GARGOYLES

Gargoyles Movie Review

Dr. Mercer Boley (Cornel Wilde) and his daughter, Diana (Jennifer Salt), come across the skeleton of a winged creature. They're convinced it's a hoax, until very much alive monsters begin coming for the skeleton's skull. Of course, the beasts in question are gargoyles--if the title of the movie didn't give this away, then certainly the opening, featuring gargoyle statues, would have. Gargoyles is a 1972 made-for-television movie, something that was a network staple back in the day, but that died over time. CBS presented this one as part of its The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies series.

Groovy

As a kid, I was fascinated by gargoyles. I thought they looked really cool, and I loved seeing their statues on buildings. Naturally, I enjoyed this movie as well. As I grew, I still loved gargoyles--I even had a small, rubber gargoyle for years, playing with it when I was a child and placing it in my car as a decoration when I got older. Unfortunately, I lost that, lots of other fun stuff, and my cherished Max Headroom skateboard when my car was stolen (thanks, Fort Wayne, Indiana). Now, as an old dude, I still think gargoyles look awesome, and I revisited this movie for the first time in years. 

"Don't make me wait this long again"

Being a television movie, we can immediately throw out any profanity, nudity, gore, or anything else that could warrant an R rating. We also know the budget will be limited, so not a ton will be spent on sets, special effects, and so on. Even with this, the gargoyles themselves still look rather scary--in fact, I would argue they are scarier than most creatures we see in big budget films of the time, or even since. 

No CGI here!

The acting is rough, and Wilde doesn't make for much of a hero. The actor and character are dull, and with the added humans providing no more reason to really care about any of them, I found myself cheering for the gargoyles. Most unfortunately, when there is action of any kind, it takes place in slow motion--this, as my loyal readers know, is a major pet peeve of mine. Bernie Casey, the actor who plays the leader of the gargoyles--credited simply as "The Gargoyle"--has his voice dubbed by somebody else, so that is kind of distracting as well. Oh, and you will likely recognize the man in the rubber gargoyle suit as...

U.N. Jefferson!

These things aside, there is plenty to like about this movie--the desert setting and locations are fantastic, there are some creepy scenes, and, of course, the gargoyles are the star attraction. As with many things, this movie probably lives better in memory than in reality--still, Gargoyles is a fun watch, and I'm happy I saw it again. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6