The Undying Monster (1942)

Director:  John Brahm

Writers:  Lillie Hayward, Michael Jacoby, Jessie Douglas Kerruish

Composers:  Emil Newman, David Raksin, Arthur Lange, Cyril J. Mockridge

Starring:  James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher, Heather Thatcher, Aubrey Mather, Halliwell Hobbes

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  Sinister! Savage! Supernatural!

Plot:  Surviving members of an aristocratic English family are threatened by a legendary monster when they venture out on chilly, foggy nights.

My rating:   6.5/10

Will I watch it again?   Nah.

 

If you're looking for some "undying monster" or werewolf action, you're going to find very little here and that's a shame.  However, what we've got is a great looking gothic mystery with a horror setting that delivers on atmosphere and a fast-paced, tight running time of just barely an hour.  It feels like a cross from a traditional werewolf movie and the Sherlock Holmes story, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, leaning heavily on the latter.  I was struck by how good the picture looked.  The pacing is brisk and I'd even say too fast because it felt like stretching it out more would've made it better and less rushed.  But they do pack an awful lot into those 63 minutes.  The performances are good and I just loved Heather Thatcher as Christy, a lady detective that works alongside Bob (James Ellison).  She's got a dark, gallows sense of humor and she gets giddy when grisly matters are discussed.  I wanted more of her.  She was a real treat.  

 

This picture looks and feels great, much better than other B-movies of the day.  And there's a reason.  It's got a bevy of talent in front of and behind the camera.  Director John Brahm would go on to make HANGOVER SQUARE (1945), a movie I've heard great things about for decades and I only know of because of Bernard Herrmann's great score from it, art director Richard Day who went on to work on some of Hollywood's biggest classics (with nearly 300 film credits!!!), plus there are the composers, specifically David Raksin and finally cinematographer Lucien Ballard who camerawork graced the screens of a lot of famous classics including THE WILD BUNCH (1969).

 

Having seen that image before watching the movie, I was waiting for it and never saw it, not even close.  I even went back and see if I blinked for too long and couldn't find it.  Maybe it was cut from the movie and only used as a publicity still.  It looks great, though.

There's a trial in the final act that felt unnecessary but it's the last five minutes that was too much to handle.  Bob and Christy solve the case but it's another character that confesses to them that they were in on it the whole time.  Everyone has a good laugh about it and Bob and Christy take it much too lightly.  If this person confessed all of this shit like that I would've been pissed and pressed formal charges.  It was a fucked up scene considering everything that everyone had just been through.  Just sayin'.  What little werewolf action there is occurs briefly in the beginning and almost as briefly near the end with everything in between a who-done-it.

WolfCop (2014)

Director: Lowell Dean

Writer: Lowell Dean

Composers: Toby Bond, Shooting Guns

Starring: Leo Fafard, Amy Matysio, Sarah Lind, Corinne Conley, Jesse Moss, Jonathan Cherry, Aidan Devine, James Whittingham

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Here comes the fuzz

Plot: As a series of strange and violent events begin to occur, an alcoholic policeman realizes that he has been turned into a werewolf as part of a larger plan.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The trailer looked like it could be fun but most of the laughs were in the trailer.  It's almost a one joke movie but writer/director Dean pulled more out of the idea.  A few minutes shy of an hour and a half, it felt a half hour too long.  I like Fafard in the lead and some of the characters/actors were fun but there were way too many slow spots to keep me into it.  I drifted a lot.  There's a little bit of nudity and gore.  I didn't drift during those parts.  It did well enough for a sequel that came out this year.  Maybe I'll check it out.  I'm willing to give this Canadian franchise another look.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

Director: Gene Fowler Jr.

Writers: Herman Cohen, Aben Kandel

Composer: Paul Dunlap

Starring: Michael Landon, Yvonne Lime, Whit Bissell, Charles Willcox, Dawn Richard, Barney Phillips, Ken Miller, Cynthia Chenault, Michael Rougas, Robert Griffin, Joseph Mell, Malcolm Atterbury, Eddie Marr, Vladimir Sokoloff, Louise Lewis, S. John Launer, Guy Williams, Dorothy Crehan

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The most amazing motion picture of our time!

Plot: A hypnotherapist uses a temperamental teenager as guinea pig for a serum which transforms him into a vicious werewolf.

My rating:

Will I watch it again?  No.

How about that hyperbolic tagline?  If this is true then we've got a serious teenage werewolf problem on our hands that's been festering in secrecy for 60 years.  This picture made a sweet bundle back then by capitalizing on the teenage market.  Now I'm sure this was a great picture to take your best gal to the drive-in because it's borderline boring enough to ensure she'd rather suck face and curl her bobbysox than to pay attention to what's on the screen.  It's a novelty to look back on this to see Landon in his first starring feature role.  It's a goofy picture but it doesn't lean enough on the culture of teenager or the things they dig, largely music.  It also doesn't have much that's fun in the way of werewolf horror.  It's OK but the filmmakers didn't try hard enough to make a good horror movie.  It's more of a picture that transforms the werewolf idea into some punk ass bitch with anger issues who recently went through puberty.  I didn't have any sympathy for anyone and I was hoping for more werewolf kills.  But then I should feel bad for not diggin' on the most amazing motion picture of our (or their) time.  If I suddenly stop updating this blog then you'll know it was werewolves that took my ass out.  Avenge me.

The Beast Must Die (1974)

Director: Paul Annett

Writers: Michael Winder, James Bish

Composer: Douglas Gamley

Starring: Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon, Michael Gambon, Sam Mansary, Andrew Lodge, Carl Bohen, Eric Carte, Valentine Dyall, Annie Ross

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!

Plot: Eight people have been invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The film begins with narration and title cards telling you that you, the viewer, are to act as a detective to figure out who the werewolf is and that you will be giving a chance to think about it when the obvious and appropriate time comes.  Not too long before the end the film stops and an animated stopwatch counts down 30 seconds as you look at the survivors to make your final guess at which point the film continues and the truth is unveiled but not in a way you would expect.  It's gimmicky but unnecessary.  The film would've played out better without that needless interruption.  Is it worth your time?  Absolutely it is.  Just look at the cast!  Are you kidding me?  Fun fact...Lockhart was the first black actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company to have lead roles.  He's great in this picture even if he tends to over do it sometimes.  Everyone else is great, too.  I dug the opening sequence and its turn of events.  I was trying to solve the mystery early on but my pick was the first one to snuff it.  I'm not very good at these things apparently.  The picture plays out nicely despite being a little slow in the second act but thing pick up quickly in the final twenty minutes.  And the ending?  Nice!  The modern score didn't do anything for me (as little as there was of any music).  Having a James Bernard soundtrack would've done a better job of creating atmosphere and making this feel more dark, deadly and horrific.  But still, it's a neat take on the murder mystery film that had been done to death for the previous forty years and it was enjoyable all the way until the end.

Fright Night Part 2 (1988)

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace

Writers: Tim Metcalfe, Miguel Tejada-Flores, Tommy Lee Wallace

Composer: Brad Fiedel

Starring: Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lind, Julie Carmen, Jon Gries, Russell Clark, Brian Thompson, Merritt Butrick

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Welcome back...

Plot: Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent from the original Fright Night must face more vampires out for revenge.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I don't ask much from sequels except that they entertain.  There have been great sequels that continued the story in a logical manner and manage to do something different (and, in the rare case, better) than the original or it can simply be a vague re-telling of the first film, hitting all of the familiar beats of that picture, but still manage to be fun and enjoyable.  This picture is closer to the latter.  I liked FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) enough that I wasn't opposed to the watching the sequel but there's an awful lot of familiarity between the two.  My only real beef with the picture is why Peter Vincent (McDowall) so damn skeptical when Charlie (Ragsdale) tells him there are more vampires.  Peter is just like he was in the first film but then he comes around to realize Charlie is right.  You'd think that Peter would be a lot more willing to believe anything Charlie tells him after FN1 but instead he's a non-believer.  If you lived in a world where vampires were just creatures of fiction only to find out that they were real, do you really think you'd go back to not believing in them after you experience them first hand?  Exactly.  But hell, it's just a movie.  There are some funny bits and neat little things (like when the werewolf guy turns and growls at the dog) and there's some prerequisite 80s horror nudity (yay!) but then there's also some 80s music video-ish moments which probably looked dated a few short years later.  But it is enjoyable and I don't think at any point did I lose interest.  Fans of the first film will likely dig this one even if a little less than the first film.  It's fun but no one involved could have hoped that this could best the original. 

Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Director: Daniel Petrie

Writers: alvin Sapinsley, Leslie H. Whitten

Composer: Bernardo Segall

Starring: David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Bradford Dillman, John Beradino, Geoffrey Lewis, Royal Dano, John Davis Chandler, Claudia McNeil, Paul R. DeVille, Dan Priest

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Deadly secrets emerge from the shadows when the full moon rises!

Plot: After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

When you're watching a 40+ year old made for TV movie, you've got to cut them a little slack, especially when it's a horror picture.  You know there's not going to be much (if any) gore but then it was the beginning of the 70s, a decade where TV movies were a much bigger deal than they are today and they put some effort into making a good product.  This one is more of a horror/drama/mystery than something made to dial up some scares.  It wouldn't be hard to figure out who or what is causing people to up and get themselves killed.  I had a blast just seeing all of the familiar faces (and voices) in the cast.  That's what drew me to this one.  The story is fine, the Louisiana locations are great and the acting works.  You don't really get any horror action until the last fifteen minutes but it's not like you're dying to see it at any point beforehand.  It's an OK film that's really only of interest to fans of any of the cast. 

Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)

Original title: Dracula Contra Frankenstein

Director: Jesus Franco

Writer: Jesus Franco, Paul D'Ales

More info: IMDb

Tagline: They have awakened... and they are the sound of terror!

Plot: Dracula kills another innocent victim and Dr. Seward decides it's time to wipe him off the face of the earth. Armed with a hammer and a wooden stake, he arrives at Castle Dracula and duly dispatches the vampire Count. Next day, however, Dr. Frankenstein arrives with his assistant, Morpho, and a large crate containing the monster. Using the blood of a pub singer who has been abducted by his creation, the doctor brings Dracula back to life and uses him for his own ends. The Count and a female vampire continue to terrorise the town, so Dr Seward once again sets out for Castle Dracula. Unfortunately, he is attacked by the Frankenstein monster and left for dead. Amira, a gypsy, rescues him and summons up a werewolf to do battle with the forces of evil...

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Well, how about that plot?  It's a great idea, actually, but it's not well executed by Franco.  It's slow.  I mean REALLY slow.  It's 82 minutes in length and the first 16 are without dialogue.  It's not a horrible 16 but it's unnecessarily slow with scenes going on too long.  There's also a good deal of padding like having the tavern entertainer sing a full song and for no reason that adds to the story.  But then again when you watch a movie with this title (and knowing it was made by Franco) you don't have to have an awful lot of story.  The atmosphere is pretty thick which helps but there's no escaping the slow pacing of a story and film that should have had a lot more to it considering the possibilities of a Dr. Frankenstein bringing Dracula back from the dead to create an army of vampires completely under Frankenstein's control.  I wouldn't be surprised if there was a much longer cut that makes more sense...wait, I guess I would be surprised.  He wrote 6 and directed 9 films in '72.  This guy was a machine.   I should catch him during a year where he wasn't as busy.  Maybe then the quality would be higher. The Image DVD I have (had) offers a non-anamorphic, low quality widescreen print in French with burned in English subs and no extras.

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)

Director: Grant Harvey

Writers: Christina Ray, Stephen Massicotte

Composer: Alex Khaskin

Starring: Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Nathaniel Arcand, JR Bourne, Hugh Dillon, Adrien Dorval, Brendan Fletcher, David La Haye, Tom McCamus, Matthew Walker, Fabian Bird, Kirk Jarrett, David MacInnis, Stevie Mitchell, Edna Rain, Jake McKinnon

More info: IMDb

Plot: Set in 19th Century Canada, Brigette and her sister Ginger take refuge in a Traders' Fort which later becomes under siege by some savage werewolves.

My rating:6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Sure.

GINGER SNAPS (2000) surprised me with its originality, GINGER SNAPS 2: UNLEASHED (2004) had my attention with its dedication to continue the story without necessarily repeating itself and this third and final film goes even further by giving us a continuation but taking us back a couple hundred years and setting it in and around a frontier fort, giving us the beginning of their werewolf story that will obviously continue for the next two centuries.  Brilliant.  I love it when a series dips its toe into an Old West setting.  This isn't quite that but it is early 19th Century and in a similar wilderness setting.  I can dig it.   For me it's the setting that makes the film and having nearly the entire picture placed within the walls of the fort works amazingly well.  It does drag a little but it's still a satisfying flick thanks to the two leads and a supporting cast of interesting (with some stereotypes) characters.  There's a good deal of gore and some neat creature effects work.  It's refreshing to see a series take a turn like this.  It's probably best to start with the first film since that one does a great job of introducing the girls in a way you will really dig them but I can't see why it would be a bad thing to start with this third film if you haven't seen any of the series.  The DVD is loaded with fun extras and the Blu-ray set of all three films was just released at a very reasonable price. 

Necroville (2007)

Directors: Billy Garberina, Richard Griffin

Writers: Billy Garberina, Adam Jarmon Brown

Composer: ???

Starring: Billy Garberina, Adam Jarmon Brown, Mark Chavez, Brandy Bluejacket, Gene Grant, Scott Phillips, Kurly Tlapoyawa, Jeremy Owen, Thomas Severinghaus, Aaron Work, Kevin Santry

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves and one horrible girlfriend

Plot: In Necroville, a city overrun by zombies, vampires, werewolves, and other monsters, Jack and his best friend Alex find work at Zom-B-Gone, a monster extermination company. Battling the legions of the undead at work and desperately trying to please Penny -- his horrible, selfish girlfriend -- at home, Jack's two world's collide when Penny's ex-boyfriend returns to town, as the unholy master of a coven of bloodthirsty vampires.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

In an effort to find a Richard Griffin picture as highly entertaining as NUN OF THAT (2009), I'm watching everything the man made.  He's a busy guy, directing 2-3 pictures a year.  So far it hasn't fared well. What I've seen beyond NUN was low budget, grade Z material.  But this film is showing some promise.  It's well-made (you know, for what it is) with a mixed bag of acting, it's a pretty good story and it's fun.  That's the most important part.  Like nearly all low budget films of this sort it has some pacing issues where it drags from time to time but it's largely a good time.  There are a few laughs that'll get you and some pretty good gore effects.  The sound effects (like gun shots and punches) could have been beefed up.  As they were, they were pretty weak.  I hate to nitpick on films like this but it felt like if this film got a little more attention in tweaking it here and there, it would have been even better.  As it is, I recommend it.  It's one of 4 Griffin horror pictures in a DVD set called, FEEDING THE MASSES HORROR COLLECTION.  I've got two more films to watch including SPLATTER DISCO (2007).  You can pick it up for under ten bucks on Amazon.  Is it worth it?  It is if you're into this kind of film making.

Cursed (2005)

Director: Wes Craven

Starring: Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg, Portia de Rossi, Mya, Shannon Elizabeth, Kristina Anapau, Daniel Edward Mora, Milo Ventimiglia, Johnny Acker, Eric Ladin, Nick Offerman, Scott Baio, Craig Kilborn, Lance Bass

More info: IMDb

Tagline: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Plot: A werewolf loose in Los Angeles changes the lives of three young adults, who, after being mauled by the beast, learn they must kill their attacker if they hope to change their fate to avoid becoming werewolves too.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I honestly didn't know anything about this when I slapped the DVD in except it was a werewolf picture.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was directed by Wes Craven, it had some names in the cast I like (Ricci, Eisenberg, Nick Offerman for starters) and it's got some funny bits along the way.  It's a fun movie. Wes Craven's not doing much more than making an enjoyable picture.  It gets a little too silly at times (I forget her name but the publicist broad who turns into a werewolf got too ridiculous for my taste) but there are other things to balance it out like the unexpected and wildly funny moment when that annoying broad turned werewolf shows up and flips a bird.  I laughed hard on that one.  I loved what they did with the character of Bo (Ventimiglia) once he confronts Jimmy (Eisenberg) on his front porch.  Nice touch.  I don't know why this has a low score on IMDb but it's definitely worth checking out.  You could do a hell of a lot worse.  I know.  I do it all the time.

The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971)

Director: Leon Klimovsky

Starring: Paul Naschy, Gaby Fuchs, Barbara Capell, Andres Resino, Yelena Samarina, Jose Marco, Betsabe Ruiz, Barta Barri, Luis Gaspar

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Things happen that have never been seen by human beings. The blood flows like vintage wine.

Plot: Elvira is travelling through the French countryside with her friend Genevieve, searching for the lost tomb of a medieval murderess and possible vampire, Countess Wandessa. They find a likely site in the castle of Waldemar Daninsky, who invites the women to stay as long as they like. As Waldemar shows Elvira the tomb that supposedly houses the countess, she accidentally causes the vampire to come back to life, hungrier than ever. Daninsky has a hidden secret of his own, but will it be enough to save the two girls from becoming Wandessa's next victims?

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

The version I watched was called THE WEREWOLF SHADOW and it ran 91 minutes.  IMDb doesn't show that run time but others run less and one more at 95 minutes.  I don't know what's missing from those 4 minutes but the one I saw had some scant nudity, making me wonder what the point in having so little was when there were many opportunities for more.  It's possible the longer cut had more. Nevertheless, more skin wouldn't have helped this picture much.  I'm still trying to figure out why Naschy has such a cult following.  I'm not seeing any charisma at all.  He moves very little and he does a lot of staring while the actor across from him does all the work.  Best unintentionally funny scene?

The pacing is slow although I did manage to barely stay awake until the end.  I was hoping for more werewolf vs. vampire broads action but you only get the one final scene in the picture where he briefly goes up against a vampire chick.  It was neat while it lasted but it wasn't enough to save this picture.  Groovy tune, though.

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)

Director: Louis Morneau

Starring: Steven Bauer, Nia Peeple, Stephen Rea, Ed Quinn, Ana Ularu, Rachel DiPillo, Adam Croasdell, Guy Wilson

More info: IMDb

Plot: Set in a 19th century village, a young man studying under a local doctor joins a team of hunters on the trail of a wolf-like creature.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

It's OK I guess.  There's nothing special about this at all.  It's a straight to DVD werewolf movie and, with the exception of having Stephen Rea, it smacks of it.  That's the biggest offender since it's Universal Studios follow up to their excellent THE WOLFMAN (2010) (only watch the superior director's cut) and for who the studio is and what it comes after, it not only should have been better all around but it should have looked and felt like the studio cared enough for anything more than a cash grab.  I'll forgive a film whose budget restraints prevent better special effects, and the effects here are sometimes pretty good (sometimes, mind you), but the film should have been better handled by the studio with a larger budget or with better folks making it.  If you expect anything like THE WOLFMAN (2010) you will be disappointed. 

FDR: American Badass! (2012)

Director: Garrett Brawith

Starring: Barry Bostwick, Lin Shaye, Bruce McGill, Ray Wise, Kevin Sorbo, William Mapother, Paul Ben-Victor, Ken Lynn Pratt, Ross Patterson, Deon Richmond

More info: IMDb

Tagline: What has two wheels and kills wherewolves? ...This guy.

Plot: In this tongue-in-cheek, fantasy based historical action thriller, Depression-era president Franklin Delano Roosevelt is bitten by a werewolf, infecting the commander in chief with polio - and a passion for ending World War II, and the Nazi wolf-men that threaten freedom everywhere.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  In a heartbeat.

OMFG!  OMFG!  OMFG!  This is fucking hilarious.  I caught the trailer last year and it floored me.  It was so outrageous that it looked like it could have been trailer for a fake movie.  It was loaded with great lines, gags and stupendously funny performances.  Then I watched the picture on Netflix streaming and about pissed myself with laughter.  I had the pals over and we all were screaming with laughter throughout the entire movie.  Barry Bostwick is friggin' hilarious.  He brings a lot of energy to FDR and the supporting cast does a great job as well.  I've only got two gripes.  The big one is the underdevelopment of the big three bad guys, Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito.  They're werewolves (which was only funny the first time you saw them - after that it was 'here we go again') and they don't do much.  They could have been so much more than one-joke characters.  That's the major bitch.  The minor one is it would have been neat to have at least one more scene with FDR involved in some action.  Outside of that, it's one hell of a funny picture and the DVD is on the way this week from Amazon.  After seeing it, this was a no-brainer of a purchase.  I hope there are lots of extras.  Director Garrett Brawith did such a great job I'm going have to check out his only other directorial credit, POOLBOY: DROWNING OUT THE FURY (2011).

Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Directors: Mans Marlind & Bjorne Stein

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Sandrine Holt, Charles Dance

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Vengeance Returns

Plot: When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I caught this one over the weekend at a drive-in theater along with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011). Because it's a really darkly-lit picture, it doesn't lend itself to watching outside. Maybe the projector bulb needed to be replaced. Any case, I like the first UNDERWORLD movie a little, didn't see the second and saw the third one in the theater for free and didn't care enough about it to go see the second one. I still feel that way but this entry isn't all that bad but it's flawed.


My biggest issue is the plot. While I like where it goes with the vampires and werewolves being found out and hunted to near-extinction and then jumping twelve years into the future, the rest of the film is about as simple as it gets. I'm not opposed to simple but there should at least be an attempt at something more than girl gets frozen for 12 years, escapes the lab to find out she's got a daughter, the daughter gets kidnapped and she and her pals rescue her to live long enough to make it to the next sequel. That's really the gist of it. They fortunately had the sense to know they couldn't survive long on that basic plot and they let it go for about 77 minutes before running the long-ass credits. That's an hour and 17 minutes.


With movies like this you can't apply much logic. It's just a bunch of beautiful people running around looking macho, doing and saying things that sound like they're badasses. Along the way there are things that just don't make any damn sense and stand out like a sore thumb. Take, for example, when Kate Beckinsale breaks out of her frozen chamber she's been locked in for the past dozen years. She's naked but that's OK because right next to her chamber is a 6' glass display case with the outfit she was wearing when she arrived, on display as if in a museum for movie clothes. It's a huge WTF moment. It's not enough to ruin the movie but it's so ludicrous that it's laughable. U:A isn't a bad movie but it's such a safe sequel that it's kind of a let down they didn't try for more.

Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)

Director: Brett Sullivan

Starring: Emily Perkins, Brendan Fletcher, Katherine Isabelle, Tatiana Maslany, Susan Adam, Janet Kidder, Chris Fassbender, Pascale Hutton, Michelle Beaudoin, Eric Johnson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It only dies if you do.

Plot: The late Ginger's sister Brigitte, now a werewolf herself, must try to find a cure for her blood lust before the next full moon while hiding out in a rehab clinic from a relentless werewolf.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Sure.

The first GINGER SNAPS (2000) flick caught me by surprise by how good it was and its fresh take on the werewolf tale. I wasn't crazy about the lead, Ginger, but I really dug her younger sister, Brigitte, who gets the lead in this first sequel. She carries it well and the story this time isn't the typical re-hash of the first one but it continues it in a logical manner. Like the first film, it's much better than it sounds or would otherwise deserve to be. So far this series has been handled with care with good performances, direction and intriguing stories. Oh, and the twist at the end of this one is kind of cool. Too bad the series (in the timeline) ends here but fortunately, they made one more with the same girls, an origin story that takes place in 19th Century Canada. That sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

The Howling (1981)

Director: Joe Dante

Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Dick Miller

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Imagine your worst fear a reality

Plot: There is a serial killer on the loose, Karen White is the only reporter he communicates with. After a near fatal encounter with him at an adult video store, she is ordered to take a vacation. Eddie was killed by Police, but Karen doesn't want to let it go and discovers that he came from a tiny community in the woods and that's where she decides to vacation with husband Bill. Big mistake, because Eddie was an outcast of a pack of Werewolves who is trying to keep a low profile and doesn't want any interviews.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Give it another 25 years.

#69 on Drive-In Delirium Volume 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

Man, I haven't seen this since the early-to-mid 80s. It's not as good as I remembered it but it's still got plenty of fun. Joe Dante's films tend to do that. It's a pretty good story with a different take on werewolves with tons of wolf references (my favorite is Slim Pickens eating Wolf brand chili) and it's not without some good suspense (the climactic battle at the barn is great). And don't forget about the coda back at the TV station. There's lots of famous faces in the cast. It's always fun seeing Dick Miller and Slim Pickens. Can't get enough of those guys and I loved Roger Corman's cameo which is an identical homage to William Castle's cameo in ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968). While it's not the home run I remembered as a kid, it's still a much better than average werewolf movie that's worth your time. It's not enough to get me to watch the 6 sequels it spawned but it's still a good time at the movies.

The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! (1972)

Director: Andy Milligan

Starring: Hope Stansbury, Jackie Skarvellis, Noel Collins, Joan Ogden, Douglas Phair

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A gruesome tale of man-eating rats and blood-sucking werewolves!

Plot: Concerns a family, the Mooneys, struggling with genetic lycanthropy. One daughter, Diana, is sent to a Scottish medical school in order to help save the family, and returns with a new husband, Gerald. The family disapproves, especially Diana's wicked sister Monica, and spends most of the movie trying to convince Gerald to leave. The family patriarch, Papa, warms to Gerald once he learns that Diana is pregnant, because a normal baby could save the bloodline. Subplots involve Monica's hatred for her animalistic brother Malcolm, who is kept chained in a room, and eldest sister Phoebe's dark secret concerning her relationship with Papa. The inevitable full moon causes the entire family to turn into werewolves, attacking Diana, Gerald, and each other.

My rating: 3.5/10

Will I watch it again? No!

#48 on Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

Yaaaaaawn. There is a TON of dialogue. You'd think Milligan was getting paid by the word and some of the British accents were so bad I'd swear half the cast were Americans. With so much dialogue, the story has to be sold by the actors. It's not like they're delivering the lines too slowly, either. No, on the contrary - often times they're firing off their lines like they're in a hurry. The acting hurts this picture plus there's just far too much time to fall asleep before the action kicks in for the last five or so minutes. Whoever played the guy that sold the chick the man-eating rats was quite good and stood out among the rest of the cast. The old man had a couple of moments where his line delivery actually worked. I'm really stretching to find anything good to say about this. The music, while nice at times, didn't fit and it was clear that Milligan permeated the movie with stock library tracks. There's a reason this isn't on DVD but it should be...there are people out there who need reliable sleep aides.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Director: John Landis

Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Beware the Moon

Plot: Two American tourists in Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

I'd swear I wrote about this one after seeing it, I think, for the first time last October. I remember bits and pieces of the first half hour but that's it. I had no fucking clue that this is as all kinds of amazing that it is. It's hilarious, the special effects are great (fuck CGI), it's well-paced and it's over before you know it. I can see why it's held in such high esteem. Great fun!

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' (1999)

Director: David J Skal

Starring: John Landis, Rick Baker

More info: IMDb

Plot: Starting with The Wolf Man (in 1941), Universal Studios made five movies featuring The Wolf Man, a character portrayed by Lon Chaney, Jr. Monster by Moonlight! explores these movies. Rick Baker explains how the make-up was done on Chaney's character. Screenwriter Curtis Siodmak took very little from earlier werewolf legends, providing his own story for some of the films. This documentary displays clips from several other movies, including Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and House of Dracula (1945).

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

Other than three trailers and one commentary (for THE WOLF MAN (1941)), this is the last of the special features in the Wolf Man Universal Legacy Collection box set. Oh, I almost forgot about the lame Stephen Sommers featurette which is nothing more than a blatant plug for his VAN HELSING (2004) movie which I still haven't seen (no rush). It's a little over a half hour long and covers the Universal werewolf pictures with some detail regarding Jack Pierce's makeup, score and screenplay (courtesy of the man himself, Curt Siodmak). It can be interesting, even though it's just a glorified fluff piece to advertise Universal's video catalog, but there is a lot of footage from the films that feels like padding. It's fun but don't expect an awful lot from it. But you don't have to buy the big ass box set like I did just to get the cool as shit busts...just start watching the video above.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Director: Neil Marshall

Starring: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Six soldiers. Full moon. No chance.

Plot: Sent on basic manoeuvres in the deep, dark forests of Scotland, a band of British Tommie's find themselves hunted, trapped and waiting for the long night to reach its end. With werewolves abound in this gripping, claustrophobic, high-octane nightmare of the worse scenario; with time running out, hope running thin and chances slipping away it begs the questions: Who can be trusted? Who will survive?

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

#11 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.


It seems like it's werewolf month at my house this week. I'm on a lycenthrope tear I guess, catching up on a bunch of werewolf pictures I've been meaning to see for years and never got around to it. This is another. Before I forget, don't waste your time with the blu-ray on this one. It's not worth the dough. The picture quality isn't what you would think and there are no extras except for the annoying fucking forced trailers when you pop in the disc that you have to chapter through to get to the main menu. I hate that shit.



All I knew going into this was that it involved soldiers and werewolves. I was pleasantly surprised to see McKidd in the lead. I loved that guy from ROME. He could be a good Bond. It's Marshall's first film as director and it really only shows in the hand to hand combat scene in the beginning. It felt clumsier than it should. Other than that it's a top notch first film with good atmosphere, performances, story, surprises and creature effects. Very nice. A few years ago I watched THE DESCENT (2005), his next film, and was less than impressed.