Monday, March 22, 2010

Curse of the Demon Remake


Continuing with my frenetic posting pace...Actually, I've been tied up with work/life, and have been feeling generally disgusted with issues surrounding the horror genre, so, I haven't updated for awhile. Let's see if I can get back on track.

Interesting news item on esplatter.com (I wonder if they catch as much grief over their website name as I do? Hmmm.), Kenneth Branagh is planning a remake of the classic fifties horror film Curse of the Demon (also known as Night of the Demon) based on M.R. James classic story Casting the Runes. It should be a good choice for a remake, since the original, directed by legendary auteur Jacques Torneur, is not only a very good film but fairly obscure nowadays. It is also referenced in the lyrics of the theme song of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Here's hoping for the best.
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6 comments:

John Hornor said...

Hey! You're back. This makes me happy.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed the original, Branagh does seem a good choice.

The Doctor said...

Hopefully Branagh will show some restraint. I'm crossing my fingers and toes and other crossable bits for a good remake. Also, yes, welcome back.
Re: "generally disgusted with issues surrounding the horror genre". Anything in particular?

KentAllard said...

I hope we get the Branagh of DEAD AGAIN and HENRY V and not the Branagh of FRANKENSTEIN.

Thanks for all the kind wishes.

John Hornor said...

The original had the psychedelic smoke demon at the end, right? I remember watching that late at night on a local affiliate (rotary knobs and everything) before cable in the early eighties and being terrified.

The Doctor said...

@John Hornor
They also show him within the first 10 minutes, at least in the version I've seen. There's a 13 minute shorter version (the US version?) that has some bits cut, like the wonderfully surreal meeting with the inbred family (their name escapes me right now). It really has some great atmospheric moments and it is a pity the producer got his way (against Torneur's wishes) and had those awfully shoddy close up of shots of the demon.