Director: Bill Norton
Year: 1972
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Arriving in the American Southwest, an archeologist and his daughter, investigating claims of a strange discovery by a local farmhand, find that he's uncovered evidence that a race of gargoyles has been unleashed in the desert and must race to find a way of appeasing them before they run amok.
Review:
Overall, this here wasn't all that bad of an effort. One of the better aspects of this one is the rather enjoyable manner in which this one goes about building up the titular creatures as threats. From the beginning, it gives the impression that the creatures are out and wandering the desert, with their shadowy flyovers and sudden appearances giving this one some rather fun times here. The first encounter at the ramshackle motel, where the creatures appear and attack the shack with the blazing inferno creating a spectacular visual of the burning building while they try to escape, is a fine start, and the series of encounters that take place in the motel are great fun as the various creatures emerge to try to steal the bodies of their kind to remain hidden from society.
A later ambush on the hunting party out looking for everyone has some great shots of the gargoyles jumping everyone, while the wild finale in the underground caves where they're all stored has some chilling ideas deep in their cave homes. This here manages to give this one plenty of fine and loving looks at the distinctive creatures as they're given plenty of screen time to show off individual looks and themes, replete with male and female characteristics and at various ages, which is a great feat.
These here do manage to hold this one up over its few, if somewhat detrimental, flaws. The main issue with the film is the rather comical manner of gargoyle attack, where the film goes into slow motion whenever they get moving with any kind of intensity, and it turns the whole sequence into a hysterical romp. There's little about these scenes that actually inspires fear when the creatures are shown in such slow motion that it actually renders their appearance comical, with the ability to see the costumes as exactly that, costumes rather than living creatures.
When used for scenes other than the attacks, the creatures are just plain silly and cheesy with the tactics, and it wholly reduces their fear factor considerably. The other problem here is the lack of explanation offered for the creatures' appearance, as they seem to show up out of nowhere simply because the heroes arrive nearby, which the coincidental nature doesn't really seem like a worthwhile excuse. While there are times where the made-for-TV origins show up in here, these are the main elements that lower this one.
Overview: ***.5/5
A fun, if somewhat minorly flawed effort, there are a lot of worthwhile factors to be had with this one that manages to overcome a few minor drawbacks here that bring this one down overall. Those with an appreciation for this style or approach, or who are fans of this era of genre fare, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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