Castle Freak (2020) Review

Fans of Stuart Gordon’s 1995 genre masterpiece Castle Freak didn’t need to be told that Tate Steinsiek sure had his work cut out for him when he decided to tackle a remake this past year. Like many of his other works, Gordon’s Castle Freak did a magnificent job bringing the work of writing legend H.P. Lovecraft to life while putting his own trademark spin on it. Then there’s the strong opinion so many horror fans seem to have against remakes in general. So, how does Steinsiek’s Castle Freak 2020 stack up against the original? And more importantly, is it worth your time, or are you better off simply rewatching Gordon’s original camp masterpiece?

Castle Freak is the story of Rebecca (Clair Catherine), a young woman who’s been permanently blinded in a car accident. Not long afterward, she receives word that her long-absent mother has passed away. Rebecca is now the owner of her family’s ancestral castle in the Albanian countryside. Once she’s had a chance to process her surprise over the unexpected inheritance, Rebecca plans a trip to the castle with her boyfriend and a few acquaintances to check out her new property and attempt to get back in touch with her roots.

Naturally, nothing goes quite according to plan. The minute Rebecca and company arrive at the castle, they’re plagued by strange occurrences, eerie sounds, and unsettling visions. Eventually, Rebecca’s companions start dying one by one. At that point, it’s clear that something sinister is loose in the castle, and it’s up to Rebecca to survive it and unravel the mystery behind it before it’s too late.

If you’re going into the Steinsiek reboot expecting it to be equal to or better than the original, you’ll probably be disappointed. Gordon’s original is bloody, campy, shocking, and occasionally over the top in all the right ways. You’d think that Steinsiek’s history as an award-winning prosthetics artist would put the visuals in his version over the top, but you’d also be wrong. When you finally meet the “freak” that inhabits Rebecca’s newly inherited castle, it’s an underwhelming experience, partly because not enough is left to the imagination (as in Gordon’s original).

Don’t go into this, expecting characters with a lot of depth, either. Rebecca’s boyfriend is a classic gaslighting douche that will leave you wondering what on earth she sees in the guy. Their group of acquaintances is nothing more than a collection of tired stereotypes instead of a real group of individuals. Many of them positively grate your nerves throughout the viewing experience, almost leaving you glad when they finally bite the dust.

The Castle Freak reboot does have its strong points, though. First, it does a great job of expanding on the Lovecraftian universe that was merely touched upon in the original version. If you’re a fan of Lovecraft lore, you’ll appreciate this. (Think portals to other dimensions, twisted destinies, eerie prophecies, and even a couple of direct nods to well-known Lovecraft fixtures.) Some of the kill sequences are also deliciously gory, not to mention satisfying when they happen to the film’s more annoying characters.

Overall, Castle Freak doesn’t improve on the original in any meaningful way despite producer Barbara Crampton’s promises that it will. It’s not going to scare your pants off or go down in history as a modern classic, either, especially in comparison to some of the next-level horror movies we’re treated to these days. However, it’s a watchable film that holds your attention and entertains, even if it brings few genuine surprises to the table.

Style: Reboot, Creatures, Psychological, Mutants, Cult