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.

Never heard of this one! Gianni Garko, scratched, bloody, and having crazy visions, stumbles out of the woods and collapses. He is found and taken to the nearest nut house, where Dr Umberto Raho starts performing tests on him. Gianni is unresponsive and doesn't even seem to know his name, and only comes alive at night, where the darkness makes him really nervous. He REALLY comes alive when a mysterious woman shows up at the hospital, causing him to go completely insane and ends up wearing a nice comfy straightjacket while we witness a lengthy flashback.

You see Gianni was merely driving through the Yugoslavian countryside when a freak accident forced his car off the road. He eventually finds his way to a country house (not noticing the two men burying a corpse in a bloodied sheet), and finds himself in the company of a very frightened family indeed.

What we have here is another Italian film version of the Tosltoy novella The Family of the Vourdalak, and despite the other version being directed by Mario Bava and being great, this version holds it's own too. Basically there's a witch running around the woods who has turned that guy they just buried into a vampire and now the head of the family must go out and kill her. He warns everyone that if he returns after six o'clock, he must be killed on the spot, so naturally he comes back at that time...and all hell breaks loose in the family household.

This version takes its time to get to the chills, but still manages to convey the tension and horror that's needed. Those creepy kids help too, as does Gianni's mounting terror of what's unfolding around him. There's a thick atmosphere about the film too, with the animal skulls lying around and the reluctance of the family to explain to Gianni what's going on.

There's also a nice ambiguous ending too, just for kicks. Some gore and boobs for those that thought that was missing from Bava's version. Melting faces too, and who can hate a film where someone's face explodes?

Not I....not....I...

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.

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.

Giorgio Ferroni's Night of the Devils (not to be confused with the 1971 film of the same title) is an extremely rare little horror film; but in spite of that, any self respecting fan of Eurohorror will recognise the plot line instantly as it was also used to great effect in the longest segment of the Mario Bava masterpiece 'Black Sabbath'. While this film is not as good as the middle of Bava's film, and does feel a little stretched at times; it managed to hold my interest throughout and I'd rate it as a success overall. The film begins with an unknown man stumbling into hospital. He doesn't make any attempt to identify himself, but soon after an unknown woman turns up and he begins to panic. From there we go back in time as the man remembers the events that lead up to him stumbling into the hospital. It emerges that he had a break down and was forced to stay with a family out in the woods. They are clearly hiding something right from the start and we soon find out that there's a witch in the woods who has taken their father.

Director Giorgio Ferroni is best known for his excellent Gothic horror film Mill of the Stone Women which he made twelve years previously. Overall, I'd have to say that the earlier film is the more successful; but there are shades of the macabre atmosphere that made Mill of the Stone Women a success in this film. It has to be said that the film is rather slow and there are times when it is not very exciting; but this time is used well in building up the atmosphere and it pays off towards the end. The plot line follows basically the same narrative as the one we saw in Bava's earlier film so the story won't be much of a surprise to anyone who has seen Black Sabbath. The setting is very well used also and the director ensures that the isolation of it is always at the forefront. The film is not very gory but this is made up for with some memorably disturbing scenes. It all boils down to a very effective ending that certainly justifies the slow build featured throughout the film. Overall, Night of the Devils is a very solid little horror film and is well worth seeing if you can find it!