The MacGuffin

When you’ve run the gamut on monsters like vampires and zombies, it seems logical that the next best place to go would be werewolves. The cool thing about werewolves is that they’re a more primal, unchained, and psychologically imbalanced kind of monster than the brooding pseudo-sexual vampire, or the decaying, decrepit metaphor for humanity that is the zombie. Werewolves are a Jekyll-and-Hyde archetype, and, as such, can play the range of terror from tragic to downright rampaging emotion. Like any good monster, though, werewolves are not just great because they exist—it’s their application to the story that makes all the difference.

As part of our horror celebration for the month of October, we will be running a series of polls to try to nail down the best horror films from specific periods of time. This time we are tackling the best horror film of the 1980s. Please make your selection from the list below (or write it in if there is something else missing). Even better, share in the comments why you made your selection.

With the Halloween season in full swing, there is no doubt that people will be seeing their fair share of horror films and suspenseful thrillers throughout the month. For my double feature recommendation, I decided to go a little further back into the vault. I really dig older films, and I especially enjoy older horror movies. Maybe because of the fact that films in those days were restricted in what they could show. While there is certainly a place for gory movies in all of their bloody goodness, I also think there’s a place where tension, atmosphere, and suggestion can also share in the spotlight. With that said, I decided to recommend two films that delve wonderfully into those latter aspects. Those two movies are George Waggner’s The Wolf Man (1941) and Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People (1942).

Spencer and John discuss Jennifer Aniston in advance of Horrible Bosses, share some directors they want to make comebacks and give their DVD picks of the week.

Every Saturday night The Tomb of Terror opens, unleashing reviews of the obscure and the classic in horror cinema.

Last week, in my review of The Howling, I noted that 1981 has been unofficially labeled “the year of the werewolf” by horror fans. During the summer months of that year, we saw the release of arguably the two greatest werewolf films ever made: The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. But there was another werewolf film released that year that isn’t as well remembered as those 80s classics. Coming out in between those celebrated releases was Michael Wadleigh’s Wolfen. One look at the behind-the-scenes talent of the film indicates that something different is afoot with this particular werewolf tale. It’s the only narrative feature from the director of celebrated documentary Woodstock, and is based on a novel by self-confessed alien abductee Whitley Strieber (Communion). Inspired by last week’s rewatch of The Howling, I decided to finally watch Wolfen and complete my viewing of the 1981 werewolf trifecta.

Every Saturday night The Tomb of Terror opens, unleashing reviews of the obscure and the classic in horror cinema.

I love werewolves. They are my favorite movie monsters, beating out the more popular faves, vampires and zombies. Maybe it’s because there haven’t been a ton of werewolf films. Vampires and zombies are easy for no-budget films to pull off, so we see A LOT of films about them. It’s a little harder to turn a person into a giant wolf, so we don’t have to worry about quite as many terrible werewolf films being out there. In 1981, we got no fewer than three big werewolf releases, all of them bringing something different to the subgenre and bringing the monsters into the modern day. The first out of the gate was Joe Dante’s The Howling. This low budget effort featured the first use of prosthetic effects to turn a man into a werewolf and show the beast with more than just gluing hair to an actor’s face. A short four months later, these effects would be outdone by the amazing work done by Rick Baker in An American Werewolf in London. That seems to be the fate of The Howling—always the werewolf bridesmaid, never the bride. In a world where American Werewolf is widely regarded as the best werewolf film, does The Howling earn its second place reputation, or is it the underrated king of the werewolf pile?

Every Saturday night The Tomb of Terror opens, unleashing reviews of the obscure and the classic in horror cinema.

At one time, John Landis was on one of the best rolls of any comedy director. Following the cult success of Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977, he made the comedy classics National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and my vote for best horror film of all time, An American Werewolf in London. Then Twilight Zone: The Movie happened. We’ve all heard the story. Vic Morrow and two illegally-hired child actors were killed when a special effect went bad and caused a helicopter to fall from the sky. Even though Landis was acquitted of all charges related to the incident, it has haunted him his entire career since. He still managed a couple of hits after this incident, including the iconic music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Coming to America. Unfortunately, his 90s output mainly consisted of failure (Beverly Hills Cop III) after failure (The Stupids) after failure (Blues Brothers 2000). Burke and Hare, which is playing as part of the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, is his first narrative feature in twelve years and is also his best in nearly twenty.

An American Werewolf in London
1981; written and directed by John Landis

John: Werewolves are my favorite horror monsters and this is my favorite horror movie of all time.

Spencer and John share their top 5 horror films, discuss fan-made documentaries, and give their DVD picks of the week.

Although it’s been well over a year now, it’s still hard to believe that we are living in a world without Michael Jackson.  He was the star of stars, a pop icon that only comes once in a lifetime.  The music and dance moves he showcased were a revelation that has continued to influence the artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Ask any dancer who one of their biggest idols are, and it would be safe to assume that the majority of them would say Michael.  In 1983, Michael was already a musical superstar with the Jackson 5, but he would cement his legend with a music video that was more than just a music video, it was also a short horror film.  That short film, of course, was Thriller.