Equinox (1970)

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Equinox is a 1970 American horror film. Originally made in 1967 under the title The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural it was directed by Dennis Muren, and stars Edward Connell as Dave, Barbara Hewitt as Susan Turner and Frank Bonner as Jim Hudson. The plot revolves around four young friends who head into the woods to look for the lost scientist Dr. Arthur Watermann. A forest ranger watches over the teenagers, who in reality is Asmodeus. When the kids stumble upon an ancient book, Asmodeus sends a variety of monsters to retrieve the book from them at all costs. After killing Jim, Asmodeus reveals his true form: that of a winged red demon. Asmodeus proceeds to kill Jim's girlfriend and then attacks Dave and Susan. The two run away to a cemetery and destroy the demon with a cross, and his death leads to the cemetery exploding, killing Susan in the process. Although Dave is the only survivor, he sees a shadowy giant who announces him he will be dead in one year and one day, causing Dave to go crazy after that. One year and one day later we see an evil-faced Susan arriving at the hospital to visit him, and the film ends on this ominous note.

The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural was picked up for distribution by producer Jack H. Harris, who shot new footage for the film with Jack Woods and released it in 1970 as Equinox.

The film includes a cameo from Fritz Leiber as Dr. Watermann.

Production

While studying business at Pasadena City College, Dennis Muren spent $6500 to make Equinox, which at that time was a short science fiction film. Tonylyn Productions, a small film company, liked the film enough to distribute it. Tonylyn hired film editor Jack Woods to direct additional footage in order to make Equinox into a feature-length movie. When the feature-length Equinox was released in October 1970, Muren was credited as a producer in spite of having directed much of the film and creating the special effects himself. The movie made enough money for Muren to recoup his $6500 investment.

Directed by Dennis Muren, Jack Woods - Produced by Jack H. Harris, Dennis Muren - Written by Mark Thomas McGee, Jack Woods - Starring Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner, Robin Christopher - Music by John Caper, Jr. - Cinematography Mike Hoover - Editing by John Joyce - Distributed by Tonylyn Productions - Release date October 1970 - Running time 80 min. - Country United States - Language English

Legacy

Equinox is assumed to have inspired Evil Dead, yet this has not been confirmed. It was seen by members of the crew of Evil Dead before production:

"I had seen Equinox at least twice in drive-ins before making Evil Dead. I don't recall having discussed it with [Evil Dead director] Sam Raimi, but the similarities are remarkable. I think they come from the low-budget nature of both films. That is, a few characters, an isolated, inexpensive location, and ambitious special effects. All in all, Equinox did inspire me to continue my goal of making movies. 'If they can do it...'" —Tom Sullivan, special effects and make-up artist for the Evil Dead movies, as quoted from the booklet included with the Criterion DVD set, "Backyard Monsters: Equinox and the Triumph of Love" by Brock Deshane.

There are also similarities to The Spiderwick Chronicles, a 2008 fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's bestselling series of the same name. The 2008 film also features a scientist uncle who chronicled the details of secret creatures in a book that is sought after by an evil demon goblin. There is also a woman who is deemed insane an institutionalized because of her experiences. There is also a scene where the goblin king tries to strike a deal with one of the twins to betray his family. The same scene occurs in Equinox with one of the men.

DVD release

Equinox was released on DVD in June 2006 as release 338 in The Criterion Collection.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox_(film)