
Whatever it is, it sets off a fire that kills Uncle Willie. The doctor doesn’t believe a word, but his daughter listens to his tales, only to be cut off by the sound of wings and something trying to get into the museum. Mercer Boley (Cornell Wilde, No Blade of Grass), author of the occult, and his daughter, Diana (Jennifer Salt of Sisters and Son of Sam TV movie Out of the Darkness) as they head off to the desert - and Uncle Willie’s Museum - where they find a skeleton of a creature that Willie (Woody Chambliss of Zero Hour! and The Devil’s Rain) claims he found in the hills. This dialogue is by Vic Perrin (Tharg from the Mirror, Mirror episode of Star Trek, as well as the voice of Metron and Nomad), who also provides the crazy VO for the head Gargoyle. The opening dialogue informs us that Satan lost the war in Heaven, with his children being the gargoyles, who rise against man every six hundred years (there’s even an image from Haxan to symbolize the devil). So it’s amazing that what emerged is so interesting. Temperatures at the Carlsbad, NM location baked the cast and crew, reaching 100 degrees or more the entire shoot. Speaking of budget, the film was shot with just one camera over 18 days a fact that chased away the original director. It’s big budget worthy work on a shoestring budget. 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. The look of the creatures is wonderful, as they don’t all look the same. It’s one of the first films Stan Winston ( Terminator, Aliens) worked on, providing a variety of gargoyle makeup. 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. Originally airing on CBS on November 21st, 1972, it was directed by Bill L. Even today, it’s hard to find on DVD (but YouTube is a whole different story). It just looked strange and in the late 70s, it wasn’t like I could on demand find it. He answered Night of the Living Dead and Gargoyles, so I was always nervous to watch this movie.

When I was a kid, I remember asking my dad what movies he thought were scary.
