Difference between revisions of "Gargoyles (1972 film)"
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<!--A list of reviews for the work, along with the review's rating (for example, "4/5 Stars") * Author_andor_Location, ([URL link]) - RATING --> | <!--A list of reviews for the work, along with the review's rating (for example, "4/5 Stars") * Author_andor_Location, ([URL link]) - RATING --> | ||
Review Links: | Review Links: | ||
| − | * ([https://thelastdrivein.com/2016/10/30/gargoyles-1972-cbs-movie-of-the-week-a-devils-face-of-frightful-beauty/ link]) - "This CBS Made for television fright film is still quite a gem today, it not only holds up to scrutiny as a classic representation of the kinds of horror films that were being produced in the 1970s... an amazing illustration of a low-budget film that [still] manages to inspire chills and entertain..." | + | * monstergirl at The Last Drive-In ([https://thelastdrivein.com/2016/10/30/gargoyles-1972-cbs-movie-of-the-week-a-devils-face-of-frightful-beauty/ link]) - "This CBS Made for television fright film is still quite a gem today, it not only holds up to scrutiny as a classic representation of the kinds of horror films that were being produced in the 1970s... an amazing illustration of a low-budget film that [still] manages to inspire chills and entertain..." |
| − | + | * Bob Ignizio at The Cleveland Movie Blog ([http://www.clevelandmovieblog.com/2012/10/31-days-of-halloween-2012-gargoyles.html link]) - "The gargoyle costumes are surprisingly effective, and while they might not come across as convincing by today's standards, they have a certain creepiness about them that can't be denied. ...those younger viewers who haven't yet lost the capacity for imagination and wonder might still find the film giving them fodder for nightmares." | |
| + | * J. P. Roscoe at Basement Rejects (7/10) ([http://basementrejects.com/review/gargoyles-1972/ link]) - " The beginning part of the movie feels a bit like ''The Hills Have Eyes''..." | ||
| + | * Richard Scheib at the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (3/5 Stars) ([http://moria.co.nz/horror/gargoyles-1972.htm link]) - "B.W.L. Norton creates an unusual atmosphere... when it comes to the appearance of Bernie Casey’s lead gargoyle with a full set of wings and piercing eyes, not to mention the scene with him abducting Jennifer Salt on horseback, the effect is genuinely eerie. Casey (or at least the actor dubbing his voice) gives the role an unusual gravitas, which creates uncommon sympathy for the gargoyles" | ||
==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
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<!-- Optional. Notes to Keepers on using this for film for scenario ideas. Heresies and Controversies: this is also a good place to include non-canon and controversial aspects of the film's mythos. Suggested Alternative Theories include: Derleth's elemental scheme; pseudo-science interpretation; "fanon" interpretations; unofficial humorous or eccentric versions; identification with "Real Life" mythological, religious, folklore, natural, and historical phenomena; rumor and speculation contribute some flexibility and ambiguity to the mythos. * Alternative_theory. ([[source]]) --> | <!-- Optional. Notes to Keepers on using this for film for scenario ideas. Heresies and Controversies: this is also a good place to include non-canon and controversial aspects of the film's mythos. Suggested Alternative Theories include: Derleth's elemental scheme; pseudo-science interpretation; "fanon" interpretations; unofficial humorous or eccentric versions; identification with "Real Life" mythological, religious, folklore, natural, and historical phenomena; rumor and speculation contribute some flexibility and ambiguity to the mythos. * Alternative_theory. ([[source]]) --> | ||
* The Gargoyles can be roughly compared to Lovecraftian races like Ghouls, Deep Ones, Mi-Go, etc., and the film's basic plot can be used with only minor changes from Gargoyles to those other races. | * The Gargoyles can be roughly compared to Lovecraftian races like Ghouls, Deep Ones, Mi-Go, etc., and the film's basic plot can be used with only minor changes from Gargoyles to those other races. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External Link== | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [https://tvmayhempodcast.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/episode-9-is-here/ Made for TV Mayhem Podcast, Episode 9: Gargoyles and The World Beyond] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:47, 15 March 2017
Summary
"Watch out! The Gargoyles are here, and they're coming for you!" An anthropologist and his daughter disturb a monster's skeleton in Mexico.
Details
- Release Date: 1972
- Country/Language: US, English
- Genres/Technical: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Horror, made-for-TV
- Setting: 1970s New Mexico and Mexico desert
- Runtime: 1 hr 14 min
- Starring: Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall
- Director: Bill Norton
- Writer: Steven Karpf (as Stephen Karpf), Elinor Karpf
- Producer/Production Co: Tomorrow Entertainment, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
- IMDB page: (link)
- View Film: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: (not rated) (perhaps equivalent of TV-PG for 1970s TV-friendlyviolence)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
Not very "Lovecraftian" on its face, though the mingling of myth/folklore and science, the Gargoyles as a hidden/secret race from the distant past surviving into modern times, and other elements of the story can be found in Lovecraft stories, and the film's plot could be easily converted into a basic "Lovecraftian" tale with only a minimal effort.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- monstergirl at The Last Drive-In (link) - "This CBS Made for television fright film is still quite a gem today, it not only holds up to scrutiny as a classic representation of the kinds of horror films that were being produced in the 1970s... an amazing illustration of a low-budget film that [still] manages to inspire chills and entertain..."
- Bob Ignizio at The Cleveland Movie Blog (link) - "The gargoyle costumes are surprisingly effective, and while they might not come across as convincing by today's standards, they have a certain creepiness about them that can't be denied. ...those younger viewers who haven't yet lost the capacity for imagination and wonder might still find the film giving them fodder for nightmares."
- J. P. Roscoe at Basement Rejects (7/10) (link) - " The beginning part of the movie feels a bit like The Hills Have Eyes..."
- Richard Scheib at the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (3/5 Stars) (link) - "B.W.L. Norton creates an unusual atmosphere... when it comes to the appearance of Bernie Casey’s lead gargoyle with a full set of wings and piercing eyes, not to mention the scene with him abducting Jennifer Salt on horseback, the effect is genuinely eerie. Casey (or at least the actor dubbing his voice) gives the role an unusual gravitas, which creates uncommon sympathy for the gargoyles"
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
A farmer in the southwestern US uncovers skeletal remains as evidence of an ancient, hidden race of monsters (a colony of living, breathing gargoyles who emerge from hiding every 500 years as a new generation prepared to exterminate and replace humanity as the dominant species on Earth) living in the desert and uses them in his a roadside attraction alongside "desert fish" and two-headed lizards. Some scientist/scholar-type investigators (an anthropologist/paleontologist/writer and his daughter) passing through the area stop take a look; the monsters suddenly appear during the examination of the remains to try to recover the sacred evidence, sparking a conflict between monsters (who are, for monsters, relatively thoughtful and rational, and by now weary of constant friction with the outside world, really just want to be left alone to raise their next generation in peace) and the researchers, police, and a mob who gather to fight the monsters.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- race: Gargoyles
- tome: 5000 years of Demonology, a scholarly work on the subject of evil through the ages, including details on Gargoyles
- artifact: Gargoyle skeleton
Keeper Notes
- The Gargoyles can be roughly compared to Lovecraftian races like Ghouls, Deep Ones, Mi-Go, etc., and the film's basic plot can be used with only minor changes from Gargoyles to those other races.
