Castle Freak is an H.P.
Lovecraft adaptation from the short story “The
Outsider”, directed by Stuart Gordon and released by Full
Moon Entertainment. The plot involves a family who inherits a 12th
century mansion in Spain. John Reily (Jeffery
Combs), Susan Riley (Barbara Crampton), and Rebecca
Reily (Jessica Dollarhide), as their blind
daughter, move into the 12th century mansion. The family is still recovering from a drunken
driving accident that killed their son and left the daughter blind. John is a recovering alcoholic and is attempting
to win back his families trust. While John combats his own demons, there is
something living in the basement. This basement
creature is a maniac and eats humans if it isn’t chained to the wall. Strange
noises occur throughout the house and the Reily family believes that it’s just
the old mansion. The creature becomes loose and wreaks havoc on the mansion
murdering guests and leaving John as the prime suspect. John later finds out
that the creature in the basement is his brother. His mother locked him in the basement due to her
embarrassment of his disfigurement and that his father was not her husband’s. The
film is an excellent adaptation to the short story and keeps you in your seat
the entire time. It has become one of my
favorite films from Full Moon
Entertainment. Castle Freak was released recently
by Full
Moon Entertainment on DVD or BluRay, as well as a UK version on BluRay or DVD by 88
Films. It can be purchased through Amazon on either format and is a
must own for any horror fan.
