Halloween Diary - Bad Moon Rising
I finally committed to the trio of werewolf films I have intended to treat myself to a triple feature for as long as I've been a horror fan. It is inexplicable that I have never watched The Wolf Man (1941), An American Werewolf in London (1981), & The Howling (1981) in one evening in October, but I honestly never have. And starting with The Wolf Man was such the right decision considering how it is name-dropped a few times in ...London and shown onscreen in The Howling. Of course, The Wolf Man is the far more serious of the three while the 80s homages to it have their moments of satire and humorous touches.
For ...London, it is the nightmares that really sets it apart (the machine-gun werewolves in uniforms shooting up Naughton's family, his face turning demonic with yellow eyes while in a hospital bed in the middle of a forest when nurse Agutter approaches, another werewolf in uniform stabbing Agutter, and seeing Dunne gradually worsening with rot with each passing "visit") and, of course, Piccadilly Circus run amok when Naughton's full transformation causes crashes and leaves bodies torn asunder, while all the call backs to The Wolf Man (Dee Wallace's husband was named Bill Neill, while Macnee is named George Waggner) and the inclusion of so many familiar faces in The Howling (like Carradine, Macnee, McCarthy, Pickins, Willingham, and Picardo, with the scene stealing Miller always treated with the best lines in Dante films; seeing Kenneth Tobey startled me because I completely forgot he was in this!) just made the triple feature so worthwhile.
The Howling isn't played for as many laughs as ...London but how could werewolf film buffs not love all the little nods? As much as I consider Bottin an effects god, Dante having to feature long transformations while the likes of Wallace and Dugan must remain close by can be a bit far-fetched. Still, I like that we get plenty of werewolves in The Howling while ...London disappoints in that regard. But in regards to transformations, the always-mentioned agony of Naughton, and how Baker makes sure the change looks as painful and "stretching" as possible is well respected by this horror fan, for sure. The efforts of both Baker and Bottin do not go unnoticed. I just grooved to Picardo pulling a bullet from his forehead. The torn apart faces, on the other hand, in both films are so money...fucking hell, they are grotesque and effective!
As far as The Wolf Man, I have spoken in length on it many times before, but I will say that out of all the all-star casts in these great (and not-so-great but still fun) Universal Monster Movie releases, it has my favorite. Just this list says it all: Chaney, Jr, Rains, Ankers, Bellamy, Knowles, Lugosi, and Ouspenskaya. All of those actors/actresses have been in other films for Universal, but the collection in this film together just enhance the film beyond the photographic allure, memorable dialogue (I love Ouspenskaya in this), iconic makup and design of the werewolf Chaney transforms into for the first time aided by them. This is for me the perfect Universal horror film. It will always be real love in my life. I admire its achievements in almost every aspect, from casting to makeup work to the sets and technical expertise. It is essential October viewing.
The Wolf Man * * * * *
An American Werewolf in London * * * *
The Howling * * * *
I definitely want to write about the latter films in long form someday, but having watched the triple feature in sequence has sort of zapped me. I just feel like I owe both of them more than what little remaining energy I currently have.
For ...London, it is the nightmares that really sets it apart (the machine-gun werewolves in uniforms shooting up Naughton's family, his face turning demonic with yellow eyes while in a hospital bed in the middle of a forest when nurse Agutter approaches, another werewolf in uniform stabbing Agutter, and seeing Dunne gradually worsening with rot with each passing "visit") and, of course, Piccadilly Circus run amok when Naughton's full transformation causes crashes and leaves bodies torn asunder, while all the call backs to The Wolf Man (Dee Wallace's husband was named Bill Neill, while Macnee is named George Waggner) and the inclusion of so many familiar faces in The Howling (like Carradine, Macnee, McCarthy, Pickins, Willingham, and Picardo, with the scene stealing Miller always treated with the best lines in Dante films; seeing Kenneth Tobey startled me because I completely forgot he was in this!) just made the triple feature so worthwhile.
The Howling isn't played for as many laughs as ...London but how could werewolf film buffs not love all the little nods? As much as I consider Bottin an effects god, Dante having to feature long transformations while the likes of Wallace and Dugan must remain close by can be a bit far-fetched. Still, I like that we get plenty of werewolves in The Howling while ...London disappoints in that regard. But in regards to transformations, the always-mentioned agony of Naughton, and how Baker makes sure the change looks as painful and "stretching" as possible is well respected by this horror fan, for sure. The efforts of both Baker and Bottin do not go unnoticed. I just grooved to Picardo pulling a bullet from his forehead. The torn apart faces, on the other hand, in both films are so money...fucking hell, they are grotesque and effective!
As far as The Wolf Man, I have spoken in length on it many times before, but I will say that out of all the all-star casts in these great (and not-so-great but still fun) Universal Monster Movie releases, it has my favorite. Just this list says it all: Chaney, Jr, Rains, Ankers, Bellamy, Knowles, Lugosi, and Ouspenskaya. All of those actors/actresses have been in other films for Universal, but the collection in this film together just enhance the film beyond the photographic allure, memorable dialogue (I love Ouspenskaya in this), iconic makup and design of the werewolf Chaney transforms into for the first time aided by them. This is for me the perfect Universal horror film. It will always be real love in my life. I admire its achievements in almost every aspect, from casting to makeup work to the sets and technical expertise. It is essential October viewing.
An American Werewolf in London * * * *
The Howling * * * *
I definitely want to write about the latter films in long form someday, but having watched the triple feature in sequence has sort of zapped me. I just feel like I owe both of them more than what little remaining energy I currently have.
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