Castle Freak (1995) – Film Review

Director: Stuart Gordon
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Jonathan Fuller
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

You know how it is – you inherit a mysterious mansion in Italy, pop along to visit it, and discover it’s inhabited by a deformed relative with a thirst for blood.

We’ve all been there, right? Well, hopefully not, actually, but it’s the premise of Castle Freak, and while it’s completely ridiculous, it’s also surprisingly entertaining, providing you’re not expecting anything too intellectually challenging.

Perhaps it’s because low-budget horror maestro Stuart Gordon directs it without irony, but instead with a sort of wide-eyed innocence that makes it watchable. Whatever the case, if his other works, such as his most famous movie, Re-Animator, float your boat, you’re bound to get a kick out of this one too.

“Doomed to fail”

Castle Freak reunites Gordon with his Re-Animator star Jeffrey Combs, this time playing John Reilly, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober since accidentally causing the death of his young son in a car accident. The same incident cost his teenage daughter Rebecca her sight, and has left him estranged from his wife Susan.

Nevertheless, the family venture to Italy on hearing that John’s distant relative has died, and he is the sole inheritor of her estate, which includes an impressive 12th-century castle. However, if it was hoped that the trip would bring everyone closer together, it seems doomed to fail – Susan blames John for another accident involving Rebecca, which pushes him into a fling with a local hooker.

To make matters worse, he becomes the prime suspect in the latter’s murder, until it becomes clear that someone – or something – is lurking in the castle’s vaults…

There’s a convoluted backstory involving John’s father that causes confusion rather than giving any kind of satisfactory explanation or resolution. Thankfully it doesn’t distract too much from the over-the-top shenanigans as they unfold.

“Watchable”

For me, Gordon, who died five years ago, isn’t quite in the top tier of horror movie directors, but he always managed to produce something watchable and entertaining. That’s exactly what Castle Freak is – it’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it will, at least temporarily, sate any appetite you may have for low-budget gore.

Combs delivers his customary jittery performance as man-on-the-edge John, gaining decent support from Barbara Crampton and Jessica Dollarhide as his loved ones, while the freak’s make-up effects are pretty impressive. Watch out too for a special feature involving William Shatner interviewing Combs, Crampton and Gordon; let’s just say that Bill is not a natural interviewer…

A remake of Castle Freak was released in 2020, and contrasting and comparing the two would make for an entertaining evening.

Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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