Demons of the Mind (1972)

A physician discovers that two children are being kept virtually imprisoned in their house by their father. He investigates, and discovers a web of sex, incest and satanic possession.

Director:

Peter Sykes

Writers:

Frank Godwin (story), Christopher Wicking

Stars:

Robert Hardy, Shane Briant, Gillian Hills

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Hardy	...	Zorn
Shane Briant	...	Emil
Gillian Hills	...	Elizabeth
Yvonne Mitchell	...	Hilda
Paul Jones	...	Carl Richter
Patrick Magee	...	Falkenberg
Kenneth J. Warren	...	Klaus (as Kenneth Warren)
Michael Hordern	...	Priest
Robert Brown	...	Fischinger
Virginia Wetherell	...	Inge
Deirdre Costello	...	Magda
Barry Stanton	...	Ernst
Sidonie Bond	...	Zorn's Wife
Thomas Heathcote	...	Coachman
John Atkinson	...	1st Villager

Storyline

Baron Zorn keeps his teenaged children locked up and drugged, fearing that his insane wife passed along a congenital curse to them before her own suicidal death. Elizabeth escapes for a brief tryst with a local before being recaptured and subjected to a bleeding process to 'draw out the bad blood.' Emil keeps trying to escape, but is thwarted time and again by his aunt Hilda who runs the house like a prison. One reason the siblings have to be kept apart, is their incestuous attraction to each other. Local wenches are being murdered in the woods, and the superstitious peasants think demons are responsible. A wandering Priest dedicates himself to root out the evil, but isn't taken seriously. Arriving at the castle are two more interested parties: Mountebank scientist-huckster Falkenberg stands to make a small fortune if his strange apparatus can cure the children of their inherited evil. Young Carl simply wants to rescue Elizabeth. As more murders mount, Falkenberg enlists village lass ...

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Plot Keywords:

blood | incest | death | castle | suspicion of another's madness | 

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Taglines:

They came to torture an agonised mind

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Evil

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglo-EMI, Frank Godwin Productions, Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shane Briant made his film debut as the tormented Emil.

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Quotes

Carl: This man may be a genius, but you ought to know... he's a fraud.
Falkenberg: It isn't me that's discredited, it's any new ideas... you might as well kill them!

User Reviews

Sometimes a mess, sometimes very innovative

Hammer films had by 1972 clearly some problems coming up with new and fresh ideas. Their old style monster movies were beginning to show their age and the formula had been remade too many times (ie. Dracula AD 1972). So some experiments were made. "Captain Kronos" is one and this one another. The story moves very slowly in the beginning and what is happening is never really quite clear. The story about one family's inherited madness is intriguing but never fully developed. And those expecting some gory horror movie will be very disappointed, because for the most part, this is a rather slowmoving psychological study with added chilling elements. The biggest drawback here is the pace, which is non-existent for three-thirds of the movie. The final twenty minutes or so are more satisfying in that sense. Robert Hardy is also not a bonus, overacting like mad. But there are compensations. Other performances are very good, like Patrick Magee as the mock-psychiastrist and Gillian Hills as the young and maybe mad daughter of the family. And the basic plot IS interesting! A remake with a revision of the script might do wonders. Arthur Grant behind the camera does a great job too, contributing his usual skill 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 Robinson is excellent (he really was an underrated filmcomposer).