Gargoyles

"Gargoyles" is a film that many of us over 30 are familiar with from repeat viewings on late night local creature feature monster movie matinée type screenings, a form of television that has sadly gone extinct. It's been a pleasure to re-discover the film now in the digital age and find that not only does it hold up, but is a superior example of low budget horror trends of the era with it's stark southwestern American locations & dusty, arid themes of supernatural horror, ala "Race With The Devil", "The Devil's Rain", "Brotherhood Of Satan", et al.

The film was actually a CBS television production back in the age when made for TV movies were more than just product placement vehicles. The budgeting was tight and every dime is up there on the screen from a cast of convincing professionals (Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt looking fresh, Scott Glenn, good old Woody Chambliss and the scene-stealing Grayson Hall as an irascible drunk), a competently written screenplay by Elinor & Steven Karpf (who would later unleash the lovable "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" on unsuspecting audiences), and makeup genius Stan Winston's remarkable gargoyle creations. Sure, they are just stunt actors bedecked in rubber suits, but each of the film's gargoyle characters come across as an individual, and are a far more intriguing population that the film's human indigents. The movie manages to cast its "monsters" in a surprisingly sympathetic light and indeed the human protagonists come across as a bit barbaric as they propose a quick genocide to rid the world of the gargoyle menace.

Which is itself an interesting idea: The term "gargoyle" is actually a word of French derivation ("water-throat") that refers to ornamental fixtures or grotesques on Gothic era cathedrals who's mouths served as water spouts to facilitate the flow of rain buildup from their roofs. A quick search on Google reveals little as far as supernatural mythology of gargoyles and chimera, the non-functional grotesque variety that were added as pure decorations. Some mention is made of tales regarding the gargoyle forms as guarding their cathedrals during the night in a living form and then returning to their stoned state during the day, but such tales were created after the fact to explain why they were so commonly seen. Humans have always had a ghoulish, darker side to them and the forms stuck in the popular consciousness. So enterprising 14th century devotees came up with a fanciful explanation for why they were there for young inquisitive minds, perhaps as a put-on to scare kids into finishing their vegetables. In spite of the film's commanding prologue, however, there are no tales of gargoyles having banded together with Satan to do his bidding on Earth, and in fact the opposite is actually what is implied since they were guarding churches.

Regardless the film is quite convincing in it's suggestion that man and gargoyles have always been at odds (and that they like our women, the pretty ones at least), no doubt helped by the voice of "Star Trek" legend Vic Perrin as both the opening narrator and the voice of the gargoyle leader. His sonorous delivery has been ingrained with a sense of authority in popular culture and one almost expects him to start betting Quatloos on the newcomers as it is impossible to hear him speak and not make the connection. Unless, of course, you don't know your "Star Trek".

Anyway it's a surprisingly sober and professional affair considering the subject matter, with an interesting use of slow motion film effects to give an unearthly feel to the early gargoyle attack scenes that is actually mildly disturbing. This is a film that people remember having seen even after thirty five years, no easy feat. And if I might say, Cornel Wilde comes off as far more convincing as an anthropologist demonology expert who's handy with a shotgun than he did as the natural born Terminator survivalist he played in "The Naked Prey". "Gargoyles" is a better movie too.

8/10: Deserves to be re-released on DVD as an ode to the genius of Stan Winston, who went on to much bigger and ... well, bigger things. This movie rules.

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.

Gargoyle creatures are living in a small American town in 1972.

Generally speaking, I don't review horror films, but by today's standards the horror element here is very mild, in fact this reads more like an episode of The Outer Limits (1963) complete with the same narrator at the start. It also has a very regular cast member from the Dark Shadows (1966) TV series.

This low budget gem proves that so much can be done without CGI and violence, maybe today's film makers should watch this film and learn from it. I am told this movie has a few obvious errors, such as wires holding up the creatures in flight, but my small YouTube screen could not pick up on these things.

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.

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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