It Came From The Tube: GARGOYLES (1972)

Pity the poor gargoyle, second tier (at the very least) in horror iconography, resigned to being stone portents in many a film, but never getting their creepy due. This brings us to CBS’ Gargoyles (1972), a TV movie that aimed to rectify that situation and give these mostly forgotten creatures a chance to shine through the filter of a demented Saturday morning vibe.

Originally broadcast as part of The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies, Gargoyles had to contend with the ABC Movie of the Week/Marcus Welby M.D. and NBC’s The Bold Ones: The New Doctors/NBC Reports. (Please, if anyone has seen The Bold Ones, hit me up. I need to know these things.) And Gargoyles did make an impact, earning a Primetime Emmy for Makeup from some new up-and-comer named Stan Winston. (We’ll get to him in a bit.)

Let’s grab our TV GUIDE off the stone perch and see what these demented demons have in store, shall we?

GARGOYLES (Tuesday, 9:30pm, CBS)

An anthropologist and his daughter come across an ancient race of demons ready to conquer the world. Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt star.

Our telefilm opens with Dr. Mercer Foley (Wilde – The Norseman) picking up his daughter Diana (Salt – Sisters) at a New Mexico airport. She’s there to help him with his latest find. The owner of a gas station/curiosities shop, Uncle Willie (Woody Chambliss – The Devil’s Rain), has in his possession a unique skeleton with its very own wingspan that he hauled over the hills from a Native American resting place (never a good sign). Disbelieving at first, the good doctor soon comes around as the winged creatures attack and destroy Uncle Willie’s establishment, burning it to the ground.

Off to the police it is then, who are just as leery as the doc was, and it takes the help of some imprisoned dirt bikers (including Scott Glenn!) to help Foley recover Diana, who has been abducted by the gargoyles in an effort to learn more about the culture. (Their race only comes around every 500 years—who will teach them the ways of Pong?) Oh, and they have about 1,000 eggs in their cave ready to hatch. Will the gargoyles succeed in their mission to take over earth, or will they be stuck guarding buildings forever?

Gargoyles opens with graven narration on how the critters are descended from Satan, therefore are VERY EVIL, and should be avoided at all costs. Frankly, only showing up every 500 years seems like a poor way to propagate your species; that and hiding in caves does not scream world domination. Having said that, this is TV and the stakes need to be front and center ASAP to capture the viewer in a scant 75-minute runtime. The desert location certainly helps in establishing a foreboding mood—along with aerial shots of the creatures following Foley and Diana down every barren road they travel, their shadowed presence provides an effective way to demonstrate their prowess without breaking the bank.

As with most TV horror, implied is the game and Gargoyles is no different. Any nods to the fantastic are through Stan Winston's (Aliens, et al) efforts, and they are more or less pretty cool (more due to the terrific, expressive makeup, less the costumes themselves, which are occasionally ill-fitting, to be kind). All the terror comes from Bernie Casey's (In the Mouth of Madness) work as the head gargoyle; even with the modulated voice coming from Vic Perrin, Casey's presence cannot be denied, and he always knows how to leave an impression. Wilde has “professor” down pat, and while Salt wouldn’t break out until De Palma’s Sisters the following year, she offers enough of her quirky charm to suggest bigger things were coming.

Director Bill Norton (More American Graffiti) and writers Stephen and Elinor Karpf (Kung Fu) do try to instill a mythology with Gargoyles, but there really isn’t enough time to do so. Having said that, they make up for it with the birthing scenes in the cave that seem to have crept out of the color-candied minds of Sid and Marty Krofft (it’s worth it for these alone).

I guess it’s just always nice to see TV offer up something more monster-centric in a murder mystery heavy era; and if you like the “trapped by a circling, winged monster” subgenre but want to skip the leering, literal navel-gazing ickiness of Jeepers Creepers (which owes this film a big debt), you could do a lot worse. Gargoyles is a fun and dusty romp.