Dir. by Stuart Gordon
95 min.
Stuart Gordon is the only horror director that can make me cringe. I've done so during every movie of his I've seen. As far as I'm concerned, he's the most underrated dude still doing it, and his work in the last few years is the best he's ever done.
Though I didn't cringe as much as during Stuck (2007), Castle Freak is definitely his most gruesome film to date. It's unrated, and if it were to be rated by the MPAA, would no doubt receive an NC-17.
Gordon always pushes the envelope with his images, toying with his audience. He holds on the gore when you expect he might cut away from it, he cuts when you expect he might hold. In addition to that, he paints his horrific images with a very fine brush. Though the horrific acts may be similar to other films (after all, there are only so many horror situations in the world) his gore always looks different from anyone else, which is a great lesson for anyone looking to get into making horror. It's a crucial way to stray from the pack.
The only thing preventing me from giving this five stars is that the script could have been way more interesting. They had all the pieces of a compelling story there, but it didn't really gel together cohesively. That said, I adore every other aspect of this movie, and highly recommend it. It's one of his best, and at $5.99 new on Amazon.com, it's a must own.
