This is definitely the best made for TV movie I have seen.The story makes sense and it's not boring. That's really all it takes to be good in the world of television movies. There's only a couple things that don't make sense. Two gargoyles break into a motel room without making a sound or breaking anything and then the professor chases them. Seems a bit far fetched but whatever. Then the lead gargoyle has taught himself to speak English, a little bit lamer. But the thing that really gets me is that all the gargoyles are very different. Some have horns, some have hair, it's a bit silly. I'm sure they did it because they didn't have the ability to make them all exactly the same so they tried to make it a non-issue by making them all very different. But those are just minor flaws in an otherwise good movie. And I must say that I really joined how the gargoyles gently caress their eggs to make them hatch, comedy gold. This is the best movie I've seen in weeks, watch it.

In addition to what the others have posted, be sure to keep an eye out for side boob in that halter top (pretty racy for '72 TV) and look out for the magical changing cop car during the dirt bike chase scene; it's a Chevy..no, it's a Ford...no, Chevy...nope, Ford again. Seriously.I saw this when it was first broadcast on TV and fondly remember the line, "Better go with her, man. One of those gar things is gonna get her."

The Gargoyles of legend hatch en masse every 600 years or so, and their time has come again. Dedicated to wiping out mankind in order to ensure their own survival, they start attacking the residents of a small desert community. An anthropology professor named Mercer Boley (Cornel Wilde) and his perky daughter Diana (Jennifer Hall) come to this place to meet with a curiosity shop proprietor, Uncle Willie (Woody Chambliss), and soon realize the nature of the situation when the shop is attacked and Uncle Willie is killed. The local police chief (William Stevens) rounds up a gang of dirt bikers who he assumes are the ones who killed Willie, only to end up needing their services in order to combat the winged creatures.'Gargoyles' is never really scary, but it is suitably eerie in spots and has a touch of style to it, with director Bill L. Norton employing some slow motion in the Gargoyle action scenes. The use of locations and the photography (by Earl Rath) is excellent, and the music score by Robert Prince is quite enjoyable as well. Certainly you can't go wrong with this top notch cast that also includes Grayson Hall as a motel owner, Bernie Casey as the head Gargoyle (this man sure has a presence on screen), Scott Glenn as heroic biker James Reeger, and Vic Perrin supplying the voice of Casey's character. This being a TV movie of the era, it has a short & sweet running time, with a story (concocted by Steven & Elinor Karpf) that moves along quite nicely, although that brief running time also means a rather rushed conclusion. The superb makeup (which earned an Emmy) was supervised by Del Armstrong and executed by Ellis Burman Jr. & a young Stan Winston.Recommended to all fans of the made-for-TV horror films of the 1970s.Eight out of 10.

An anthropologist and author (Cornel Wilde) who debunks supernatural myths and legends finds himself in possession of the remains of a gargoyle. Unfortunately for him, the other gargoyles don't take kindly to this. So they kidnap his daughter (Jennifer Salt) and take her back to their lair, where we learn all about the history and life of gargoyles.Man, TV movies in the '70s were so cool. These days it seems like it's just clichéd romantic dramedies or murder mysteries, plus that garbage they make for SyFy. Back in the day, though, TV movies were actually quality with fresh ideas. The whole concept is very interesting and, with a real budget, this could have been released theatrically. Former movie star Cornel Wilde is in his twilight years here but does a good job. The very attractive Jennifer Salt provides nice eye candy and gets the majority of the screen time with the gargoyles. Early role for Scott Glenn as a dirt bike punk. Speaking of which, watch carefully for the scene where the cop backs his car up quickly to go chase after the dirt bike punks. The car comes within inches of hitting an obviously startled Jennifer Salt.Notable for being the first movie for make-up and special effects great, Stan Winston. The costumes and makeup used for the gargoyles here is pretty cool and fun. Yeah, you can tell they are costumes but given the obvious budgetary restrictions of a made-for-TV movie in 1972, I think they're damn impressive. I have a lot more respect for the craftsmanship that went into this than most of what you will see today in low budget movies with shitty cartoonish CGI.