Castle Freak, 1995.
Directed by Stuart Gordon.
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Jonathan Fuller, Jessica Dollarhide, Elisabeth Kaza, and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon.
SYNOPSIS:
A troubled family inherit an ancient castle and everything inside of it, which includes whatever is living in the basement.
Stuart Gordon’s 1995 film Castle Freak is something of a underdog whenever the spotlight of discussion falls upon the late director, the film often trailing behind Re-Animator, From Beyond and even Dagon in terms of being a title that gets talked about. Which is a shame, as Castle Freak is easily a better film than one of those three and, out of all of Gordon’s H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, is possibly the closest in feel to the author’s literary works, although, like his other Lovecraft adaptations, the actual links to the original source material are quite tenuous.
Gordon regulars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton star as John and Susan Reilly, a married couple who have inherited an old Italian castle (which was actually owned by Full Moon Pictures president Charles Band) via a distant relative of John’s and go to visit it with their daughter Rebecca (Jessica Dollarhide). The marriage is hanging by a thread as John is a recovering alcoholic who previously had involved the Reilly children in a car accident whilst drunk, blinding Rebecca and killing their young son J.J., and relations are obviously strained as the couple are advised to stay in the castle together whilst the estate is liquidated.
However, there is another surprise in store for the family when the previous occupant’s mutant son, who was chained up in the basement, escapes and kills a sex worker that John had picked up after being rejected by his wife for the umpteenth time. After copping the blame for his guest’s murder, John must prove his innocence and protect his family from the freak in the basement before he loses everything for good.
Originally released at a time when this type of horror was somewhat out of vogue, Castle Freak does feel remarkably old fashioned, with touches of Hammer horror gothic and Italian-style gore – particularly that of Lucio Fulci’s movies – and is a much less manic film than Re-Animator or From Beyond that lacks the OTT quasi-comic make-up effects of those films, along with Brian Yuzna’s production values. However, the drier tone keeps it connected to Lovecraft’s original story in feel (there is only one particular scene that is lifted from Lovecraft’s original story The Outsider, which Stuart Gordon integrated into his script) and creates a genuinely unsettling atmosphere to go alongside some juicy splatter.
Combs and Crampton are as comfortable with each other as actors who have worked together several times should be, and the movie itself does have some grainy marks and a few pops here and there, which adds a little grindhouse aesthetic to the gothic atmosphere that is totally genuine and only adds to the experience. That said, it is relatively restrained when compared to Stuart Gordon’s earlier works and not one that bears too many repeated viewings in close succession, unlike those movies which are endlessly rewatchable.
Porting over archive extras from previous releases – which consists of interviews with Stuart Gordon, Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs, as well as a Full Moon Features Videozone featurette – this edition of Castle Freak features brand new interviews with Barbara Crampton, composer Richard Band and filmmaker Chris Alexander, which are worth a listen if you are a hardcore fan or a Full Moon nut.
Whilst Castle Freak may not quite be up there with Stuart Gordon’s classics, it does have a lot to offer for a straight-up horror movie from a creative team with a pedigree, putting it at the top of the director’s second-tier output.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
