THE GOOD
terrifying and laugh-out-loud moments alternate and occasionally even coexist (not the most easiest things to blend, as illustrated by the fact that there are very few successful results out there; this is one of them)
never over-the-top funny and thus manages to keep up the masterfully established eerie atmosphere
terrific soundtrack, full of beautiful and cleverly employed songs (among them various interpretations of «Blue Moon» as well as CCR's «Bad Moon Rising»)
references classic Universal monster horror films – whereas nowadays any kind of nods are confined to what was in theaters the previous year – I'm looking at you, «Scary Movie» (not that there's a particular reason for me to pounce specifically on that stinker, it's just used in a synechdochic way, if you will, to represent all that other revue-style garbage that there truly is no shortage of, where parody – which is arguably the kind of humor those flicks aim for – degenerates into an incoherent series of poorly written and executed sketches that cater to an illiterate teen or teen-minded audience)
Mark Twain is referenced – hooray for the days when culture was cool and one wasn't frowned upon for being able to speak at least one language reasonably well!
all the references feel natural, make sense within the story and often help to further it
the short but effective nightmare (and nightmare within a nightmare) sequences
the metamorphosis: classic and painful to watch
the hilarious dialogue where the undead suggest ways to David of how to best kill himself (and the way it's staged – in a porno theater, all the undead covered in blood – doesn't hurt, either...)
the "ghost zombies" (or "zombie ghosts"?) concept: walking the earth, yet invisible to the non-cursed, immaterial, yet with gruesome wounds and decomposing (becomes a running gag with Jack) – original and unique
loving attention to detail throughout and filled with nice little touches: keep an eye out for the disclaimer at the end of the closing credits
THE BAD
not enough of the moors and «The Slaughtered Lamb»: those were easily the best, for most atmospheric and creepy sequences in the whole movie; I want more! Do you hear me, Mr. Landis: more! Why not give us a whole film set in that village / hamlet / whatever and its surroundings? (a prequel, sequel, whatever)
while not downright bad, the ending certainly is controversial: some consider it radical, fresh and consequential, others find it cheap, unimaginative and random, and I tend to at least lean towards the latter group (what the former describe, in my opinion more applies to, for example, the ending – or the turn of events near it – of «To Live and Die in L.A.» – it's just much more convincing and fitting there, since that film is more "existentialist" in subject and tone in the first place)
in fact, the whole film has an uneven feel to it, like they rushed into production with an unfinished script (yeah, sure, many times that's a deliberate creative choice, but whatever the reasons, it's just not fully working here); it's still much better than the bulk of its genre relatives, but its ever so slight imperfections go beyond almost expected things like continuity errors or revealing mistakes and are instead structurally; one example: Doc Hirsch is a great character, fabulously played, but despite considerable screen time he goes nowhere, and a similar fate befalls the cop duo; what is there is good to great in itself, it's just that not all the parts integrate themselves into a larger whole, so that the result is not an integral whole but an accumulation of all kinds of different pieces – kind of like a patchwork rug instead of a unified whole
THE UGLY
rated "R" for a reason; and while it certainly can't compete with the gruesomeness, disgustingness and sadism indulged in by the legion of representatives of the so-called (for misnamed) "torture porn" sub-genre that's all the rave currently (and why should it?), it's still not for the squeamish
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF MAN
"These dumb-ass kids. They never appreciate anything you do for them."
HOW THIS MOVIE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE – OR NOT
does it for lonely night strolls on the moors (or in some metro tunnels, for that matter) what «Jaws» did for swimming in the ocean? – nah, but I'd still like to see your face in the unlikely event of hearing a howling in such a situation...
THINGS NOT TO BRING UP DURING A CONVERSATION
"Excuse me. What's that star on the wall for?"
QUESTIONS THIS MOVIE EVOKES
how came the first werewolf to be anyway? (bestiality?)
what would you do if you were in David's shoes?
could David be held accountable for the murders?
how will Jack look in the afterlife?
who slaughtered the lamb?
WHAT I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THIS MOVIE
"Have you ever talked to a corpse? It's boring!"
undead people have feelings (and eat!), too
"Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a f*ggot! Winston Churchill was full of sh*t! Shakespeare is French!"
British cops are exceptionally forbearing
now, not even the porno theater is safe anymore
sometimes, love is not strong enough
WATCH...
if you like your movies with guts in more than one way
AVOID...
if you consider yourself easily offended
IF YOU LIKED THIS ONE, DON'T WATCH...
«An American Werewolf in Paris»: lame, lame, lame
THE BOTTOM LINE
Worthy of not only watching but owning. So, go out and get it! Now! But remember:
"Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." "Beware the moon, lads."
(Agree? Disagree? In parts or whole? Have something to correct or add? Let me know!)
terrifying and laugh-out-loud moments alternate and occasionally even coexist (not the most easiest things to blend, as illustrated by the fact that there are very few successful results out there; this is one of them)
never over-the-top funny and thus manages to keep up the masterfully established eerie atmosphere
terrific soundtrack, full of beautiful and cleverly employed songs (among them various interpretations of «Blue Moon» as well as CCR's «Bad Moon Rising»)
references classic Universal monster horror films – whereas nowadays any kind of nods are confined to what was in theaters the previous year – I'm looking at you, «Scary Movie» (not that there's a particular reason for me to pounce specifically on that stinker, it's just used in a synechdochic way, if you will, to represent all that other revue-style garbage that there truly is no shortage of, where parody – which is arguably the kind of humor those flicks aim for – degenerates into an incoherent series of poorly written and executed sketches that cater to an illiterate teen or teen-minded audience)
Mark Twain is referenced – hooray for the days when culture was cool and one wasn't frowned upon for being able to speak at least one language reasonably well!
all the references feel natural, make sense within the story and often help to further it
the short but effective nightmare (and nightmare within a nightmare) sequences
the metamorphosis: classic and painful to watch
the hilarious dialogue where the undead suggest ways to David of how to best kill himself (and the way it's staged – in a porno theater, all the undead covered in blood – doesn't hurt, either...)
the "ghost zombies" (or "zombie ghosts"?) concept: walking the earth, yet invisible to the non-cursed, immaterial, yet with gruesome wounds and decomposing (becomes a running gag with Jack) – original and unique
loving attention to detail throughout and filled with nice little touches: keep an eye out for the disclaimer at the end of the closing credits
THE BAD
not enough of the moors and «The Slaughtered Lamb»: those were easily the best, for most atmospheric and creepy sequences in the whole movie; I want more! Do you hear me, Mr. Landis: more! Why not give us a whole film set in that village / hamlet / whatever and its surroundings? (a prequel, sequel, whatever)
while not downright bad, the ending certainly is controversial: some consider it radical, fresh and consequential, others find it cheap, unimaginative and random, and I tend to at least lean towards the latter group (what the former describe, in my opinion more applies to, for example, the ending – or the turn of events near it – of «To Live and Die in L.A.» – it's just much more convincing and fitting there, since that film is more "existentialist" in subject and tone in the first place)
in fact, the whole film has an uneven feel to it, like they rushed into production with an unfinished script (yeah, sure, many times that's a deliberate creative choice, but whatever the reasons, it's just not fully working here); it's still much better than the bulk of its genre relatives, but its ever so slight imperfections go beyond almost expected things like continuity errors or revealing mistakes and are instead structurally; one example: Doc Hirsch is a great character, fabulously played, but despite considerable screen time he goes nowhere, and a similar fate befalls the cop duo; what is there is good to great in itself, it's just that not all the parts integrate themselves into a larger whole, so that the result is not an integral whole but an accumulation of all kinds of different pieces – kind of like a patchwork rug instead of a unified whole
THE UGLY
rated "R" for a reason; and while it certainly can't compete with the gruesomeness, disgustingness and sadism indulged in by the legion of representatives of the so-called (for misnamed) "torture porn" sub-genre that's all the rave currently (and why should it?), it's still not for the squeamish
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF MAN
"These dumb-ass kids. They never appreciate anything you do for them."
HOW THIS MOVIE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE – OR NOT
does it for lonely night strolls on the moors (or in some metro tunnels, for that matter) what «Jaws» did for swimming in the ocean? – nah, but I'd still like to see your face in the unlikely event of hearing a howling in such a situation...
THINGS NOT TO BRING UP DURING A CONVERSATION
"Excuse me. What's that star on the wall for?"
QUESTIONS THIS MOVIE EVOKES
how came the first werewolf to be anyway? (bestiality?)
what would you do if you were in David's shoes?
could David be held accountable for the murders?
how will Jack look in the afterlife?
who slaughtered the lamb?
WHAT I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THIS MOVIE
"Have you ever talked to a corpse? It's boring!"
undead people have feelings (and eat!), too
"Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a f*ggot! Winston Churchill was full of sh*t! Shakespeare is French!"
British cops are exceptionally forbearing
now, not even the porno theater is safe anymore
sometimes, love is not strong enough
WATCH...
if you like your movies with guts in more than one way
AVOID...
if you consider yourself easily offended
IF YOU LIKED THIS ONE, DON'T WATCH...
«An American Werewolf in Paris»: lame, lame, lame
THE BOTTOM LINE
Worthy of not only watching but owning. So, go out and get it! Now! But remember:
"Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." "Beware the moon, lads."
(Agree? Disagree? In parts or whole? Have something to correct or add? Let me know!)