Reviews

Equinox - New to DVD (Criterion)

EQUINOX (1970)

Directors: Jack Woods, Dennis Muren

Written by: Mark Thomas McGee, Jack Woods

Staring: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner (as Frank Boers, Jr.)
and Robin Christopher

The Story:
We open with reporter on a trip to the booby hatch to visit David Fielding,
a young man who has spent the past year locked inside after his visit to
college professor Dr. Waterman’s cabin in the woods. We learn of the events
on that fateful day through back-story contained on a tape the doctors at
the asylum made shortly after David’s arrival.

David had received a call from Dr. Waterman asking him to drive out to his
cabin to help him with something. David makes the trip along with his pal
Jim Hudson, Jim’s gal Vicki and Susan Turner a surprise blind date for
David. The group arrives at the cabin only to discover it has been destroyed
and the good doctor is nowhere to be found. As the group ponder what could
have happened a not so friendly acting Park Ranger comes along to see just
what these meddling kids are up to. The gang plays it cool with the ranger
then begins their search for Dr. Waterman. Along the way they discover a
rather out of place castle and a cackling old man hanging out in a cave. The
old man gives (or rather forces upon) the kids take an ancient book he has
hidden in the cave. While enjoying a picnic lunch the boys take a look at
the contents of the old book. At this point all hell starts to break loose
and monsters and mayhem rule the rest of the adventure.

While Equinox may not be the ultimate cinematic experience, it has a
definite charm and ingenuity about it that make the film a delight to watch.
Considering that the majority of film footage used for Equinox is comprised
mainly of re-edited footage from “The Equinox… A Journey into the
Supernatural.” Which was a first film for those involved, but we will get to
that story in a moment. The film also deserves much credit for being what
had to be a huge inspiration to Sam Raimi and crew on the Evil Dead movies.

Criterion has gone above and beyond with this two disc release of Equinox.
Not only did they include the best transfer of the film possible, but the
original film “The Equinox… A Journey into the Supernatural” is also
included for your viewing pleasure. The original version was filmed from
1965 to 1967 on 16mm by a group of aspiring young filmmakers. This group of
filmmakers included Dennis Muren, Dave Allen, Mark McGee and Jim Danforth
all of whom went on to have varied degrees of success with careers in
movies. From ILM to Full Moon these guys ended up covering the gambit of
special effects in the years that followed Equinox.

Being able to compare the two films is a fun study of the differences
between amateur filmmaking and “professional.” When Jack H. Harris decided
to take the film on for distribution he and director Jack Woods gave the
story an almost complete overhaul, including shooting new footage with the
primary actors, new dialog being overdubbed, visual effects were added and
re-editing the existing film footage. And although the two stories share
some similarities, overall you have two vastly different films. While the
Jack Harris version is defiantly the better of the films, Muren and company
deserve much admiration for what they accomplished using only their limited
resources and abundant imaginations. And while the monster effects do have
their limitations, when you consider the budget and the young age of the
original filmmakers, it’s hard not to be somewhat inspired and impressed by
the results. The stop-motion animation by Dave Allen alone makes this an
impressive first time out. With June being the halfway point for 2006 the
inclusion of “The Equinox… A Journey into the Supernatural” on this set gets
my vote for best DVD special feature this year.

The film print on the 1970 version is the best version I have ever seen
released. Especially when you consider it was shot in 16mm then blown up to
35mm for the original release. The colors look great and print damage is
controlled very well. Same goes for the quality of the audio. The 1967
version of the film is quite a bit rougher in comparison, but still easy to
watch and enjoy. Two audio commentaries are included on the first disc as
well. The 1970 version features producer Jack H. Harris and director Jack
Woods. They discuss why they decided to distribute the film and the new
footage that they shot. The commentary provided for the 1967 version has
Dennis Muren and Mark McGee with Jim Danforth although recorded separately
from Muren. They cover just about every aspect of the original production
and are a pleasure to listen to. An introduction for the film is featuring
Forrest J. Ackerman is also included on the first disc.

Disc two contains some truly special features as well.

There are just over seven minutes of silent outtakes from the 67 version. In
these outtakes you see the cast goofing around, different angles for some
shots in the film and a swinging pool party. There is also some test footage
of the Taurus monster (the nickname given to the blue behemoth in the film)
and of an animated skeleton, which was the first stop-motion model Dave
Allen had ever built. There are several cast interviews where cast members
share memories about the first round of filming for “The Equinox…A Journey
into the Supernatural” and then being called back years later to do shoot
new footage for the Jack Harris version. They all seem to have fond memories
of the experience and posses some slight bewilderment about the following
the film has developed over the years.

Also include is the short student film “Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast From Hell”
which includes some of the talent involved with Equinox (Dave Allen, Mark
McGee, and Jim Danforth), watch for a young Rick Backer as well.

“Dave Allen Appreciation” is a tribute to Mr. Allen and contains more of his
stop-motion magic for the viewer to enjoy. “The Magic Treasure” is a rarely
seen 19-minute animated children’s film by Allen, accompanied by an essay
about the short written by James Duron. Then you have Allen’s famous “King
Kong” commercial made for Volkswagen which features Fay Wray’s daughter.
This is accompanied by “Kong at Cascade” an essay about Allen and his
commercial work by Chris Endicott. There is also silent “test” footage of
Kong that Allen created during down time while at the commercial studio. The
test footage is in all actuality an extremely accurate recreation of King
Kong atop the Empire State Building in color! It was a dream of Allen’s to
splice the footage into a screening of the original 33 Kong and cause
audience members to wonder if they had seen what they thought they did for a
brief moment! This footage is most likely what helped Volkswagen decide on
using a “Kong” commercial.

There is also a still gallery titled “Equiphemera” which covers every
possible aspect of the film. From Famous Monsters of Filmland coverage to
fan toys and model kits with plenty of production stills wedged in-between.
There is a trailer from the 1970 release of the film along with two radio
spots that close out the special features disc of the set. Included within
the case itself is a nice little booklet containing a message from George
Lucas and Ray Harryhausen, plus some swell liner notes by Brock DeShane.

Although Equinox may not be the greatest monster film put to film, Criterion
deserves many thanks for treating it as though it is with this release. Many
an enjoyable evening can be spent viewing both movies along with several
fantastic features. This release comes highly recommended for the Monster
Kid in any of us.
8.5 out of 10
-J

Rent Equinox ,anything else Criterion, or The Evil Dead which was influenced by Equinox at Wild and Wolly Video

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