Also known simply as Equinox depending on what version you watch. The original version The Equinox... A Journey Into the Supernatural was a student film by Dennis Muren who to date has won 6 Oscars for visual effects for such movies as E.T., Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park.
The story revolves around 4 teenagers who decided to visit a professor at his cabin. Upon arrival they discover his cabin has been destroyed and find themselves in possession of an ancient book (though never specifically stated, it is obviously the Necronomicon). From here on the teenagers are attacked by various claymation monsters and a green giant (using some clever forced perspective). For a student film, the special effects aren't half bad, but they are far from good, very far. I particularly enjoy when the people suddenly become claymation when attacked by the monsters, a creative move, but cheesy nonetheless. So I have to give the film credit for the creativeness of it's special effects, since it was made on a budget of $6,500.
Then there is the acting, it is another story. As with most student films where you hire your friends, the performances are laughably bad. The teenagers are like Scooby and the gang, minus Scooby, and emotions, and any distinct personalities. In fact Scooby-Doo is miles above these people. We have the tall silent David, who really doesn't do much in the film, his friend Jim who provides some of the worst dialog this film has to offer, Viki who is dating Jim and provides nothing to the film except to wander off all the time and Susan who also doesn't offer much, except for the fact she doesn't appear to wear a bra for the entire film.
In case the acting and characters weren't bad enough, the dialog is here to bring it all to home. After encountering a monster Jim decides to speak his mind, "I just want you all to know... I'm scared." Good job Jim, way to be brave in front of the ladies. What makes this better is about a minute later Jim decides he will wander through the woods alone to go retrieve his camera which he dropped earlier. An old man who lives in a cave (though no one seems to think this is odd) has a similar change of heart. After telling the teenagers that he will never give them the book, he promptly tells them "I can't let you leave empty handed." and hands them the book. Now maybe the old man is just senile, and maybe Jim is as well, in fact maybe they all are. It would certainly make more sense.
At one point they spot a castle in the middle of the woods in California and the exchange of words goes as follows:
David "What's a castle doing in this area?"
Susan "What do you mean?"
David "Well who's ever heard of a castle around here?"
One would think that Susan could have figured out that castles aren't exactly native to California, but I guess that is too much to ask from her. Though David seems to be slightly aware of how slow she is since he simply repeats himself in response to her confusion.
Later David accidentally kills an old man who's body disappears along with the castle so they discuss these odd occurrences:
Jim "It's not easy to lose a castle and a dead body in one day."
David "Shut up."
Susan "It couldn't have been our imaginations."
David "Of course not."
Jim "What happened to it. You can't just walk off with a castle."
Susan "Well someone did."
David "Well let's go up and have a look, if there was a castle it would have left a mark of some kind."
Viki "How can anyone move a castle."
David "Maybe it wasn't really a castle, maybe it was just the false front of one."
Jim "Like in the movies!"
Something just bugs me about that fact that these people are actually talking seriously about the idea of someone picking up a castle and walking off with it. Also Jim finishes David's sentence much like Robin does in the old Adam West Batman series.
There is another point where they hear screams and growling from a cave so they go to investigate and find what appear to be dinosaur footprints. And being the intelligent and gullible people they are they instantly come to the conclusion that the two have to be related. Where as any normal person would first suspected a prank and only the guy from the loony bin would believe there is a monster (Note: this is long before they are actually attacked by any monster and even before the castle and the body have disappeared, so in other words nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred, but they are still willing to believe monsters roam the woods).
The other version of the film entitled Equinox is the re released version by Jack Woods (one of the writer of the squeal to the Blob). It made an attempt at fixing the plot by having a park ranger named Asmodeus be the one responsible for summoning the monsters. Though the re release removes the agonizingly slow 20+ minute opening of the original, it does not actually make the film better, and is actually more accidently laughable then the original.
All in all, this film is bad, but it is too the point where it is good because of how bad it is. The dialog is laughable, the characters have the emotions of a cardboard cut out and there are plenty of claymation monsters to cheer on. But it is a student film and everyone has to start somewhere so it get points for that.
So if you like bad monster movies, then grab some friends and enjoy. And in case you don't believe me, just check out the amazing trailer. EQUINOX!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE1UlPPId-o
The story revolves around 4 teenagers who decided to visit a professor at his cabin. Upon arrival they discover his cabin has been destroyed and find themselves in possession of an ancient book (though never specifically stated, it is obviously the Necronomicon). From here on the teenagers are attacked by various claymation monsters and a green giant (using some clever forced perspective). For a student film, the special effects aren't half bad, but they are far from good, very far. I particularly enjoy when the people suddenly become claymation when attacked by the monsters, a creative move, but cheesy nonetheless. So I have to give the film credit for the creativeness of it's special effects, since it was made on a budget of $6,500.
Then there is the acting, it is another story. As with most student films where you hire your friends, the performances are laughably bad. The teenagers are like Scooby and the gang, minus Scooby, and emotions, and any distinct personalities. In fact Scooby-Doo is miles above these people. We have the tall silent David, who really doesn't do much in the film, his friend Jim who provides some of the worst dialog this film has to offer, Viki who is dating Jim and provides nothing to the film except to wander off all the time and Susan who also doesn't offer much, except for the fact she doesn't appear to wear a bra for the entire film.
In case the acting and characters weren't bad enough, the dialog is here to bring it all to home. After encountering a monster Jim decides to speak his mind, "I just want you all to know... I'm scared." Good job Jim, way to be brave in front of the ladies. What makes this better is about a minute later Jim decides he will wander through the woods alone to go retrieve his camera which he dropped earlier. An old man who lives in a cave (though no one seems to think this is odd) has a similar change of heart. After telling the teenagers that he will never give them the book, he promptly tells them "I can't let you leave empty handed." and hands them the book. Now maybe the old man is just senile, and maybe Jim is as well, in fact maybe they all are. It would certainly make more sense.
At one point they spot a castle in the middle of the woods in California and the exchange of words goes as follows:
David "What's a castle doing in this area?"
Susan "What do you mean?"
David "Well who's ever heard of a castle around here?"
One would think that Susan could have figured out that castles aren't exactly native to California, but I guess that is too much to ask from her. Though David seems to be slightly aware of how slow she is since he simply repeats himself in response to her confusion.
Later David accidentally kills an old man who's body disappears along with the castle so they discuss these odd occurrences:
Jim "It's not easy to lose a castle and a dead body in one day."
David "Shut up."
Susan "It couldn't have been our imaginations."
David "Of course not."
Jim "What happened to it. You can't just walk off with a castle."
Susan "Well someone did."
David "Well let's go up and have a look, if there was a castle it would have left a mark of some kind."
Viki "How can anyone move a castle."
David "Maybe it wasn't really a castle, maybe it was just the false front of one."
Jim "Like in the movies!"
Something just bugs me about that fact that these people are actually talking seriously about the idea of someone picking up a castle and walking off with it. Also Jim finishes David's sentence much like Robin does in the old Adam West Batman series.
There is another point where they hear screams and growling from a cave so they go to investigate and find what appear to be dinosaur footprints. And being the intelligent and gullible people they are they instantly come to the conclusion that the two have to be related. Where as any normal person would first suspected a prank and only the guy from the loony bin would believe there is a monster (Note: this is long before they are actually attacked by any monster and even before the castle and the body have disappeared, so in other words nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred, but they are still willing to believe monsters roam the woods).
The other version of the film entitled Equinox is the re released version by Jack Woods (one of the writer of the squeal to the Blob). It made an attempt at fixing the plot by having a park ranger named Asmodeus be the one responsible for summoning the monsters. Though the re release removes the agonizingly slow 20+ minute opening of the original, it does not actually make the film better, and is actually more accidently laughable then the original.
All in all, this film is bad, but it is too the point where it is good because of how bad it is. The dialog is laughable, the characters have the emotions of a cardboard cut out and there are plenty of claymation monsters to cheer on. But it is a student film and everyone has to start somewhere so it get points for that.
So if you like bad monster movies, then grab some friends and enjoy. And in case you don't believe me, just check out the amazing trailer. EQUINOX!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE1UlPPId-o
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