Taglines: …The evil devil cult that enslaves and destroys.
Equinox movie begins with a reporter going to a local asylum to interview a strange inmate who has been there for a year. David Fielding (Edward Connell) has been in an institution since he ran from the woods leaving behind his girl friend Susan Turner (Barbara Hewitt) and two others, good buddy Jim (Frank Bonner) and his girl friend Vicki (Robin Christopher) after their picnic gone bad and he retells the tale to the reporter.
When they arrive at the State Park they discover a cave with maniacal laughter emanating from it and upon investigating discover an old man who gives them a large book containing ancient hieroglyphics and other indecipherable symbols. As they attempt to translate the writing in the book a Forest Ranger comes along but in reality the man is an ancient evil god named Asmodeus (Jack Woods) who is after the book and will do whatever it takes to retrieve it.
Asmodeus is driven to have his way with Susan and Vicki and sends forth a variety of evil monsters bent on retrieving the magical book from the teens. As the action builds to a climax David finds that he is the only one who is able to reason what is happening to the group and musters all his powers to overcome the metaphysical powers of Asmodeus.
Equinox is a 1970 American supernatural horror film directed by Jack Woods, and starring Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner and Robin Christopher. Though uncredited, producer Dennis Muren also served as a second director. The film focuses on four young people picnicking in a California canyon, where they stumble upon an ancient book used to conjure demons; soon they unleash a plethora of evil creatures.
The film was originally conceived as a short by producer-director Muren—then titled The Equinox: Journey into the Supernatural—who developed and shot it with friends Dave Allen and Jim Danforth in 1967. After independent distributor Tonylyn Productions expressed interest in distributing the film, director Jack Woods was hired to shoot additional footage and expand Muren’s short into a full-length feature film.
Equinox initially gained a reputation as a midnight movie during its theatrical run, but has in later years been noted for its economical yet sophisticated use of stop-motion special effects and cel animation, which were provided by Dave Allen and Jim Danforth; the latter later worked on Flesh Gordon, in which he animated a giant monster similar to the ones in Equinox. The cult film[5] has been influential to the horror and sci-fi monster genres, receiving praise from filmmaker George Lucas and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. It was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006.
About the Story
A reporter visits David Fielding in a psychiatric hospital for a follow-up story on the deaths of his three friends exactly one year and one day ago. David is catatonic but attacks the reporter when shown a photo of Dr. Watermann, his former professor. In the scuffle, David loses his cross and grows frantic over its disappearance. The reporter listens to tape recordings of the police interviewing David soon after he was brought to the hospital and reconstructs the events — told in flashback — which drove him insane.
David, Susan Turner, Jim Hudson and his girlfriend, Vicki, search for Dr. Watermann in a forest canyon and find that his cabin has been destroyed. While exploring a cave, they encounter a cackling old man who gives them an ancient book filled with magical lore and symbols. The book, which Watermann’s notes describe as a “veritable bible of evil,” reeks of sulfur and contains the Lord’s Prayer written backwards. The group learns Watermann’s experiments with the book’s demon-summoning rituals went awry. When he lost control of the giant tentacled creature he conjured, it destroyed his house.
Dr. Watermann suddenly appears and snatches the book from David; he and Jim give chase. David tackles him, causing him to strike his head and die. After Jim and David leave, Watermann’s body supernaturally vanishes. A forest ranger, Asmodeous, discovers Jim and David have the book and sends monsters – a giant ape-like creature and a green-skinned, fur-clad giant – to retrieve it. The ape-like creature kills the old man from the cave.
Asmodeus starts to sexually assault Susan, but her cross repels him. After Susan accidentally loses the cross, she appears demon-possessed and attacks Vicki, who is unable to stop her. David arrives and displays a mystical symbol from the book, causing Susan to lose consciousness.
Asmodeus kills Jim and reveals his true form: a winged, red demon. After killing Vicki, Asmodeus attacks David and Susan, who flee to a cemetery and cower behind a large stone cross atop a grave. As the demon flies into the cross and dies, the cemetery erupts in flames, killing Susan. A giant shadowy figure prophesies that David will be dead in one year and one day. When David panics and flees to a nearby road to summon help, a driverless car runs him down. Another car with two passengers stops to help him.
Directed by: Jack Woods
Starring: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner, Robin Christopher, Jack Woods, Fritz Leiber, James Philips, Jim Duron, Norvelle Brooks, Irving L. Lichtenstein, Jim Danforth
Screenplay by: Jack Woods
Production Design by: Sam Altonian
Cinematography by: Mike Hoover
Film Editing by: John Joyce
Makeup Department: Robynne Hoover
Music by: Jaime Mendoza-Nava
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Tonylyn Productions
Release Date: May 6, 1970
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