Does Night of the Demon fit into Carroll’s definition of art-horror? Well it does have a monster. I did not find the “demon” very revolting, but I would attribute this lack of disgust to the limitations of special effects in Tourneur’s day. With a bit of imagination, I suppose the demon would be frightening, though I could not help but picture Tourneur’s smoke-spewing monster as an oversized Godzilla that some child was using to bash a plastic green army man to smithereens. Nonetheless, monster-wise, Night of the Demon fits well as an art-horror film, as the demon is not a natural occurrence in the world of the film. A disgusting and aggressive monster, however, is not the only requirement that needs to be satisfied in order to elevate Night of the Demon to the level of art-horror.
Not Pictured: Lifeless body being thrashed about, screaming.
B. The Emotional Dynamics of Horror in Night of the Demon
Carroll specifies appropriate reactions that audiences should have when viewing an art-horror film, a reaction that should fit our alignment with the film’s protagonists. Though Holden’s real horror does not begin until he realizes that the story he dismissed as fantasy turned out to be true, it is easy for us as an audience to share in the immediacy and fatal nature of his predicament. We also share in glimpses of the art-horror of Holden’s female companion, Joanna, who is more easily convinced during moments in which we would accept a non-skeptic in Holden’s position to be horrified.
Lovecraft would be as satisfied by the horrific emotions of Night of the Demon as Noel Carroll seemingly should be. While the somewhat more carnal horror of Carroll is very apparent in terms of physical revulsion from the demon, the fear of the unknown, what we can call “cosmic dread” is as strong, if not stronger than that physical disgust. I would argue that cosmic fear dwarfs the fear of the demon as the predominant horrific emotion of the film. While the physical threat of the demon is great, it seems more frightening to me that if I were in the protagonists’ place I would be pitted against something ancient, all-powerful, and perhaps impossible to completely understand. Holden is racing towards his death due to a mystical ancient code, which would inspire a perfect example of cosmic fear.
C. Art-Horrific Plot and Night of the Demon
I agree with many of the previous posters that Night of the Demon does not comfortably fit into any of the understood plot families. It has elements of overreaching, and elements of complex discovery. What is overarching in importance, in terms of plot, is the question of whether or not Karswell is full of bologna. That is, will Holden’s scientific skepticism hold true until the end of the plot, or will the supernatural explanation be confirmed? I personally feel that this opposition between science and the supernatural is very well done throughout the plot. There is a constant almost tangible strain in the characters over whether Karswell is really just a clown or Holden is doomed to a very painful death. While it would seem then that discovery is the primary goal of the plot, we (the viewers) already know, or at least are pretty sure, that the monster is very real and that Holden is in imminent danger. Discovery itself, then, does little for the audience, and timing of Holden’s discovery takes precedence in driving the plot.
D. The Nature of Night of the Demon’s Most Suspenseful Scene
Finding the most suspenseful scene in Night of the Demon is somewhat of a difficult task. A few very suspenseful ones have already been mentioned, such as the scene in which Holden is chased through the forest by the smoke, and the scene in which Holden is trying to return the scroll to Karswell as the clock winds down towards someone-is-about-to-get-really-messed-up hour. In my opinion, the most suspenseful scene in Night of the Demon was the scene in which Holden, while interviewing the hypnotized patient (Hobart) learns of his fate as the man holding the rune scroll. He also learns: how to save his own life, and the sheer terror that awaits him should he fail to do so.
Oh $&@#%
The reason that I find this scene to be the most suspenseful relates to the above explanation on the type of art-horror plot that Night of the Demon follows. This is the point at which Holden (along with those of us who are in his non-believing camp) begin to acquiesce to the reality of a supernatural bad-ass that is gearing up to rock his world by the end of the night, a bad-ass so bad that Hobart would rather throw himself out of a high window than be subject to its wrath. All of the suspense that has been building to this point is now unleashed. What would seem like a good moment (since Holden figures out how to thwart death) is overshadowed by the absolute horror of the bad outcome along with the acknowledgement that he doesn’t have much time left. This sequence of events fits neatly into Carroll’s schema regarding suspense, particularly so considering that as far as the viewer is concerned, the negative outcome is still more likely, since Holden has little time to work with, and Karswell could be making his getaway.
E. Theme(s) in Night of the Demon
I can discern only one major theme that runs throughout this film, and that is science and skepticism vs. superstition and the supernatural. Despite many incidents in the film that would cause a blood-pressure hike and nausea for a majority of people, Holden stands firm in his belief that the supernatural, along with those who believe in supernatural events, is a crock. Even after Holden is chased by smoke, is attacked by a demon cat, and encounters a cult that treats him like a death-row inmate, he refuses to believe that something fishy is going on.
Holden: I’m still not convinced.
On the other end of the spectrum we have Karswell, a wizard of sorts, who can create pull rabbits out of hats, create windstorms, and summon the devil incarnate (pictured above). Throughout the film this conflict of beliefs is waged between Karswell is Holden. At one point, Karswell goes so far as to tell Holden that his skepticism will get him killed, and Holden still resists.
Stuck in the middle of this is what I believe to be the “everyman” of the film, who is in this case Joanna. She represents what we would most likely conceive to be a normal person. She is superstitious enough to be freaked out by incidents such as the séance, but is not a full-blown cult member. By the film’s end it appears that her outlook on the conflict of ideals is the most practical. If there is a lesson to be learned from her belief system, it is this: Not everything is the result of some supernatural force, but if you see Godzilla bearing down on you, your best course of action is to run away screaming like a little girl, not stand there and swear it’s an illusion.
F. Tourneur’s Cinematic Techniques
As has been previously discussed, Tourneur and his associates felt (and rightfully so) that oftentimes it was not seeing the monster that would scare the audience. Rather, seeing or hearing something but not knowing or seeing its origin was a more frightening technique. In Night of the Demon, this technique is carried out with unsettling success. Perhaps the most moving example of this is the scene in which Holden breaks into Karswell’s mansion. We glimpse a mysterious ugly hand following Holden, accompanied by some hair-raising string work. However, we never actually see who, or more sickeningly, what the hand belongs to. The hand, along with the sound and the dominant shadows looming in the mansion, come together to make the viewer wondering when Karswell is going to jump out in a clownsuit with a meat cleaver. This is only one example, however it includes most of the techniques used by Tourneur to keep the audience honest: shadows, freaky sounds, and the non-discovery of their source.
No comments:
Post a Comment