THE WOLFMAN (2010)

THE WOLFMAN (2010). Director: Joe Johnston.

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), an acclaimed stage actor, comes back to his ancestral home of Blackmoor and gets caught up in a nightmare when he's bitten by a werewolf and begins to transform into a flesh-tearing monster at night. This is a credible remake of the 1941 original, handsomely produced, fast-paced, and with a good lead performance from Del Toro. Danny Elfman's musical score and Shelly Johnson's cinematography are definite assets as well. The best scene has Talbot transforming in front of everyone in an operating theater in an asylum. Anthony Hopkins gives a somewhat odd performance as Talbot Sr., possibly because the character [literally] has been changed a great deal from Claude Rains' superb portrayal in the original.

Verdict: The movie is fun. ***.

MONSTERS

MONSTERS: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios. Text by Roy Milano. Del Rey Books; 2006.

This is an over-sized coffee table book celebrating all the great old Universal monsters and the films they appeared in: Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, the Invisible Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy. The film has a great many black and white photographs from the films, as well as many essays by people somehow associated with the genre. Of particular interest are the entries from the children of Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi., not to mention Gloria Stuart’s memories of working with Claude Rains on The Invisible Man. [The essays by newer filmmakers such as John Landis and Stephen Sommers are less interesting.] There’s no real critical meat to the volume, but the book is attractive, well put together, and of definite interest to fans of these films.

Verdict: For fans of Franky and the rest. ***.

THE WOLF MAN

THE WOLF MAN (1941). Director: George Waggner.

After the accidental death of his brother, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) comes home to the ancestral manor in Europe and falls for Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), the pretty daughter of an antique dealer. Unfortunately, at a carnival with Gwen, Talbot is also bitten by a werewolf, Bela (Bela Lugosi), whom he kills. Bela's mother, the gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), knows that Talbot is now under the same curse as her late son and tries to help him. The Wolf Man is not a great picture -- Curt Siodmak's screenplay doesn't hold up to much scrutiny -- but it is fast-moving and entertaining and has an extremely interesting cast. Claude Rains really classes up the movie as Talbot's father, Sir John (who figures in the moving conclusion). Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, and Patric Knowles play, respectively, the family doctor, a policeman, and Gwen's fiance. The wolf man makeup by Jack Pierce is very good, but no explanation is given for why Bela turned into an actual wolf and Talbot into a wolf man. While the "August moon" figures in a poem on lycanthropy recited (seemingly within five minutes) by three different people -- which is unintentionally comical -- the full moon aspect of the legend really doesn't play a part in the story. Unfortunately Maleva also recites the same elegy -- "the way you walked was thorny" -- three times as well. Still, this is well-acted, atmospheric, and quite watchable. Lon Chaney (he had dropped the "jr." by this time) only gives an acceptable performance, however. NOTE: For a sneak peek at the new Wolf Man, click here.

Verdict: Not a bad classic horror flick; the cast certainly helps! ***.