Castle Freak

Castle Freak
Home video release poster
Directed by	Stuart Gordon
Produced by	Albert Band Charles Band Maurizio Maggi
Screenplay by	Dennis Paoli
Story by	Stuart Gordon Dennis Paoli
Based on	The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft
Starring	Jeffrey Combs Barbara Crampton Jessica Dollarhide Jonathan Fuller
Music by	Richard Band
Cinematography	Mario Vulpiani
Edited by	Bert Glatstein
Production company	Full Moon Enterprises Full Moon Entertainment
Distributed by	Full Moon Entertainment
Release date	14 November 1995 (USA)
Running time	90 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Italian Swedish

Castle Freak is a 1995 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, loosely based upon the short story The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft. It was released direct-to-video on 14 November 1995. The film contains elements of splatter and slasher films.

Plot

After inheriting a 12th-century castle which belonged to a famed Duchess, John Reilly and his family, including his wife Susan and their blind teenage daughter Rebecca, travel to Italy to live. Susan blames him for the death of their son in a drunk driving accident which killed his five-year-old son and cost their daughter her eyesight.

On the advice of the estate's executor, the three plan to stay at the castle until they can liquidate the estate. Little do they know, however, that a horrible, freakish monster has been kept locked away in the basement. Unbeknownst to them, the Duchess' son, Giorgio Orsino, who was kept imprisoned and tortured by the Duchess in revenge for her husband leaving her, still lives in the dungeons of the castle.

Soon, the disfigured beast has escaped by means of breaking off his own thumb to get out of the manacles which bind him. The only reference to the H.P. Lovecraft story occurs when the monster beholds his hideous reflection in a mirror. He has emerged hungry for blood, leading to a series of unexplained deaths and disappearances, including that of a non-English speaking prostitute whom John picked up and brought to the castle after being rejected by his wife, who becomes angry with him for cheating.

When the police name John their prime suspect, he must find the true murderer before he or his family becomes the next victim. Along the way, he must not only battle the creature itself but overcome demons from his own guilty past.

The prostitute is sexually mutilated and killed by the monster, who also prowls around the bedroom of the terrified Rebecca, who can hear, but not see, him. The monster later kills one of the policemen investigating the castle, as well as the maid who lives at the castle and finds the prostitute's body. Eventually he abducts Rebecca and she is manacled in his old cell. Susan comes to the rescue and manages to stab the monster and rescue Rebecca, but the monster survives his wound and continues to attack Rebecca and Susan.

John starts putting together some of the weird things he has been discovering around the castle and realizes that the freak is actually his brother and that it was his mother that chained him up and tortured him all of his life because her husband abandoned her for America. John must now save himself and his family from the castle's unknown inhabitant before the "castle freak" has his way with them. A climactic rooftop battle between John and the monster ensues, ending in tragedy.

John's funeral began and the son of the prostitute is seen with the police at the end.

Cast

• Jeffrey Combs as John Reilly
• Barbara Crampton as Susan Reilly
• Johnathan Fuller as Giorgio (the Freak)
• Jessica Dollarhide as Rebecca Reilly
• Massimo Sarchielli as Giannetti
• Elisabeth Kaza as Agnese
• Luca Zingaretti as Agent Forte
• Helen Stirling as Duchess D'Orsino
• Raffaella Offidani as Sylvana

Production

Director Stuart Gordon was in Charles Band's office and he noticed a poster entitled Castle Freak with a Quasimodo-like man chained to a wall being whipped by a woman.^[1] When Gordon asked about it Band replied "Well, that's a castle and there's a freak."^[1] Band said he had no script but if Gordon wanted it, he could do whatever he wanted with the idea as long as he maintained the concepts of a castle and a freak.^[1]

Gordon made the film for $500,000, which was his smallest budget ever.^[1]

Release

Critical reception

Castle Freak has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, although many have praised its disturbing feel and tight storyline. It currently holds a 63% approval rating on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.^[4]

Dave Dunwoody from Oh, The Horror! gave the film a positive review, complimenting the film's direction, acting, gore, and make-up. Calling it "a standout among Lovecraft movies".^[5] In their book Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft, Andrew Migliore and John Strysik write: "Castle Freak is a solid, even near-classic horror movie. Unlike the gory roller-coaster rides of Re-Animator and From Beyond, it is very serious and very adult. The only major flaw is one unnecessary and detestable scene of brutal violence.".^[6] Joel Harley from HorrorNews.net praised the film, writing, "Castle Freak is a gem. It’s scary, gruesome and disturbing. It’s excellently acted by Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. The cinematography, location, gore and special effects are outstanding. The creature design is awful (in a good way). Stuart Gordon’s direction is, of course, great. The plot with Rielly’s blind daughter seems somewhat obvious, but thankfully it doesn’t take as distasteful a turn as the one with the prostitute. It’s a minor work when compared to Re-Animator and From Beyond, but no less effective. In spite of its flaws, it ranks amongst the best Lovecraft adaptations of all time."^[7]

TV Guide gave the film a mixed review, awarding it 2/5 stars, writing, "While it lacks the wry, subversive humor of his most popular films, Stuart Gordon's Castle Freak is a scary and satisfying exercise in straightforward horror."^[8] Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews awarded the film a grade B-, stating that the film was "Not that interesting psychologically and not as freaky as it sounds". Schwartz did however, commend the film's reasonably good acting, and Gothic mood, concluding that the film was "slightly above the average of the usual Haunted House genre offering."^[9]

Remake

On April 15, 2018, it was announced that Cinestate and Charles Band would be producing a remake/reboot of Castle Freak, along with the film's original star Barbara Crampton also producing and special effects artist Tate Steinsiek set to direct.^[10][11] Announcing his involvement with the project on Instagram, Steinsiek wrote, “It’s such an honor to be taking not only a Stuart Gordon classic but also embracing the world of Lovecraft."^[12][13] Crampton later announced that the film would feature an "Expanded Lovecraft Universe", with some elements from the first film, while introducing many new characters.^[14]

References

External links

• Castle Freak at AllMovie
• Castle Freak on IMDb