Gargoyles

I think I was 8 years-old when I saw Gargoyles back in 1972. It absolutely scared the pants off me. I'll never forget the sight of those clawed hands reaching over the foot of the bed. I had trouble sleeping for days and I checked and rechecked the foot of my own bed several times each night.. And while it no longer has that kind of effect on me, considering its television origins, Gargoyles still provides a few chills along the way. I admit that when I rewatched it tonight, those hands on the bed did make me jump.

To a lot of modern audiences raised on more sophisticated special effects, Gargoyles may seem silly. Sure, there are flaws with the special effects (for example, it's quite obvious that the creatures' skins are body suits), but there's something about them that makes the whole thing a lot of fun. Maybe it's the wings or maybe it's the variety of looks or maybe they just remind me of Sleestaks, but whatever it is, they work for me. The mask Bernie Casey wears is especially frightening even though it obvious he has no real movement in his face.

One thing that could have made the film better for me is if Grayson Hall had had more screen time. I always enjoy her campy, over-the-top performances. It's a shame she had so little to do and was killed off so early.

Finally, as I watched the movie earlier tonight, it dawned on me that I was not hearing Bernie Casey's voice coming from the lead gargoyle. I was probably too young to know the difference 34 years ago, but something about that voice reminded me of my childhood. And then it suddenly hit me where I had heard that voice before. After the movie was over, I checked on IMDb and, sure enough, I was right. Dr. Zin!!! That's right. The gargoyle's voice was done by the same man (Vic Perrin) who did Dr. Zin.

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.

OK... In this day and age of CG graphics and $100M budgets, some would say this movie wouldn't stack up. Of course most of us who have seen it love it for its nostaglic value and some very genuine scares. It always seemed to come on really late at night (was that on purpose?) and I remember at least once watching it when I was about 10 years old at our neighbors lake house when I was the only one awake and there was a nice storm going on outside. All I can say is that I jumped a number of times that night and although I've seen plenty of horror films since, I'd probably still jump during this one today. Hopefully I'll get to see it again, if not just to hear the lead gargoyle say "Diana" in that metallic, evil-sounding voice.

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.