Equinox

Equinox is a 1970 American supernatural horror film directed by Jack Woods, and starring Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner and Robin Christopher. Though uncredited, producer Dennis Muren also served as a second director. The film focuses on four young people picnicking in a California canyon, where they stumble upon an ancient book used to conjure demons; soon they unleash a plethora of evil creatures.[4] The film was originally conceived as a short by producer-director Muren—then titled The Equinox: Journey into the Supernatural—who developed and shot it with friends Dave Allen and Jim Danforth in 1967. After independent distributor Tonylyn Productions expressed interest in distributing the film, director Jack Woods was hired to shoot additional footage and expand Muren's short into a full-length feature film. Equinox initially gained a reputation as a midnight movie during its theatrical run, but has in later years been noted for its economical yet sophisticated use of stop-motion special effects and cel animation, which were provided by Dave Allen and Jim Danforth; the latter later worked on Flesh Gordon, in which he animated a giant monster similar to the ones in Equinox. The cult film[5] has been influential to the horror and sci-fi monster genres, receiving praise from filmmaker George Lucas and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. It was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006.