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4 months ago

My review for #Demon, a British film that won for Best Horror Feature Film in the 2012 Tabloid Witch Awards ... Writer/director #MarkDuffield took on a difficult challenge for a low-budget film -- he made a period piece, placing his story in #VictorianLondon. But his creative ambition paid off. Demon is a visually resplendent English horror film that pays worthy homage to those #HammerHorror period pieces starring #PeterCushing and #ChristopherLee. Demon is about a cursed young man (#AndrewMullan) transformed by love into a blood-sucking -- you guessed it! -- demon. Combining horror and romance, Demon resembles vampire romances such as #BramStokersDracula. As you might expect, a morally pure, beautiful young woman (#ClareLangford) falls in love with the star-crossed monster -- who in turn struggles against destroying this woman that he loves. As Lorcan, Mullan successfully tackles a role offering a broad range of emotional nuances. When we first meet him, Lorcan is the perfect Victorian gentleman. Reserved and polite. Then loves blossoms in his heart -- and he struggles against his emerging demonic side. By film's end, Lorcan is a blood-sucking monster who wishes he weren't, who dreads harming the woman he loves, but who can't help what he is. Make-up artist #JamesAlexander's demon looks like what a demon's supposed to look like -- claws, pointy ears, leathery wings, etc. There is nothing wrong with a traditional interpretation when aesthetically appropriate. Demon does strive for a traditional, Hammer ambiance, and Alexander's make-up well supports that goal -- and on a low budget. Interior sets, outdoor locations (modern artifacts hidden by an admirable use of low camera angles and tight shots), costumes, and acting all contribute to Demon's #Victorian ambiance, showing both the genteel and seedy sides of #GaslitLondon. The film's music -- from starkly tense strings, to lush, tragio-romantic orchestral scores -- -- effectively supports the film's shifting dramatic turns. -- written by Thomas M. Sipos #DemonMovie #HorrorFilmContest #HorrorFilmContests #HorrorFilmAward #HorrorFilmAwards #HorrorFilmFestival #HorrorFilmFestivals #EnglishHorror #EnglishHorrorFilms