Night of The Eagle (based on Fritz Leiber's splendid novel Conjure Wife) would have been a classic with just a little more restraint; as such its last hour is almost a total pitch into non-stop horror, to the extent that it becomes a little overbearing and almost spoils the many superb horror set-pieces.
Peter Wyngarde (yayy - it's Jason King!!!) plays a lecturer at a small town college whose relentless dismissal of the supernatural - even scrawling "I Do Not Believe" on the blackboard during one of his lectures - comes to seem extremely foolish after he burns all his wife's voodoo protections. On some subconscious level Tansy has come to suspect her husband is in danger, and of course, she is right.
This is a movie that can be viewed as a close companion to Night Of The Demon, in that both films show a rigidly disbelieving academic forced to confront the idea that there ARE more things on earth than are dreamt of in their philosophies. Demon is a superior film, but Wyngarde and Janet Blair are far better in their roles than Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins were in that movie.
There are some brilliantly terrifying scenes to enjoy - the Monkey's Paw style THING that wants ingress while one of Wyngarde's lectures plays on tape, the possession scene, and of course, the eagle itself. Wyngarde unknowingly removes the "Not" from his earlier blackboard pronouncement while menaced by the giant creature. A great little touch.
One must give a mention to Margaret Johnston's terrifically vindictive performance. She almost steals the film from the leads, and, again comparing it to Demon, is as good as Niall McGuinness was as the warlock in that movie. With just a little bit more finesse this could have been an all-time classic. As it is it's still a very good and worthwhile movie.
Peter Wyngarde (yayy - it's Jason King!!!) plays a lecturer at a small town college whose relentless dismissal of the supernatural - even scrawling "I Do Not Believe" on the blackboard during one of his lectures - comes to seem extremely foolish after he burns all his wife's voodoo protections. On some subconscious level Tansy has come to suspect her husband is in danger, and of course, she is right.
This is a movie that can be viewed as a close companion to Night Of The Demon, in that both films show a rigidly disbelieving academic forced to confront the idea that there ARE more things on earth than are dreamt of in their philosophies. Demon is a superior film, but Wyngarde and Janet Blair are far better in their roles than Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins were in that movie.
There are some brilliantly terrifying scenes to enjoy - the Monkey's Paw style THING that wants ingress while one of Wyngarde's lectures plays on tape, the possession scene, and of course, the eagle itself. Wyngarde unknowingly removes the "Not" from his earlier blackboard pronouncement while menaced by the giant creature. A great little touch.
One must give a mention to Margaret Johnston's terrifically vindictive performance. She almost steals the film from the leads, and, again comparing it to Demon, is as good as Niall McGuinness was as the warlock in that movie. With just a little bit more finesse this could have been an all-time classic. As it is it's still a very good and worthwhile movie.