Devils of Darkness (1965)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Lance Comfort

Writer:

Lyn Fairhurst (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He's a Vampire with a Cult Following.

Plot:

A secret vampire cult, which has its headquarters beneath the town cemetery, searches for victims for its human sacrifice rituals. |

Plot Keywords:

Vampire Cult | Vampire | Cemetery | Supernatural | Holiday Horror

Cast

William Sylvester	...	Paul Baxter
Hubert Noël	...	Count Sinistre aka Armond du Moliere (as Hubert Noel)
Carole Gray	...	Tania
Tracy Reed	...	Karen Steele
Diana Decker	...	Madeleine Braun
Rona Anderson	...	Anne Forest
Peter Illing	...	Inspector Malin
Gerard Heinz	...	Bouvier - the Hotel Manager
Brian Oulton	...	The Colonel
Walter Brown	...	Bruno
Eddie Byrne	...	Dr. Robert Kelsey
Victor Brooks	...	Inspector Hardwick
Marie Burke	...	Old Gypsy Woman
Marianne Stone	...	The Duchess
Avril Angers	...	Midge

Also Known As:

Talisman (Europe: English title) (video box title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolour)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex) (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:PG | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate number not listed) | USA:Not Rated (DVD release) | Norway:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Planet Film Productions

Excellent color lensing, effective settings make for lively Brit horror.

Much better than often reported, this beautifully photographed British horror is a well upholstered turn down the familiar vampire path, enlivened by some delicious tongue in cheek. Directed by cult director Lance Comfort, (see Brian MacFarlane's monograph on his career) the film opens with a dazzling dance sequence set amidst a mid forest gypsy encampment, interrupted by the first burst of horror--accompanied by a swooping bat and a gust of wind.

These forest sequences are visually arresting, and include an eerie torch light parade photographed in reflection from a lake's surface.

As for the story, it concerns a modern day male vampire, (equipped with Louis Jourdan accent and beautifully cut suits) who turns out to be reincarnated from the ancient past.

Despite some dull detective sequences, (of the type that slow down Bava's "Blood and Black Lace") the picture manages an effective array of diverse settings including forest sequences, a country manor house, a catacomb lair, a jammed to the rafters antique shoppe, an artists' atelier, the reading room of the British Museum and a groovy bachelorette pad that is host to one of the screen's all time campiest cocktail parties.

Indeed, this sequence, replete with the Watusi, and Frug, and featuring an array of cigarette puffing (with holders!) extras that seem to have been recruited between takes from the sets of "Darling" and "A Taste of Honey", (one keeps looking for Julie Christie to appear) is guaranteed to elicit howls. And if that doesn't catch you, please note that Diana Decker's wardrobe had the female audience cooing at a recent screening.

Moreover, the climax, featuring a cave in which destroys the vampire clan, is well staged and shot.

Picture seems influenced by Don Sharp's superb "Kiss of the Vampire," and while it doesn't hold a candle to that stellar feather in Hammer's cap, it does emerge as an interesting and zesty contemporary take on the same theme.