Night of the Demon(1957)
1957 · Jacques Tourneur · 96 min
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.
Fantasy · Horror · Mystery
7.0320 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
0/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How Night of the Demon scares
It starts as a measured investigation, all fog, libraries, and quiet unease, before slowly tightening into genuine dread as the skeptic hero gets pulled toward something he can't explain. The pace is patient and talky by modern standards, built on mood, shadow, and suggestion rather than shocks, though it does have a couple of startling jolts along the way. The fear here is about doubt and helplessness, the sense that something ancient and unstoppable is closing in on you no matter how rational you try to stay. It's more eerie and unsettling than gory or violent, a classic slow-building chiller for people who like their horror atmospheric and old-fashioned rather than fast and bloody.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Night of the Demon rates psychological 5/5, visceral 2/5, gore 0/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 0 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 30 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow-building mystery that simmers with dread through long stretches of investigation before tightening into a genuinely tense, unsettling climax.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5.
How scary is Night of the Demon?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Night of the Demon rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and fun-first. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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