Review – Gargoyles

This film starts out as a prime demonstration of the possibilities of a solid concept and a good script, even in the face of a low budget and the constraints placed upon made-for-TV productions. The set-up scenes, in which a roadside souvenir stand owner tries to interest an anthropologist and his daughter in an unusual, almost demonic skeleton, actually provide a couple of suspenseful moments only mildly dampened by the cheapness of the effects. It even manages to sustain an aura of creepy menace despite the intrusion of an annoying subplot involving teenage dirt-bikers (led by a young Scott Glenn). However, things start to go downhill after daughter gets kidnapped by a tribe of gargoyles plotting to take over the earth. It’s just a lot easier to get away with bargain basement costumes if you don’t spend too much time showing them. Mildly amusing