Equinox

Year: 1970
Director: Jack Woods
Writer: Mark Thomas McGee
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

Equinox is a film in the Criterion Collection. For the uninitiated, Criterion puts out DVDs of movies that are for some reason important in cinema history. Oftentimes these are films overlooked by others and usually watching something from the Criterion Collection is a good bet. They're also known for making very ornate DVDs but at extremely high prices.

That's why it was so striking to me when Equinox mostly felt like an average teen sci-fi slasher flick. I don't know the full history of the film however. What it seems to be is a more "modern" take on Ray Harryhausen-type monsters attacking people. Overall though the story is very average and the effects look hilarious. Obviously this was a different time but there are better examples of effects from the time period than this. Perhaps it truly was a love letter to older monster flicks.

There was something cool and unexpected about the film. The teenagers talked in a mostly regular fashion. They had great dialog back and forth which felt natural. This is especially good for the time period where a lot of teen flicks were relegated to weird, slang-ridden messes (Did anyone say Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?).

It was an okay film but mostly laughable. I wouldn't recommend it because nothing truly stands out. This wouldn't be the first time I've struck out with Criterion. Hausu is another film which is on their list purely for "odd" value. Apparently they're both cult classics, but they don't hit the mark for me.