I'm sure, as it was just a blurb two and a half years ago, that none of you recall me mentioning the remake of Universal's 1941 classic, The Wolfman.
Prepare for some cinematic heresy.
*Ahem.*
Back in the day, the Great Horror Trifecta was born, that being Vampire, Mummy, Werewolf.
Back in the day, those classic monsters, and their second-tier buddies The Creature (Frankenstein, y'all, get with me here,) The Seamonster, and The Lunatic, were taken seriously. They delivered some chills.
But in recent decades, they've been treated for comic effect instead; as witness Brendan Fraser in the Mummy remakes, Wes Craven embarrassing himself with Cursed, and, well, Twilight.
Last year, 30 Days of Night rescued The Vampire from this cinematic oblivion.
This year, The Wolfman does one better for the Werewolf.
Yeah, better. Not only that, but better than the original, too.
I know, boo, hiss, all that, but it's fucking, fucking awesome. Benicio Del Toro was the best pick for Lawrence Talbot; Anthony Hopkins vicious as his father; Agent Smith from the Matrix was there to say "Mr. Anderson" one more time... OK, that was me. I got shushed. Shut up.
At any rate, the movie had a directorial change from my original post, and was helmed by Joe Johnston, who also directed October Sky, as well as a slew of other movies that would make you cringe.
Somehow he found a new level of talent. The same guys distribute directorial talent that send you big boxes of driving skill on your 25th birthday so you can get that insurance discount, I guess.
Because this movie was... Goddamn... Brilliant.
Was it a work of art? Probably not.
But it was THE WOLFMAN, dammit! No punches pulled, no holds barred, no flinching. Well, except the audience. The script was tight, fast-paced, and very tense; the actors all got the chew on the scenery an appropriate amount - especially Hopkins, who ran away with it, in my opinion - but the bar none star of the show was...
...Rick Baker.
Those of you who aren't horror movie fans might not recognize the name, but Rick Baker is THE horror movie special effects guy; at his worst, he's tied with Rob Bottin, who is my other personal favorite FX guru.
Baker was responsible for Videodrome, Y'all. The Howling. An American Werewolf In London. Star Wars Episode 4. The Ring. Fucking Hellboy. Rick Baker is awesome.
And they gave him loads and loads of money to play with this time.
The result is...
Wow.
Just... Wow.
If you are AT ALL a horror fan, or a werewolf fan, this movie will flat-out blow you away.
To add to my utter delight - and sense of vindication at having called this one TWO FUCKING YEARS AGO - thanks to the theater goofing the projection during the opening credits, we got passes to go see another movie free tomorrow. Be on the lookout for a Legion review!
