...the girl's lecherous geeky neighbor in Utah (Sidney Berger).
shareNo, the creepiest part is the minister losing his shit and throwing the organist out of his church.
WTF, dude? She may not be what she appears to be, but there's no evil in her!
I haven't seen the movie for several years, but it seems that they were implying that she played diabolus in musica, aka "the devil in music" -- the so-called devil's chord or devil's tritone -- which caused the minister to freak out: "Blasphemy! Blasphemy!"
The first time I saw the flick twenty years ago I didn't understand his reaction since I didn't hear anything diabolic in what she played. Obviously the song "Black Sabbath" didn't debut for another eight years, but if she played something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56gIYtcT2Bs (from 1958) I would understand the man's reaction.
You're right about why she was thrown out. The priest was initially thrilled to have her as their new organist. She played beautiful music for them, very appropriate music for a church congregation.
However, as she became more and more haunted (she was almost in a trance), she started playing demonic sounding music which terrified everyone there and infuriated the priest, so he threw her out and told her not to come back.
Good explanation. I am starting to remember the non-churchy music she was playing. They took the subtle route though rather than have her play something like that doomy score I shared.
shareWhat you shared certainly wouldn't be appropriate in a church either π (but us horror fans love it).
shareIt's a stunning gothic piece. Hammer sort of reimagined it for their sequel eight years later -- "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" -- and it wasn't quite as effective, although it was a'right.
shareHer music started to be very demonic sounding, not appropriate for a church, very different than when she first played for them.
shareIf an organist was practicing in an empty church and started playing Black Sabath songs of something, would that be cause for a minister to throw them out? Or would the kind thing to do, the Christian thing to do, be to gently ask if they could play something more appropriate, or were having any spiritual issues?
Firing someone a from a paying job because you don't like some practice music that the congregation will never hear, is just wrong!
Well, if you want to get annoyed at something from a low budget but very creepy, enjoyable horror movie filmed 60 years ago, be my guest.
As I said in my other comment, she was in a trance, being haunted and began playing extremely inappropriate music which shocked the priest. He felt she was desecrating the church and the organ which, technically, she was. If she was actually practicing, she would have been playing church music, as she was hired to do. But like I said, if you want to get annoyed at whatever, it's your prerogative. π