Werewolves, zombies, monsters and vampires.....

I have been catching up on a few flicks these last few days. No rhyme or reason to these selections. Some that I have been meaning to see for sometime, some I just stumbled upon. God bless Cable and Netflix, or perhaps I would be tempted to go see that pg-13 crapfest Prom Night. No, probably not. I don't go see pg-13 horror movies at the theater. Ever. Which is good because as I am sure you all know, 9 out of 10 are total shite, with the tenth being average at best. Who wants to pay $10 for that?

Anyhow, my horror movie watching experience has run the gamut this week, from one end of the spectrum to the other. Might as well start with the bad.

Last night, I stayed up and watch Howling II - Your Sister Is a Werewolf. Somehow, this 1985 shitbucket got past me. Which is odd, considering I was a junior in high school at the time and had LOVED the first Howling. I was also an avowed Christopher Lee fan, as well as the proud owner and frequent reader of the August 1983 Playboy featuring Sybill Danning.
Well, miss it I did, and to think, I waited 23 years for this god awful hunk of dung. After poking around on the internet, I read that In 1990 when Christopher Lee was cast in Gremlins 2, one of the first things he did was apologize to director Joe Dante (who also directed The Howling) for being in this film. And seriously, that cat has NO shame. It did, however have a naked werewolf three-way, which was, well, a first for me. Awful.

Next up, The Return of the Living Dead. Yes, I know, how could I have missed this one. The hilarious thing about these two 1985 movies was how specifically 80's they were. The clothes, the music, and the gratuitous nudity. Hmmmm. High school. What can I say about the first of the fast moving zombie movies? Well, I only have one word, and that is "Brainsss!"

Last week, I finally saw 30 Days of Night. And I will say, it was overwhelmingly OK. The production quality was good, and there were some quality kills, particularly one full frontal ax to the neck decapitation, but, other than that, it didn't do it for me. Danny Huston was good, but beyond that, meh.

Upon the recommendation of our very own Dr. AC from our Blood Radio Podcast Watch or Die segment, I went back and watched the original 1958 version of The Fly. And, yes, he is correct, if you have not seen it recently, or ever (for shame), you really out to check it out. It is well worth it. After all, it's a love story. What says love more than a hydraulic press?

Now finally, if you have read this far, a bonus for you. A movie I had never heard of, had no expectations for, and was thoroughly impressed by. I am sure the horror afficionados out there have already seen it, but it was a revelation to me. Tonight I saw Perfect Creature, a really well done 2006 New Zealand film. I had never heard of it because it was never released in the theaters here in the states, straight to video in July of 07. Starring the often intriguing Saffron Burrows, it is a vampire thriller horror film-noir cop-buddy alternate universe movie, with hints of Dark City, Underworld, Children of Men and a few other flicks I cannot think of off the top of my head. It was really enjoyable. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it!

-B