‘Castle Freak’ (1995) - Stuart Gordon.

Like many other splatter-chattering, gore-guzzling happy stabbers, I awaited the initial release of, Stuart Gordon’s evil-looking ‘Castle Freak’ (1995) with enormous anticipation! A darker, considerably less sardonic horror film than his previous classics, 'Castle Freak' is a bleak, gruesomely twisted Gothic horror masterpiece. Seen today, it would be fair to say that ‘Castle Freak’ retains all of its spectacularly mean-spirited, grisly Gothic appeal. Horror icon, Stuart Gordon's unrelentingly grim 90s creature feature remains a doom-laden, bracingly brutal descent into sinew-gnawing savagery!       

The narrative may appear meagre, lapsing occasionally into melodrama, this durable simplicity provides a robust foundation for a thrillingly black-hearted, luridly Lovecraftian nightmare! Reeling from the death of his child, alcoholic patriarch, John Reilly (Jeffrey Combs) unexpectedly inherits an ancient, darkly storied Italian castle. The grieving family's angst-laden move to this eerily imposing property proves eventful. Long imprisoned within a dismal dungeon, the ceaselessly hungering Castle Freak has infinitely less amenable plans for the Reilly family! Unlike disposable jump-scare jacked dross, ‘Castle Freak’ has enormous pathos, not only for the beleaguered family, but the plight of the tortured subterranean wretch is no less powerfully expressed. 

Once the depraved, barely human fiend escapes from his confinement, he unleashes all grisly manner of barbarous, throat-ripping terror! The earnest performances by, Jeffrey Combs and, Barbara Crampton are exemplary, Mario Vulpiani's moody photography is expressive, and the dynamic duo of shuddersome make-up artists, John Vulich and Mike Measimer's exquisitely hideous, jaw-droppingly disturbing creature design is a triumph of eldritch beauty. ‘Castle Freak’ is still somewhat overlooked, but it is arguably not only one of the very finest horror films of the 1990s but also a truly demented, Gothic-hued horror classic for the ages!