Rise of the Gargoyles (2009) Reviews

• Good rainy afternoon movie

  dbborroughs2009-10-11

  Workmen digging in Paris find a hidden passageway that leads to the burial place of a Gargoyle, a great winged monster that turns to stone in daylight. Its up to a professor and a few other people who know the truth to hunt the beast down before it reproduces. Better than most similar films works thanks to a better script, good effects, a good cast which doesn't seem to be working just for a buck and a director and crew who tried to turn out something other than a TV movie. I really liked this a great deal. I'm a monster nut, I love a good monster movie and will gladly sit down and watch anything with a monster. As a result I've sat through a good number of real turkey's many that premiered on the SyFy network. Most of the films seem to have been cobbled together just to make a buck. here there is none of that. We get real characters, some actors who give good performances and a sense that if the crew cares they may get to make another film. The love shows and you enjoy the movie. Certainly the plot and all that happens are ultimately rubbish, but at the same time its done well enough that you its 90 odd minutes you suspend your disbelief long enough that you end up hearing a good story. Worth a look.

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• An okay monster movie for a rainy afternoon

  jhpstrydom2011-01-01

  Delving back into the Sci-fi Channel's man eater series I found RISE OF THE GARGOYLES, an okay monster movie featuring above average acting and a reasonable storyline, my standards were considerably low because this film was directed by Bill Corcoran who also directed another man eater film called VIPERS and believe me if you've seen VIPERS, I won't blame you if you're hesitant about seeing this film. Fortunatly, this film is a whole lot better than VIPERS, its also not something I would tell the world about but at least its nowhere near as bad as VIPERS, the acting in this film is actually pretty good considering the material and the storyline is done well enough for the film to be entertaining. The CG effects are tough to judge because during the film the monster is barely seen and when it is seen, you never get a close up look at the monster its always shown from a distance, the one thing you can tell when you eventually see it, is that it is done with CGI. Overall, RISE OF THE GARGOYLES isn't something I would go out of my way to recommend but if there's nothing else to watch, then I recommend it

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• Rather enjoyable and entertaining to watch for a good weekend show.

  nk83502010-01-05

  It quite an entertaining show and the story move on nicely and neatly. Basically, its about an ancient site under a church being accidentally uncovered and release those gargoyles that threatened to breed and to overrun the world. Violent murders took place and somehow a professor become a suspect. Finally, it is up to this professor that teamed up with a reporter and her crew and a priest to stop them. Sure, the special effects (on the gargoyles and the weird flickering eggs) might be a bit of let-down but other than that, i felt the overall package more or less deliver. There are quite a number of different scenes in the show too and ensures that it wont be so monotonous or get boring. Finally there was also your usual hero saving the day stuff and i like the somehow "boring" and "predictable" ending. I would rate it 7 out of 10. Cheers~

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• Waste of Time

  claudio_carvalho2011-02-10

  In Paris, two workers find a hidden chamber while digging the underground of the Saint Jean André Church. They collect the valuable objects in the spot but they are attacked by a creature. Meanwhile, the discredited Professor Jack Randall (Eric Balfour), who wrote a book about Gargoyles rejected by the experts, is encouraged by his friend Carol Beckham (Tanya Clark) to peek the place out. They sneak in the site during the night and while Carol is collecting some artifacts, Jack is recording with his camera. Out of the blue, Jack sees a winged monster coming towards him and he flees from the location with Carol, but breaks his camera. They go to a bar and a huge stone falls over his car. Jack takes a cab to his boarding house and Carol is attacked and beheaded by a Gargoyle at her apartment. On the next morning, Jack identifies Carol's body and becomes the prime suspect of Inspector Gibert (Ifan Huw Dafydd) of several murders. Jack decides to seek out the reporter of a sensationalist newspaper, Nicole Ricard (Caroline Néron), and gives his tape to her cameraman Walsh (Justin Salinger). When Walsh recovers the badly shaped footage, he shows Nicole and they realize that Jack is not crazy and he had seen a Gargoyle indeed in the underground of the church. They decide to return to the church to investigate. "Rise of the Gargoyles" is a television movie with a non-original story, terrible screenplay, excessive use of clichés, reasonable acting and decent special effects. The greatest problem of the story is the limited budget that makes absurd that anyone in a crowded city like Paris does not see the Gargoyle attack. There are many flaws in the plot; for example, after the disappearance of Inspector Gibert, his investigation seems to be forgotten despite the great number of deaths in Paris. Another example, Jack never grieves the death of Carol. Father Gable using a rifle is also ridiculous. The good point is the gorgeous and talented Tanya Clark that I did not know but has a good, but short performance. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Filhos da Escuridão" ("Sons of the Darkness")

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• Similarities

  alvarezcomcast2009-06-23

  Cool CGI with this film since it's shot on video. The gargoyle grows a stone skin during daylight as camouflage and is affected by UV or simulated sunlight lamps. This makes it freeze in place but only if sunlight hits it. Otherwise, it reverts back in darkness. This turning to stone motif is exactly like Disney's Gargoyles cartoon (except Disney's stayed stone all day). This creature actually flies and bullets just nick the skin! Also Eric Balfour reminds me of David Naughton in "An American Werewolf in London". A pretty decent film shot entirely in Paris. This beast is vicious and shows no mercy with moves like a flyby decapitation. I like the underground tunnels and rooms of the egg nest (it's a female) and that they are ..."older than Rome".

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