THE HOWLING
(1981)
Overall:
GOOD
As a piece of terrifying, lycanthropian celluloid, Joe Dante's adaptation of Gary Brandner's
The Howling
is not a particularly shining example. Yet what it does not attempt in creepy, restrained scariness, it generally
delivers in giddy, tongue-in-cheek popcorn horror flare. That
said, the opening segment in a porno booth does get under the skin, particularly when we hear Robert Picardo's voice shift to its disturbing
tone. Also, the deservedly lauded make-up effects by Rob Bottin, (who
topped himself and perhaps everyone with his legendary work on the
following year's
The Thing), are hair-raising, (har, har),
at least when they are not briefly abandoned for dated cartoons and stop motion
animation. In
typical Dante fashion, there are oodles of in-jokes and
references to other horror works, with both John Carpenter and
Forrest J. Ackerman having non-speaking cameos,
The Woflman
playing on TV, and an autographed picture of Lon Chaney Jr. quickly
showing up in an office to only name a few. The script by John Sayles,
(which was heavily re-written by Terence H. Winkless), seems rushed and sloppy at times, plus a few blasé
performances during harrowing events hardly seem appropriate, but this is still as solid and essential of a werewolf
movie as has probably ever been made.
(1983)
Dir - John Landis/Steven Spielberg/Joe Dante/George Miller
Overall: GOOD
Most
infamous for the unfortunate and controversial on-set murder of
actor Vic Morrow and two children who were working against restricted
safety guidelines,
Twilight Zone: The Movie still manages to be a
slightly above average anthology horror film despite its real life
tragedy. The notable crop of directors each remake a different story
from the original series and though they predictably vary in quality as much as in any anthology film,
they are at least singular from each other. John Landis does his
usual mix of comedy and horror in the brief prologue, but his full
segment "A Quality of Mercy" is far more weighty and dark, not least of
all because it is the one whose production resulted in the three
accidental deaths. Landis' co-producer Steven Spielberg's version of
"Kick the Can" is easily the most forgettable and is nothing more than a
whimsical, sentimental presentation of the elderly reliving their
youth. Joe Dante goes surreal with the wacky and disturbing "It's a Good
Life", visually the most interesting of the bunch. It is George Miller
though who redoes the most famous story "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" with the best results. Featuring a manically over the top
performance from John Lithgow, it is probably one of the all time best
horror shorts ever made and easily elevates the entire
collection here.
GREMLINS(1984)
Overall: GOOD
Released the same day as
Ghostbusters, the collaboration between director Joe Dante, producer Steven Spielberg, and screenwriter Chris Columbus that is
Gremlins
became yet another benchmark horror/comedy hybrid. It also single-handedly ushered in the "tiny adorable monster" sub-genre that
begat a handful of cheap to moderately successful knock-offs. The
script, (while clever in most instances), does have some questionable
logic concerning the title creatures. Plus, why are children attending
school on Christmas Eve in the first place?. Still, it works exceptionally as one of the
best examples of balancing fun, chaotic goofiness with nasty and genuinely
suspenseful scares. The set pieces are exclusively memorable and
inventive under such conditions, with most of the praise then lying at
Dante's abilities to pull off such a tonal balance, let alone with
oodles of animatronic puppets to manage. Chris Walas' top-notch gremlin
design and a committed cast that plays everything appropriately
straight both contribute significantly as well. In the hands of a less
talented personnel and/or an insufficient budget, a movie like this
would easily be a disaster. Instead, it is a well-deserving
classic which transcends its 80s nostalgic appeal.
THE 'BURBS(1989)
Overall: GREAT
One
of several exceptional works from Joe Dante in the 1980s and probably
his all out funniest movie along with the following year's
Gremlins 2: The New Batch,
The 'Burbs
is a textbook example of the type of material that the director
worked best at. Comedic elements had always been inherent throughout
his filmography and the suburban-set script by Dana Olsen primarily goes
for laughs while exploring/parodying a type of neighborhood paranoia
run absolutely amok. Like any clever mystery, the details keep pointing
to the impossible while plot elements subvert expectations, leading to a
twist that is sufficiently macabre as well as in keeping with the build
up. Filmed on Universal Studio's frequented Colonial Street, the cast
is top to bottom fantastic with Corey Feldman playing his usual stoner,
Carrie Fisher the level-headed housewife, Wendy Schaal the eye candy,
Rick Ducommun the suspicious ring-leader, Brother Theodore as the
mysteriously unfriendly foreign neighbor, Tom Hanks the everyman lead,
and a scene-stealing Bruce Dern as the gung-ho Vietnam vet. A dark comedy that keeps both feet in the comedy while still dishing out the dark, every gag works and every creepy bit chills, as is usually impossible to pull-off.
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