Equinox

Equinox

Directed by Jack Woods
Writing credits Mark Thomas McGee (story) Jack Woods
Color by De Luxe

Cast:
Edward Connell .... David Fielding
Barbara Hewitt .... Susan Turner
Frank Bonner .... Jim Hudson
Robin Christopher .... Vicki 
Jack Woods .... Asmodeus
Jim Phillips .... Reporter Sloan
Fritz Leiber Jr. .... Dr. Waterman
Patrick Burke .... Branson 
Jim Duron .... Orderly

Equinox is a great film that has been a personal favorite since my early childhood. Heck, I still own a silent 12 minute Super 8 version! Four teens head off to the woods to have a picnic and visit their professor. They find an ancient tome of witchcraft and evil and soon find that hell is alive and well in the woods of Northern California. Frank Bonner, who played Jim, later went on to star as Herb Tarlick in the TV comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati." If it were not for this film, "The Evil Dead" and it's sequels may not exist as Raimi was influenced strongly by certain plot elements in "Equinox." Check out the story in pictures on the following pages, I promise I wont spoil TOO much of the flick for you! 

We see a huge explosion, then a man gets up and staggers about, recovering from his injuries..	He is shouting for a woman named Susan. We see some legs. Could they be Susan's?	The man runs through the woods for a good two minutes.You can tell he's really freaked out.
He ends up on the highway, where he tries to flag down the first car he sees..	Unfortunately, the car is without a driver and promptly mows him down and leaves him for dead.	A passing motorist comes across David's bleeding body and takes him to the hospital.
One year later- the reporter who originally covered David's story comes for a follow-up.	We join David again, albeit in a sedated state. Why? because he's fresh out of "electrotherapy."	The reporter tries speaking with him, but to no avail. David seems to be focused on one thing only.
He is engrossed with his cross. What is his strange fascination with this symbol?	Orderlies come and take away David's cross. Needless to say, he protests loudly.	We are then played an interview from when David was first admitted. On to the story.

David, Jim, Vicki, and Susan prepare for a delightful day in the country.	They plan on visiting David's professor and having a good old fashioned picnic.	They arrive at their destination, but are unsure if they have taken the correct road.
Apparently they have. They find the professor's cabin, smashed to bits, seemingly from inside.	They turn around to see Ranger Asmodeus. He asks them what they are up to.	They don't find anything odd about his name, nor do they notice that he is also the director.
Off in the distance they see a huge castle. Funny how they had never noticed it before.	The group decides to hike to the castle. Perhaps Professor Waterman is there.	They hear maniacal laughter coming from a dark cave. Now this deserves further investigation.
While the men busy themselves making torches, Susan sees some strange footprints.	Inside the cave, they find a crazy old man who gives them a dusty old tome.	The group leaves the cave unharmed, and continues towards the castle.

They settle down for their picnic, featuring world famous Kentucky Fried Chicken.	Upon opening the ancient tome, the foul stench of rotten eggs fills the air.	Of course they can't read the book, but the illustrations depict demons and sundry evil.
Professor Waterman appears from nowhere and snatches the book from the men.	They give chase. The Professor slips in a creek bed, hitting his head. He appears to have died.	After turning their backs for a minute, the two men find that the corpse has vanished into thin air.
Ranger Asmodeus attacks Susan and plants a wicked kiss on her lips. Her cross scares him away.	The group finds Susan in a daze. Apparently she can't remember what has happened to her.	They find a note from the professor, which tells about the book and what happened to him.
The reading of the Professor's note goes a lot like the tape recording in "The Evil Dead." The book is a tome of ancient evil and incantations. In the name of science, Professor Waterman had to try out some of the rituals described in the book. Much to his amazement they worked. Of course things soon got out of control, resulting in the destruction of his once-fine cabin.
The film unfolds from there. The protagonists are forced to face the evil turned flesh, courtesy of some fantastic stop-motion effects by David Allen and Jim Danforth. Unfortunately, that's all I'm gonna tell you of the story. To find out the rest, rent it for yourself. You should be able to find it as "Equinox" or "The Beast."

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