Castle Freak

Plot synopsis:
After inheriting a 12th-century castle which belonged to a famed Duchess, John Reilly and his family, including his wife Susan and their blind teenage daughter Rebecca, travel to Italy to live. Susan blames him for the death of their son in a drunk driving accident which killed his five-year-old son and cost their daughter her eyesight.
On the advice of the estate's executor, the three plan to stay at the castle until they can liquidate the estate. Little do they know, however, that a horrible, freakish monster has been kept locked away in the basement. Unbeknownst to them, the duchess' son, Giorgio Orsino, who was kept imprisoned and tortured by the duchess in revenge for her husband leaving her, still lives in the dungeons of the castle.
Soon, the disfigured beast has escaped by means of breaking off his own thumb to get out of the manacles which bind him. The only reference to the H.P. Lovecraft story occurs when the monster beholds his hideous reflection in a mirror. He has emerged hungry for blood, leading to a series of unexplained deaths and disappearances including that of a prostitute who don't speak one word of english and John has picked up and brought to the castle after being rejected by his wife.
When the police name John their prime suspect, he must find the true murderer before he or his family becomes the next victim. Along the way, he must not only battle the creature itself but overcome demons from his own guilty past.
The prostitute is sexually mutilated and killed by the monster, who also prowls around the bedroom of the terrified Rebecca, who can hear, but not see, him. The monster later kills one of the policemen investigating the castle, as well as the maid who lives at the castle and finds the prostitute's body. Eventually he abducts Rebecca and she is manacled in his old cell. Susan comes to the rescue and manages to stab the monster and rescue Rebecca but the monster survives his wound and continues to attack Rebecca and Susan.
John starts putting together some of the weird things he’s been discovering around the castle and realizes that the Freak is actually his brother, and it was his mother that chained him up and tortured him all of his life because her husband abandoned her for America. John must now save himself and his family from this castle's unknown inhabitant before the "castle freak" has his way with them. A climactic rooftop battle between John and the monster ensues, ending in tragedy.
John's funeral began and we see the son of the prostitute with the police at the end.

Tags: violence, cult, suicidal, murder, flashback

Review:
Stuart Gordon, the man behind that classic named "Re-Animator", returns to his Lovecraftian roots with "Castle Freak", a movie that has not received the recognition it deserves; which some may consider a crime, since this was one of the very few good horror movies that came out in the 90's.Horror Icon Jeffrey Combs(also from "Re-Animator") stars in this Gothic tale of a man, John Reilly, who inherits an Italian castle, only to find that there is a secret lurking deep inside of it.
Gordon takes this simple plot(slightly based in "The Outsider") and adds depth to Combs character and his family: he killed his 6 years old son in a car accident while driving drunk.
This event has marked his family, destroying his relationship with his wife Susan(Barbara Crampton) and his daughter Rebecca(Jessica Dollarhide), who was blinded in the accident.All this conflicts explode in the castle when a prostitute brought by John appears brutally killed in a savage way, and all the clues point to John; who now not only must prove himself innocent, but also must save his family from the mysterious being who lurks in the castle.Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton give one of their best performances.
Crampton's Susan Reilly is truly believable as a mother who has lost a child and blames his former lover of everything that goes wrong in her life; while Combs shines as the man overwhelmed by guilt who must face his own demons to gain the strength to save his family.Gordon's direction is remarkable, as he manages to keep a Gothic atmosphere while making the film shocking by including a few extremely graphic gory scenes.
While the movie may not be exactly Lovecraft's story, it still has that spirit mixed with that visual style of Gordon that has given us jewels such as the previously mentioned "Re-Animator", and the awesome "Dagon".While this is not as good as those 2 movies, it still stands as one of the best horror movies of the 90's, keeping that soul that 70's & 80's horror films used to have.Very recommended for fans of the genre.
Stuart Gordon's "Castle Freak" of 1995 is a creepy, gory, sad and quite original little horror flick and yet another proof that the man is a more than gifted director.
It is certainly not Gordon's best movie (his absolute masterpiece is "Re-Animator", with "From Beyond" as a close second), but it nevertheless is a highly atmospheric and unusual Horror film, and especially worth watching as the 1990s were a more than poor decade for Horror in which good horror films, such as this one, were rare.
Gordon's regular star, the great Jeffrey Combs who is without doubt one of the greatest Horror actors of his generation, stars as John Reilly, the family father, and he is great in the role.
As far as I am concerned, "Castle Freak" doesn't reach the brilliance of "Re-Animator", but it is definitely a creepy, highly atmospheric and original, above average example of good 90s Horror.
I didn't think it was great...but I did find it to be pretty damn good.Movie is about a family that inherits a castle that has a secret.
A family of three (Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Jessica Dollarhide) have inherited a castle, but have no plans to stay on.
If he gets loose, the family's heritage may become one of pure carnage.Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator") directs this film with a cast consisting of Jeffrey Combs ("Re-Animator") and Barbra Crampton ("Re-Animator"), produced by Charles Band ("Re-Animator").
But if you like a good development in your plot, I think you'd appreciate this lost treasure (definitely one of the lesser-seen Gordon horror films).
They come to look at it and shocking acts start to unravel themselves in and around the castle..Acting: Jeffrey Combs star as the father and plays out the role like he would Hamlet or something.
The guy playing "the Freak" also delivers solid work in portraying the hideously deformed and tragically lonely monster as he childly limpers around the cold castle in search of someone.Form: It is a truly frightening experience this film.
Some pretty gory scenes featuring nudity with gore, dismemberment and mutilation for those who are into that sort of thing.The movie had a low budget feel to it, which many horror/gore fans are into, but regardless, the creature looked pretty realistic and disfigured.
Couple (Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton) moves into an old castle with their blind daughter (Jessica Dollarhide), but are plagued by weird noises, unexplained visitors, and a series of murders that are taking place in the castle.
Scary, atmospheric thriller with some good death scenes and creative make-up is a welcomed comeback by horror director Stuart Gordan.Unrated; Graphic Violence, Sexual Situations, Nudity, and Profanity..
After all that I'd heard about this film, I really wasn't expecting it to be very good; but Stuart Gordon has once again proved his worth as a horror director with this excellent tale of terror!
The tragedy continues when they move into their new home only to discover that they aren't the only inhabitants within the sinister castle's walls.Like all the best Stuart Gordon films, this one is lead by the great cult star Jeffrey Combs.
The script puts a lot of weight on the characters, and it is this that ensures Castle Freak is a cut above the majority of nineties horror films.
Combs is joined by From Beyond and Re-Animator co-star Barbara Crampton, as well as Jessica Dollarhide in her only film role and Jonathan Fuller, who had a role in Gordon's The Pit and the Pendulum.
The castle at the centre of the tale, with its many rooms, provides an excellent environment for horror of this kind, and Gordon makes best use of this to draw in a claustrophobic and horrific atmosphere.
Overall, this film is highly underrated; Castle Freak manages to take in elements of horror, tragedy, love and loss all tightly wound around a distinctly Lovecraftian horror story.
After reading an article in Fango, then learning that the re-teaming of director Stuart (Re-Animator / The Beyond) Gordon with Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crompton to make CASTLE FREAK, my expectations and hopes were high.
Gordon exceeded my dreams by making his best since The Beyond.CASTLE FREAK has the look and feel of big budget European horror film.
The end was a very suspenseful scene one of the few that literally had me on the edge of my seat and the prostitute scene Well lets just say when I watch this again I'm going to fast forward through that part.It is about a man and his wife and blind daughter who inherit a house but unbeknownst to them a relative is still living in the basement.Stuart Gordon outdoes himself gone is the campy comedy of Re-Animator this time Gordon is out to scare the Living Sh*t out of you and I say he succeeded.This is raw horror at its best!!.
As often as he creeps you out, he earns your sympathies.While Combs does tend to get his due as a truly talented actor, this viewer would have to point to "Castle Freak" as a solid example of just how good Crampton is as an actress.
"Stuart Gordon's Castle Freak" is a really enjoyable, if slightly flawed creature feature.**SPOILERS**Traveling to Italy, John Reilly, (Jeffrey Combs) and his family, wife Susan, (Barbara Crampton) and daughter Rebecca, (Jessica Dollarhide) learn they have inherited a giant castle in the countryside.
On this occasion Gordon lets a freak out of the bag, where a tortured deformed abomination becomes a sex-starved beast on the prowl in an old dark creepy castle and a very troubled family man who inherits the estate being blamed for the bloody aftermath.
Seems like old times as Stuart Gordon directs, Dennis Paoli writes and Richard Band composes in this medieval masterpiece which re-unites the aforementioned with the on-screen talents of the great Jeffrey Combs and the ever beautiful Barbara Crampton who, like a fine wine, grows more exquisite with each passing day, but I digress.While it may not be up to par with Re-Animator or From Beyond (how do you improve on perfection?), this ode to horror films of old never fails to entertain.
The locals also explained to me that the producer of the 1980's series `The A-Team' now owned the castle and on occasion leased it to Full Moon.As for the movie, Jeffrey Combs gives yet another good performance as John Reilly.
'Castle Freak' has a lot to live up to as Stuart Gordon's first two H.P. Lovecraft adaptations 'Re-Animator' and 'From Beyond', which also starred Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, are modern horror classics.
This is another example of solid B-horror that we have come to expect from Staurt Gordon (of Reanimator and Dagon fame).An unhappy family moves to a castle in Italy that the husband has inherited.
To prevail against the hideous CASTLE FREAK, the Reilly family must discover the ugly secrets of their own past, and learn to trust one another again.Obscene gore ensues.This cheap film is better than most B-horror for a few reasons.
What I really liked about this movie is that it preserves all of the sensibilities of trashy horror, while actually focusing on the Reilly family and their troubles (which did not start with the CASTLE FREAK).
And all the horror scenes , even the few gory ones, help to propagate this specific theme.Jeferry Combs and the ever beautiful Barbara Crampton, under the direction of Stuart Gordon, really have managed to make the perfect Lovecraftian horror movie.
But better than any of those, in my humble opinion, is Castle Freak, a splendid Gothic horror that really does deliver the goods in practically every department: it's stylish, atmospheric, sexy, emotionally charged, scary, gory, and more than a little perverse, and even features the classic combo of Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton amongst its cast.Combs plays John Reilly, who along with his estranged wife Susan (Crampton) and blind daughter Rebecca (played by teen hottie Jessica Dollarhide), has travelled to Europe to take up temporary residence in the 12th century castle that they have recently inherited.
As John sets about writing an inventory of the castle's contents, Rebecca explores her new home, unaware that a monstrously deformed freak lies chained up in the dungeon, and he's very, very hungry...In the hands of a less daring director, this could so have been an instantly forgettable piece of cheesy B-movie hokum, but Gordon's unique, twisted approach elevates it way above your usual direct to DVD fare, and guarantees a few eye-openers along the way.
Stuart Gordon redressed his pointless and woeful attempt at the vampire genre from 1987 with 'Daughter Of Darkness' and came thundering back at the start of the 90s with his pleasingly nasty take on 'The Pit And The Pendulum' and then this, the moody and creeping 'Castle Freak', and while it doesn't quite touch his perfect 80s horror trilogy of 'Re- Animator', 'From Beyond' and 'Dolls', this creepy, claustrophobic nerve- Тинглер frays the nerves, pounds the stomach and delivers atmopshere, shocks and horror with pleasing reliability.Gordon's stalwarts Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton are a married couple on permanent edge due to his drinking and a car accident that took their young son away and blinded their daughter.
The best part about this movie had to be the scene where the zombie-like "castle freak" tries to get sexual with a prostitute.
The gore, however, leaves much to be desired, as does the acting, even from the experienced Jeffrey Combs.Other than this I've only seen two other Stuart Gordon films: Re-Animator and From Beyond, both of which were outstanding.
Okay, you have Jeffrey Combs, one of the best horror movie icons ever, Barbara Crampton, one of the hottest b-movie stars and Stuart Gordon, the genius who produced Re-Animator.
The blind girl did a pretty good job, but her character, like the rest got particularly annoying.I have seen From Beyond, The Dentist and now this, and I am so sad to say that I have yet to see a decent follow-up to the excellent Re-Animator given Stuart Gordon played a role in all of them (as well as our dynamic duo of Combs and Crampton).
Only check this one out if you are a true Jeffrey Combs fan like myself...though I have seen him in much better than this, he does do a good job with his character.
John Reilly (Jeffrey Combs) has come to Italy with wife and blind daughter in tow to arrange for the sale of his newly inherited castle.
Also gone is the usual Stuart Gordon 'tongue-in-cheek' black humor.The film is quite effective in showing Combs' break down and his final heroic act to save his wife & daughter.
You actually feel sympathy for his character, despite his short-comings.Personally, I was more surprised at the nudity and borderline porno sex scene, than I was shocked by the graphic violence & gore.Not classic Gordon, but certainly something you might enjoy if you've seen his more famous films..
"Castle Freak" is brilliant!It's gory and downbeat film from Stuart Gordon("Re-Animator","From Beyond")-I love it!Anyway this one has a cult fave Jeffrey Combs and a rather frumpy Barbara Crampton moving into a castle where a freak has been chained in a dungeon for many years.It kills a hooker brought home by Combs,then goes after the family.Great special effects,good direction and solid acting.Gordon manages to create some pretty tense moments(especially this gruesome sex/death scene!),and there are enough good scares and shocks to make you jump a few times.The scene,when freak bites off hooker's nipple is pretty repulsive and disturbing.A must-see for genre fans!.
Not only is this one of the final films of Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures of the 1990s, but it is the last of the moderately budgeted horror genre's collaborations with the Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs, and Barbara Crampton trio.
This is considered by many to be a complete failure on many levels, but good delivery of bad material and some very gory moments give fans a run for their money.Combs and Crampton are grieving parents after a car accident leaves their son killed and their daughter blinded.
Castle Freak starts as American John Reilly (Jeffrey Combs) inherits a large 700 year old castle in Italy, he travels there with his blind daughter Rebecca (Jessica Dollarhide) & his wife Susan (Barbara Crampton) who has never quite forgiven him for killing their son & blinding Rebecca in a car accident.
Oh, & it's also a deformed cannibalistic killer...Co-written & directed by Stuart Gordon I thought Castle Freak was a decent enough horror film but didn't quite reach the heights of greatness.
It's still a good horror film make no mistake about it & has some positives going for it but I think I'd have completely forgotten about it by the end of the week.Director Gordon knows how to turn in a decent flick & Castle Freak is a nice enough looking film, it has a a great setting & the real castle location adds to the atmosphere immensely.
There are some creepy moments but don't let anyone fool you into thinking this reaches the gory heights of Gordon's Re-Animator (1985) or From Beyond (1987) as there's not much gore here, the one & only real gore scene involves the freak biting the nipple off a prostitute & then there's some shots of her dead body with further bite marks & a bit when someone has some skin bitten off their face, the special make-up effects are good on the freak & there's a fair amount of blood splatter but overall this isn't that gory.Technically the film is good, certainly better & classier than the majority of Full Moon productions that's for sure.
The acting is pretty good, it's always nice to see Combs in a genre film & he is reunited with Crampton as they both appeared together in a couple of other Gordon horror films Re-Animator & From Beyond.Castle Freak is a watchable, well made & perfectly decent horror film but while I definitely liked it I didn't love it, Gordon has done better but this is still worth a watch..
Stuart Gordon, always one of the most talented horror movie makers, jumped right on this trend and shot this film on a beautiful location in Italy.
When it comes to purely comes to the level of entertainment, Castle Freak is a not that good but Gordon manages to add some great dramatic scenes to this film.
"Castle Freak" is a genuinely good movie.
So especially with Castle Freak I found that offer I couldn't refuse, after all it is a film directed by Stuart Gordon and the cover art is just amazing.
Then I had my third pleasant time with a Stuart Gordon movie, if you come across with the DVD of Castle Freak or you find it on TV don't think twice, watch it, is amazingly entertaining, watch it with your friends and have a really good time!.
This is the third time stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton have teamed up with Director Stuart Gordon.
Like a lot of Stuart Gordon's movies, 'Castle Freak' doesn't skimp on graphic gore and blood and supplies it in good measure.
Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs, and Barbara Crampton are back again with "Castle Freak".
I recommend this film to H.P. Lovecraft fans, Stuart Gordon fans, Jeffrey Combs fans, and deformed freak fans..
Rarely has such a character been created for a horror movie, especially in present times.The story, in a nutshell, revolves around an American family inheriting a castle in Italy.
With a better location this film could have been horrifying from start to finish.As it is Castle Freak is a pretty good horror movie considering it's from Full Moon and made on a pretty low budget.
Stuart Gordon does his best with what he has and the Castle Freak is a wonderful creation and gives the movie an extra point just for being a good character.