Curse of The Demon Mountain aka The Shadow Of Chikara is another of those films that I saw as a kid that blew my tiny, impressionable mind.
This was the first film I consciously recall that blended two distinct genres - in this case Western and Horror.
In subsequent years, it has been notoriously difficult to get hold of on DVD and so eventually, a few months ago, I caved and picked up off eBay - for only a couple of quid - the infamous "Dead Of Night" version... which has to be the worst quality DVD I have ever seen.
The hissing, tinny soundtrack nicely complements the blurry imagery (and this is even 'upscaled' with our blu-ray player) that resembles a sixth generation VHS pirate copy. Any hint of strong language has been brutally excised from this edition ("get away from her, you (silence)") and there are a number of dreadful, unsubtle scene cuts (almost as though they were heavy-handed advert breaks).
But then subtly is not the name of the game in Curse Of The Demon Mountain, suspicious minds will figure out the twist within minutes.
At the tail end of the American Civil War, a pair of veterans - Captain Wishbone Cutter (Joe Don Baker) and half-Indian scout Half-Moon O'Brien (Joy N. Houck Jr) - turn treasure hunters when they leave of a cache of diamonds stashed in the mountains. They bring along a geologist to assay the rocks, Amos 'Teach' Richmond (Ted Neeley).
Along the way they stalked by an unseen enemy that shoots black arrows at them, have a run-in with a trio of inbred bushwackers and rescue a damsel in distress (Sondra Locke) from the aftermath of a massacre.
There's even some pretty decent torch-lit cave exploration scenes that ooze with Dungeons & Dragons-ness and there's probably a half-decent movie (at least worthy of a remake) hidden behind the appalling presentation.
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