Gargoyles . Weekly Alibi . 02-23-98

Gargoyles

DIRECTED BY: Bill Norton

REVIEWED: 02-23-98

Man, I've been waitin' a long time for someone to put this classic TV movie out on video, and now the fine folks at VCI Home Video have made me one very happy fella. This flick scared the bejeezus outta me when I was a pup and still manages to creep me out every time I see it. Shot in Carlsbad (and the caverns themselves), Gargoyles tells the tale of anthropologist Mercer Boley (Cornel Wilde) and his daughter (played by the surprisingly scantily-clad Jennifer Salt), who visit an old desert rat to hear an Indian legend about strange, winged creatures. While they're tossing back cold ones and looking at a monstrous horned skeleton, the gargoyles attack and the desert rat is killed. Boley and his half-naked daughter escape with the monster skull and stop at a seedy motel for the night. The next evening, they're attacked once again by the scaly critters and Jennifer is taken captive by the lead gargoyle (Bernie Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde Casey), who wants her to read to him so he'll better know his enemy. Y'see, the big gargoyle is plotting to destroy the human race, but he finds himself fascinated by the miles o' flesh Jennifer is flashing--much to the chagrin of his gargoyle girlfriend (who sports long blonde locks). The gargoyle chick tracks down Boley, who is searching for his daughter with the help of some dirt-bikers (led by a young Scott Silence of the Lambs Glenn, who looks like a gay porn actor making a bid for crossover stardom). The monster babe wants Boley to come fetch his damn booty-twitchin' kid so she can have her man-lizard back, and she doesn't care what becomes of big daddy reptile's plans for conquest. Man fights beast in the depths of Carlsbad Caverns, with the fate of humanity and Jennifer Salt's heaving halter top hanging in the balance. Cool monster suits (courtesy of Stan Winston), a great cast, some genuinely creepy scenes and Jennifer "Freedom's just another word for nothin' on the boobs" Salt make Gargoyles one of my all-time favorite movies and a definite must-see. (VCI Home Video; 800-331-4077)

--Scott Phillips

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Seconds
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