Very disappointed :(

Admirable film.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Now don't get me wrong, just because I think this film is overrated doesn't mean I don't think it doesn't have some merit. I realize this little movie has quite a few fans surprisingly and is actually sort of important in film history. This little film was originally just a student film by Dennis Muren until it was picked up by a studio and extra footage was added. Muren would later go on to do the special effects on Star Wars, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park. So in a way, this little pic jump started his career.Now the special effects are actually pretty good for it's time. The stop motion creatures are unique and very memorable and they are even more impressive when you know they were all done by one guy, Dennis himself! Also the giant that attacks the teenagers looks like it is right there with them! It's kind of amazing. Equinox's story is rather unique for it's time too and supposedly influenced other horror films like Evil Dead. Equinox is about four college students who go into the woods looking for a professor only to find a mystical book instead. It supposedly contains spells and knowledge of demons and how to fight against them. So of course, the king of demons named Asmodeus wants to get his hands on it. Before this, most horror films at the time were more sci-fi oriented like evil aliens or mutated mishaps. So I am sure this was refreshing. However, besides all of the positives I just listed everything else is pretty poor. The main problem is with the four main characters. The actors are wooden, their dialogue is very clunky and their personalities are practically non-existent. You could have replaced them with sock puppets and you would have been more intrigued(side note- Equinox: The Sock Puppet Opera needs to happen!). They are just not interesting characters and I skipped through most of theor parts so that I could watch the monsters. The cinematography is kind of bland too but the characters are what kills it. If they had just developed the cast or gotten better actors, the movie would be pretty fun. But as is, it's an intriguing part of film history but a less intriguing film. The movie is worth watching though...if you get a bunch of friends together to make fun of it MST3K style.

Seen today as more of a quirky oddity than anything else, this one-of-a-kind film is a student movie that got re-edited, had new footage shot, and eventually turned into a theatrically-released movie. It's a pretty hopeless film, stifled by extremely low production values and poor technical qualities, but you can't help but to admire the imagination and effort put into it. The basic storyline is the same as the one in THE EVIL DEAD; namely a bunch of college students travel to a remote cabin in the woods belonging to a professor. It turns out that said professor has been experimenting with a book of the dead and has accidentally raised some demons, who are now unstoppable and causing hell on Earth. Fans may want to note that respected sci-fi author Fritz Leiber has a cameo appearance as the unlucky professor, who drops dead in a stream moments after his first appearance.The first half of the film is a real chore to sit through. The amateur acting is hopeless, as expected, with only lead Edward Connell putting in something resembling a half decent performance. The female cast members are appalling. The action-based scenario jumps from scene to scene, as our hapless students find mysterious footprints, see an old crazy guy in a cave, hear over-the-top laughter, and attempt to decipher the mysterious demon incantation experiments written in the book. Then there's a weird park ranger named Asmodeus (played by one of the directors, Jack Woods), who straddles a girl in an attempted rape and drools over her in a pretty disgusting scene. It later turns out that this guy is the devil, to nobody's general surprise.Things pick up for the second half of the film, which enlivens the action with some sub-Harryhausen stop-motion antics of our young heroes battling various devised creatures and monsters. Taking centre stage is a huge monster, supposedly a giant ape but looking more like a hairy space alien, who is actually pretty damn good considering the film's budget. There's also a briefly-seen giant octopus living in the woods, a blue-skinned giant caveman (who intermingles flawlessly with the human cast members), and a creepy red flying demon which pops up at the end of the film to massacre the cast only to then explode into flames when it accidentally flies into a stone cross.The story is told in flashback by the only surviving student, now in a mental asylum, which helps take up some running time but on the other hand ruins any surprise at the outcome as we know it from the start. The final scene is a chilling coda which is neatly done. Generally this film would be worthless, but with the participation of the likes of Jim Danforth, David Allen, Dennis Muren, and Fritz Leiber, it becomes kind of watchable for the effort alone. Bad, yes, but with a few genuine moments of brilliance.

Equinox (1970) ** (out of 4) This film was originally made in 1967 but it got a distribution deal in 1970 by producer Jack H. Harris but he demanded that there be some re-shoots, scenes re-edited and a few more touches to make it look more professional. Both versions have been released by Criterion (!?!?) but I only viewed the 1970 version. Basically four friends head out for some fun but they stumble across a strange book and soon a large demon and ape creature are stalking them. Look, there's no question that EQUINOX has its heart in the right place but I'm a little confused as to why Criterion would give it such a lavish treatment. I'm not certain if the film was included in a group package with other movies but there's certainly nothing special here to warrant such a release. In fact, a movie-only edition would have been good enough for this thing. Again, I understand this was an extra low-budget movie shot for fun and on that level it's actually not too bad. However, once you start talking about "classic" then things are getting blown out of control. The acting and visual look of the film is quite tame but it actually adds a little charm as our characters run from one thing after another. The stop-motion effects look fairly poor here but you have to remember that they were simply done for fun. With that said, on that level they add a little charm including the ape creature, which was clearly influenced by King Kong. At 82-minutes the film drags in most spots and the biggest problem is that there's just so many dialogue scenes and not enough action or stuff dealing with the monsters.

When I first saw this on TV's "Late Late Show," in 1974, I was transfixed by what I thought was a cheaply shot 'teenage' devil movie that actually had an unusual story and some very bizarre special effects, making the film seem very creepy for 12:30 a.m.It's the story of four teenagers discovering an ancient text (in Bronson Canyon) that holds the key to the balance of good and evil forces in the universe. They encounter a strange looking multi colored King Kong like ape thing, a giant blue man, a disgusting looking gigantic kraken octopoid creature, and the Devil himself, Asmodeus, both as a man and a winged devil. Needless to say, the teenagers are all doomed, with the last escaping survivor being confined to a mental institution, which is where the story, told in flash backs, begins. By the end we know that not even he will escape.The film was originally made by Dennis Muran and his friends in 1967. Jack H. Woods, the producer of 'The Blob' (1958), bought the film and reassembled the cast for additional shooting in 1969 (they even use the exact same wardrobe!). The version we see is the revised one which mixes in footage from the original film. In comparing the two films, it is clear that all the additions and deletions by Jack Woods, who plays Asmodeus, really added to making it a better film. They also gave it a better music track and deepened and improved the color. Frankly, this is the magic of Hollywood-- how they seamlessly spliced parts of the two films together. In some scenes you can see that Vicki's face is thinner than it was in the first version, but other than that, what a work of art! The high point of 1960s teenage horror films! All that was missing was a teenage rock 'n' roll band and everyone doing the twist.While it featured non-stars (even for teenage movies) Frank Boer, Jr. was clearly the best of the four leads. He went on to fame as Frank Bonner, playing Herb Tarlek, a cast member of 'WKRP in Cincinnati' during the 80s. He even directed some TV. Jack Harris also produced the great comic sequel to 'The Blob', 'Beware! The Blob' (1972), with Richard Webb, Robert Walker, Jr., and a dozen funny cameos, and 'Dark Star' (1974). The only other scary movie that takes place completely in daylight that I can think of is 'Duel' (1971). 'Equinox' is a little 60s wonder that is still enjoyable to watch today. I'll give it a 6.