Okay, so I'm juggling my next review right now and its already 11 days into November without any post yet...
I'm very sorry, I'm gonna get on that as a soon as I can.
In the meantime, I found this epic fanvid on youtube of a song by one of Mike Patton's many amazing tracks with the very intense project, Mr. Bungle. I was searching around for live vids and I found this impressive work for a fan piece.
Apparently, this fan has made one of the better music videos I'd seen in a while, in league with Bungle's shocking content and really telling a wonderfully twisted story in a fantastic (both referring the awesomeness and the fantasy of the character) style. It's really a breath of fresh air since now most music videos seem to have devolved as 'candy commercials' of a sense. People seem to really have forgotten the true art form of a music video, what can come out of it can be more impressionable than a modern feature film. Foo Fighters are the only current band I know of are still holding out on this artistic part of the music video format, but even then, their videos, however fun, reek with commercial motivation, even the parody self-aware 'Big Me'. Beastie Boys, my favorite music video musicians, tried to bring it back with 'Make Some Noise/Fight for Your Right Revisited', but it ended up being somewhat overbloated and uninspired, a helpless cry for a grasp on the media of video one more time, maybe a late lesson to the master MCA, but all of the bad elements of pretension. It wasn't entirely a fun romp like 'Sabotage' and yet it wasn't a great deconstruction like 'Shake Your Rump'.
So, this guy... whoever he is... He saved the music video day for me. For now...
I feel bad because I sort of not gotten around to actually making a large enough (at least my eyes) of horror movie posts in time for October for a horror movie buff as I am, but in my defense, I never made any promises (in fact, I diverted any expectations) and I was quite busy with a handful outside of blogger. Ironically, October happened to be my most fruitful month and I expect to pull the same and more for November.
Let's begin with an old classic, shall we? Most people should be familiar in one way or another with the werewolf legend. While The Wolfman is certainly not the movie to create it, but especially given the failure of Werewolf of London, it was the first movie to introduce the lycanthropy legend to mainstream and especially influencing future cinematic depictions of the beast.
Unfortunately, that happens to be the sole benefit of the plot itself. While well paced as it is with a beginning, middle and end, the general outline of the story of The Wolf Man is not very dimensional, thematic. It's only conflict is in Lawrence Talbot (the extraordinarily underused Lon Chaney Jr., son of the horror movie master actor/make-up artist)'s fear of himself and in the entirely inconsistent attitude of the people of Llanwelly. At one moment, they hate him (and his family's unexplained reputation? - unless I missed something, please feel free to correct me in the comments section), then they don't believe him, then they are fearful of him, then they will happily hang around him, then they don't believe him again... It's weird...
Especially worse is the abruptness of the ending. When I praised the ending in An American Werewolf in London, it was because the movie had a frequent mood of the protagonist being outright doomed to lose, there was no hope. The Wolf Man felt like it couldn't decide to use the gypsy aspect as a chance to save Chaney's life or to keep his paranoia as well-founded. And when it did try to seem very downbeat, it instead went as a hokey as the introduction of a Republican serial villain. Sorry, but the music didn't help.
Fortunately, rather than in the plot, the movie is carried by the very good acting of its two lead stars, Chaney and Claude Rains. I think as of recent I've been getting into Claude Rains' skills as an actor, and he almost always pleases me. Casablanca, Notorious, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Lawrence of Arabia, so on... The dynamic in father and son attempting to come closer together through a family tragedy is well-fed by the intensity and mastery of Chaney and Rains' treatment of their characters. It leads to a grim irony in the actions of the movie's closing act, however.
The larger strength in the movie is the introduction of legendary Jack Pierce's design for the Wolf Man, originally intended for yet scrapped during production of Werewolf of London. Pierce, in his innovation during the 1930s and 40s horror hierarchy of Universal Studios, created iconic pieces for most of the monsters we now remember in nostalgic and classic movie reverence, The Wolf Man being now exception. These days, most werewolf pictures tend to reject the human aspect of the monster, but the Wolf Man is still unique in many ways for its balance of man and monster, a mythological uncontrollable force dwelling in the hearts of most people, now brought out to our faces. It's a frightening and yet fascinating study come to life visually solely by Pierce's work.
For all intents and purposes, Universal Studios owes much of its legend to Jack Pierce alone.
Moving on, the final aspect of The Wolf Man that makes it so rewatchable is the dream-like atmosphere of the sets, namely when they are at the fair or at the moors. Valentine's cinematography has a very small haze for every outdoor scene, accented by the sets hint of German Expressionist basis. Add in a little fog and BAM! The shots end up absolutely hypnotizing and it makes The Wolf Man more of a visual treat than it is given credit for. I especially enjoy shots like the wide of Sir Talbot (Rains) at the observatory or the shop of Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers)'s father. But the shots in the woods during the Wolf Man's rampage are excellent.
I can't talk down even the exotic design of the gypsy's cart.
All said and done, I give the movie a 7.5 out of 10. Watch it at least once in your life, it is very rewarding especially among the other Universal Classic Monster pictures.
When I had heard about the remake of The Wolf Man (2010, Johnston) early in its development, which I had eventually seen before I saw the 1941 original, I am ashamed to admit. I got really excited alone by the hearing of modern maverick Rick Baker's work on the make-up and was rewarded with early concept photographs when they released this great beauty...
Look at that! That's fucking terrifying! I'd hate to be attacked by something like that. That's a perfect homage to the original grotesque beauty with a modern reality and darkness to it. Adding the casting of Benicio Del Toro and I got very excited at the idea of the movie being made. Of course, that died eventually with the frequent release date delays and I eventually saw the movie in theaters and was very disappointed, a review I'd love to make sometime. In the meantime, we always have the great original.
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So, I once was asked to sum up Inception quickly for the two people in the world alive who haven't seen it. After much thought, I decided on a perfect summary of the progression of the plot and the entertainment value of the movie.
'I'm Marion Cotillard and THIS IS JACKASS!' *moves a train into a street*
'I'm Dileep Rao and THIS IS JACKASS!' *drives a van off a bridge*
'I'm Ellen Page and THIS IS JACKASS!' *jumps off a building, grabbing a reluctant Cillian Murphy with him*
'I'm Tom Hardy and THIS IS JACKASS!' *blows up a fortress*
'I'm Joseph Gordon-Levitt and THIS IS JACKASS!' *crashes an elevator - in no gravity*
'I'm Ken Watanabe and this bullet wound gave me Alzheimer's. Who am I again?'
'I'm Leonardo Di Caprio and THIS I--'
I'm not going to really cheat this review, though. Just a joke I've had for that person, summing the movie up in seven (actually six and a half lines). The movie has its strengths and weaknesses. It's not my favorite movie, but I can enjoy it and still watch it every once in a while with friends. The concept is interesting and they open up enough of a dialogue with the study of dreams to encourage both intellectual masses on the subject and then make it an accessible enough cinematic experience to bring in the laymen like myself. But they don't delve too much into it, and it's a bit too torturous of a tease. It doesn't say enough on the subject in the first third of the picture.
My best friend showed me this pic. You gotta admit you saw this meme coming.
Move on to the third act, where they begin sort of saying a bit too much. The cinematic meaning of 'show, don't tell comes to mind.' I think Christopher Nolan is a directorial giant, he's on his way to better things, it's all the more sweeter that he's commercially successful, which means whatever movie projects he should attempt now, since The Dark Knight trilogy has wrapped, he's going to get any project he wants funded. He can make a sequel to Birdemic and it's going to be funded by everybody in film with money. But he can't write well. He just can't. He either puts too much or puts too little. If a moment of realization occurs, he has the character say 'I realize this', he doesn't have enough trust in the nuances of the acting. When he introduces his characters, they are all two-dimensional. Arthur has no arc. Eames has no arc. Yusuf has like an arc that involves 'Huh, I don't go into dreams. Okay, I'll go into dreams' and that's it. The only characters with an arc are Cobb and, to a lesser degree since it gets swallowed up by the action of the third act, Ariadne. Not even the homicidal ex-wife has an arc, she just starts crazy and ends crazy.
'That's right, I have no problems with your unstable
psychological fugue appearing in my dream threatening death.'
However, at least it makes it's plot in threes for easy accessibility to the audience. It's obvious there's a beginning, a middle and an end. And the picture does make a great use of introduction in its opening sequence, allowing us to fully know the details of the mission Cobb and company will be given before he is even offered the job. The train/riot/party sequence could make for it's own short film for its very efficient use of establishment.
This does not change the fact that the visuals are very rewarding as a piece unto themselves. The work put into even the computer-generated effects is very apparent and worthwhile. I'd love to be present on the set to see all this work. Chris Nolan and Wally Pfister certainly have a knack for camera movements and visual elements. The soundtrack ain't too bad neither, with an instant icon of a theme and a revival of Edith Piaf in it of its own.
Overall, I give it a 7 out of ten. Majorly style over substance, but the style really makes for a modern sci fi adventure that could endure long after the life of this blog and portray an icon of our entry into the 2010s.
I discovered Dream Theater has taken to utilizing a piece of score in opening its usual concert setlist. Lol, get it? Dream Theater? Dream? I thought it was funny, man...
So, I was going to post up the scariest movie scenes to affect me, but I decided against it for the time being, not wanting to force any reaction from the scenes or spoil the initial effect of any first viewing. Maybe later on, when I feel most of them had been viewed already.
Instead, I chose to focus on the movie characters that actually frightened me from the movies I'd seen them in, featuring a short log for each character explaining their fright factor to me. They range from the dramatic role to the comedic role to the human to the inhuman. Some of these characters are not at all from horror movies, but they all have some significant level of uncomfortable that they force me to feel, a fact that can be attributed to the director, the writer, the make-up artist and so many others that create a character moreso than just the usual assumption of the actor, who does the part just as well.
All things considered, its the real character of these guys that frightened me.
Count Orlock (Max Schreck) from Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) - Just look at the appearance of the thing. I said 'thing' too, not guy. It's too frightening to imagine.
Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) from Scarface (1932) - While Pacino's character may kill out of a short temper or paranoia, Camonte kills for the sheer thrill of the kill. He loves what he does and never thinks about the damage.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho (1960) - A charismatic momma's boy to the end.
HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain) from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - Cold, calculating, ready to murder, HAL is the 'electric eye' (in the words of the immortal metal deities Judas Priest!) of the third segment of the picture.
Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) from A Clockwork Orange (1971) - It's tough to make such an evil character so sympathetic. Perhaps that's part of the horror of the movie.
AFTER-THOUGHT: I'd like to include the majority of the cast in this movie. The crippled husband of a raped wife, his muscular laconic valet, the rest of Alex's droogs, the government officials, the cat lady who Alex murders... They've all got their creeps.
Carrie and Margaret White (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie) from Carrie (1976) - As a high school bully, Carrie White may or may not be your worst nightmare of retribution. But she's really a product of her environment when it comes to her psychotic mother.
The Xenomorph (Bolaji Badejo) from Alien (1979) - Look at the way this beast moves. How in the shadows he is. We barely see him. He's like Jaws, except frightening on its concept, rather than solely an environmental antagonist. And let's not forget to add in the obvious rape allegory factor.
Lloyd the Bartender (Joe Turkel) from The Shining (1980) - Yea, Jack's the monster of the thing, but the ghosts (namely Lloyd) are the ones pulling the strings on him. And Lloyd is extra-Kubrick-eerie. Jack's deffo an honorable mention.
The Thing from The Thing (1982) - We never really know which character is the thing at what time. We never really are safe from infection. And we have no method of escape. It's a creature we can't fight, we can't quarantine and we can't avoid. And it wants us.
Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from Scarface (1983) - Like I said, Camonte's scarier because he has no morality (we are revealed later on in an important scene that Montana has some morals, however few). But paranoia just as frightening when you're sitting next to the guy with the best intentions but don't know if he means well too... Really how some of the fright to DePalma, the editor and composer for eliciting this paranoia.
Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) from Blue Velvet (1986) - The guy is just a nutjob. Candy-colored clown, baby wants to fuck, the gas mask... He's a serious trip when you watch this movie late at night with no sleep... which is unfortunately how I prefer to watch David Lynch's works.
AFTERTHOUGHT: It's too bad I can't add tv characters, because Killer BOB from Twin Peaks would certainly be up here. And he's a lot worse than Frank.
Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) from the Nightmare on Elm Street series (1986-2003) - The first movie character to actually scare me based solely on appearance. When I actually became old enough to start watching the movie, I really got exposed to sadism of Krueger, the glee of his heinous acts. It did not help my impression of the character... Now, Robert Englund is one of my favorite actors, based on many performances, but largely on this.
Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) from Natural Born Killers (1994) - Again, very likable protagonists, only because, even when they're a bunch of serial killers, everybody else in the movie is a whole lot worse than them. Won't be winning no Cutest Couple awards anytime soon, though.
Brick Top (Alan Ford) from Snatch. (2001) - My first cinematic encounter with a really savage gangster character. Brick Top is ruthless and his speech on 'pig farmers' really shows his creepy colors.
Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from No Country for Old Men (2007) - He's pretty much a slasher element in a Western environment and he's got the personality to boot it.
HONORABLE MENTION: Sid's Toys from Toy Story (1995) - While revealed to be actually very kind and victims of Sid, these guys are scary as hell the first time you see them. Especially considering the shocker of Buzz and Woody's predicament, now living in the belly of the beast.
So, it may just be the circumstances around me, but despite ridding myself of some pretty heavy and distasteful vices as of recent, there's still a large amount of pessimism all around me. People left and right have been hating their life or the lives of others.
Well, cinema is meant to elicit a theme in you, and sometimes that theme ought to be an appreciation of life. Not just because if everyone killed themselves, there'd be no audience, but also because when people really cooperate with one another, that company does grow into a miracle of the world. Every life proves to be just as unique and important.
In juxtaposition, I'd suggest one of more of these films be watched as great tales of overcoming adversity in one way or another, or the real joy or good in the world. I had somebody mention to me that she thinks that I only like dark movies. She's right, I hold a great predilection of dark films. But I also enjoy particular movies that showcase triumphs over struggle, internally or externally...
The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Just look at the picture once Dorothy reaches Oz, it's in absolute Technicolor, there's no way you can hate anything when she first opens that door!
Casablanca (1942) - Rick's cynical heroism knows no bounds and he absolutely deserves a cheer for the entire third of the picture.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - While a bit more shifty as a choice due to the obvious attempted suicide plot point, it's the tale of the everyman really making a difference in the lives of those around him. And moreso, how grateful and equally gracious the people that everyman has touched are towards him. It brings out the best in people.
Singin' in the Rain (1952) - Quite possibly too fun a movie to not be enjoyed even when you're down or worse. Witty and engaging in every single sense, moreso than any musical before or after.
The Magnificent Seven (1960) - While Seven Samurai is clearly the better picture, its Western remake proves to be much more lighter and yet still portrays its message with the same intensity. A man has to do what a man has to do. And sometimes that means fighting for a good cause. Fighting for those who will fight, but need help themselves. It's a mission I've taken up for myself since I saw the movie at a young age.
Blazing Saddles (1974) - The poor brother Bart has everybody around him wanting to kill him, just for trying to help them in his newfound role of Sheriff. Nope, Bart won't take that especially, he just shows he's the slickest brother ever to enter their no-good town. It's almost Red Harvest-esque in situation, if the Continental Op were to win the hearts and minds of Personville instead of killing them.
The Blues Brothers (1980) - Two criminals on a mission from God. Just get the band back together to play great music and use the money raised from that show to save the orphanage.
Back to the Future (1985) - If Quantum Leap were never a TV show, I'd have to resort to just watching Back to the Future again and again for a great story on how much of a difference people make, just by moving about in their shoes for bit. Sure, Marty doesn't do it as literally as Dr. Beckett, but he gets an understanding of his parents and knows how to really make them out into more confidant human beings for the better.
The Princess Bride (1987) - Not just a good tale of true love fighting off and defeating all, but also some real quality entertainment, full of humor, adventure, swashbuckling and thrills.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - The future is never written. You can always make a difference, no matter what.
Schindler's List (1993) - When it comes down to it, Oskar Schindler did better than any other Nazi who attempted to protect the Jews during the Holocaust, and he did it with the best intentions, not involving currying favor from war crime trials, but just from (while initially wanting to make a business out of them) not wanting to see any more carnage.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - If you don't see any other movie on this list, see this one. The theme is simple, strongly argued and ever-lasting: Hope. Of course, I do have to warn again of the suicide subplot and the depressing atmosphere of the prison.
Forrest Gump (1994) - The continuation of a man's life who goes on to do greater things than any intellectual of the world. And his only motivating factor is also one of his most innocent characteristics by the end of the movie: Love for the girl he grew up with.
Mulan (1998) - Probably the best female character Disney has ever developed. She's strong, she's courageous, she fights back and wins for China.
Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Is the D-Day sequence going to sink you lower? Yeah, sorry. How about the many different deaths on the journey (namely the one at the German machine gun)? Yeah, sorry about that too. But right after their fight there, when Miller shows his humanity, is where the film starts to turn around and prove to be inspiring. And the biggest moment comes right at the final minutes between Ryan and his wife.
Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2 (2002/2004) - Avoiding the subpar third (even though I don't care for the second as much neither), the two movies follow an ordinary man who, despite his gifts, finds an extraordinary amount weight on his shoulders. Whilst cheesy at key points for both movies, the honesty in Peter Parker's deeds make them a bigger strength for him than any of his spider powers or intelligence. It's a tough trail but by the end of the second film, not only does he have his life in check, he has someone to help him keep rolling.
The School of Rock (2003) - A guy finds work (albeit illegally), finds a band and finds a great deal of confidence in children that have been forced to conform to their parents' well-meaning, yet close to tyrannical influence. Also, gets his roommate to dump Sarah Silverman. That's always a plus because it means to me Sarah Silverman's open. Remember that, guys.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) - One of the few movie moments to make me tear up in a happy manner is 'The Letter That Never Came.' You'll understand what that is when you see the movie.
Serenity (2005) - The Magnificent Seven, except closer to the heart, because the farmers needing protection are now a young girl who has spent the rest of her years being a part of the crew's family. And the bandits are now an unstoppable government force. Nothing to gain, everything to lose - Just the way, heroes ought to have it when they jump in the fire.
Batman Begins (2005) - Bruce Wayne, the richest man in Gotham, finds his life at its lowest point, finds a true purpose in his life (even steadfast in the face Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows' training) and returns to Gotham to stand his ground for his home. It may not seem like much but the story arc signifies a better rise than the underwhelming third installment.
16 Blocks (2006) - A story of people showing they can always change despite themselves. Really can't put it better than that.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A full on romantic tale. Come on, rags to dreams.
Up (2009) - Much like Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank Redemption and It's a Wonderful Life, I apologize. The opening minutes of Up are some of the saddest moments in cinema, both in a good and bad way. The rest of the movie, however, will do exactly what the movie's title suggests to your spirits.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - My care for this movie is known to be nonexistent among my peers, however, with its vibrant colors, fast pace and character arc of the lead character (despite almost being muddled by Michael Cera's acting), it might work for others.
The Artist (2011) - Singin' in the Rain with less of the color, but more of the emotion.
I can always think of more: Shrek/Shrek 2, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E, Jurassic Park... But I must say these movies themselves should do the trick and more... Be happy, dammit... Be happy...
It's so different from the rest of John Landis' classic comedy work, and yet many could argue that, despite such an uneasy shift, it might be his greatest work. At the same time, despite its reputation as an early form of the horror-comedy genre, inspiring such other pictures as Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) and Scream (1996), Landis himself argues that the movie is never meant to be comedic and is a straightaway horror. I don't necessarily agree to both (I leave that best Landis title to The Blues Brothers) but I can definitely say that, so far that I've seen, An American Werewolf in London is the blackest and most tragic of the black comedies I've ever seen.
I have just seen the movie for the first time last month after buying it. It's not usual for me to buy a movie before seeing it (I don't want to waste my money), but it was cheap and I was certain I'd get my money's worth. I've got that much and more.
Quite possibly the best and funniest tag line I've seen .
The story follows, as the title suggests, two Americans who are backpacking across England. After moments of fish-out-of-water status of the most dreadful kind, the two young men are attacked by a werewolf who is promptly killed after the attack. Unfortunately, one of them (Griffin Dunne) does not survive the attack. The other (David Naughton), in a worse state, is having his Dunne's character's ghost appear to him to warn him of the werewolf curse. Naughton's character at first tries to dismiss these as delusions and nightmares, but soon finds out these nightmares are very real...
This is great, ain't it? Just two best friends, cursed as walking dead.
Not too much of the humor comes from the curse of being a werewolf. I mean, there are some shocks that elicit laughs, like a very gruesome decapitation and a vividly graphic and bloody family massacre that, if it were the only scene in the movie with violence and no language or nudity were in the picture, would still get the movie it's R-rating. But those laughs are from a discomfort, a genuine reaction that tells you 'Oh this is where the horror really starts.' The laughs are from Griffin Dunne's character reacting, the quirky situations Naughton's character discovers after his rampage, he steals a balloon from a toddler and the only things the lad has to say for it is 'That naked American man stole my balloons.'
That's like a WTF? I don't mean to tell you about your own movie, Landis, but this is definite comedy. One could justify it by explaining that Landis was only 19 when he wrote the script. Well, that's certainly a point, there's an adolescent streak in the movie, namely along Jenny Agutter's character. She'd certainly fail the Bechdel Test. She not only talks about how many lovers she's had, which is a surprising amount, but she immediately has sex with Naughton's character. Adolescent script, I tell ya.
And yet there's some factor about the movie that doesn't allow us to fully enjoy the humor. Keeps that laugh stuck in our throats. It's the fact that David Naughton's character is doomed, no matter what. While most allegorical products of the werewolf story are abandoned in this picture, he has a sword of Damocles hanging above him. I have no qualms about explaining the ending later on, not just because there's more to the movie than its plot, but because the idea is that once he gets bit, his life is over, there is no way he's coming back from it and it's not just sad, it's absolutely dreadful. To watch this movie knowing he's going to die sooner or later is to have the full effect the movie had on me. And that's not even feeling bad from the gory scenarios, like the couple being ravaged or the final rampage in Piccadilly Circus.
But on the bright side, he can always come back as a vampire! Vampires are cool, right? We got out of that Twilight/Anne Rice phase, right? Right?
As a genre picture though, and a script that Landis wrote so early in his life, it has some flaws. David Naughton's character, I haven't even remembered his name. I have the movie and I'm not even bothering to check. It's because he was a bad actor. Overall, the acting was not that good in the movie, but Naughton is most notable is that he had some hits and misses. The scenes of fright and horror were the hits, everything else is pretty much a miss. My favorite scene is where Naughton's character is approached by the ghosts of Griffin's character (who at this point has decayed to outright human jerky) and the victims Naughton has killed so far in a porno theater. But Naughton doesn't really carry this scene so much as Dunne (who isn't even physically in the scene, it's a corpse puppet voiced by him) and the victims. It could be better, but it is what it is.
Dunne's character is a unique one. He's a down-to-earth dead guy. He's only been dead a couple of days and he's so casual about it. It's not that he doesn't make a big deal about it. It's that it's now who he is, so he's going to roll with it but he's still going to have that dry personality he had in the ten to fifteen minutes of the movie he was alive.
Now, the ending. The ending is really a tragedy in itself. The movie doesn't have any closure for the creature, it doesn't have any chance to say good bye. It just ends. Naughton is shot and killed and that's it, go on to the credits with the happy music 'Blue Moon' (By the way, the soundtrack is just to die for). And the thing is that you feel cheated but it just fits with the movie. You saw this horrible thing happening to the lead a million miles away and yet you still needed that shock, that sadness to happen, so instead of giving you a sort of epilogue or scene to let the mood die down, the movie just decides 'Fuck closure, we gotta better things to do, like listen to the Marcels.
On a very final point, I want to mention that this movie is also a horror movie landmark for being the first movie ever to win the Oscar for Best Make-Up. And my, what make-up it is by horror movie legend Rick Baker, up there with Tom Savini's work. In case you readers have not noticed I did not include any clips or photographs of the movie's titular beast for two reasons, 1) The transformation scene - if you have a chance to see the movie without anybody ever telling you about this scene, do it. It's going to come as a shocker, you're not going to see it coming and, even for this day and age, it is a scarcely gory scene and yet to hard to watch and incredibly well-done.You will not just actually see this person turn into a werewolf in light (unlike most shadowy transformations), you will feel his pain and it's awful. It's probably the best work Rick Baker has ever done.
2) The monster itself is distinct and realistic that I think it should also come as a surprise to the viewer the way that, say, the appearance of the Transformers or Freddy Krueger came out. It's a work of movie art and should be admired as such, in the context of the movie.
All said and done, I give the movie a 7.5 out of 10. It has a classic sense, something that will resonate in you, but it's not a perfect picture.
The making of horror movie history right here.
One more thing: The phrase in London is more than just a title. This movie really is a picture belonging to England, no matter how American it feels. The locations, the supporting characters, the atmosphere is one that is uncannily British, despite being an American director and writer and I find that a perfect accomplishment for John Landis. If I ever have a chance to go to London, I will be searching everywhere for the locations of the movie: namely Piccadilly Circus, the porno theater, the tunnel train station... They're all locations that will forever be ingrained in the legacy of this movie.
Is it really a wonder with the work of this picture why Landis went on to create one of the best music videos ever?
