This movie could almost be considered a best-of compilation of previously-discovered visual effects, cult film conceits, and camp. The story itself is reminiscent of old movies from Attack of the Gila Monster to Haxan, the imagery covers the world from Godzilla and King Kong to Vertigo, the themes include creepy castles, desert wastelands, and Satanism, and the characters run from one situation to another with careless abandon as they commentate on the very things that are happening to them with a weirdly analytical mindset. The movie precedes the career of its visual effects creator (who went on to work on Star Wars and Jurassic Park, to lend Equinox some credibility) and its plot foretells the later Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 of Sam Raimi. That said, it's not all that interesting.
Basically, a group of four kids go out to visit a professor friend of theirs, only to meet with horrors involving a Satanic book, a creepy park ranger, a kooky old geezer, and spectacular (and mostly claymation) monsters. By today's standards, it's a pretty slow movie as it pretty much doesn't mind taking the time to let the camera linger on the special effects or, worse, on the dialog. There's an interesting sub-theme about religious symbols as a sort of metaphysical chemistry, and for what it's worth the characters are a lot more aware and intelligent than most horror film fodder. Unfortunately, that only gets the movie so far, as its creativity still serves a ridiculous premise that is, to most b-horror film buffs, all too familiar. In that way, it really is like listening to a best-of CD of a certain era or sensibility: you've heard it all too often before and the real joys are more often on the lesser known works.
--PolarisDiB
Basically, a group of four kids go out to visit a professor friend of theirs, only to meet with horrors involving a Satanic book, a creepy park ranger, a kooky old geezer, and spectacular (and mostly claymation) monsters. By today's standards, it's a pretty slow movie as it pretty much doesn't mind taking the time to let the camera linger on the special effects or, worse, on the dialog. There's an interesting sub-theme about religious symbols as a sort of metaphysical chemistry, and for what it's worth the characters are a lot more aware and intelligent than most horror film fodder. Unfortunately, that only gets the movie so far, as its creativity still serves a ridiculous premise that is, to most b-horror film buffs, all too familiar. In that way, it really is like listening to a best-of CD of a certain era or sensibility: you've heard it all too often before and the real joys are more often on the lesser known works.
--PolarisDiB