Castle Freak

4/5/2023

**_Yup, there’s an ancient Italian CASTLE and a misshapen FREAK_** An American man (Jeffrey Combs) inherits a castle about an hour’s drive north of Rome and brings his wife & daughter (Barbara Crampton and Jessica Dollarhide). The couple is troubled by the husband’s alcoholism, which caused the death of their young son. Meanwhile the teen daughter insists that someone else is dwelling in the castle. Havoc ensues. I didn’t have high hopes for “Castle Freak” (1995) due to the blunt title and cheesy movie poster, but it’s surprisingly well done for a flick that only cost $500,000. I couldn’t help be reminded of HP Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror” (1970) and therefore wasn’t surprised to find out the film was inspired by Lovecraft’s "The Outsider." The tone and setting is similar to “