User reviews

Offbeat western in which an ex-confederate captain (Baker), his Indian friend(Houck) and a professor (Neeley) joined forces to find a treasure of diamonds buried in a haunting mountain. Low budget production has some charming moments but the outcome is just a forgetable tale of horror blended with western style. Miss Locke, Eastwood's ex-wife, is the girl on the spot. I give this a 05 (five).

The tape I ordered was to be 114 minutes and titled "Curse of Demon Mountain". The tape I received was 90 minutes, words were bleeped, it was recorded in EP mode, and the title was "Diamond Mountain". Now for the bad news. The quality of this tape is basically unwatchable. It's not the first disappointment I've had with this film. I previously ordered a DVD, which proved to have no audio. Maybe the movie really is cursed? From what I can gather, it is a very different kind of western. If you wish to see it, you might want to double check what you are getting before committing to buy, as I know I will if I decide to give this a third try...... Update. I finally was able to purchase a watchable DVD copy. Still bleeped, and of poor quality, but nevertheless watchable. "Curse of Demon Mountain" is a movie that has a lot of wasted potential. It's a shame, because the story is intriguing, but the acting, editing, and lack of a quality print drags it down. - MERK

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Familiar isn't it, Jungle coming to life, invisible enemies, a lone girl who has experienced the terrible thing that comes from the trees. The brave Indian tracker, its all there. Predator by any other name, and worth watching. Forget the other reviews, this was blockbuster (popular soundtrack The Band, horror, fear , scares, b grade cast?)

Great cast they are familiar.

Just watch it, its good.

The director should have made more films, he had a talent and I think it was wasted, I loved it Earl, you did well

I watched my new copy of this PAL DVD in disbelieve and felt certain I had been ripped off and sold a Pirate Copy instead of a good quality commercial Film Transfer.

It starts with Tittles which are blurred and goes on to a Picture which looks as if an old Vidicon camera had just been pointed at a TV screen. The picture smears on movement and is poorly focused even on static scenes, but I settled down to watch it, just to see if it would be worth looking for a copy on Laserdisc or another DVD issue having a decent picture.

I began to think there must be a fault with the soundtrack as well as the lousy picture but I eventually realised that every time some sort of insult or swear word occurred - the sound had just been switched off. This might not have been so noticeable if the background noise had remained but the sound really did just switch off at these points.

In short it looks as if this particular DVD release has been copied from a TV or perhaps a very bad VHS tape, and presumably at a time when young children would be watching and naughty words would not be appreciated.

i would like to think that anyone who purchases this DVD would return it and ask for their money back on the grounds that its a faulty pressing and there for not fit for its purpose - i.e. to show a good quality transfer of this film.

The film is actually not too bad and although I could not find it under any of its various tittles in Leonard Maltin's 2005 guide. I suspect this version has been edited down to its 90 minute running time as some action seems to jump from scene to scene in a rather contrived manner.

How many titles does it want to come under, and how close do they want to sound. For an immensely under-seen film, it's a long list that's for sure and this could mean there's a whole bunch of alternative versions. Possibly? Anyhow 'Curse of Demon Mountain' is very offbeat, but murky western / horror variation set during the end of the American Civil War. It's a low-cost looking production, but its minor handling and realistically down n' gritty vibe helped engrave a hauntingly grim atmosphere. Never does it fault on that aspect. The material might be slight, but because of its ambiguous air, paranoid questioning and often mentioned superstitious framework it does genuinely keep you compelled.

At the end of the Civil War Southern Captain Wishbone Cutter, Indian/Irish companion Half-Moon O'Brian and geologist Amos Richmond head out on a journey to a cave which supposedly holds some valuable stones. Along the way they come across a young lady, Drusilla Wilcox, who was the last survivor of an Indian ambush and decide she'll come too. But it doesn't seem quite right, as they are being followed by some unseen force who doesn't want them to reach their destination.

Really there's nothing there to blow you away about the concept, but the claustrophobic build-up, the uncertain spookiness and unpredictable developments make-up for its clunky and patchy moments. Earl E. Smith (who was director/writer/producer) can fall into some slipshod mechanisms, but his organically leery and edgy touch is well devised. The simmering score felt rather one-note, but the terrible audio sound on my VHS didn't do it any favours. In the soundtrack there's an odd inclusion of "The Night the Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band, which plays during the opening battle sequence. The performances are very well brought across. Joe Don Baker burly and larger than life temperament is kept under check with a dominant, but careful portrayal as Cutter. Sondra Locke brings a bewildering innocence to her role. Joy Houck, Jr sensationally holds his own with Baker and Ted Neeley is ably good too. Slim Pickens also clocks in for awhile.

I see it brought up, but the use of horses in one particular scene is quite disturbing if it was for real. I can't see it not being so.

An interestingly novel and for most part an effective production, which has got be an eventual cult item.

I spent a lot of my formative years in Arkansas, and I may have even went diamond hunting - I can't recall. The civil war soldiers in this film go hunting for diamonds in Arkansas.

The film sports numerous names. Some variation of Demon, Shadow, Thunder, or Diamon Mountain, or something indicating the presence of the Chikara.

Captain Wishbone Cutter (Joe Don Baker) of The First Arkansas Calvary returns from the war to find a Yankee Major (Bud Davis) living with his wife (Linda Dano). So he heads off looking for the diamonds some dying soldier told him about.

Along the way they find Drusilla (Oscar nominee Sandra Locke, in-between The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Gauntlet). Now, I thought this may be a gay film as they spent time discussing whether to take Drusilla along or leave her behind. Since Locke was listed as one of the top sex stars of 1969 by Playboy magazine, I found this discussion puzzling.

Well, they head to the cursed mountain, and they find diamonds along with the curse - too bad.

On Friday 14th May 1982 this was the first film I ever recorded on a VCR - thats why I remember it so vividly - and I loved it. Yesterday I finally tracked it down on DVD under the title Curse of the Demon Mountain in the UK.

This has to be the worst official DVD release I have ever seen. I was still able to enjoy the movie, it is (in my opinion) a masterpiece of the horror/western cinema subgenre, but the film transfer was awful.

Sound was poor, colours went from over exposed to faded, the film was full frame (despite being shot in Panavision) and the sound went totally muted whenever an insult was hurled! Talk about censorship! The horse fall was there, the bloody battle at the start, the arrow in the arm, but any old insult gets censored out! Unbelievable.

Its about time Chikara got the DVD treatment it deserves. Full 2.35 to 1 widescreen, with loads of extras. I would love to see it that way.

And I would happily pay good money for the chance!

Joe Don Baker has made some slip ups in his time but truly, Demon Mountain, or Shadow of Chikara as it is listed here has to be up at the top of the heap. The film hurts. I mean physical torture. I think I'd rather have my eyeballs put through the VCR than put this tape in my machine again. I got this thing dirt cheap, and I got robbed. It's worth less than dirt.

A little rule of thumb for you bad movie lovers out there. Sign #32 that the movie you are about to watch is a stinker; it has more titles than you can think of for it. This film's library of title includes The Ballad of Virgil Cane, or The Curse of Demon Mountain, or perhaps you are more familiar with Shadow Mountain, or some even call it Wishbone Cutter, but whatever you wish to call it, the old line about roses and stank still applies. This thing stanks.

When a movie cannot even bother to watch the length of its heroes sideburns, what can be said? Watch Joe Don Baker's mutton chops in several scenes (especially the one where they first meet the girl). From close up to wide shot, his sideburns morph, long and short, and back and forth. That's not incompetent, that's just sad.

The plot involves a bunch of Civil War vets from the South who make a trek up that titular (Well quasi-titular, the mountain is mentioned in a few of the gazillion titles anyway) to what purpose I admit I cannot recall. You can bring criticism down upon me now, and question my integrity as a reviewer, but the way I see it, I am doing you a favor.

It goes on and on and on like the gasping monologue the Slim Pickens delivers at the opening of the piece (During a Civil War battle scene slightly more engaging than something reenactors from that period could do. And I'm talking in the condition they are in NOW). You feel sad for him, and you feel sad for Joe Don (I mean the guy is not a superstar, but even he deserves better than THIS), but most of all you feel sad for yourself.

I love this forgotten gem of a film - so atmospheric and haunting. Sure, it's maybe not even a 'good' film in most people's definition of the term - it's low budget and a little rough around the edges, but it has a strange, uncanny quality that's hard to put your finger on, and that few films have. Magic caught in the film grain. If you're on the right wavelength, and have some imagination, there's really nothing else around like it.

I'd agree with the other reviewer who calls it 'The Greatest Horror Western Ever Made' (and I'd put the fantastic 'Bone Tomahawk' in second place).

Tragically, the only version that is available is of such incredibly bad quality - missing 20 minutes, censored swearing, 4:3 aspect instead of the 2.35:1 cinemascope it was filmed in, and truly HORRIBLE image quality. In fact, I'd say it's fair to call this a 'lost' film.

Where, oh where, is the uncut widescreen blu ray?

After the battle in American Civil War the dying Virgil Cane tells Confederate officer Wishbone Cutter about diamonds hidden in a cave along the Buffalo River.Coming back Cutter finds his wife and her new husband.After violent fight he sets out with his Irish-Cherokee companion Half-Moon O'Brian and geologist Amos Richmond to find the diamonds.Along the journey they meet a young woman Drusilla Wilcox in a nearly catatonic state and take her with them.As they head up into the mountain Half-Moon realizes that it is the Mountain of Demons,which is cursed by the spirit of Chikara who promised to kill all who ventured into its domain."The Spirit of Chikara" is an interesting mix of ugly western and eerie horror.The acting is believable and the climax is very surprising.The scene of two horses falling down from the slope is shocking and unsettling.8 out of 10.

...that said, if you are fond of those kind of odd, strange little gems, The Shadow of Chikara may perfectly well be made/suitable for you!

In other words: Yes, be prepared, this is NOT your typical spooky horror tale!

Indeed, the director of this intense and weird "Western that turns out to be closer to other genres like a chiller, horror and even fantasy" Earl. E. Smith (who wrote The Legend of Boogey Creek too) did a great job (even, admittedly, with its own flaws): This film stats on common, well-known ground (what we call in France La Guerre de Secession/the Secession War -The American Civil War) and explores after an action-packed overture other ways: When our three leading protagonists (a Confederate, his friend and allied Indian, a geologist) try to find some hidden stones (they may be diamonds, if refereed to their owner who died on the battlefield) in a desolate mountain, things get strange and spooky: as a matter of fact, the Indian feels a "presence" following them. Things get even more complicate when these three stressed men discover the place were a real slaughter took place; they also quickly find out that only a girl (played by Clint Eastwood's former wife Sondra Locke) survived in this tragedy. Can they reasonably left her behind? Yeah, the tension grows and grows!

This is Mister Smith first and only movie, and he manages for his once and never again directorial achievement to create a realistic, menacing and scary atmosphere as they loved it in the 70. No effects of any kind, no jump scare etc... Wow!

So yep, of course, this isn't an action packed Super Hero Movie, nor even a "13 Ghosts CGI overkill" nor a gory splatter-film. It may even be somehow predictable (not too easy to find out what's going on, isn't it?). But this is a great, tense and very well acted effort. At the end, when I sit back and thought about the whole story, it made definitely even more sense and so I must admit that I found it even more profoundly disturbing. A haunting performance, indeed.

Jo Don Baker is perfect as always and Ted Neeley and Joy N. Houck Jr. Gave fine performances too. What else can a film freak ask for?

So in my humble opinion, this is all in all a real treat and really need to be revaluated.

N.b.: If you manage to find this gem somewhere, be careful: it has been reedited from 114 min to a 90 min cut with bleeps... Whatsoever, this movie is so hard to find nowadays, don't hesitate. Even then, with a poor SD quality, you won't regret it if you are fond of this kind of movie, believe me!

Halcow international film (who was famous for making western in the 60's & 70's drive-in era) made this poorly put together film. Paramount Pictures picked it up in 1977 under the title SHADOW MOUNTAIN and released briefly before it disappeared and to re-appear in several diffrent video labels. Joe Don Baker stars as a Southern soldier who comes home to find his wife with a Northern Soldier after the Civil War ended. He, Ted Neeley (from Jesus Christ Superstar) and an indian goes and travels and finds a Sondra Locke who is hiding some secret. Pretty amateurish film with bad sound, bad lighting, and a cameo by Slim Pickens. A song from the rock group "The Band" is also heard in the soundtrack.

The best thing about this movie is Don Kellams (played the bartender). He is just fabulous! It's almost as if he lived as this character. It's too bad that this is the only role he ever tackled. The rest of the cast is mediocre, and the script is bad. But, bravo Mr. Kellams!