He became a matinee idol throughout the 1950s and in the 1960s for a time became a director/writer, most notably with the tough survival drama The Naked Prey (1966), as well as the interesting collapse of civilisation film No Blade of Grass (1970). Casey (or at least the actor dubbing his voice) gives the role an unusual gravitas, which creates uncommon sympathy for the gargoyles.Ĭornel Wilde was a Hungarian immigrant who found a career as an actor in the 1940s, even being nominated for an Academy Award for A Song to Remember (1952). Nevertheless, 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. Norton creates an unusual atmosphere – the one thing that would have helped the film no end is a better lighting director as the relatively nondescript and ordinary lighting we get lets us see too much that the gargoyles are just ordinary men in costumes. The creatures emerge down around the level of the average episode of Doctor Who (1963-89) and the chintzily cheap monsters of the week it was offering up during this era. The gargoyle makeups look uneven today – many of them are clearly just stuntmen in costumes, while the film also seems to have the view that watching the gargoyles lope around in slow-motion is something eerie whereas today it is simply an overused effect. Certainly, the film could well have done with more of a budget – a modern remake would clean things up to no end, although you suspect that that would also ruin the uncanny atmosphere by shoehorning everything into formula horror. Norton makes it look more like a feature film of the era than a tv movie (it was theatrically released in some parts of Europe).
That said, it is an entirely original film all of its own.ĭirector B.W.L. Gargoyles was almost certainly appealing to the new interest in the occult and demonology in the early 1970s that came about after the success of Rosemary’s Baby (1968), something that went stratospheric the next year with The Exorcist (1973). Back in its day, the film gained a following and still has good word of mouth today from those who saw its original airing or caught it in sporadic repeats. Gargoyles – not related or to be confused with the excellent animated tv series Gargoyles (1994-6) – is a classic tv movie that has gained a reasonable reputation, even what could be regarded as cult status.
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