Demons of the Mind

There is a heritage of disorder in our blood.

An unhinged Baron keeps his children as prisoners in the family mansion for fear they will inherit the family illness - insanity!

It's one of Hammer Films' most divisive productions, some laud it as a Gothic horror with art house veneers, others say it's simply pretentious tripe! The truth is that it's a bold and ambitious picture, a tricky narrative of mental health, incest and brutal patriarch pressure, all cloaked in the Hammer traits so prevalent in their 70s productions.

Cue blood and nudity, hammy acting, good acting, splendid costumes, vivid colour and a mansion setting of some distinction. Unfortunately the story remains too vague for too long, it never settles into a rhythm to ...

Gothic Hammer with muddled story and unsympathetic characters

A Baron in 1835 (Robert Hardy) keeps his adult son & daughter locked-up and drugged because he thinks they're insane, like his dead wife. He hires a dubious doctor known for mesmerism (Patrick Magee) to assist him, along with his assistant (Kenneth J. Warren). Meanwhile there are murders in the local area and a priest meanders around babbling about the evils of the Baron and this or that, which incites the villagers.

"Demons of the Mind" (1972) is an obscure Hammer film featuring many of the positives of Hammer horror, such as haunting Gothic atmosphere, serious characters/story, stunningly gorgeous women and a quality score. The character of Falkenberg (Magee) was pa...