Gargoyles

When I was a kid, I remember asking my dad what movies he thought were scary. He answered Night of the Living Dead and Gargoyles, so I was always nervous to watch this movie. It just looked strange and in the late 70s, it wasn't like I could on demand find it. Even today, it's hard to find on DVD (but YouTube is a whole different story).

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Originally airing on CBS on November 21st, 1972, it was directed by Bill L. Norton (Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, More American Graffiti) and written by Steven and Elinor Karpf (Devil Dog: The Hound from Hell, The Jayne Mansfield Story), Gargoyles may be uneven, but has moments of pure joy.

It's one of the first films Stan Winston (Terminator, Aliens) worked on, providing a variety of gargoyle makeup. The look of the creatures is wonderful, as they don't all look the same. And the leader (Bernie Casey (Felix Leiter in Never Say Never Again, UN Washington in Revenge of the Nerds) has the perfect look that balances a regal bearing with an otherworldly aura. You can see why this won an Emmy. It's big budget worthy work on a shoestring budget.

Speaking of budget, the film was shot with just one camera over 18 days; a fact that chased away the original director. Temperatures at the Carlsbad, NM location baked the cast and crew, reaching 100 degrees or more the entire shoot. So it's amazing that what emerged is so interesting.

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I have to say that I'm largely impressed with the seventies made for television horror movies that I've seen, and while Gargoyles isn't exactly a great film; it has more than enough going for it to ensure that my overall opinion of these films has gone up after seeing it. The film is not exactly original, although it goes about portraying its subject matter well. The film professes that Satan sent his minions, the Gargoyles, down to Earth and they have been subdued by humankind. We follow the fortunes of Dr. Mercer Boley and his daughter Diana as they travel across the desert, and end up finding a colony of the aforementioned Gargoyles. The film doesn't take itself very seriously, and this turns out to be a good thing as director Bill L. Norton is not held back by trying to make the film credible, and instead is given licence to fully explore the subject material. It's hard not to laugh at certain points during the film, but the ideas on show are mostly good and that is all you can really expect from a film like this. The story is entertaining too and more than adequately fills the 75 minute running time, and the director also manages to create a creepy atmosphere and a fair few scares. Well worth seeing.

The original airing of this film on ABC's Movie of the Week program in the early 70s is a happy childhood memory for me. Definitely a period piece. It was made as a pilot for a series that was never optioned by the network. The movie is distinguished by some witty performances by the actors in the supporting roles. My favorite is Grayson Hall as lush on the make Mrs. Parks. Grayson is always a lot of fun to watch and she clearly had a blast with this role. Her son Matt helped paint ping pong balls which were used in making the gargoyle costumes.

This is one of those childhood films that has always stuck in my mind. As a kid, I was freaked out by gargoyles because of this movie (unlike the next generation who saw gargoyles as defenders of evil, thanks to a Disney series). Seeing it again as an adult is a different matter entirely...

For 1972, this was one helluva TV movie. The effects, though dated by today's CGI-laden standards, were spectacular -- and the Stan Winston created gargoyle suits still look good pretty damn today.

What the film lacks is a coherant story. The bare-bones 74 minute movie had potential to be so much better than 50's b-movie fare, but instead the filmmakers opted to skip a solid story and add in a group of bikers and other silliness that reflected the times. Cornel Wilde was probably in the late stages of his alcoholism, and it showed in his hokey performance as the lead. His lines are delivered with a wooden tone and no conviction. Jennifer Salt, who I liked in "Soap," seemed miscast here, though she was effective. The only really memorable human character is the horny lady that owns the motel which Wilde and Salt stay in. The REAL stars of the film were Bernie Casey, Richard Moll and all the other Gargoyles, hidden under latex costumes... with the ability to scare young children. By today's standards, this comes close to "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," "Them" and other '50s drive-in films.

Another person commented the similarities to the gargoyles and "Jeepers Creepers." While I agree that The Creeper had certain similarities, there was only one Creeper and the impact of that character certainly couldn't be what Gargoyles had on a 1972 audience. More than any other TV movie I've ever seen, I think Gargoyles should be remade today with a big-screen release, and Winston should recreate his creature suits with modern makeup technology. Although it is just a minor cult film, Gargoyles has the potential to be so much more... Just a thought.

This is one of my favorite Saturday afternoon Monster Movie Matinee (a Syracuse, NY show when I was a kid) staples. It would creep us out when the head gargoyle would flap his wings as he made an escape. There are so many glaring cinematic blunders, but MY favorite is when Cornel Wilde and his daughter are traveling through the desert (right after he first picks her up) there is a quick shot that includes the back seat area where suddenly a man's knee pops up in plain sight as the car is traversing the bumpy road! Obviously along for the ride but trying to stay out of sight. It's hysterical and I can't believe they left it in. You can't miss it.