Dead By Dawn 2018: An American Werewolf In London (1981)

Reposted from my Flickfeast.co.uk review.

Two young Americans, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne), are trudging across the moors of Northern England when they are attacked by a large, deadly creature. Jack is killed instantly and David survives, only to be informed (by Jack, who is now cursed to wander the Earth as a member of the undead) that he will sprout fur and fangs at the time of the next full moon, hence the title. Despite this worry, David still manages to impress the beautiful nurse looking after him (Jenny Agutter) and gets his wicked way with our very own English Rose in a scene that fuelled many the fantasy of a young lad in the mid-80s. But will his happiness last? Is he going mad? Or will he, indeed, start howling at the next full moon?

If you haven’t seen this perfectly crafted horror-comedy (though director John Landis prefers to call it a horror movie that lets you laugh)  then stop reading this review and do so immediately. Now! It is a favourite for many, many people (certainly one of mine) and remains one of the best blending of those two genres ever made. I also think that this movie, alongside Scanners, helped to expand the newly introduced home entertainment market (thanks to the major rewind moments – Scanners had that exploding head scene and this movie has not only a naked Jenny Agutter but also THE finest werewolf transformation ever committed to film, for which I am eternally in awe of the magnificent Rick Baker . . . and we shouldn’t forget his sterling work in making Jack a very real, very decomposing member of the undead). Just watch it. Seriously. Now.

For those of you who have seen it or have just watched it for the first time, how many highlights can you think of right now? It’s a long and impressive list and, in a random stream of consciousness, I would have to plump for the following: the soundtrack filled with songs that have “moon” in the title, the adult movie titled “See You Next Wednesday” (a Landis trademark in-joke for some time), a young Rik Mayall on screen for seconds, “The Slaughtered Lamb”, the amusing comic relief from the staid policemen, Frank Oz in both muppet and non-muppet form, David Naughton checking his teeth in the mirror and THAT transformation sequence. Throw in an amazing finale set in Piccadilly Circus, genuinely good acting from all three of thhe main leads, a witty script full of love for the lycanthrope myths and great direction PLUS a hell of a lot more and you have the greatest werewolf movie ever made, for my money anyway.

10/10

Buy the disc here.
Americanos can get it here.

The one, the only . . . ME. With that there John Landis.

Amityville: A New Generation (1993)

I don't know if I am just getting easier to please after enduring the awful fourth and fifth movies in this franchise or whether things genuinely picked up slightly in the early 90s but this is another Amityville movie that I actually quite enjoyed. In fact, it was pretty good and I'd even consider rewatching it.

Directed by John Murlowski, and written by Christopher DeFaria and Antonio Toro (who also wrote the instalment before this one), Amityville: A New Generation once again uses the plot device of an object from the old house ending up elsewhere and causing a lot of trouble. This time it's a mirror.

Ross Partridge plays Keyes, a young photographer who ends up being given the evil mirror by a homeless man that he photographs. Of course, he doesn't know that it's an evil mirror. It's just a mirror with a strange, ornate frame. Perhaps a number of bizarre deaths that occur to those in contact should raise suspicions but, of course, it still takes a while for Keyes to realise the truth, a truth that reveals how Keyes coming to own the mirror was more than just random chance.

It's standard nonsense, really, but it benefits from some good pacing between each of the set-pieces, a finale that is as loony as it is surprisingly interesting and a cast full of genre movie favourites - David Naughton has a decent role, Robert Rusler plays an asshole, Richard Roundtree is good to see but doesn't get much screentime, Terry O'Quinn is the man investigating the strange circumstances and Lin Shaye puts in another of her small but memorable roles in this kind of fare.

The death scenes are decent and the ridiculous plot developments are teased out in a way that makes them a bit easier to swallow. Take a moment to think about it all, however, and it quickly becomes apparent just how silly it all is. Thankfully, that doesn't need to happen until the end credits roll because Murlowski keeps things moving along nicely from start to finish. There's some fleeting nudity, decent effects, a flashback or two and a recurring surreal nightmare for the main character. Which makes it hard to hate.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amityville--New-Generation-Ross-Partridge/dp/B00006IXBM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348043184&sr=8-1

Hot Dog . . . The Movie (1984).

Very much a product of it’s time, this is one Hot Dog that sits nicely beside it’s cinema counter siblings. In other words it’s weak, tasteless and will probably leave you with a feeling of discomfort in your guts. Even viewing such movies within the context of the time they came from, there’s only so much casual racism, sexism and unfunny boorishness that viewers can take.

 

The thin plot of this film sees a young lad named Harkin Banks (Patrick Houser) picking up a hitch-hiker, Sunny (Tracy Smith), en route to a big skiing competition before getting closer to her, closer to a bunch of slacker skiers who have some natural talent but no self discipline, closer to a caricatured German baddie and closer to the lovely Shannon Tweed. Perhaps things will build to an ending that mixes some skiing action in an all-or-nothing kind of deal. You think?

 

Directed by Peter Markler, and written by Mike Marvin (who was also second unit director for the ski sequences), the most frustrating thing about this movie is how it wouldn’t have taken all that much to make it just a little bit better. There is actually some well edited skiing and stunt work here and there. David Naughton is the lead slacker skier and he’s a likeable enough guy even if he will always be remembered as, arguably, the screen’s most loveable adult lycanthrope. And if you’re a young teen hoping for some gratuitous nudity in your films then the inclusion of Shannon Tweed is like a solid-gold seal of shenanigans.

 

Sadly, everything is just weighted down by a pair of unlikeable leads (and the character of Banks singing a ditty and playing some gentle guitar after bopping with Sunny at a bar playing host to a wet t-shirt contest is one of the biggest “WTF????” moments I have had in some time), a pre-pubescent fantasy of how well-endowed women will act around anyone with a penis and a bizarre streak of xenophobia painting Europeans in general as shallow cheats and Germans, in particular, as cold relics of yesteryear who need a good slap in the face every now and again and reminded of the fact that “zat eez the vay of ze vorld” (quote made up by myself, ridiculous German accent supplied by the movie in the form of John Patrick Reger’s performance).

 

The kind of movie that makes you glad we’ve moved on quite a way from the '80s. 

 

4/10.

 

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