Demons Of The Mind (1972) was the first of two films that Australian director Peter Sykes made for Hammer Productions (the second being To The Devil A Daughter). Demons Of The Mind sees the renowned studio continuing to add more explicit elements to their Gothic style in the form of more gore, more nudity, and much more adult sexual themes. Demons Of The Mind is a psychological horror film that deals with incest, murder, psychology and religious fervor.
Demons Of The Mind has, among fans of Hammer, the reputation for being a potentially much better film. It was very unique for Hammer to do an early-nineteenth century period piece that was void of any supernatural element let alone that attempted to examine that fine line between magic, superstition and cold, hard science. The failures of Demons Of The Mind are usually blamed on the meddling of studio executive during the casting process or on director Peter Sykes. While it does seem true that a few of the players are miscast, there is absolutely no fault to be found in Sykes’ direction.
The opening ten minutes of Demons Of The Mind are a singular tour de force as Sykes establishes plot and atmosphere without any dialogue. What Sykes delivers is an eerily dreamy montage that makes for the most compelling opening for a Hammer film since Frankenstein Created Woman (1967). Where ever possible throughout Demons Of The Mind Sykes returns to this graphic style; elevating the material to cinematographic heights rarely achieved by Hammer in the seventies.
The real weakness of Demons Of The Mind is in the script that seems unable to imagine an approach to screenwriting that doesn’t conform to Hammer’s brand of pulp. Everything about the structure of Demons Of The Mind is counter intuitive to its actual narrative content. Where the film should be slow burning and full of tension the plot is instead condensed to pack more thrills in per minute. Demons Of The Mind just wasn’t suited to be a Hammer film.
Although Demons Of The Mind is inherently and very obviously flawed it is still a fascinating film to watch. The themes of the film on their own are compelling enough but to see Sykes render these themes visually while the script seems to derail is like watching a car crash in slow motion. Those well versed in the Hammer filmography are better situated to appreciate Demons Of The Mind but even a relative newcomer will sense that somewhere in Demons Of The Mind is an excellent horror film.
