- Horror-of-demonic
The horror-of-the-demonic film is one of three sub-genres of the
horror film that grew out of mid- and late-20th-Century American culture. As described by the film aesthetician Charles Derry, the horror-of-the-demonic film...suggested that the world was horrible because evil forces existed that were constantly undermining the quality of existence. The evil forces could remain mere spiritual presences, as in "
Don’t Look Now " (Nicolas Roeg , 1973), or they could take the guise of witches, demons, or devils. ...Films about witchcraft and ghosts have always been with us. Indeed, the idea of an evil incarnate has a long American tradition. ... The themes of repression and evil forces have long been a staple of American literature, fromNathaniel Hawthorne ’s "The House of Seven Gables " andWashington Irving ’s "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " toEdgar Allan Poe ’s “The Raven ” andHenry James ’ "The Turn of the Screw " [ Charles Derry, "Dark Dreams: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film"; A S Barnes & Co, 1977.]Derry cites two films as "the most important forerunners in this genre": "
Day of Wrath " (Carl Dreyer , Denmark, 1943) and "The Devil’s Wanton " (Ingmar Bergman , Sweden, 1948), although Derry qualifies the second film as "not a horror film." Four themes that are common to these films lend a consistency to this genre.* the idea of vengeance, noted especially in "
The Haunted Palace " (Roger Corman , 1963), "Horror Hotel " (John Moxey , 1960), and "The Exorcist " (William Friedkin , 1973)* the corruption of innocence, noted in "
The Other " (Robert Mulligan , 1972), "Rosemary's Baby" (Roman Polanski , 1968), "The Exorcist", "The Devil’s Own " (Cyril Frankel , 1966), "Don’t Look Now " (Nicolas Roeg , 1973), and "The Mephisto Waltz " (Paul Wendkos , 1971)* mystic phenomena, especially possession, noted in "The Mephisto Waltz", "
Burn, Witch, Burn " (Sidney Hayers , 1962), "The Other", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Possession of Joel Delaney " (Waris Hussein , 1972), "The Innocents " (Jack Clayton , 1961), and "The Exorcist".* the emphasis on Christian symbology, noted in "Horror Hotel", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Other", "Don’t Look Now", "The Exorcist", "Burn, Witch, Burn", "The Haunted Palace" (
Roger Corman , 1963), "Witchcraft " (William J. Hole Jr , 1962), "Diary of a Madman " (Reginald Le Borg , 1963), and the “Morella” segment of "Tales of Terror " (Roger Corman , 1962).References
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