Night of the Demon' Remains Eerie in Its Simplicity.

There's something behind the trees.

Sometimes in the movies, less is more. In the case of 50s classic Night of the Demon (or Curse of the Demon as it was released in the States), slightly less could've been so much more, for the movie's buildup and psychological wire-plucking render it a compulsively enjoyable watch today. French director Jacques Tourneur (known for RKO's Cat People) was reluctant to show the titular demon at any point in the finished film, but due to external pressure, the beast itself does make two key appearances - characterized by its bug-eyed lumber. However, with multiple nerve-racking scenes populating the film, and gravitas provided by lead Dana Andrews (of noir classic Laura) as Dr John Holden - Demon continues to bewitch through its creepy narrative and taut screenplay involving a mysterious death and the subsequent investigation of an amorphous cult in rural England carried out by a rigidly skeptical psychologist.

Released a handful of years prior to a spate of similarly eerie black and white horror films made in Britain such as 1960's Village of the Damned, 1963's The Haunting and 1961's The Innocents (a towering picture) - Demon views as an intriguing precursor to a new dawn of horror set to take place the following decade. And its restraint makes it even more impressive as an inexplicit exercise in smoldering psychological horror. Revered by Martin Scorsese, in fact both this one and The Haunting make his list of top horror films, Demon is at its best when it's focused on dimly lit conversation scenes and séances, ill-advised wanders through the woods and supernaturally powerful storms that usher all and sundry back indoors. For horror devotees, Night of the Demon is a cleverly atmospheric little film that still possesses a weird magnetic power in a bare-bones kind of way. While the supernatural entity itself infests two important scenes, rumbling into view imposingly wreathed by smoke, it's the psychological impact of the film that makes the biggest impression.