Castle Freak (1995)

Stuart Gordon is one of my favorite figures in horror. He's responsible for 3 of my favorite horror films, Re-Animator, From Beyond and Dolls and those are enough for him to be at least as well known as Carpenter or Craven. He's one of the only horror figures who really makes me geek out (I don't mean masturbate). His films have a whacky energy combined with picturesque splatter and some surprisingly dark insights to humanity. That all being said, his 1995 Castle Freak really should fit with these to form some crazy four part saga. And while it has of Gordon's  signature qualities you can tell that he doesn't much real interest at the heart of the screenplay.

Gordon works best with the Lovecraftian brand of horror, all about forbidden knowledge and humans venturing where they shouldn't. Castle Freak revolves around a shaken family learning that they've inherited and old castle. The family isn't exactly in the condition to enjoy a vacation together. The father played by Jeffery Combs is a drunk who killed his son and blinded his daughter a while back because he was drinking and driving. The mother, played by Barbara Crampton hasn't given him the time of day since. Combs' family whom he inherited the castle from has a equally fucked up history where Combs' bastard  brother has been kept and tortured in the Castle by his mother to get back at her husband for running off with some whore.

Unfortunately it's really the family melodrama that sinks the film. It's not suited for  anyone involved including the two leads who are usually a blast to watch, but they both do their best when they're going off on the rails. Crampton's shift in the superior From Beyond is maybe the greatest freakout of any 'final girl' in any horror film. But here she's limited to Marge Simpsons' worst qualities saying 'Hmmm' to everything. Combs doesn't fare much better but when you finally get to see him get smashed, then he starts to have some fun.

The emphasis of the film really should've been on the contrast between the now blind, daughter who's shaken upbringing has left her as fragile as can be. There's a sub genre of horror films I like to call 'lost girl films' where unlike slasher movies, the threat facing the girl is in is less direct. The girl is often naive and not even  prevalent  to the danger she is in. In these films they wander through a horrific world in an almost dreamlike state. The excellent Lemora A Child's Tale of the Supernatural and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders  are the defining examples. Gordon's Dolls falls into this catagory as does Mario Bava's Lisa and The Devil. This is the route Castle Freak should have gone. The monster attacks in a oddly sexual manner, its first victim being a prostitute that Combs character brings home. Gordon brings a great vulnerability to really gruesome looking creature. There's a weird Beauty and the Beast quality that should've been the focus. The best sequence in the film is where the creature abducts the daughter to presumably have his way with her, Crampton steps in and starts to remove her own clothes and begs the creature to take her instaed. The sexual dynamics at work here are really unsettling and climax really should have drove that home. But instead everything comes to a head with a lame fight on the roof. Castle Freak is still certainly worth watching if only for some great moments but for those who haven't seen any of Gordon's other work get it out of the way so your expectations aren't too high.