Talk:Night of the Demon

Removing one "trivia" item

Removing this here, as I believe it is completely inaccurate:

• For reasons unexplained, nearly all of the dialogue by American actor Dana Andrews was later overdubbed by him. The overdubbing did not take room acoustics into consideration, and is noticeable during exchanges with his on-screen counterparts.

Having just viewed the film twice back-to-back, I can state with authority that, yes, Andrews did dub his own voice, but only in some (not all) of his scenes, and certainly no more than the rest of the cast dubbed themselves. In fact, he (and the others) seem to have been called upon to overdub themselves only in scenes shot on location (the airport, the Karswell Halloween party, the train station and rail yard at the climax, various street scenes) and not at all in scenes shot in the studio (with the obvious exception of the seance scene, in which the medium is overdubbed by the actors portraying the characters that the medium is channeling). This was a common practice in film production before improvements in technology allowed better noise filtering and truer dynamic response in uncontrolled (i.e., location) situations. None of the dub jobs recreate the "room acoustics" of the original shot, as it wasn't possible to do so at that time, but in most of Andrews' scenes his "room acoustics" do match those of the other actors because he simply wasn't dubbed in those scenes. I did notice, however, that his voice is distinctly different from those of the rest of the cast. Andrews was a heavy smoker (he practically chain-smokes in every scene of the film), and he has a definite "smoker's voice" that the rest of the cast does not share. In other words, he is raspier, breathier and much more resonant than anyone else, and this undoubtedly makes him sound different from everyone else (in addition to having the only American accent in the film). But he isn't dubbed any more than any other actor in the cast, and in scenes where he isn't dubbed the audio ambience is identical to that of everyone else (undubbed) in the scene. 71.204.204.249 21:19, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Hello! I'm new to this so bear with me....I beleive I have an addition to the "Night of the Demon" movie. The lead singer of the shock/rock group GWAR, used the Demon in the movie as inspiration for his character Oderus's looks....just check out oderus and then the demon and you'll see...the reason I know this is true is because I am Dave Brockie, lead singer of GWAR, and I love that movie!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maggotmaster (talk • contribs) 18:39, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

I just added that piece of trivia. I don't know if you are really Brockie, or just someone pretending to be him, but if you in fact are Dave, I apologize for taking your possible username (I'm a big fan). And also, assuming you are Dave, looking forward to the show next week!

---not the real Oderus 21:55, 27 September 2007 (UTC)Oderus

Plot

Needs expanding - currently it's trying to be a teaser rather than a plot description. Unfortunately I missed it on TV a few days ago, but if I recall rightly, the audience is in on the mystery throughout: Harrington is seen to be killed by the demon at the beginning. Gordonofcartoon 15:12, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi last year, I've expanded the plot quite a bit now. Hope it's good! Andrzejbanas (talk) 04:05, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

File:Karswell Holden dialogue.ogg Nominated for speedy Deletion

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"It's in the trees - it's coming!"

There has been a good deal of debate over the years about whether the line at the start of the Kate Bush song Hounds of Love really is the original dialogue from the film, as spoken by Maurice Denham. The online sourcing is not very helpful on this issue, because it is weak and often contradictory. Some sources say it is, other sources say it is not. It is possible that some sources are wrong and repeating mistakes found elsewhere.

To allow people to make up their own minds, here is an audio clip of the Maurice Denham dialogue from the film, followed by the same words from the song. My guess is that they are the same, although there was possibly some resampling with the Fairlight CMI used on the album. All original research, but the sourcing on this is not very good and points in both directions.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 20:22, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Re this edit. Neither of the sources [1][2] is reliable per WP:SPS. Other sources say that it is Maurice Denham's voice.[3] People have been contradicting each other over this online for years, so without reliable sourcing it is best to stick to the undisputed fact that the line comes from the film.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 10:31, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

In the book Beating the devil: the making of the Night of the Demon, it says that it's not sampled to be fair, and that is a reliable source. I can dig up the page number if you'd like. I bought the book ages ago with the intention of sprucing up this article but never got around to it.Andrzejbanas (talk) 12:17, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

There is no question that the two dialogue clips sound identical. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:43, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Here's[4] the actual clip from the film... whoever the actor is. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:52, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Sadly, it's not up for us to decide whether it's the sample or not. We need a reliable source and us by our own ear is not not citable. I've got the book out I mentioned earlier and it actually says "Kate Bush who once said "horrible things fire my imaination" and who has often used books and film sas s starting point for her songs sampled Maurice Denham's lines "It's in the trees! It's coming!" for her track Hounds of Love (on the 1985 album of the same name). Bush apparently re-recorded Denham's lines - taken from the film's seance sequence - because the quality of the original sound wasn't up to par.". I guess my memory of the quote was a bit off, but I'm not getting much absolute confirmation that is sampled or not. I say we live this quote out as we can't find a viable source. Andrzejbanas (talk) 15:15, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Are you saying she did a perfect imitation of that actor's voice? Unlikely. Maybe just trying to pre-empt any copyright claims. But if there's some controversy about it, then it might be best to just omit it from the article, as it's pretty trivial anyway. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:26, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't think she herself did the supposed re-recording but she had someone else say it for it to be re-recorded. But either leave it with some expanded notes later, or just say it uses the phrase which isn't correct. If I ever have the free time again, I will expand this article out. Andrzejbanas (talk) 16:12, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Saying "it uses the phrase" would be correct, albeit trivial. If it's considered significant, and if there's uncertainty as to its source, it could be stated that the phrase was used, "either from the original or from a voice actor." That would cover it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:19, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

The claim that Maurice Denham's voice was not clear enough in the original recording is absurd, though, because it is quite clear on the original film soundtrack. There is a similar controversy about Brian Cobby, who died recently. He claimed to be the voice artist behind "5-4-3-2-1-Thunderbirds are go!" but Gerry Anderson said that it was Peter Dyneley.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 10:44, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know if the voice was clear enough at the time when that song was recorded though to be fair, as I'm not sure how easy it was for Kate Bush or whoever to get a copy of the film from her to sample in the mid-80s. As there is no clear reference to whether it was directly sampled or not, we'll have to keep an eye out for someone (preferably Bush herself, or someone from her camp) to give a clear statement clarifying which was used. Andrzejbanas (talk) 10:50, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

The DVD release of Night of the Demon is taken from the original 1957 wide screen negative, and has excellent picture and sound quality. Other versions are not so good.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 11:03, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Legacy

I've added Sol Invictus' song 'Black Easter' under the Legacy section - unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to link to a disambiguation page, so that Lex Talionis points to the page for the 'eye for an eye' principle.

Can someone please fix it? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cosmillogica (talk • contribs) 02:22, 21 May 2016 (UTC)

British Museum - Reading Room?

"I hope the other changes were better than this" LOL.

Changing it to "Reading Room" had been one of my ideas, but I changed it back because unless the location is named in the film, it's not as justified to name it in the 'Plot' section as it clearly is when listing the locations. That is all; no need to impute any kind of incompetence on the part of an experienced editor, thanks. Harfarhs (talk) 20:53, 20 August 2017 (UTC)

The Reading Room of the British Library is a very impressive place, which is why it was probably chosen for the meeting between Holden and Karswell in the early part of the film. It isn't any old library, so it is worth mentioning it by name.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 04:56, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

LOL, I'm well aware of what it is, I've been there, and I used to work at the new British Library. The point is—as I was trying to make in my previous comment—that, given that Night of the Demon is fiction, the location may have been standing in for somewhere else, real or fictional, unless named in the film. Harfarhs (talk) 14:02, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

I get your point on this, but the Reading Room is such a distinctive building that it's hard to imagine it being somewhere else. It's a bit like having St Paul's Cathedral in the back of a scene and claiming that it isn't meant to be St Paul's. Here is how the Reading Room looks in the film itself.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 16:01, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

Checking this scene of the film, we see a clear shot of a sign that reads "BRITISH MUSEUM", and a taxi parked outside said museum. The cabbie then tells Holden that "You'll find the library straight through, sir". I don't think they ever refer to it by name as the Reading Room. --Lord Belbury (talk) 10:35, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Kate Bush Trivia is Okay … Rocky Horror Not So Much?

I’m a fan of both … but … a previous suggestion, noting that the premise of the film & Dana Andrews are noted in the song, “Science Fiction / Double Feature”, from “The Rocky Horror Show” … was fully deleted, while the Kate Bush - equally trivial - notation is kept and expanded on? EGAD! 75.106.32.81 (talk) 20:41, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Halloween horror film categories

Re this edit: It is stretching things a bit to say that Night of the Demon is a Halloween film. When Holden meets Karswell at his mansion, Karswell says that it is "just his annual Halloween party for the village children." This is only a passing reference in the plot, although we can infer that this scene is meant to be set in October. ♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 19:08, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

There is another Halloween reference in the film. Holden mentions "a bad Halloween joke" toward the end of the film. The Lineup and The Guardian think it is Halloween-themed. --saebou (talk) 23:14, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

The holiday-themed genres seem slightly niche in this context, and while The Guardian source is maybe a sliver vague as its primarily discussing it as a new release as a segway from its halloween topic, the other lists it signifigantly. However, I would advise against placing it uniquely within the article per relationships with WP:WEIGHT as generally speaking, the film is predominantly discussed as a horror film. Not sure how we should include this without looking like its just being peppered in. Andrzejbanas (talk) 16:32, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

I won't insist on adding the Halloween-related category if many other users are against it, but the use of the Halloween film categories is very vague now. For example, To the Devil a Daughter has been classified as a Halloween-related film from May 2023, although the referenes to Halloween in the film is about the same amount as Night of the Demon. --saebou (talk) 18:08, 1 November 2024 (UTC)