Watch Equinox For Free

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Four teenagers go hiking into the woods. The quartet discover an ancient book that contains secret information that enables creatures from another dimension to enter into our world. Writer/director Jack Woods does a nice job of crafting a spooky gloom-doom atmosphere. The stop-motion animation monsters and forced perspective giant are both genuinely cool. Woods acquits himself well as sinister park ranger Asmodeus while fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr. has a ball as a deranged professor. Jaime Mendoza-Nava's spirited shuddery score hits the stirring spot. Moreover, this funky little Do-It-Yourself independent picture that could not only served as a definite influence on both "Phantasm" and "The Evil Dead," but also was the training ground for notable special effects masters David Allen, Jim Danforth, and Dennis Muren. Granted, this movie is certainly rough around the edges (the acting by most of the cast in particular leaves a good deal to be desired), but it's nonetheless done with a winning surplus of pure heart, sincerity, and enthusiasm that's both endearing and entertaining in equal measure.

There are two versions to Equinox, one more coherent than the other. Unfortunately both have several issues. Both, do have a certain charm however. For such a low budget production the effects are okay, there's some early stop motion effects by David Allen (Laserblast). These effects are decent but jittery and at times a little sloppy. Allen's later work is certainly better. There are several creatures on display-all from Allen's wonderful imagination. There's a King Kong-like demon ape (seen on the film's poster), a Cthulhu-like squid creature, and a devil-like demon. Presented in all its weak and terrible glory is a man painted green in an animal pelt who resembles the Jolly Green Giant. The stop motion creatures are serious and diabolical, clicking with the film's tone-then along comes that eye sore which comes and then goes. The characters are bland but occasionally likable but the acting ranges from moderately decent to awful. The story is actually pretty interesting and inspired Sam Raimi's Evil Dead (1981). Basically there's two versions to the film (hurray for confusion) there's the 1967 film and the 1970 film.67 Plot- David receives a call from his teacher (who resides in a cabin in the woods). David sets out to visit his friend with 3 other friends. They find the place in shambles and all begin to explore. Vickie finds a castle and gathers the others. Once inside they wind up in a cave with an odd old man. He gives them a book and tells them to leave. David skims through the book and reads a note left by his teacher. The book is a gateway between the realms of shadow and light. His teacher snatches the book away as they're attacked by a monster, then the Jolly Green Giant appears, as does a demon...70 Plot- Best friends Jim, David, and their girl friends go on a picnic. They have a run in with Asmodeus the park ranger (cool name), find a book, and monsters.The 1967 film is highly recommended, it has a dull driving sequence but has a fluent flow. The 1970 film is a real chore to get through with sloppy editing, odd/uneventful pacing, and is overall awful. Sadly people are most familiar with the 1970 version, which is why so many people hate it. I say give the 67 film a watch, it's no Evil Dead but for a low budget horror film from the 60s (a time when sci-fi was all the rage) it's pretty entertaining and imaginative with a campy charm.

Spoiled Generation Xers and the Young Millennials Who Haven't Stopped to Think Much About it, Make Stupid Remarks About This Labor of Love that Are, To Be Kind, Uninformed. They Just Do Not Have a Clue Just How Difficult it was to Make a Movie in the 1960's with Virtually No-Budget.In the Pre Digital Age there was Only 16mm and Super 8 and All Movie Cameras at the Time were Clunky and Very Limited, Analog Reel to Reel Tape Recorders (even the Cassette Tape was just being developed but not in wide use). Films had to be Hand Spiced with Glue and Tape and SFX of Any Kind were a Daunting Task.But that Didn't Inhibit these Film Fanatics from Their Goal, In Retrospect, to Include an Insane Amount of Movie Magic . These Cinema Crusaders were Weaned on Famous Monsters of Filmland (Forrest J. Ackerman's Influential "Fanzine"), The Late Late Show, Saturday Matinees, and The Drive-In. These First Generation Fanboys Took a Couple of Thousand Dollars and Went to Work.It was a Lot of Work. Their Efforts Resulted in This Underground Classic. The Film is Filled with Incredible Imaginative Stuff. The Stop-Motion Creatures were Varied and Charming. The Story is an Homage to Films that Include The Occult, Monsters, Parallel Dimensions, Satan, Dementia, and More. The Impressive Cinematography with Forced Perspectives and the Like Make This an Awesome Achievement.Combining Talent and Sheer Willpower They Made a Movie that is Still Talked About Today. Just Ask the Folks at Criterion, No Slouches When it Comes to Recognizing Film as Art. This is a Masterpiece of Primitive Art, So Rich and Realized that it Inspired Future Filmmakers and is an Example of the Sometimes Unbridled Drive and Ambition that is the Human Spirit. We are Creative Creatures, Yearning to Express and Examine, and These Kids Surely Did.Overall, a Must See for Youngsters Eager to Explore Movie Making, B-Movie Lovers, Stop-Motion Freaks, Drive-In and Grindhouse Fans, and Anyone Interested in Just What Can Be Done with Limited Resources and Unlimited Imagination.

Please understand. When I give this only a 2/10, that really is a pretty accurate assessment of the quality of the movie in almost every respect. I'm not knocking the kids who made it. It was apparently done by a bunch of relatively inexperienced young people on a shoestring budget, and I respect the effort that was put into it - but the fact that somebody tried hard isn't going to make me pretend that this is anything but what it is - a really bad horror movie about four young people who on a hike through the woods discover a book about evil that eventually has them doing battle with the devil. The stop motion animation on the various creatures that appear can be forgiven - not only was this a shoestring budget, but it was also made in 1970. The field of special effects was still developing, and the creatures were quite fine. It was more the acting and the dialogue than any of the technical aspects that dragged this down. The dialogue between the characters didn't seem natural. More than anything, it sounded dubbed (even though this was obviously done in English) - almost as if the movie had been filmed and then the dialogue was redone later. Maybe that was typical of very low budget movies in the era? I'm not sure about that but I found it very distracting, because the dialogue wasn't always in sync with the mouths of the actors - even though even a cursory bit of lip reading confirms that the actors were saying the words we were hearing.Really this is most interesting for some of the names that are associated with it. One of the four young people (Jim) is played by Frank Bonner, who would go on to much greater fame some years later as Herb Tarlek on the TV show "WKRP in Cincinnati." I also did a double take when, glancing at the credits as they rolled at the start of the movie, I noticed that the assistant camera man was Ed Begley, Jr! Also, Dennis Muren (uncredited as one of the directors) went on to do some visual effects work on some pretty big movies, including several of the Star Wars episodes and Battlestar Galactica. So there was obviously some talent (or at least some potential talent) involved with this which makes it worth watching as a curiosity, but little more. (2/10)