(1982)
Dir - Harry Bromley Davenport
Overall: MEH
If there were not so many other dumb ones, (meaning in the slasher sub-genre), then the Xtro franchise could easily qualify as the dumbest the 1980s ever produced. Co-written and directed by Harry Bromley Davenport, (who made two more sequels after this, poor chap), Xtro is a film with a bizarre agenda. It could have been made to capitalize on the gargantuan popularity of E.T., but that certainly would not account for all of the boobs and ugly violence. The premise comes of as an after thought, just having a kid's dad get abducted and then return three years later by way of getting reborn through a woman that another alien attacks/impregnates. The rest of what happens is a reckless hodgepodge of whatever ridiculous, nasty set pieces they could come up with. The dad sucks some blood out of his son and then the son's toys come to life to murder every other character before the dad eventually changes form again to another grotesque alien creature different than the one seen in the beginning. Then it ends with a dream sequence or something maybe? Who knows and who cares. The movie would be fun due to how aggressively illogical it is, but the pacing is terrible to the point where you are too busy waiting for it to be over so you can laugh at how awful it is.
(1984)
Dir - Neil Jordan
Overall: MEH
Due to its deliberately impenetrable nature, Neil Jordan's equally whimsical and nasty adaptation of Angela Carter's The Company of Wolves does not successfully offer up that much aside from its exciting visuals. The stories-within-stories framework is initially off-putting and confusing, but after awhile it becomes so relentless that trying to follow it as a cohesive narrative proves futile. It is certainly not meant to be a run of the mill fairytale, but more of a conglomerate of multiple ones under the banner of a loss of innocence/girls reaching their sexual awakening theme. The performances are rather daft at times as characters seem either too blasé when guys are rather brutally turning into werewolves before their very eyes or too excitable, bursting into fits of rage at the drop of a dime. It is also difficult to get a beat on Sarah Patterson's Little Red Riding Hood stand in Rosaleen, who often seems scared, confused, and playful all at the same time. Again though, from a pure optical standpoint, The Company of Wolves is impressive with excellent be it dated monster effects and gorgeous, very fog-drenched scenery that seems perpetually dreamlike and outside of any specific time.
(1989)
Dir - Herbert Wise
Overall: MEH
One of the rare Nigel Kneale teleplays that is exceptionally poor, The Woman in Black was based off of Susan Hill's novel of the same name where perhaps a good amount of the blame should also be laid. Actually, this is a failure from many angles. Austrian-born director Herbert Wise worked primarily in television and his results here are plodding and problematically slow. The fact that very, very little happens to begin with is not so much of a headache as is the fact that its presentation is about an hour and some change too long. This would make for a far superior half-hour segment, perhaps something more akin to the A Ghost Story for Christmas series, seeing as how it premiered on Christmas Eve in the standard, British tradition anyway. Stretched out the way it is without nearly enough suspenseful set pieces though, it is destined to tune-out its own audience. There is not much to recommend really as the ending is also lousy and when it does kick into creepy mode, it fails to pack nearly enough of a punch as the aforementioned pacing issues do everything they can to not keep you on the edge of your seat. Improved direction and writing, a much more brisk running time, and a more generous emphasis on spookiness were all needed in spades to make it anything but forgettable.
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