw it by accident on the bottom of a triple bill at a drive in.
Good cast, well made.
I should get a dvd copy.
Thanks!

I need to see so many old school horror movies...what r some suggestions I might wanna check out?

Curse of the Cat People is good.
The original Mummy with Karloff, and the sequels.
Carmilla, "The Return', one of the better adaptations of 'Jewel of the Seven Stars' by Conan Doyle, with Charleton Heston.
The later 'Cat People' with Nasty Kinski is also interesting.
Any of the old Hammer Studios films will be worth your time.
Have fun!

Eternities End wrote:I need to see so many old school horror movies...what r some suggestions I might wanna check out?

The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price but much better than the other movies I've seen him in. The movie is adapted from Matheson's I am Legend.

'Carnival of Souls' is also quite good, considering.
'Vampire Planet' with Barry Sullivan begat 'Alien', and also suggested that the exploration of space would be in the hands of sado-masochists(the costumes are enough to make a cat laugh).
'Night of the Living Dead' the first one, was noteable for being original-though it seems to have derived in part from 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'.
The original 'Godzilla' with Raymond Burr's cut in scenes has a warm place in my heart, next to 'Them', 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', 'The Thing'(James Arness version)and 'War of the Worlds' with Gene Barry.
But for just little old me, my personal bliss?
Mummies.
More Mummies.
Mummies, Mummies, Mummies!!!!!
(wanders away, singing, "The Cockroach that Ate Cincinatti", in a loud, cracked voice)
I met Vincent Price, once, and a finer gentleman you would never encounter-he was trained as a classical, Shakespearean stage actor and wandered into the world of horror mostly by accident, his style of playing was out of fashion and he needed the work.
I saw him do a dramatic recitation of Poe's 'Cask of Amontillado' that brought the story to life almost as effectively as live action filming it.
The classic horror films of the forties and fifties were a refuge for many actors and actresses who were being squeezed by the new styles of acting and the requirements of film and TV.
Enjoy them, you will never see the like again.

It's been a while since I've seen it but I remember liking Old Dark House pretty well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Dark_House

The 60's were a good time for the macabre.
An occult revival among the hippies had a lot to do with that.
And may I mention, "The Posession of Joel Delaney" with Shirley McLaine?
It's the template for "The Exorcist", and was in some ways, a stronger film.
There's a scene where McLaine finds a large switchblade knife, which is important to the plot, and the look of terror on her face when she opens it is priceless.
As is her flinch when she discovers how sharp the edge is.
Remember, this is from about thirty years ago, so it qualifies as an old film.

Old Dark House Sounds pretty cool...something like that happened to me once...

krakenten wrote:Yes, it has another title as well.
Another forgotten gem is "Raw Meat" with Donald Pleasance, I saw it by accident on the bottom of a triple bill at a drive in.
Good cast, well made.
I should get a dvd copy.
Thanks!

Donal Pleasance is a fine actor.

Speaking of the late Mr. Pleasance(God rest his soul), he also starred in "Prince of Darkness", a real spookaroo that could have been inspired by "The Haunter of the Dark".
Mythos authors take note-there's a deep colonial past in California, even older than the New England locales beloved of HPL, even darker and more tinged with blood and mystery.

He was also in "Escape From New York", a fantastic film, and one of my favourites ever made.

Was Bruce Campbell is that one or was that Escape from L.A?

He was a great character actor-he was in many of the Halloween movies, as Michael Myers psychiatrist and nemesis(in each sequel, he had a bigger gun, never seemed to help much).
Quite a career, and it was always a pleasure to see a master player being superb, as he always was.