Not really sure what one should expect from a movie whose genesis began with the premise “there’s a castle and there’s a freak” but prepare yourself for a pretty emotionally mature exploration of loss, grief, and inescapable fate handed down through a cursed family’s bloodline propped up by admirable performances from Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. But since Castle Freak is a low-budget Stuart Gordon film produced by Charles Band, also prepare yourself for ham-fisted exploitation that undercuts a lot of the film’s emotional maturity and an adaptation of Lovecraft’s “The Outsider” that is tenuous at best.
And click here if you want to listen to the Post-Mortem with Mick Garris episode in which he interviews Charles Band.
Battleship Pretension is a movie discussion podcast started in 2007 by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Since then, we’ve done live comedy shows, written reviews, commentaries and more.
Battleship Pretension is a film discussion show and a film review website founded by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Beginning in March 2007, Battleship Pretension the show (known to fans simply as “BP”) embodies the type of laidback, free-flowing conversations had by lovers of film around the world. Battleship Pretension the website is dedicated to being a destination for those seeking worthwhile opinions on current releases, be they foreign, independent, studio pictures, theatrical, home video releases, etc. From its meager beginnings in Los Angeles, Battleship Pretension has amassed a worldwide audience and readership. From Germany to Korea to Australia, people have tuned in to share in Tyler and David’s love of film. As Battleship Pretension’s following continues to grow, the purpose remains the same: Reach out to the international cinephile community, invite them to join in the discussion and perhaps even start one of their own.
My vague recollection is that this film was also supposed to be inspired by Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls”, but there’s very little Lovecraft in the film. Stuart Gordon is an odd director to regularly adapt Lovecraft, seeing as how he thinks every movie should have sex/nudity and Lovecraft stories are so sexless.
My vague recollection is that this film was also supposed to be inspired by Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls”, but there’s very little Lovecraft in the film. Stuart Gordon is an odd director to regularly adapt Lovecraft, seeing as how he thinks every movie should have sex/nudity and Lovecraft stories are so sexless.