A professor, Dr. Waterman(Fritz Leiber Jr) accidentally unleashes demonic terror in a forest and four young adults are the ones who must square off with monsters created by Asmodeus(Jack Woods, the director who would pad the student short film into a full feature film), possibly the Devil himself. Asmodeus wishes for the return of his book and subsequently possesses members of the group so that he can secure it from the hands of Waterman's student David(Edward Connell). David and his pal, Jim(Frank Bonner)were out for a possible picnic-date with lady-friends Susan(Barbara Hewitt)and Vicki(Robin Christopher)when they decided to stop off to meet Waterman for a visit..Waterman had something he wished to show his prized student David, changing the lives of these innocents forever. The film opens with David escaping the woods upon a highway where he hit by a car driving by itself. At an asylum, clutching a cross, David now completely psychologically damaged, is stuck in a padded cell. Reporter(James Phillips)desires more information on a second piece about David and the past events that occurred to him. David's doctor allows the reporter to listen to David's recollections which make up the events which unfolded in the forest to him and his friends.
I will give a lot of love to the "little film that could." The version I watched was the feature length film from what is regarded a superior shorter version which I hope to eventually sit down and watch someday. This version is still a lot of fun for those who can look past some dialogue woes, a cast of non-actors, and issues with Robin Christopher's hair..all these "weaknesses/problems" obviously come with no-budget film-making. I think fans of B-movie creature features and stop-motion animation, in the Willis O'Brien/Ray Harryhausen tradition, will be entertained. I think the film captures an enthusiasm and joy at work thanks to imagination(..despite some of the dialogue, there's some thought given to the premise regarding a book which can open the gateway to a very dangerous world where evil can exit into our plane to disrupt and destroy)and craft from gifted kids who put forth quite an effort thanks in part to their love for the horror/sci-fi/fantasy of yesteryear. It'd be easy for someone to write it off as cheesy and cheap(..the cackling old man in the cave, the green caveman monster, Bonner's Jim's constant hokey criticism of girlfriend Vicki & Robin Christopher's acting all might fuel that argument), but you're not getting that lip-service from yours truly. I felt it had a distinctive 50's creature features feel which might propose from haters that EQUINOX is merely a dated relic..but, I look at it as a beloved homage, created by youths tooling their limited resources and collective energy, and came out with a fun product. This should be an inspiration for every low-budget filmmaker. But, I'd definitely be lying if I didn't point out that without the terrific stop-motion work on display(..the ape-creature which looks very similar to Harryhausen's alien Venus monster in "20 Million Miles to Earth" and an awesome demon-bat creature with claws that snatches up Susan at one point)this film wouldn't go over quite as well.
I will give a lot of love to the "little film that could." The version I watched was the feature length film from what is regarded a superior shorter version which I hope to eventually sit down and watch someday. This version is still a lot of fun for those who can look past some dialogue woes, a cast of non-actors, and issues with Robin Christopher's hair..all these "weaknesses/problems" obviously come with no-budget film-making. I think fans of B-movie creature features and stop-motion animation, in the Willis O'Brien/Ray Harryhausen tradition, will be entertained. I think the film captures an enthusiasm and joy at work thanks to imagination(..despite some of the dialogue, there's some thought given to the premise regarding a book which can open the gateway to a very dangerous world where evil can exit into our plane to disrupt and destroy)and craft from gifted kids who put forth quite an effort thanks in part to their love for the horror/sci-fi/fantasy of yesteryear. It'd be easy for someone to write it off as cheesy and cheap(..the cackling old man in the cave, the green caveman monster, Bonner's Jim's constant hokey criticism of girlfriend Vicki & Robin Christopher's acting all might fuel that argument), but you're not getting that lip-service from yours truly. I felt it had a distinctive 50's creature features feel which might propose from haters that EQUINOX is merely a dated relic..but, I look at it as a beloved homage, created by youths tooling their limited resources and collective energy, and came out with a fun product. This should be an inspiration for every low-budget filmmaker. But, I'd definitely be lying if I didn't point out that without the terrific stop-motion work on display(..the ape-creature which looks very similar to Harryhausen's alien Venus monster in "20 Million Miles to Earth" and an awesome demon-bat creature with claws that snatches up Susan at one point)this film wouldn't go over quite as well.