SILVER BULLET

SILVER BULLET (aka Stephen King's Silver Bullet/1985). Director: Daniel Attias.

In the small town of Tarkers Mills, a "maniac" is on the loose, targeting young and old, tearing people literally to pieces. Young Marty (Corey Haim), who is in a wheelchair, inadvertently discovers the identity of the person who can transform into a werewolf, and has to do what he can to protect himself and his family, including his sister, Jane (Megan Follows) and fairly obnoxious Uncle Red (Gary Busey of The Firm). With this premise there's no reason why Silver Bullet shouldn't have emerged as an edge-of-your-seat terrifying suspense film and mystery, but there's way too much of the comparatively boring kid and his family, minimizing the tension despite a couple of exciting and scary sequences. Stephen King's screenplay, based on his book "Cycle of the Werewolf," features characters that often act stupidly, as well as moments of sheer illogic. Busey's irritating presence is no help, although there are good performances in the film: Haim is notable as the kid; Everett McGill makes a mild impression as the town's minister; Terry O'Quinn [Black Widow] is fine as the sheriff; but Kent Broadhurst really scores as the father of a murdered boy -- his reaction when he finds his son's body (the pieces of which which are not shown) is very powerfully played. Lawrence Tierney [Bodyguard] has a small role as a bartender who meets a grim end. Carlo Rambaldi's creature FX are mostly first-rate.

Verdict: So-so werewolf movie with some good scenes and interesting elements. **1/2.

CURSED

CURSED (2005). Director: Wes Craven.

"There's no such thing as 'safe sex' with a werewolf."

Ellie (Christina Ricci of Lizzie Borden Took an Axe) and Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg) are a likable brother and sister team living on their own, but their lives are upended when they are attacked by a werewolf, whose identity is unknown. As the two wonder what's going to happen to them due to the werewolf curse, they try to ferret out the identity of the original werewolf, whom they suspect might be Ellie's boyfriend, Jake (Joshua Jackson of I Love Your Work). Or could it be someone else they know? Cursed is an entertaining, well-acted flick, with some exciting scenes and good FX work, but it becomes rather stupid as it progresses. Actor Scott Baio plays himself in a couple of scenes, as does former talk show host Craig Kilborne, and Lance Bass. Good-looking Milo Ventimiglia plays Bo, a homophobic jock who bullies hetero Jimmy, but who turns out to be gay himself; he's fine.

Verdict: Likable actors and characters help put this over. **1/2.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF

Oliver Reed

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961). Director: Terence Fisher.

In a prologue, we meet a miserable landowner, the Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson), who wrongly imprisons a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain), simply because she won't respond to his repulsive advances. In her cell the poor woman is raped by another prisoner (Richard Wadsworth), and then dies in child birth. Her son, Leon (Oliver Reed), is raised by the gentlemanly and compassionate Alfredo (Clifford Evans). Leon goes off to work for a wine merchant, and falls for the man's daughter, Christina (Catherine Feller). Christina's father objects to their romance, but Leon has a more serious problem -- when the moon is full the cursed man turns into a werewolf, running home to commit flesh-tearing murders. Director Fisher has done some excellent Hammer horror pictures, but somehow this misses, a victim of awkward continuity and Reed's overwrought performance, although the other cast members are good, especially Feller, and Hira Talfrey as the servant Teresa. Benjamin Frankel's musical score is a decided plus. This was based on Guy Endore's "Werewolf of Paris."

Verdict: A lesser Hammer despite the talent involved. **. 

THE WEREWOLF

THE WEREWOLF (1956). Fred F. Sears.

Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch) comes into the town of Mountaincrest with no memory of who he is or what he may have done in the past couple of days. Duncan has apparently been experimented on without permission by two conscienceless mad scientists, Chambers (George Lynn) and Forrest (S. John Launer), and can turn into a murderous wolfman without warning. The werewolf make up is rather good, but it's amazing that no one in Mountaincrest seems especially astonished by a wolfman in their midst, as if this were something that happened every day. Don Megowan is the sheriff, Joyce Holden his fiancee, and Harry Lauter [Trader Tom of the China Seas] is his deputy, while Eleanore Tanin and Kim Charney play Marsh's distraught wife and son. Ritch, who gives a credible performance, wrote the screenplay for City of Fear, in which he also appeared. Decidedly downbeat and overall second-rate despite some good scenes and an effective lead performance. Sears also directed the minor sci fi classic Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and many, many other low-budget movies.

Verdict: Somber horror film. **.

THE HORROR COMICS:

THE HORROR COMICS: Fiends, Freaks and Fantastic Creatures, 1940s - 1980s. William Schoell. McFarland publishing; 2014.

Another shameless plug for my latest book, which covers about forty-five years of horror stories told in comic books. Many of these were influenced by films and radio, and sometimes the stories in horror comic books were turned into movies -- without crediting the comic book. Fans of the controversial and vivid EC horror comics will enjoy reading about the stories that were adapted for such series as Tales from the Crypt as well as for the theatrical films Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. Then there were long-running comics based on The Twilight Zone and Boris Karloff's Thriller. Giant bugs, bloodsucking vampires, flesh-eating fiends, giant voracious man-eating crabs, psychotic wives with axes, deals with the devil, adulterous husbands with murder on their minds, flesh-tearing werewolves, giant spiders with human heads and fangs, dinosaurs out-of-time and on the rampage, Frankenstein and Dracula -- The Horror Comics has it all. You'll read about such stories as "Airboy vs the Rats;" gory classics like "Foul Play;" weird ones like Simon and Kirby's "Head of the Family;" chilling heart-breakers like "Mr. Reilly, the Derelict" and "The Kid's Night Out;" adaptations of Poe, Lovecraft, Stevenson and Ray Bradbury -- and much more, such as the classic terror tale from Dell's Ghost Stories: "The Horror of Dread End," which gave many a kid nightmares back in the day. You can order direct from the publisher's website or from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON

THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON (1973). Writer/director: Milton Moses Ginsberg.

Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell) is a Washington D.C. reporter on assignment in Budapest when he is bitten by a werewolf. Back home he becomes the buffoonish president's (Biff McGuire) press agent, turns into a shaggy wolfman periodically, and murders mostly women. He sees the mark of the pentagram in the palms of his future victims, and a running "joke" has people he talks to confusing pentagram with pentagon. One suspects this was meant to be a hilarious satire, but it's more pitiful than funny. Thayer David and Michael Dunn [Dr. Loveless of The Wild, Wild West] have small roles, and were probably grateful they weren't on-screen in this mess for too long. Stockwell manages to escape unscathed, although he probably hoped few people would actually see the movie. It looks like it cost about 56 cents. Poorly done and dull to boot. Ads for the video say this is in the "tradition" of An American Werewolf in London, which was actually made nearly a decade later. While I don't think much of American Werewolf, it's an Oscar-contender compared to Washington.

Verdict: Atrocious! 1/2 *.

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

In honor of All Hallow's Eve Great Old Movies presents reviews of a crop of international horror films from different periods. We have the 1940's minor classic, House of Horrors with Rondo Hatton; the modern zombie thriller World War Z; the fifties British creature feature The Crawling Eye; the rare Italian psycho-thriller Spasmo; the Spanish shocker The House That Screamed; and the American horror-comedies An American Werewolf in London and Fade to Black. WARNING: Some of these movies are more horrible than horrifying. Have fun!

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON

Griffin Dunne and David Naughton

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981). Writer/director: John Landis.

Two Americans, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are on a walking tour through the British countryside when they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed, but David is bitten, and Jack's increasingly decomposing corpse keeps showing up to warn David that he will turn into a werewolf and kill people, and that his only recourse is to commit suicide. David would prefer to think he's just having crazy hallucinations, particularly as he's just entered into a relationship with his hospital nurse, Alex (Jenny Agutter). Then one night when the moon is full David begins to transform and the killings begin ... I thought American Werewolf was greatly over-rated when it first appeared, and my opinion of it hasn't changed over thirty years later. The black comedy approach may have [unfortunately] influenced many subsequent alleged "horror" films, but it was nothing new -- in fact, the whole movie resembles nothing so much as an EC horror comics story of the fifties. Naughton is okay in the lead, but you get the impression he should have stayed with Dr. Pepper commercials. Dunne is much better as Jack, Agutter is competent, and Lila Kaye makes an impression as a barkeeper. The movie is bloodier than it needs to be, which is kind of at odds with the supposedly "light" tone of the piece. The man-into-wolf transformation scene got a lot of press at the time; it's less impressive today, and the scenes showing the monster walking about aren't very credible. An interesting sequence has David meeting his disfigured victims in a porno movie house. In some ways the movie is quite schlocky; even the attack scenes aren't that well handled. Landis had few if any big hits after The Twilight Zone tragedy, which was covered in the book "Outrageous Conduct."

Verdict: Uneven blend of gore and comedy. **.

MOON OF THE WOLF

David Janssen

 MOON OF THE WOLF (1972 telefilm). Director: Daniel Petrie.

Louisiana sheriff Aaron Whitaker (David Janssen) investigates the murder of a young woman in his town, and there are several suspects. These include the woman's mad-at-the-world brother, Lawrence (Geoffrey Lewis), Dr. Drutan (John Beradino), who may have gotten her pregnant, the wealthy Andrew Rodanthe (Bradford Dillman), or his wife, Louise (Barbara Rush), old Tom (Royal Dano) or his son (John Chandler), among others. But the injuries make Whitaker wonder if she might have come afoul of a rabid dog -- or something worse, such as a loup garou. The performances aren't bad in this, with Rush, Lewis, Janssen, and Claudia McNeil as Sarah taking top honors, but as werewolf movies go it's fairly minor. The identity of the werewolf seems obvious almost from the first. Moon of the Wolf is very typical of the type of horror telefilms that were being churned out in the seventies; this is neither better nor worse than most.

Verdict: Not badly done for what it is but no surprises. **.

DARK FOREST

One of GOM's readers, independent filmmaker Neil Russell, who has left very interesting comments on various posts, entered a short horror film he made -- Dark Forest -- in the Statesboro Film festival and won the grand prize! Congratulations, Neil. The film is very well made and entertaining. You can watch it on youtube [it is 7 minutes long] at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8fOIasUyNY 2D

Or if you have a pair of 3D glasses you can watch this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55Z-_pPUyw "depth-o-vision" 3 D.

Enjoy!

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. ***.

WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS' DORMITORY aka LYCANTHROPUS

WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS' DORMITORY (aka Lycanthropus/1961). 

Director: Richard Benson [Paolo Heusch.] A new teacher, Julian Olcott (Carl Schell), arrives at a girls' school/reformatory with lots of secrets and shenanigans and is immediately embroiled in the mystery of who is stalking and killing some of the students. It turns out that a werewolf is responsible, but the question is which of the male staff might be the lycanthrope. Suspects include the handsome director Swift (Curt Lowens), the middle-aged married lech Sir Alfred (Maurice Marsac), a demented handyman, and others. The movie is atmospheric and generally well-acted, and the werewolf has a scary make up job. Maureen O'Connor is spooky as staffer Lenor MacDonald. This is an Italian horror film with a great new American title, which got it a lot of attention and interest when it was released. On its own terms, it's not a bad little picture. 

Verdict: A sexier wolfman than usual. ***.

CRY OF THE WEREWOLF

CRY OF THE WEREWOLF (1944). Director: Henry Levin. 

This starts out as a promising horror film, but it never works up enough atmosphere, despite the fact that the settings include a museum of the supernatural with hidden tunnels, corridors beneath a mortuary, and a gypsy camp. Nina Foch plays Celeste, the High Priestess of a gypsy cult, who inherited the curse -- or gift? -- of lycanthropy from her mother, who was named Marie Latour. When she learns that Dr, Morris (Fritz Lieber) is planning to write a book about her mother's disappearance and all it entails, she takes decisive and aggressive action. An interesting aspect of the cult is that it is a matriarchal society, with power passing from mother to daughter. Osa Massen works in the aforementioned museum, and is romantically involved with the son (Stephen Crane) of the late doctor. Blanche Yurka is an old gypsy woman and confidante of Marie's. A big problem with the film is that the sinister werewolf just looks like a cute and cuddly Siberian husky. Barton MacLane seems a bit out of place as the police lieutenant assigned to the case. Cry of the Werewolf holds the attention and has some decent acting -- Crane is pleasant but a bit of a stiff -- but it's strictly a minor werewolf movie. Milton Parsons, the actor who most resembled a living cadaver, is cast as undertaker Adamson, of course. Levin directed a number of Pat Boone movies, including Journey to the Center of the Earth. 

Verdict: Where is the Wolfman when you need him? **1/2.

HOUSE OF DRACULA

HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

Sequel to House of Frankenstein ignores the fact that both Dracula and The Wolf Man seemingly died at the end of that film and has both Larry Talbot(Lon Chaney Jr.) and Count Dracula (improbably) asking decent Dr. Edelman (Onslow Stevens) to cure them of their respective curses. Conveniently, Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) is found in the caverns below Edelman's sanitarium, along with the skeleton of Dr. Niemann from House of Frankenstein. Before long Dracula (John Carradine) is up to his old tricks, infecting Edelman (who becomes a sort of vampire without dying) with his evil -- Talked out of reviving the monster by his kindly hunchbacked assistant Nina (Jane Adams), he now decides to bring the creature back to life in the climax. Strangely compelling horror film plays fast and loose with supernatural legends, but offers a kind of scientific explanation for both vampirism (parasites in the blood) and lycanthropy (something to do with self-hypnosis, overactive hormones, and pressure in the cranial cavity). Lionel Atwill is back as another police inspector. The Wolf Man and Dracula are in the same room only for a few seconds. They would interact more -- and Dracula would actually meet The Monster -- in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Verdict: Great fun! ***.

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL (1957). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

On her 21st birthday Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott) brings her fiance George (John Agar) to meet her guardian Dr. Lomas (Arthur Shields) on the latter's spooky estate. There Lomas tells the woman that she is not only a wealthy heiress, but that her father was the notorious Dr. Jekyll (the film takes place in the early part of the 20th century). The film, via Dr. Lomas, posits the theory that Mr. Hyde was actually a werewolf. Does the tendency for lycanthropy exist in Jekyll's daughter? Soon she's having dreams of attacking young women in the woods, waking up bloodied and dirty only to discover that the maid or somebody else got slaughtered. Daughter of Dr. Jekyll seems to have borrowed its basic premise from She-Wolf of London, but on its own terms it's creepy and atmospheric, bolstered by very good performances from Talbott and Shields, who strikes just the right note as the doctor. Even stalwart John Agar isn't bad and Martha Wentworth is memorable as the housekeeper, Mrs. Merchant. One of the murder scenes, of a sexy blond in her home, is inventively staged.

Verdict: Good, absorbing fun. ***.

SHE-WOLF OF LONDON

SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

In turn of the century London, Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart), is excitedly planning her wedding with fiance Barry Lanfield (Don Porter). But her hopeful plans for the future take a backseat to fear and terror when she believes she's become a victim of the Allenby lycanthropic curse, as she wakes up covered in dirt and blood only to learn that there's been another terrible murder in the park outside the estate. Her Aunt Martha (Sara Haden) tries to calm her fears to no avail, and Phyllis tries to break off her engagement with Lanfield. Meanwhile Scotland Yard goes on the hunt for the wild animal or psychotic human who's been savaging children and adults in the park. Taking place some time earlier, this appears to have no connection to Werewolf of London. While the picture is well-acted and well-produced, and keeps you guessing as to who exactly the "she-wolf" might be -- Phyllis, her cousin Carol (Jan Wiley), Aunt Martha, housekeeper Hannah (Eily Malyon)? -- the ending is a notorious cheat. Still, this is fast-moving and entertaining. Martin Kosleck has a small role -- a romantic part for a change -- as Carol's mystery lover, Dwight Severn. June Lockhart makes a very appealing heroine, and Sara Haden is quite effective (if a little obvious) in a role very different from Mickey Rooney's Aunt Milly in the Andy Hardy films.

Verdict: Fun, if you get past the disappointing ending.**1/2.

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! ***.

WEREWOLF OF LONDON

WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935). Director: Stuart Walker.

In Tibet to find a rare flower, botanist Dr. Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) is bitten by a werewolf, who also seeks the flower because it can be used as an antidote for lycanthropy when the moon is full. This werewolf, Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland) follows Glendon back to London, but fails to convince him that he, too, is now a werewolf and it is crucial that they get the mysterious flower to bloom. Soon, people are being attacked by a wild animal and Glendon is tortured by what he might be doing at night. This precursor to The Wolf Man -- in that Glendon doesn't transform fully into a wolf but into a half-man/half-wolf -- is at least as good as the later film, and has some interesting elements to it. (Much more is made of the significance of the full moon than in The Wolf Man.) The acting is good, especially from Hull and Oland, but there's too much comedy relief in the film, much of it centering on Glendon's wife's vivacious aunt (Spring Byington) and two bickering landladies, even if they are delightfully played by Ethel Griffies and Zeffie Tilbury. Still some of the flavorful characters are an asset, and the film is well-paced and entertaining. Valerie Hobson is fine as Hull's pretty spouse. Nice music by Karl Hajos.

Verdict: A howling success! ***.

THE UNDYING MONSTER

THE UNDYING MONSTER (1942). Director: John Brahm.

At the turn of the century the Hammond family of England is under a strange curse, and become victims of an unseen, prowling monster that tears them apart at night. Helga Hammond (Heather Angel) believes the tale of the curse is all stuff and nonsense, but then her brother Oliver (John Howard) is attacked and nearly killed by the monster. Inspector Bob Curtis (James Ellison) of Scotland Yard is called in with female associate "Christie" Christopher (Heather Thatcher) to investigate the attack on Oliver and a lady friend who was tramautized by the assault. Then there's the sinister Doctor Colbert (Bramwell Fletcher), a special friend of Helga's, who stands to inherit if Oliver dies. Lucien Ballard's crisp cinematography, handsome production values, and some superlative scenic design and art direction add immeasurably to the film's atmosphere, but the comic relief provided by Ellison and Thatcher detracts from same. Ellison was perfectly okay in light comedies and romances, but he's an odd choice to play a Scotland Yard detective (and doesn't even try to affect a British accent). This is sort of a non-werewolf werewolf story. Minor all told, but not without interest.

Verdict: Not great, but has its moments. **1/2.