Criterion goes cult with 'Equinox'

Every once in awhile the Criterion Collection likes to throw a curveball at its supporters in the form of a cult release; whether it be "The Blob," " Fiend Without a Face" or one of my personal favorites, "Carnival of Souls," nobody ever expects these releases. So how does a seemingly C-grade movie about a group of teenagers who find a book on the occult and release monsters from the very depths of Hell make it in the first place? One name: Dennis Muren. \nYou all know him even if you don't recognize the name. He's the man responsible for the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park," the war machines of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and how could one forget a little series called "Star Wars." Before all of this though, Muren was busy assembling his first movie, "Equinox…A Journey into the Supernatural." It was soon after that producer Jack H. Harris bought the film, added a new director and shot more footage before stripping down the lengthy title to simply "Equinox." \nWith both versions made available in this set, what you get is one of those laughably bad movies that you can't turn away from. The dialogue oozes with cheese and the acting is some of the worst I've ever seen. Yet the stop-motion animation and visual effects this movie has, done by a bunch of youngsters, is fascinating to watch. \nIn addition to both cuts of the film available, this 2-disc set contains enough supplements to make any cult cinephile go wild. Forrest J. Ackerman, editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland," gets the ball rolling with an excellent introduction to the movie(s) while the likes of Harris and Woods handle commentary on their cut, while Muren and his pals discuss with geekish glee the original film.\nPlenty of interview material with Muren and the actors along with deleted scenes/outtakes make up the second disc but that isn't all. Two rarely seen short films are made available: one from effects animator David Allen called "The Magic Treasure," the other "Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast from Hell," is worth viewing for it's title alone. If that isn't enough, make sure to read the booklet which contains loving tributes from George Lucas and visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen. \n"Equinox" isn't for everyone, and I doubt I would even watch it again any time in the future. Yet to those who would question why such a bad movie could make it into a collection that houses some of cinema's finest moments, I point them to Criterion's mission statement which includes it being "a series of important films." Its always important to recognize first-time outings of ground-breaking filmmakers. Dennis Muren sure as hell is one of 'em.