The Night of the Devils

Story about a man who breaks down and seeks shelter with a less than ordinary family with an extraordinary dilemma. Let's just say things do go bump in the night for this family of the woods.

Night of the Devils unfortunately is vastly unseen. It has lots of things going for it, like a cast that is truly gung-ho and some pretty good writing. The atmosphere is dark and ominous which gives the film a really great feel.

The film does drag in parts where some scenes will go on for a tad too long, but sometimes this becomes a good thing, because it will strengthen the mood of the film. Also the film struggles with its music at times. The music itself is good, and fitting, but at the same time the timing wasn't used very well. Instead of letting the scene play out and remain questionable they'd throw in music where it'd make you realize what would take place. Minor issues that barely damage the viewing experience as a whole.

Overall the movie was a really good slow-burn flick with pretty strong performances, an eerie vibe and awesome fx work. Though plagued by a decent amount of predictability it still ended up being a very recommendable movie to horror fans who can dig slower films.

It's always nice to find an obscure gem like this. This film is VERY good. Don't let the other reviews here fool you. An intelligent viewer who actually WATCHES and takes in all the atmosphere built up will find a lot to reward them. One should not go into this with the typical 2 second attention span so prevalent today. The film is intelligently made and builds slowly but surely. You have to take this as an Italian horror movie from the 70's to appreciate. All the conventions of this style of film-making are present. The weird dubbing zooms and creepy vocal music are all their and are very effective in creating the proper Euro Horror feel. The director Ferroni was very competent in this genre. It starts off with a bang of weird gore and settles into a slowly building story with a Wizz bang finale, with some of the most off the wall goofines I have ever seen in one of these types of films. It is Definitely worth the wait for the gore and mayhem at the end. The Vurdalak(witch/Vampire) theme is an underdone sub genre and is quite different than the usual Vampire conventions. The very foreign Yugoslavian setting is also a plus.

Gianni Garko is quite effective as the lead and has the requisite chemistry to pull off his central role. He also creates sympathy which helps make this better than the average Italian gore movie. The children are also REALLY creepy and effective. Special kudos to Carlo Rambaldi(ET) for his effective 70's gore effects. This is available form Midnight Video in a Good quality widescreen transfer with slightly annoying Japanese subs. If you are a fan of atmospheric Euro horror this is a must have. A proper DVD release in the Future? I hope so.

Based on a book I've never read (Aleksei Tolstoy's The Family of the Vourdalak), Night of the Devils deals with the supernatural creature known as the wurdulac (also spelled wurdalak, vourdalak or verdilak), a type of Eastern European vampire that is compelled to drink the blood of its loved ones, thereby converting the whole family.

Lumber importer Nicolas (Gianni Garko) encounters such monsters in a Yugoslavian forest. After pranging his car, he sets off on foot to find help, eventually meeting a family who live in a house in the woods, where he is invited to stay the night. Nicolas is intrigued when his hosts barricade all of the doors and windows at nightfall; he eventually discovers that the family is plagued by a wurdulac that comes a-calling once it is dark.

With a very measured pace, this isn't going to be for everyone, but fans of atmospheric Euro-horror will be delighted by the creepy vibe throughout and some genuinely tense moments, the best being Nicola's frantic escape from the woods in his car (attacked by wurdulacs and mocked by ghoulish wurdulac children), and the gripping finalé, which packs a neat downbeat twist.

Meanwhile, those who enjoy a spot of gore and nudity will be pleased to know that are some juicy moments of splatter (a woman's face exploding, a beating heart removed from a body, severed fingers, and several bloody stakings, all courtesy of FX man Carlo Rambaldi) and a fair amount of T&A (ravishing Agostina Belli, as Nicola's love interest Sdenka, sheds all for her art, while Teresa Gimpera has her top torn open by one of the vampiric kids).

N.B. The wurdulac also appears in Mario Bava's classic horror compendium Black Sabbath, a film I've yet to see (I know, I know... and I call myself a horror fan).

NIGHT OF THE DEVILS opens with a wandering man named Nicola (Gianni Garko) being taken to a mental institution after a traumatic event. From his hospital bed, Nicola recalls what happened to him through flashbacks.

After almost hitting someone, Nicola leaves his damaged car, only to stumble upon a house in the forest. Upon meeting the family that lives there, he spends the night, unaware of the horrors to come.

Loaded with grim, foreboding atmosphere and ghoulish goings-on, the superstitious dread is palpable. There are some genuinely chilling moments, along with wonderful, practical gore effects! The characters are memorable, especially the lovely Sdenka (Agostina Belli), her stolid brother Jovan (Mark Roberts), and the mysterious witch (Maria Monti). Whatever you do, don't miss the truly unsettling, blood-soaked finale! One of the best movies of its kind...

Nicolas is found wandering aimlessly at a beach and is taken to a hospital where his horrific story is told through flashbacks; He have a car accident in the Yugoslavian countryside and finds a house where he gets shelter for the night. He hears strange noises during the night and in the morning he's told about the witch that lives in the forest. The witch killed Yorga's borther (Yorga is the father in the family he stays with) and the brother came back at exactly 6 pm the next day, transformed into a Vardaluk (some sort of zombie). Nikolas falls in love with Sdenka, Yorga's daughter, and stays with the family. Yorga decides to confront the witch and his son Jovan is prepared for the worst. Just like Jovan feared Yorga returns the next day at 6 pm precise and a lot of really bad things starts to happen.

This is an interesting movie with a good story, scary music and nice sets but it is a bit to slow moving. The flashback-to-present way of telling the story is pretty effective. There are some memorable scenes like the torture fantasies in the beginning and when Helene's fingers are cut of by Nicolas' car door. There are some nudity and sex. The twist ending is great! Some curiosity: The good-looking Agostina Bella (Sdenka) plays the jealous chambermaid in Ivanna. I give this one 7/10.