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Demons of the Mind [Blu-ray]
(Peter Sykes, 1972)
NOTE: After comparing the Studio Canal UK and DE Blu-rays of Fear in the Night HERE. They are determined to be, essentially, the exact same discs. Same running time to the 1/1000th a second, same bitrate, same image, same audio (with the of a inclusion of a German DUB and optional German subtitles) and same extras - minus the second disc DVD but the 7-Blu-ray Hammer Film Edition has all the other films (The Horror of Frankenstein, Scars of Dracula, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Demons of the Mind, Straight on Till Morning, Fear in the Night, and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde).
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Studios Video: Studio Canal (DE) / Shout! Factory Disc: Region: 'B' / 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:29:37.705 / 1:29:39.248 Disc Size: 30,112,870,185 bytes / 30,013,520,752 bytes Feature Size: 26,709,409,344 bytes / 24,821,354,496 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.89 Mbps / 33.00 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 12 Case: Slim Blu-ray case / Standard Blu-ray Case Release date: October 30th, 2017 / November 23rd, 2017 / January 14th, 2020
Video (both): Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1275 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1275 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio German 1508 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1508 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1569 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1569 kbps / 24-bit (DTS
Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles: English (SDH), German, none / English, none
Extras: • New Featurette - Blood Will Have Blood: Inside Demons of the Mind (15:39)• Trailer for Demons of the Mind (3:09) • Trailer for Blair Witch Project (2:01) /
•
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman
Bitrates:
Description: Baron Zorn (Robert Hardy) believes his son Emil (Shane Briant) and daughter Elizabeth (Gillian Hills) are suffering from a madness they inherited from their late mother. He keeps his children locked up, but at night Emil is released and murders women in the local village. Discredited psychologist Falkenberg (Patrick Magee - Dementia 13, The Masque of the Red Death) analyses the family and it transpires that the children witnessed their mother cut her own throat. The villagers, driven on by a manic priest (Michael Hordern) identify Zorn as the 'demon' responsible for killing their daughters. The deranged Emil escapes with Elizabeth, but the murderous Zorn pursues them. Blood, he vows, will have blood. One of the most ambitious and unusual horror films produced by Hammer, Demons of the Mind was directed by Peter Sykes (Venom, To the Devil a Daughter) and released in 1972. The distinguished cast includes Shane Briant, who would go on to appear in three further films for Hammer.
The Film: In the best tradition of the Gothic, the plot is overwhelmed by the themes, and the finer points of the acting frequently lost beneath exuberant displays of emotion. Sometimes it descends into ham - Shane Briant, in particular, seems to have been encouraged to go to extremes and, being fairly new to acting, lacks the confidence to step back - but he and Gillian Hills still manage to be sympathetic as the two teenagers kept under close supervision in the confines of a remote stately home. These teenagers have a father who fancies himself as heir to the House of Usher, his wife having committed suicide, and who prevails upon a doctor of dubious reputation to try and save them from hereditary madness. Enter a series of elaborate mechanical and magnetic devices - a definite case of style over substance, but wonderfully so. Excerpt from the EyeForFilm located HEREFor all its daring themes of incest, inherited madness and psychological opportunism, Demons of the Mind follows essentially the same plot as all those old Hammer Frankenstein movies. However, because we don’t get the shambling monster of old, stumbling towards screaming maidens with its stitched-on arms outstretched, we’re subjected to verbose theorising on the nature of the monster within, which, quite frankly, doesn’t really get the adrenaline pumping. It’s as if Hammer are trying to inject an intellectual sheen to its established format while maintaining such genre staples as the opening shot of the carriage barrelling through a forest at dusk, and the closing scenes of a mob of torch-bearing villagers marching on the villainous Baron’s abode. It doesn’t work, and while the frequent nudity is pleasantly diverting, it’s not enough to distract an audience from the film’s overall shortcomings. Excerpt from 2020-film-reviews located HEREDemons Of The Mind is a right load of old cobblers, which mixes costume drama with cod psychology and ends with a particularly gruelling amount of hand loppings, shootings, stabbings, and burning-crucifix-impalings. What makes it worth seeking out are the performances - Hordern's nutty priest is a sight to see, Hardy is his usual hammy self and Magee is... well, Magee. There's also a serious amount of gore on show: "Blood will have blood, they say..." Hardy quotes at one point. "Well, there must be no more blood on our souls." But there's plenty on the floor, cascading down breasts and shooting out of assorted necks, stumps and arses (yes, arses - thanks to a rather nasty piece of medical instrumentation used on Elizabeth's pert behind at one point). Excerpt from BritishHorror located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Demons of the Mind gets another impressive transfer to Blu-ray from Studio Canal. It's in dual-layered territory and has a high bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. It is very textured, with rich, colors and some minor gloss. The 1080P is consistent in the original 1.66:1 frame with no flaws with the image. This Blu-ray presents Demons of the Mind in a highly pleasing HD video transfer.
I see no appreciable differences between the two 1080P images (Studio Canal and Shout! Factory). The US transfer has a slightly lower bitrate, may be a pinch brighter, but overall the HD presentation is too similar to quibble over.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The Blu-ray of Demons of the Mind offers a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1275 kbps (24-bit.). There are a few aggressive effects and and loud screams. The audio is clean and clear with some depth also notable in the score by Harry Robertson (Hammer go-to composer for such titles as The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula and Twins of Evil plus Jane and the Lost City, The Oblong Box.) There is an optional German DUB and optional English (see sample) or German subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Ditto for the audio - I can't tell much, if any, differences - also a DTS-HD Master (24-bit) score exporting Robertson's score very effectively in the lossless. The Shout Factory has optional English subtitles and their disc is Region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Studio Canal add a 16-minute featurette; Blood Will Have Blood: Inside Demons of the Mind that has Jonathan Rigby (author of English Gothic), Kevin Lyons (Documentation Editor at the BFI), Alan Barnes (author of The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films) etc. talking about the film's history and production details. There is also a trailer for Demons of the Mind.
Shout! vault ahead in the supplements with a new audio commentary by Steve Haberman (author of Silent Screams: The History of the Silent Horror Film) and he covers an incredible amount from the score to the writing, production details, director Peter Sykes, themes of the Gothic film relating to modern times etc. It is excellent. There is also the previous audio commentary with director Peter Sykes, Writer Christopher Wicking, and actress Virginia Wetherell, moderated by author/film historian Jonathan Sothcott and it is loaded with essential information of the production from the werewolf-esque origins to Dr. Mesmer and curing mental illness with hypnosis, why Marianne Faithful was not able to be in the film etc.. It is, likewise, revealing and has plenty of value. Shout add a new 4-minute interview with camera operator Neil Binney talking about what he recalls about making the film. Shout! duplicate the 1/4 hour Blood Will Have Blood: The Making of Demons Of The Mind with Rigby, Lyons and Barnes as well as a theatrical trailer.
Studio Canal - Region 'B'- Blu-ray
Shout! Factory - Region 'A'- Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
The pattern is continuing with Shout! Factory advancing on the European releases - ostensibly in the extras. This has two excellent commentaries and is a Hammer that I have warmed to over time. The supplemental commentaries help develop a strong appreciation. Shout! is the one to get for Hammer fans!
Gary Tooze December 1st, 2017 January 9th, 2020
NOTE: After comparing the Studio Canal UK and DE Blu-rays of Fear in the Night HERE. They are determined to be, essentially, the exact same discs. Same running time to the 1/1000th a second, same bitrate, same image, same audio (with the of a inclusion of a German DUB and optional German subtitles) and same extras - minus the second disc DVD but the 7-Blu-ray Hammer Film Edition has all the other films (The Horror of Frankenstein, Scars of Dracula, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Demons of the Mind, Straight on Till Morning, Fear in the Night, and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde).
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
