CORNEL WILDE & JENNIFER SALT IN THE TV HORROR 'GARGOYLES'

year: 1972 cast: Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Bernie Casey

Beginning with Cornel Wilde and daughter Jennifer Salt investigating an old codger who runs a roadside-attraction, claiming to have a real find that turns out to be the skeletal remains of some kind of flying monster...

GARGOYLES Score: ****

Soon a horde attack. Wilde, who's an myth debunk author who must now rethink his previous theories that he accounted as fictional, and Salt escape to a motel, but that night she's kidnapped by flying green goons… with Bernie Casey as the lead Gargoyle that, thanks to Stan Winston and Rick Baker, look authentic and creepy. So it’s up to Wilde; a local Sheriff; and a dirt bike riding Scott Glenn to save the day.

This is a dusty gem for B-movie fanatics to cherish: a nifty-paced homage of old fashion monster movies and an inspiration for latter 70’s creature features including JAWS... since we don’t see the actual menace till the last half, the implied setup builds suspense, mystery, and character-development. And while it’s dated and downright silly at times, the end pays off nicely: with a premonition about who currently rules the earth, and who, and/or what, could one day inherit it.