An unexpected masterpiece

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The 70's is a period where it is often said that Hammer Films were in a bit of a quandary and putting out inferior product. While I agree that the famous old studio was struggling to keep up with the new horror trends that were coming in fast and furious at the dawn of the 70's in a new age of permissiveness but I can't really go along with the idea that their films of that decade were markedly worse. In fact, I think they put out some of their best movies at this time such as their erotic vampire movies, the incredibly fun Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974), the impressive Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974), the decidedly odd Straight on Till Morning (1972) and I even liked Count Dracula and His Vampire Brides (1973). So, yeah, I like 70's Hammer and so we come to Demons of the Mind. A 19th century baron keeps his two adult children imprisoned in the family home fearing that they both suffer from a form of madness inherited from their mother, meanwhile, a series of women are murdered in the local vicinity.It's actually quite an odd story for Hammer really, as while on a superficial level it is a typical Gothic costume horror that they knocked out ten-a-penny, on the other hand it is very heavy on the psychological side of things. The upshot is that we have a film which avoids one of the criticisms you could reasonably level at Hammer, that of cosy predictableness. This film has so many disparate ideas kicking around that the end result is decidedly unusual. We have paganism, a fire-and-brimstone travelling preacher, a sinister bald henchman, a spate of serial killings, an ominous doctor, a hint of incest, historical suicide, some exploitation content in the form of a little nudity and gore, Freudian elements and a nihilistic ending. It's a pretty varied mix. It also would have to be admitted that the various parts out-weight the whole, as the story doesn't really connect together entirely cohesively. So, I would have to put this down as an uneven, yet commendably less derivative effort from Hammer.

I have tried time and again to like 'Demons of the Mind' but to no avail; I just can not get into it. I own a copy as a double feature DVD, partnered with 'Fright' - starring Susan George - which is so much better. 'Demons' is murky and dull, even though there are some great English actors in it, such as Michael Hordern and Patrick Troughton.The themes of the film are incest, madness, and familial curses - the sins of the father being visited upon the son. That sort of thing. These themes are all mixed together and the resulting brew is tedious and unrewarding. For a Hammer film, it is surprisingly violent; there is plenty of the red, red kroovy. My favourite part is probably the bit which sees a coven of young witches chanting 'We came up from the fires of Hell/All is well, all is well'. This is easily the most chilling part of the film; that ungodly refrain really stays with you.Paul Jones, the singer from Manfred Mann, stars as Carl Richter. Also featured in the cast is Patrick Magee as Falkenberg. Hammer films are meant to be cheesy fun - over-the-top and entertaining. But 'Demons of the Mind' just kind of meanders along without really going anywhere. It commits the sin of being boring, and that is a hard sin to forgive. Hammer at its peak is 'Hands of the Ripper' and 'Twins of Evil'. 'Demons of the Mind' is, sadly, Hammer at its nadir.

In the early seventies Hammer films were trying to find new directions to counteract the stagnation of it's traditional Gothic horror fayre. These very often took in new blood(!), writers, directors and actors not usually associated with the company. 'Demons of the Mind' is one of Hammer's wilder 'experiments' and probably the best. Directed by Peter Sykes and featuring a strong eclectic cast that includes Robert Hardy, Michael Hordern, Patrick Magee and pop singer Paul Jones. Whilst the film's plot of a family's curse of madness leading to incest and murder was nothing new, it was it's flamboyant execution that marked it out as special. Beautifully shot and scored the movie is a feast for both ear and eye and despite it's Gothic trappings often doesn't look like a Hammer movie at all. Some wonderfully over the top performances add to movie's general air of delirium. And you've just got to stick around for the movie's crazy climax which manages to subvert the Hammer staple of vengeful torch bearing pheasants in a fashion that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Ken Russell movie!

I've always enjoyed a good Hammer movie. I couldn't begin to list the number I've seen, but I could very easily put together a top 35 – 40 Hammer movie list. Demons of the Mind would not appear anywhere on that list. It is without a doubt the worst Hammer film I've ever seen. The problem is not with the acting, directing, cinematography, or score, because technically it's a well made film. Instead, much of my problem rests with the plot. It plods along at a snail's pace introducing people and ideas that go nowhere. And when something does happen, like the attack scenes in the forest, I couldn't have cared less about what was going on – I didn't know anything about the people involved.I've also got to give Demons of the Mind a thumbs-down when it comes to casting decisions. At the time this movie was made, Hammer was trying to build Shane Briant into the next big Hammer star. But he has a very unlikable on-screen persona. He's the kind of person that I can't wait to see die in one of these movies. I've never understood how anyone at Hammer thought this androgynous looking foppish boy was gong to replace the likes of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.To sum it up, if your idea of a good movie is a plot that goes nowhere and characters you either don't know or don't want to know, Demons of the Mind may be the movie you're looking for.