Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-18 05:12:44

"Demons of the Mind" Is Pure Psychological Madness

This review is from: Demons of the Mind (DVD) From the title alone, one can deduce that "Demons of the Mind" is psychological horror. It was once thought that all psychological illness was caused by demonic possession. In "Demons of the Mind," Baron Zorn (Robert Hardy) believes that his own psychotic behavior is a genetic disease that his adult children have inherited. Therefore, he locks them in separate rooms and keeps them weak and helpless with drugs and blood letting. Meanwhile, young women are being attacked and murdered in the nearby village. Who in the Zorn household is responsible? An excellent performance is given by Gillian Hills who is Elizabeth Zorn. We watch her transform from helpless victim to vengeful, wrathful psychotic before our very eyes. Amicus regular Patrick Magee ("Tales of the Crypt, "Asylum," and "And Now the Screaming Starts") is excellent as the unethical Dr. Fischinger who blames the children's madness on their father's physical and emotional abuse. Michael Horden ("Theatre of Blood") is excellent as the fanatical priest who, with ax and flaming cross, leads an angry village mob in putting an end to the madness of the Zorn family. "Demons of the Mind" is one of the strangest gothic films I've ever seen. Not as frightening as I had hoped it would be, but very creepy and disturbing. One can't help but frown upon how mentally ill patients must have been treated in the eighteen hundreds. Furthermore, most of the film's violence takes place during daylight hours. In some ways, this is good because we can see it all; however, it's not as frightening. A higher body count among the villagers would've helped the plot move faster. Most of the killings occur in the film's final ten minutes; the finale is quite gruesome and unique, and very sad. The fanatical priest steals the show. Anchor Bay did an excellent job of restoring "Demons of the Mind." The picture and audio are excellent as though it was filmed yesterday. I enjoyed "Demons of the Mind" tremendously. However, being partial to gothic horror, I realize that everyone might not appreciate it as much as I. Therefore, I recommend that you rent it first.

JoeytheBrit 2012-05-17 22:59:58

Psychological Monsters

By the early 1970s public tastes were changing, and Hammer found thatthere was no longer a demand for their traditional adaptations ofclassic horror figures such as Frankenstein and Dracula. Faced withdwindling returns, the studio decided to either update their plots tothe modern era, or infuse their stories with lurid splashes of bloodand gratuitous female nudity. It worked for a while, but the generallylower quality of these movies meant that it wasn't long before audiencefigures began to dwindle once again. Demons of the Mind is a goodexample of the inferior quality of Hammer's output compared to itsfilms of the 1950s and 60s.Robert Hardy chews the scenery with gusto as Baron von Zorn, a lord ofthe manor who fears his two children Emil (Shane Briant) and Elizabeth(Gillian Hills) have not only inherited their mother's insanity buthave also developed an incestuous attraction for one another. In adesperate attempt to cure their illness, he hires the services of dodgypsychologist Dr. Falkenberg (Patrick Magee). Despite von Zorn'sattempts to keep his offspring locked up and separated, both of themescape on a regular basis, and these brief moments of freedomworryingly coincide with the brutal murders of several comely maidensfrom the nearby village.For all its daring themes of incest, inherited madness andpsychological opportunism, Demons of the Mind follows essentially thesame plot as all those old Hammer Frankenstein movies. However, becausewe don't get the shambling monster of old, stumbling towards screamingmaidens with its stitched-on arms outstretched, we're subjected toverbose theorising on the nature of the monster within, which, quitefrankly, doesn't really get the adrenaline pumping. It's as if Hammerare trying to inject an intellectual sheen to its established formatwhile maintaining such genre staples as the opening shot of thecarriage barrelling through a forest at dusk, and the closing scenes ofa mob of torch-bearing villagers marching on the villainous Baron'sabode. It doesn't work, and while the frequent nudity is pleasantlydiverting, it's not enough to distract an audience from the film'soverall shortcomings.There's a certain amount of enjoyment from watching a bunch of fairlywell-respected British thespians slumming it - in addition to Hardy andMagee, Yvonne Mitchell as a compassionate aunt who meets a bloody endis also in the mix, while Michael Hordern as a crazed priest with wildhair (not easy considering his hairline) is particularly amusing - themuddled plot and lumbering pace let things down. Credit should go,however, to director Peter Sykes and cinematographer Arthur Grant for abold, eye-catching visual style.

in-the-fade 2012-05-16 05:03:34

Too much on mind!

In the 19th Century, a depraved Baron Zorn keeps his two adult childrenlocked up and drugged in his castle, as he fears that they haveinherited the curse of his wife's unstable mental illness. His daughterElizabeth manages to escape, and encounters a young man Carl and spendsa short time before she's recaptured. Heading to the castle is doctorFalkenberg to hopefully cure the kids, but Carl who tags along wants tofree Elizabeth. Meanwhile hysteria is slowly building in the localvillage, as there's a sexual predator killing their young woman. Theythink its demons, but a drifter Priest sees it as his job to rid thearea of evil and he points them to Zorn.Eccentrically ham-fisted and downbeat, but lush looking and skilfullyillustrated Hammer Gothic horror period piece that might not have theclass of some other Hammer entries, but it sure was entertaining. Thenegative press might have its reasons, but I didn't find it a completewaste. The psychological story is absurd, glassy and lurid in everyaspect, with gratuitous blood letting and excessively pointless nudityequalling extreme blood-lust. However a solid, well-serving cast(featuring Patrick Magee, Paul Jones, Yvonne Mitchell, Gillian Hillsand a perfectly impulsive Robert Hardy) and Peter Sykes' pastel,well-etched direction (with inspired strokes and suspenseful fits)counter-pouches its weak, plodding and downright exploitative script ofstock arrangement. Striking a big tick to their names were HarryRobinson's sweeping music score of harrowing scope, and Arthur Grant'sfluid cinematography of scenic panache. On paper this one got bettertreatment, than what it really deserved. Fun and trashy Hammer mayhem.

jangu 2012-05-15 07:17:49

Sometimes a mess, sometimes very innovative

Hammer films had by 1972 clearly some problems coming up with new and freshideas. Their old style monster movies were beginning to show their age andthe formula had been remade too many times (ie. Dracula AD 1972). So someexperiments were made. "Captain Kronos" is one and this one another. Thestory moves very slowly in the beginning and what is happening is neverreally quite clear. The story about one family's inherited madness isintriguing but never fully developed. And those expecting some gory horrormovie will be very disappointed, because for the most part, this is a ratherslowmoving psychological study with added chilling elements.The biggest drawback here is the pace, which is non-existent forthree-thirds of the movie. The final twenty minutes or so are moresatisfying in that sense. Robert Hardy is also not a bonus, overacting likemad.But there are compensations. Other performances are very good, like PatrickMagee as the mock-psychiastrist and Gillian Hills as the young and maybe maddaughter of the family. And the basic plot IS interesting! A remake with arevision of the script might do wonders.Arthur Grant behind the camera does a great job too, contributing his usualskill and thereby making everything look more expensive than it really is.The art-director knows what he is doing too and the score by Harry Robinsonis excellent (he really was an underrated filmcomposer).

2012-05-12 11:57:44

An incoherent snoozer.

By the time this movie ends, if you've followed the incoherent plot, you probably won't even care about the characters. No character is developed beyond a sheet of stale cardboard, so we have rather empty people saying rather empty things. Hammer films always fell victim to some dialogue cliche (basically, all the follies of Gothic fiction) in order to keep the movie moving along, but this dialogue? Wow. And this plot? One long winding string of "I don't care" after another. There's something of a plot here: one guy is crazy; he's afraid his kids are crazy; he wants a doctor to cure them; the doctor says he can; the doctor then says that the children's "illness" is a result of the first guy exercising his "will" over the children; then the first guy tries to kill his kids. Oh yeah, and somewhere in there, the first gets weepy and frustrated over he and his wife's conjugal bed. Uh-huh. Or something like that. One reviewer said this movie has great scenery, and I agree; but the characters populating that scenery are the real problem -- especially in a movie that wants so desperately to be character-driven. A character-driven movie without characters is bound to fall flat on its face. And "Demons of the Mind" does exactly that. Sorry Hammer. Sorry Peter Sykes. Thanks for "To the Devil...A Daughter." That was a creepy, unnerving movie, and it was driven forcefully by good characters and interesting actors. Too bad you didn't keep this one on the shelf.

2012-05-12 07:42:06

Great castle , great cast , good atmospheric story and superb visuals

From Director Peter Sykes and cinematographer Auther Grant springs DEMONS OF THE MIND . It is the screen acting debut of Shane Briant (CAPTAIN KRONOS : VAMPIRE HUNTER , FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL) . It boasts Yvonne Mitchell (the grim faced mother from CRUCIBLE OF HORROR) as well as the luatic bald guy from (THE CREEPING FLESH) . There are lots of familiar actors and actresses here (particularly if you are fond of Brit films and older horror) . I'm thrilled , yet again , that i have the ability to stream this neat pic as my pocketbook is keeping me from getting a copy of this modest jewel . I suspect this film is picking up some unfavorable marks in order to drive the price down ? No matter . Check it out if you meet the Hammer criteria . All in here .

capkronos 2012-05-07 06:09:36

Intelligent and entertaining Gothic thriller.

A mad baron (Robert Hardy), haunted by memories of driving his wifeinsane, is obsessed with the "heritage of disorder" that he thinksmight afflict his two grown children (Gillian Hills and Shane Briant),whom he keeps locked up in his beautiful castle home, searching for a"cure." With the help of bald manservant Klaas (Kenneth J. Warren) andstern aunt Hilda (Yvonne Mitchell), he drains their blood to keep themweak, forbids them to see each other (there's incest involved) andignores the expert opinions of a doctor (Patrick Magee). Meanwhile,there's a rapist/murderer on the loose terrorizing a quaint neighboringvillage.This psychological horror story is a fine deviation from Hammer's cycleof monster movies, highlighted by excellent period costumes and sets(especially the castle) and Christopher Wicking's provocative, complexscreenplay (which resembles V.C. Andrews' FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, writtenlater). Only the finale, with a mob of torch-carrying villagers huntingHardy down a la FRANKENSTEIN, really detracts from this well above parHammer production.

TheMovieMorgue 2012-05-06 12:18:04

Lack of coherency and too much of a surreal approach that just renders the film a confusing mess

"They came to torture an agonised mind..." This Hammer film from director Peter Sykes has been pretty muchforgotten and is rarely seen or heard of nowadays... and for goodreason. As much as I hate to get trigger-happy and start slamming thefilm in just the introduction, I can't help but doing so for thishorrid effort that had all the makings for a great, disturbing film,but in the end, it was just confusing, insane and completelyover-dramatic. It had taken me a good while to finally track this onedown, and with all the promises of incest, abuse and medievalgoings-ons, this looked set to be possibly the most disturbing andgraphic Hammer film made. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. Theonly thing disturbing about this was the acting (Robert Hardy)... andthe lack of a coherent story that made me give up on this just over thehour mark. Granted, "Demons of the Mind" begins with an innovative,dream-like surreal setting that captured my attention from thebeginning and had me thinking that I was in for something good. Sykes'sdirectorial vision in the opening ten minutes was something I'd neverseen before from a Hammer director, who all normally just tackle simplescripts with simple shots for their trills and chills. But thedifference is, these basic skills work! Sykes appears to be a bit aheadof his time here... well actually no, he just doesn't belong at HammerStudios. Because all though the surrealism is interesting, it ruins thefilm later on, as no time is given to introduce the characters or anytype of coherency in the story. Instead, it's all confusion andrandomness and there's nothing else redeeming in the film to keep uswith it.As difficult as I found it to salvage any kind of storyline, this isbasically what I grasped: A wealthy man with some sort of heredityillness believes that the illness was passed on to his two children whohe keeps locked up in his mansion, believing that they are mad. Thekids are adults now, and have an incestuous attraction to one another.Two doctors come to visit, one of them, a young, revolutionary manwants to take the girl away for he has falling in love with her, whilethe other freak just rambles on and on about stuff that makes no senseor deserves any real attention."Demons of the Mind" is over-looked and has been forgotten about for areason. It's a very poor film with very few redeeming qualities. Theextra star comes from the nice, captivating first ten minutes. Theyalone deserve some recognition, but otherwise, this is one Hammer filmthat should be missed.

pyates-2 2012-05-05 03:05:49

Delirious Hammer art-house cult classic.

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

bensonmum2 2012-05-04 08:38:38

The Worst of Hammer

I've always enjoyed a good Hammer movie. I couldn't begin to list thenumber I've seen, but I could very easily put together a top 35 – 40Hammer movie list. Demons of the Mind would not appear anywhere on thatlist. It is without a doubt the worst Hammer film I've ever seen. Theproblem is not with the acting, directing, cinematography, or score,because technically it's a well made film. Instead, much of my problemrests with the plot. It plods along at a snail's pace introducingpeople and ideas that go nowhere. And when something does happen, likethe attack scenes in the forest, I couldn't have cared less about whatwas 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 tocasting decisions. At the time this movie was made, Hammer was tryingto build Shane Briant into the next big Hammer star. But he has a veryunlikable on-screen persona. He's the kind of person that I can't waitto see die in one of these movies. I've never understood how anyone atHammer thought this androgynous looking foppish boy was gong to replacethe likes of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.To sum it up, if your idea of a good movie is a plot that goes nowhereand characters you either don't know or don't want to know, Demons ofthe Mind may be the movie you're looking for.

2012-04-27 01:11:05

An okay Hammmer film

This review is from: Demons of the Mind (DVD) The movie was okay but not great, especially if one has seen any of the other Hammer movies. The script is a little jagged in the beginning so the plot is hard to follow but otherwise the acting is great as is the music and the scenery. "Demons of the Mind" features a good cast but I would have liked a little more energy from them. Not to imply that the acting was bad, in fact it was quite good. It just seemed to lack a little stage presence that slowed the movie down even more. I'm not familiar with any of the actors (except for the doctor) so perhaps it is my own ignorance that led me to think this.Basically it's an okay movie with some scary bits. I like Hammer Horror films (esp. the 1970's ones) and this one was fun. As someone else mentioned the terror in this movie is not a physical being but a mental state and contributes to the unusualness of the movie.

2012-04-26 10:07:00

Solid 3.5 Stars, rounding up to 4

Taking into account the length of time I have been a Hammer fan, I had never seen this film until very recently. As other reviewers have pointed out, it was made during the latter period of Hammers productivity. As such, it is a bit more violent and has more nudity then the studios previous output. This may be offputting to some, but I highly doubt that will matter much to modern audiences as it still quite tame (by modern standards).So is the thing any good? I personally really liked it! I am a big,big fan of the late Patrick Magee so any opportunity to watch him chew up the scenery is worth a look in my opinion. Sure the plot and some of the proceedings are a bit convuluted, but I found that interesting and kept me engaged through until the very end.In other words, I was "entertained".Perhaps not a "classic", but i'm glad I watched it and will likely enjoy it again sometime.It is worth a repeat viewing, in my opinion. How many recent movies can you say that about?? I rest my case

Jim Dooley 2012-04-19 17:44:15

Quite A "Pleasant" Surprise

This was quite a surprise. It had a much stronger story line than I'dhaveexpected from the producer, and the characters are intriguing. Before Iknew it, this show had me hooked. Although I predicted the ending, it wasstill quite intense. Well worth the trip.

2012-04-19 02:54:58

A neglected gem

Although often overlooked, this ranks with Peter Sasdy's "Hands of the Ripper" as one of the finest and most unconventional films produced by Hammer in the 1970s. It looks gorgeous - thanks partially to expert cinematography by the great Arthur Grant, and partially to the use of real locations instead of the usual studio sets. Peter Sykes' direction is outstanding; the film's lush visual poetry carries an erotic charge that is a far cry indeed from the embarassed girlie-magazine imagery of so many of Hammer's "sexy" films of the period ("Lust for a Vampire," for instance). The performances (by an exceptionally fine cast) are generally excellent, although Robert Hardy overacts badly. The film also contains some of Harry Robinson's best music, most notably in an early sequence that runs for several minutes without any dialogue at all. One of the film's most attractive features is the way in which it consistently turns the conventions of Hammer horror on their heads. Wild coach rides, sinister mansions, torch-bearing villagers, a series of monstrous murders of busty barmaids - all the usual Hammer paraphernalia are here, but many of them are put to unconventional or at least subtly different uses. The story itself is equally unusual, with shades of Mesmer and a complete absence of supernatural forces. For all its novelty, however, you may find it a bit dull. But with so many incidental pleasures, who cares? This is a fine and enjoyable film - one of the last really solid efforts produced by Hammer before its gradual disintegration.The DVD commentary track is definitely worth a listen. It features Sykes, screenwriter Christopher Wicking (as always, an intelligent and refreshing interrogator of the horror genre), and actress Virginia Wetherell, who has only a small role in the film but delivers some of the most interesting commentary. All in all, another fine addition to Anchor Bay's very welcome Hammer Collection.

2012-04-13 09:12:43

Rather poor

This should have been a cracking little film. A superb cast, including Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy and Patrick Magee with a potentially interesting story set over 90 minutes looks like a winner from the start. Its not... Sadly the script lets the whole thing down badly. There are quite a few really clunky lines which made me wince, and the plot whilst initially slightly confusing became entirely predictable as the film went on. This being made in the early 70's Hammer took the opportunity to take advantage of the more lenient censorship laws and so this does contain nudity and some quite violent scenes. These don't particularly enhance the film, and you'd expect them from a late period Hammer film anyway. In all honesty as the film got near the end I couldn't wait for it to finish, it had become that irratating. Oh by the way, yes that is the Paul Jones of Manfred Mann and Blues Band fame who plays one of the leading roles. The only Hammer film I have seen worse than this was Prehistoric Women. My advice don't watch either....

2012-04-12 23:07:21

It's about madness, I tell you!

This is a "Hammer" film that I just finished watching on video. I'm notreally a fan of Hammer films, although I'm sure I saw all of them whilegrowing up in England, and this is probably one of the better ones. It'sset in Bavaria, and is basically a story of how madness runs through afamily, and also through the whole community. The film is largely veryslow, and discordant, but it definitely does grab you near the end,leadingup to a pretty eerie and weird climax. Weren't all the Hammer films likethis?...

2012-04-09 20:52:27

Twins of Madness

This review is from: Demons of the Mind (DVD) While the title might lead you to believe that this is one of Hammer's psychological suspense movies, in fact it's a period-piece Gothic, although a peculiar one.The story is set in Bavaria circa 1830. Baron Friedrich, owner of the local castle, believes that his family is cursed with a hereditary strain of madness. Fearing that his children, Elizabeth and Emil, are afflicted with this taint, he keeps them imprisoned in their rooms. He uses drugs to sedate them and conducts dubious medical experiments in an attempt to "cure" them. Well, if they weren't crazy before, they sure are now, after years of the Baron's injurious ministrations.Elizabeth spends most of the time in a daze, but Emil periodically escapes and goes off wandering in the nearby woods, where he kills any beautiful young woman he chances to meet. He's also erotically obsessed with his sister, and schemes constantly to escape from the castle with her. Meanwhile, a demented priest stirs up the usual villagers, telling them that the Baron is a demon and must be destroyed. Pretty soon, the villagers are grabbing torches and heading for the castle. . . .The first version of the script for Demons of the Mind called for the "hereditary strain" to be lycanthropy, presumably with the Baron keeping his children imprisoned out of fear that they might become werewolves. For whatever reason, Hammer dropped this concept in favor of mere insanity, with results that remind me of one of Tennessee Williams' more lurid dramas transposed to the Gothic era.Demons of the Mind is an interesting but uneven film, which suffers from a lack of sympathetic characters. It does feature striking composition in some of the shots and good use of color. And Gillian Hills and Virginia Weatherell look quite fetching, both in and out of their clothes.

InvasionofPALs 2012-04-09 09:59:54

It's A Mad Movie . . .

This 1972 horror/suspense thriller is a truly odd film. I really likethis movie, but those who don't like weird Hammer Studios horror filmsought to tread warily. The atmosphere is eerie and just plain creepysometimes. The plot is better left seen than described, but this filmis for patient viewers who don't mind not having the plot spelled outfor them -- but who like to try and figure things out themselves. Andthere are lots of things to figure out! When I watched this movie thefirst time I really had no idea how it would end. This film also mademe wonder how the people who concocted the story came up with such adiffuse plot with so many different things going on at the same time.Truly boggles the mind. No pun intended! It's a mad movie with a fiery finale.

2012-04-09 00:25:13

the worst move ever

I love bad movies, this is the most unbearable movie ever made. dont ever buy it for a penny

2012-04-08 15:42:34

An okay Hammmer film

The movie was okay but not great, especially if one has seen any of the other Hammer movies. The script is a little jagged in the beginning so the plot is hard to follow but otherwise the acting is great as is the music and the scenery. "Demons of the Mind" features a good cast but I would have liked a little more energy from them. Not to imply that the acting was bad, in fact it was quite good. It just seemed to lack a little stage presence that slowed the movie down even more. I'm not familiar with any of the actors (except for the doctor) so perhaps it is my own ignorance that led me to think this.Basically it's an okay movie with some scary bits. I like Hammer Horror films (esp. the 1970's ones) and this one was fun. As someone else mentioned the terror in this movie is not a physical being but a mental state and contributes to the unusualness of the movie.