|
CREEPY CLASSICS presents... |
|
Reviews For:
Gargoyles Saturday May 18, 2013 - MOVIE - Thriller "GARGOYLES" (1972). Good old-fashioned horror story. Very much like an H.P. Lovecraft story. Scientist and his daughter happen onto evidence of an ancient race of creatures. They've been waiting for centuries for the right time to overthrow mankind. The gargoyles are holed up in desert canyons and caves. One scene of a gargoyle attacking the car driven by the scientist stuck with me since I was 13 years old! When branches drag against the roof of my car...is it just branches? Stars Cornel Wilde and Jennifer Salt. Description by Ron Adams. Suggested by Bob Fitzsimmons, Frankfort, Illinois.
Hello Ron, Kingman, AZ
Lots of cheese in this early 70's made for TV film, but really not bad at all. Cornel Wilde (looking still incredibly buff-a couple of years later, he was doing one armed push ups as well as directing SHARK'S TREASURE) leads a decent cast, including Jennifer Salt (MIDNIGHT COWBOY, SISTERS and mainly remembered as Eunice from the TV show SOAP), Grayson Hall (best known as Dr. Julia Hoffmann from DARK SHADOWS) , Bernie Casey as the head Gargoyle and a very young Scott Glenn. Some creepy moments in here, especially the scene in the motel where the clawed hands are on the bed as well as when the flying gargoyle lands on the car. Parts of the film remind me of ALIENS, especially with the hatching eggs and the guards nearby. So, a fun little film and while it's aged about as well as most of the films of that era (NIGHT STALKER, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and GHOST STORY-ie, scared us as kids and as sophisticated adults, the flaws are obvious), still fun to watch a film that had to be put together with pluck, work and not CGI! Only worry I have is if someone remakes it, it will be on HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP level...hopefully not. *** Steve Schimming
I'm one of those kids who was glued to the TV in 1972 on GARGOYLES original debut. My parents, at that time, had a silver Didge station wagon, so the scene with a gargoyle clinging to the roof of the station wago got me.
The begiinig might have one of the most frightening sequences that holds up well with Ol' Williw showing Cornel Wilde (and us) his "secret" in the shed. A full-size gargoyle skeleton. Then, the shed is attacked by an unseen something, resulting in Ol' Willie's death. That still holds up quite strong. Last year my family took a trip out west, and drove through a few remote desert areas....there really still are places like Ol' Willie's place. Roadside built-up shacks selling bizarre desert oddities. Darn, I ddnt come across any gargoyle skeletons though. Very locked in the 70s, with arather abrupt ending, but a fun night's viewing as "J" Monsterkid points out. -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Hi "Rondo"-Ron, "Monster Bash" & my fellow "Monsta"(Monster) Movie-loving "Fiends"! Here's what I say of "Gargoyles", which I put into one of my 5 VHS VRS lastnite! Great movie, good to see it again! My last time viewing it was in 2003 at my "Fiend's" house in Wonder Lake, IL! Cornell WILDE, star of "The Naked Prey" in one of his "Grr"-eatest roles, ev-uh(ever)! SEE me here sticking it in my basement "Dungeon" VCR! Enjoy! -Your "Fiend", ROCK! David ROCK Nelson. David's video tour of his collection as he gets ready to watch GARGOYLES:
Hi Ron, I was 7 when GARGOYLES originally aired and I can still remember the terror I experienced! The two scenes that stick out are the attack on the hotel room and the attack on the car. I hadn't seen the movie since I was a kid, but picked it up on DVD a few years back (I think at the Bash) and was able to enjoy all the great memories that came flooding back. It's not scary now (darn the ravages of becoming a jaded adult!) but it's still a lot of fun. Seeing it again over the weekend was like visiting an old friend. -Brian Nichols, Texas Add your reviw for GARGOYLES, just e-mail it to creepyclassics@creepyclassics.com to get it posted too!
|
|
Creepy
Classics Video |
For me, half the fun is picking out performers in early roles and other familiar names, like Stan Winston who helped design the gargoyle's makeup/costuming. Some people have complained it looks rubber costume/corny, but for the low budget they had to work with, it's sufficient. Of course, Stan went on to bigger and better things in the 80's. 
After viewing this decades later now, as Steve in the previous review states, thre are a lot of flaws and it loses a lot of its atmosphere in places. I think thhey decided to shoot many ofthe gargoyles (especially when they're moviing/runnig) in slow motion to hide the look of they guys in suits. It probably helped a lot, but the effect does start to stick out like a sore thumb after a while.
