How I Learned To Love Being Scared - Page 5

The first double bill next season consisted of the classic Night of the Demon (1957) and The Ghoul (1975). Night of the Demon is a great film, but even back then, it was clear to me they made a mistake showing the monster at the start and subsequent viewings have only reinforced that feeling. Years later, I found out director Jacques Tourneur felt the same way but had to bow to studio pressure; unfortunately, this studio meddling resulted in a flawed classic.

The Ghoul is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s far from a great film but it does contain a superb performance from Peter Cushing, who had a knack for being excellent in even the most dire films. As with Night of the Demon, I found out some interesting information much later that helped to explain Cushing’s emotional performance. His wife had died shortly before filming and it was his own grief he channelled in order to portray Doctor Lawrence so effectively. The picture of Lawrence’s wife used in the film is, in fact, a photo of Cushing’s late wife, Helen.

Cushing returned two weeks later with the Amicus anthology Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965). As he only appeared in the linking sequences aboard the train, it was up to the other actors to hold my attention. Luckily, Christopher Lee was on hand as a snobbish art critic. I liked Lee a lot, but he was always third on my list of great horror stars of the '60s and '70s, after Cushing and Vincent Price.

It was another fortnight before the esteemed Mr Cushing again graced our television set with his presence; this time, with another of his Amicus anthologies, From Beyond The Grave (1973). It was preceded by Hammer’s Curse of the Werewolf (1961).

Oliver Reed didn’t quite recapture the sadness and remorse of Lon Chaney Jr., but he gave it a damn good try and it was nice to be rooting for the monster again. Curse of the Werewolf was the first of three films that year to feature the hairy beasties.

In From Beyond the Grave, Cushing once more provided the links for the four tales. Also on hand were faces that were to become familiar over the coming years. Donald Pleasence would be another firm favorite in films like Halloween and Death Line, while David Warner would memorably lose his head in The Omen and play the important role of Henry in Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs. It also featured Ian Ogilvy who was already well known to me as Simon Templar in the Return of the Saint TV series, but I’d later see him in the horror classic Witchfinder General with Vincent Price.

Article Author: Ian Woolstencroft

Ian Woolstencroft was brought up on a diet of John Wayne movies and Marvel Comics and still has a passion for both. Now as a blogcritic he finally understands what Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben meant when he said ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ …

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