Castle Freak

1995 Directed by Stuart Gordon

Halloween Marathon 2024 Day 11 Film 22

A man and his family move in to a creepy castle in Italy that he's inherited from some long lost relative. Apparently it belonged to his father's first wife, and there seems to be the sound of crying at night. Earlier in the film it's made obvious that the woman had gone mad- whipping on a captive in the castle cellar.

Most of the film plays out like a melodrama- the dad killed the son and blinded the daughter in a car crash years ago. While he says he's trying to fix things his wife doesn't believe him, and that leads him into further stupor of drinking and taking a prostitute into the cellar. The feeling of the film feels so low budget here, with scenes hollowed out with family drama and the dark lighting makes for a muddy viewing experience.

The gothic castle feel is alright though, and some tense moments with the daughter and monster feels pretty sleazy. Full Moon Productions are usually known for the b-movie feeling. While there are some good moments of gore and the creature makeup is well done with shocking gruesomeness. The monster also reminds me a bit of a Phantom of the Opera. I just don't get much of the zany hilarity of the Puppet Master series that would make me want to revisit this. It doesn't feel like the crazed vision of Gordon's other films.