Director Stuart Gordon got his start thanks to Full Moon founder Charles Band. Its often forgotten that Band produced Re-Animator and From Beyond before starting his straight-to-video empire. Stuart Gordon works for his old boss again on another solid horror cheapie and one of the real gems from Full Moon's library.
Gordon is famous as the guy who directs HP Lovecraft moves, but here he creates an original tale thats closer to Edgar Allan Poe. Its a very exotic and yet Gothic tale about atonement within a really, really messed up family. Gordon's background in theater assured that "Freak" has credible acting, very dramatic staging and a healthy momentum driving the action. Perhaps its Gordon being separated from his usual partner/producer Brian Yuzna that allows a more tasteful (just slightly) and more serious film. But the lack of Yuzna also robs the film of joy, hipness and a true sense of macabre. This movie IS very gruesome and eerie, but it lacks that carnivalesque quality of the previous Gordon films, as well as the existential horror that Yuzna's solo films continued.
This is a tribute to classic Universal and Hammer monster movies. Gordon brings a lot of wit and genre knowledge to the offering, but forgets to make it scary and/or very heavy. I can't put it all on him because I've long suspected Charles Band didn't want much substance when he started Full Moon and I wouldn't be surprised if he had his own editors eliminate footage that would've made Castle Freak more suspenseful and more dramatically paced. Still a great little horror film that feels much richer and classical than it is.
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