Demons of the Mind (1972)

Director: Peter Sykes

Starring: Robert Hardy, Shane Briant, Gillian Hills, Yvonne Mitchell, Paul Jones, Patrick Magee, Kenneth J. Warren

More info: IMDb

Tagline: They came to torture an agonised mind

Plot: 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.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

#46 on Hammer Horror (1957-1976)

You could always count on Hammer's production values, especially in their Gothic horrors. Such is the case with DEMONS. They also brought good actors to their productions as well but sometimes there are miscasts like in this one with Robert Hardy (it's on the 'too much' side of things.) Patrick Magee, on the other hand, is fun as the questionable doctor (you might remember him as the man in the wheelchair in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)). The plot of DEMONS is pretty decent and seemed like they could really go places with it. Unfortunately, the place they went started on Slow Street, the main road through Dullsville. The ending was satisfactory but by the time I got to it, I didn't care any longer. I was ready to leave. I'm not sure what was missing but it just wasn't the least bit compelling and the 89 minute run time seemed twice that (or more). Of all of the Hammer horror/thrillers, this one has catapulted to the top of the DO NOT WATCH list and that sucks because I really dig this studio's output (by and large).