The Demons of Ludlow (1983)

Dir-Prod: Bill Rebane

Scr: William Arthur

Cast: Paul Bentzen (credited as Paul von Hausen), Stephanie Cushna,  Carol Perry

This tale of resurrection and revenge is set once again in familiar Bill Rebane territory: a snowy, godforsaken small town in Wisconsin where its eccentric characters battle a monster. The novelty is that the monster comes in the form of a piano!

On the bicentennial of the hamlet of Ludlow (population, 47), a harmonium is presented as a gift to inaugurate the celebration. However, Ludlow native and ambitious young reporter Debra (played by Stephanie Cushna, who is quite good in her only starring role), recognizes that the harmonium comes from a sordid period in the town’s history. This borough got its namesake from a pilgrim named Ludlow who was maimed and killed: his spirit is now planning revenge upon the descendants of his persecutors.

The Demons of Ludlow owes a lot of its inspiration to John Carpenter’s The Fog, with the bicentennial revenge plot, and even a similar character of a preacher who knows that he must pay for the sins of his ancestors. To be certain, it never achieves the level of suspense or atmosphere of Carpenter’s classic. However, it is memorable for its isolated snowy setting (like many of Rebane’s films), and unusual take on the ghostly revenge formula. Instead of pirates from beyond the grave, this scenario offers... well, scenes of pilgrim ghosts dancing in the town hall at night!

Bill Rebane seems to have changed his approach from the typically glacial pacing where the rural characters blend into the bluish snowy backgrounds. The film has more panache with its rapid editing, and attention to unusual sound design, but still, despite the (admittedly minor) scenes of gore, and the unusual ways in which people get killed, the film seems more odd than creepy, which is perhaps the price it pays for attempting something different.

Despite that it is written by one William Arthur (his first of four screenplays for the director), it still has a distinctive Bill Rebane feel, with his economical storytelling (a simple voiceover over some exterior shots explains away a lot of the subplot), and in its slyly funny pokes at small town life (I love how the residents who attend the bicentennial harmonium recital all appear like they’ve been dragged there, and make no effort to disguise their boredom). With its tinny music and cartoon-like performances, once again this movie feels childlike, despite the adult material. Still, I like that for once these small townsfolk aren’t the stereotypical country bumpkins: despite the “down home” middle American demeanour, we are presented with a truly dysfunctional stock of characters (it’s no wonder the town is founded upon bloodshed). The reverend’s wife Sybil is a boozer (and a hottie); Mrs. Schultz the harmonium player has a mentally handicapped daughter Emily who talks to dolls (in one interesting scene, a tear falls down the doll’s porcelain cheek).

The film is also memorable for its low-key special effects, such as the fire poker that attempts to hit the

preacher by itself, and in the neat climax, where after running from house to house for help (only to encounter a ghoul at each front door), Debbie runs down the road and encounters a force field, as electrical bolts emit from her hands when she tries to breach it. (Once more the classic Rebane theme of isolation from the rest of the world takes form.)

The Demons of Ludlow is not a lost classic, but it is certainly better than its unfairly bad reputation. It gets points for attempting to be different from the usual fare that was offered in horror cinema of the time. While many films of the period had an open ending for a sequel to follow, the ambiguous finale of this one is actually troubling: did good win over evil?

MMM Rating: 3/5

Located on: Chilling Classics.