CommentsXp Best movie ever!

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Leofwine_draca Seen today as more of a quirky oddity than anything else, this one-of-a-kind film is a student movie that got re-edited, had new footage shot, and eventually turned into a theatrically-released movie. It's a pretty hopeless film, stifled by extremely low production values and poor technical qualities, but you can't help but to admire the imagination and effort put into it. The basic storyline is the same as the one in THE EVIL DEAD; namely a bunch of college students travel to a remote cabin in the woods belonging to a professor. It turns out that said professor has been experimenting with a book of the dead and has accidentally raised some demons, who are now unstoppable and causing hell on Earth. Fans may want to note that respected sci-fi author Fritz Leiber has a cameo appearance as the unlucky professor, who drops dead in a stream moments after his first appearance.The first half of the film is a real chore to sit through. The amateur acting is hopeless, as expected, with only lead Edward Connell putting in something resembling a half decent performance. The female cast members are appalling. The action-based scenario jumps from scene to scene, as our hapless students find mysterious footprints, see an old crazy guy in a cave, hear over-the-top laughter, and attempt to decipher the mysterious demon incantation experiments written in the book. Then there's a weird park ranger named Asmodeus (played by one of the directors, Jack Woods), who straddles a girl in an attempted rape and drools over her in a pretty disgusting scene. It later turns out that this guy is the devil, to nobody's general surprise.Things pick up for the second half of the film, which enlivens the action with some sub-Harryhausen stop-motion antics of our young heroes battling various devised creatures and monsters. Taking centre stage is a huge monster, supposedly a giant ape but looking more like a hairy space alien, who is actually pretty damn good considering the film's budget. There's also a briefly-seen giant octopus living in the woods, a blue-skinned giant caveman (who intermingles flawlessly with the human cast members), and a creepy red flying demon which pops up at the end of the film to massacre the cast only to then explode into flames when it accidentally flies into a stone cross.The story is told in flashback by the only surviving student, now in a mental asylum, which helps take up some running time but on the other hand ruins any surprise at the outcome as we know it from the start. The final scene is a chilling coda which is neatly done. Generally this film would be worthless, but with the participation of the likes of Jim Danforth, David Allen, Dennis Muren, and Fritz Leiber, it becomes kind of watchable for the effort alone. Bad, yes, but with a few genuine moments of brilliance.

Pozdnyshev There's a lot about this movie that is "bad." It's not shot very creatively, sort of a point-the-camera-at-the-action thing. The lighting is very flat and the look is grainy, like an old family s8mm film. The special effects are extremely dated, with choppy stop motion monsters and obvious double exposures. But this movie is a GEM. I mean come on, What movie before this had a bunch of teenagers going into a forest and finding giant monsters, a portal to the spirit world, a slick evil sorcerer, disturbing visions, and a death curse? All fully and skilfully depicted with creative (though cheap) special effects? None, not all in the same movie. It's an original story that seemed to influence later movies like Evil Dead II, which also had a lost castle, giant monsters, and the need to use certain rituals to fight the supernatural presence. It's different, non-cliché, and dreamlike. Highly recommended.

zee This movie stinks.Bad script, bad acting, nothing scary, offensive to women (or any thinking human being), and stupid, stupid, stupid. The rating here is wrong. It's not a 5 star movie. It's not a 3 star movie. It's just awful.The story is a flashback narrated within a flashback narrated within a flashback, about an evil book and magical signs and the four stupidest young people on the planet who are forever splitting up when they know something is out to get them. I particularly like the way they wander off from each other in an unfamiliar cave. They're the sort of idiot characters who, by the first 20 minutes, make you root for something to kill them and thereby improve the human gene pool.Most awful, for me, was the blatant sexism of the thing. "We can't climb up there, the girls are with us." "You girls stay here." "Where's my food, woman?/You suck at cooking." On and on and on, ugly and relentless. True to 1970, I suppose, and thank goodness we are not living there any more. (Reminds me why as a child I used to hope to grow up to be a lesbian--I wasn't one, but it seemed a far better choice than dealing with men like this.)Let me say something positive about the movie: You could make a good drinking game out of it. Every time the obnoxious male leads say to their girlfriends, "you girls stay here," or "we're going alone" or something with that meaning to it, take a shot. You'll be falling down drunk halfway through.Claymation? Who cares? I've seen it before, and I've seen it better. If it were the best I'd ever seen (and it isn't) it doesn't make up for the fact that this movie is terrible, a half-star out of ten sort of terrible, a terrible that makes you long for a black and white Roger Corman film instead.Seriously, it's awful.

John W Chance When I first saw this on TV's "Late Late Show," in 1974, I was transfixed by what I thought was a cheaply shot 'teenage' devil movie that actually had an unusual story and some very bizarre special effects, making the film seem very creepy for 12:30 a.m.It's the story of four teenagers discovering an ancient text (in Bronson Canyon) that holds the key to the balance of good and evil forces in the universe. They encounter a strange looking multi colored King Kong like ape thing, a giant blue man, a disgusting looking gigantic kraken octopoid creature, and the Devil himself, Asmodeus, both as a man and a winged devil. Needless to say, the teenagers are all doomed, with the last escaping survivor being confined to a mental institution, which is where the story, told in flash backs, begins. By the end we know that not even he will escape.The film was originally made by Dennis Muran and his friends in 1967. Jack H. Woods, the producer of 'The Blob' (1958), bought the film and reassembled the cast for additional shooting in 1969 (they even use the exact same wardrobe!). The version we see is the revised one which mixes in footage from the original film. In comparing the two films, it is clear that all the additions and deletions by Jack Woods, who plays Asmodeus, really added to making it a better film. They also gave it a better music track and deepened and improved the color. Frankly, this is the magic of Hollywood-- how they seamlessly spliced parts of the two films together. In some scenes you can see that Vicki's face is thinner than it was in the first version, but other than that, what a work of art! The high point of 1960s teenage horror films! All that was missing was a teenage rock 'n' roll band and everyone doing the twist.While it featured non-stars (even for teenage movies) Frank Boer, Jr. was clearly the best of the four leads. He went on to fame as Frank Bonner, playing Herb Tarlek, a cast member of 'WKRP in Cincinnati' during the 80s. He even directed some TV. Jack Harris also produced the great comic sequel to 'The Blob', 'Beware! The Blob' (1972), with Richard Webb, Robert Walker, Jr., and a dozen funny cameos, and 'Dark Star' (1974). The only other scary movie that takes place completely in daylight that I can think of is 'Duel' (1971). 'Equinox' is a little 60s wonder that is still enjoyable to watch today. I'll give it a 6.