EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

mark.waltz I have mixed feelings about this TV movie which on one hand is a silly look at the lives of some pathetic creatures in rubber suits who live in desert mountain caves and only seem to roam the earth when one of them ventures out and is killed by man, just so they can retrieve the body and seek vengeance on the guilty parties. A prologue informs the audience that gargoyles are earthbound creatures of Satan out to mankind harm, so this appears to be along the supernatural lines. But as the movie develops, it is quickly revealed that this is nothing more than a sand set "Creature From the Black Lagoon" where one of the gargoyles (Bernie Casey) actually talks, philosophizes and tries to make their abducted victim (Jennifer Salt) aware of their motives. Her father (veteran actor Cornel Wilde) is a research scientist determined to get the skeleton of a 500 year old gargoyle to his university to either prove its existence or prove that its a fake. Legends of the natives of the area claim that they indeed are real, so Wilde is determined to find the truth.While, at just 75 minutes, this flies by and is quite entertaining, there are mixed messages coming from the film's theme. The gargoyles can be quite violent and deadly when one of their own (even a 500 year old skeleton) is killed or in the possession of the evil human. They can fly onto rooftops, rip the tops of cars and doors off, and cause fires with their incredible strength, yet they can also feel pain and grief like humans can. When Salt is kidnapped, one of the gargoyles strokes her face with great affection, and parts like that are quite haunting. Just free from her many roles on the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows", Oscar nominee Grayson Hall is pointlessly wasted (both in the quality of her part and her character's constant need for a drink), and I longed to see and hear more of that sensational gravely voice of hers. Wilde seems a bit too old to be Salt's father, and she isn't a very interesting young heroine to begin with. That leaves the acting to rubber faced Casey who is a combination of Maurice Evans from "Planet of the Apes" and James Earl Jones from "Star Wars", yet there isn't enough time to fully develop his character so you really can get to know what these strange mythical creatures are all about.

Sam Panico When I was a kid, I remember asking my dad what movies he thought were scary. He answered Night of the Living Dead and Gargoyles, so I was always nervous to watch this movie. It just looked strange and in the late 70s, it wasn't like I could on demand find it. Even today, it's hard to find on DVD (but YouTube is a whole different story).]Originally airing on CBS on November 21st, 1972, it was directed by Bill L. Norton (Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, More American Graffiti) and written by Steven and Elinor Karpf (Devil Dog: The Hound from Hell, The Jayne Mansfield Story), Gargoyles may be uneven, but has moments of pure joy.It's one of the first films Stan Winston (Terminator, Aliens) worked on, providing a variety of gargoyle makeup. The look of the creatures is wonderful, as they don't all look the same. And the leader (Bernie Casey (Felix Leiter in Never Say Never Again, UN Washington in Revenge of the Nerds) has the perfect look that balances a regal bearing with an otherworldly aura. You can see why this won an Emmy. It's big budget worthy work on a shoestring budget.Speaking of budget, the film was shot with just one camera over 18 days; a fact that chased away the original director. Temperatures at the Carlsbad, NM location baked the cast and crew, reaching 100 degrees or more the entire shoot. So it's amazing that what emerged is so interesting.Read more at http://bit.ly/2xXAaGS

Stephen In addition to what the others have posted, be sure to keep an eye out for side boob in that halter top (pretty racy for '72 TV) and look out for the magical changing cop car during the dirt bike chase scene; it's a Chevy..no, it's a Ford...no, Chevy...nope, Ford again. Seriously.I saw this when it was first broadcast on TV and fondly remember the line, "Better go with her, man. One of those gar things is gonna get her."

Wuchak Released to TV in 1972, "Gargoyles" is just simply grand entertainment of the highest order. Yes, it's a Grade B cartoony TV flick, the precursor to notorious modern SyFy flicks, but imagination and legend are about good versus evil and the power of selfless courage against impossible odds. In other words, there's nothing more heroic, suspenseful and spooky than man against monster, and "Gargoyles" delivers the goods.THE PLOT: A professor/writer and his daughter (Cornel Wilde & Jennifer Salt) come across a bunch of recently re-birthed gargoyles in the desert and mayhem ensues.Highlights include: An excellent and mysterious beginning (the first 20 minutes or so where some desert rat shows the professor and his daughter a gargoyle skeleton in some dark shack out in the middle of nowhere; night comes down and then the gargoyles attack), nice spooky atmosphere, haunting soundtrack, excellent gargoyle costumes for that era (and considering it was a TV movie), good cast, dirt bikers (led by a young Scott Glenn), chases, hellish cave sets, cool gargoyle voices, grisly gargoyle murders, etc. Hey, there's a reason for all these high ratings. The majority of the reviewers probably saw it when they were kids and were totally spooked-out.Bottom Line: "Gargoyles" is proof that you don't need a big budget to make a great, engrossing, creepy, adventurous flick.The film doesn't overstay its welcome at 74 minutes and was shot in Carlsbad, NM, and Laredo, TX.GRADE: A