Friday, October 18, 2013

Halloween Horror Watch #21: Castle Freak

Castle Freak -- Stuart Gordon



My expectations were high for Castle Freak. It reunites Stuart Gordon, Barbara Crampton, and Jeffrey Combs who together made the fantastic movies Re-Animator and From Beyond (I'd like to not that I no longer view From Beyond as "high quality cheese." It's stone-cold awesome). The VHS cover for Castle Freak literally haunted my nightmares when I was a kid. I should know better.

In the ten years between From Beyond and Castle Freak it seems like Gordon lost his ability to go batshit crazy. The filmmaking here feels like some middle of the road journeyman who thinks a dutch angle is a daring choice. Combs and Crampton are completely wasted playing nothings of characters who have marital problems because he drunk drove their kids home and wrecked, killing one and blinding the other. There isn't even any good use of the blind daughter and how she experiences what is happening. It's a shame as there is lots of potential and very little followthrough.

Castle Freak does some good things. The freak is a great monster and should be minimally as iconic as Pumpkinhead (which is a far worse movie), but I bet he's not because this movie went straight to video.  The actor, Jonathan Fuller, uses his body masterfully. The final pursuit through the castle where the freak is chasing the wife and blind daughter is solid. Lots of suspense and one legitimately awesome, if unlikely, moment.

A letdown, no doubt, but Castle Freak will still hold a special place in my heart if only for the VHS cover.

As a side note, I will always love the "I can't believe we inherited _____ from our long lost _____" as a trope in horror movies. But if you're going to use it, your movie shouldn't take itself so seriously.

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