The first review of the night is AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON!
This is quite possibly the best werewolf movie ever made, paws-down. Sure, they've got great CGI effects nowadays, but you can always tell they are CGI because they don't move like real things. Which is fine if you are trying to portray something that is NOT real, but I digress. The point being, if you want to be afraid of something, it has to LOOK real, and LOOK scary. An American Werewolf in London uses makeup and the special effects of the time (pre-CGI) to make the goddamn scariest transformation sequence I have ever seen, combined with absolutely the scariest and evillest looking werewolf I have ever seen, to really scare the crap out of the viewing audience.
But here, let me set the movie up for you. Two buddies are backpacking across europe. For some reason, they decide to start with northern england. Not really sure why, because at the start of the movie, they are riding in the back of a truck full of sheep during the greyest, dreariest day I have ever seen. On the other hand, maybe that was a sunny day for northern england. I hear the weather sucks there. In any case, the sheep truck driver tells the boys to keep to the road, and stay off the moors. KEEP OFF THE MOORS! To this day I still shout it to people late at night. Usually while drunk. So the boys make it to the lovely little town of East Proctor, where they stop to warm up at the Slaughtered Lamb. They are greeted so warmly in this lovely little spot that they decide to move on within the space of minutes. Fortunately, the otherwise cheerful townsfolk decide to warn the boys again... Stick on the road... KEEP OFF THE MOORS! And frankly, who'd want to visit the moors at night? In a driving rainstorm? Without a flashlight? In any case, boys being boys, they get to chattering inanely about the usual things, and before you know it, WOOOPS! They've strayed off the road. And they are on the Moors. AW FUCK. Next thing you know, the horrible howling starts, and growling and well, you'll have to watch the rest for yourself.
This movie is awesomeness in a box. David Naughton puts in a wonderful performance as the title character, Griffin Dunne is his buddy who spends most of the movie looking like something I found leftover in my mom's fridge, and Jenny Agutter is the cutest goddamn nurse I have ever seen. The supporting cast in this movie is pretty goddamn awesome, too. This movie is the first to put forth the idea that the ghosts of the werewolf's victim stick around to haunt them until the curse of lycanthropy is lifted. And by lifted, I mean, the werewolf dies. I particularly like how, each of the werewolf's victims retain their exact personality they had at the moment of death. There's this drunken couple that were on the way to a party, and while they are talking to the main character, their faces all ripped and torn, they are the happiest goddamn dead people I've ever seen. lol The end was rather predictable, but other than that I don't think any other part of the movie is. And the music! From Blue Moon to Bad Moon Rising, it's practically a signal for weird shit to start happening. Frankly, I could have done with a bit more Jenny Agutter nudity and a bit less David Naughton nudity, but no sense trying to remake a masterpiece.
DEAD AND BURIED: I was actually thinking of reviewing night of the comet along with werewolf in london, but I found an 80's horror flick I hadn't seen before! on Netflix! I was all like NO F'IN WAY! So, of course, I had to click on it to see if I'd seen it before. I hadn't! And this movie... you know I really don't understand why I can always figure out the end before it happens. The Last Exorcism, that I review a couple weeks back, was the only one I had no idea what would happen. This one, once I kind of figured out what was going on, the ending was a foregone conclusion because it was the only one that made sense. Still, not a half bad movie, acting was so so, effects were ok, bit of nudity, Robert Englund in it, i think it qualifies as your basic 80's horror flick! But let me set the scene for you again.
A photographer stops on a deserted beach to take some pictures. Next thing he knows, there's a beautiful woman in his shot. Needless to say, in every horror flick, hot chicks are trouble. Much like real life, come to think of it. This movie is no different. Before he can change a roll of film, the poor photographer is netted by the locals and strung up to burn in the fires of hell! Or an overturned vehicle. Which, probably burns almost as hot. Which just leaves the town sheriff to try and figure out if it was just an accident... or if the fire was set to cover up the murder?
This movie even has Barry Corbin in it. At least, I think that's his name. In any case, while it's not the best movie ever made, I had never seen it before. It wasn't bad. Bit of nudity, lots of zombies, good plot twist, horrific murders, black magic. What's not to like?
Okay, I have the weekend left to catch up! Luckily I have absolutely no social life to speak of, so I can just watch movies all weekend! Now watch, I'll get like 2 or 3 invites to Halloween parties and won't be able to watch anything! lol
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