‘Can you escape the curse of Ludlow?’
The Demons of Ludlow is a 1983 American supernatural horror film co-produced and directed by Bill Rebane (Blood Harvest; The Capture of Bigfoot; The Giant Spider Invasion) from a screenplay by William Arthur.
The movie was filmed around the same time and locations as Ulli Lommel’s The Devonsville Terror, which has a similar plot.
Main cast:
Paul von Hausen, Stephanie Cushna, Carol Perry, C. Dave Davis, Debra Dulman, Patricia J. Statz, Angailica.
Plot:
Murderous pilgrim demons lurk inside an antique piano (though it seems to be a harmonium) that has been returned to the Ludlow community…
Reviews:
“The director is responsible for two classic MST3K episodes. This is the worst of the three. It’s got some good laughs from the cheese, the effects make you smile, and there’s some interesting demises. But the pacing totally hoses any chance this movie had. It is seriously slow. People wander around, talk and talk, and it’s even worse than that. They talk about things they already talked about!” Jason Grey, Triskaidekafiles
“There’s even one sequence — in which one unfortunate citizen ends up getting shot by a musket-holding Pilgrim who suddenly shows up in a mirror — that is actually rather effective. This is one of those films that people like me tend to defend by citing its “dream-like” qualities. That may be going a bit too far in this film’s case but it’s still a definite success d’estime.” Lisa Marie Bowman, Trough the Shattered Lens
“The Demons of Ludlow does have a genuinely unsettling scene. It’s one of those where it is just bizarre and “off” enough to be scary. The local organist … has a mentally ill grown daughter with an unhealthy attachment to her dolls. One evening, while her mother is out, this young woman comes across a group of 1700s-era ghosts (they look like refugees from Amadeus) in her dining room, eating ravenously at her dining room table. They notice her, coo over her, and then make their intentions clear: they are hungry for her and they advance like something out of a nightmare, tearing her limb from limb.” Drew Beard, HorrorNews.net
“Slow-moving tale of a haunted piano…” Brian Albright, Regional Horror Films, 1958 – 1990
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“Low-budget supernatural tale with woefully inadequate effects.” John Stanley, Creature Features
Filming locations:
Wisconsin
Release:
The film was released theatrically in the US by Titan International.
Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Terror Fantastico
