Ten Best of the Decade: Fright Night remains arguably the best vampire movie ever, and is certainly a top contender for being the best old school vampire movie. By this I mean in terms of presenting vampires as figures of spiritual corruption, in a very specific Christian sense, as opposed to the secular brooding power fantasy vampires that have taken over the genre in the wake of Anne Rice and her myriad successors. Indeed, Fright Night presents probably the most diligently Christian conception of vampires ever. Not overtly, but in that they actually follow through with Christian logic and present vampires who must seduce and win consent to steal one’s soul away, as opposed to the traditional ‘get bitten by a vampire and you’re screwed’ vamps. These vampires can always kill you, of course (but then, so could any regular person). But they can only turn those who choose to give in to the vampire’s promises.
Aside from the deep-thinking aspect, however, Fright Night remains rip-roaring fun, giving us a great vampire in Chris Sarandon, a greater vampire hunter in an absolutely wonderful role for genre vet Roddy McDowell, and some very nice action set pieces and special effects. Top notch. Trivia: The female lead in the film is played by Amanda Bearse, better known as the ball-busting neighbor Marcy on the old Fox sitcom Married with Children.
Other Top Spot: Re-Animator What can I say about this hilariously gonzo, Grand Guignol, over-the-top Stuart Gordon adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Re-Animator. Think Evil Dead times ten, and times a thousand when it comes to sexual shenanigans. Say what you will for actress Barbara Crampton, but she’s certainly game. (Stuart tried to up the ante again in this follow-up From Beyond, but it just doesn’t gel the way this one does.) Jeffery Combs made himself an enduring cult icon with the role, and the film remains jaw-droppingly genuinely shocking (and hilarious) in a way that really makes you appreciate how tame films are today, for all their gore. The film also offers what is probably one of my top ten film lines ever. Many other years this easily would have been the best flick of that annum, so 1985 was a pretty good one, all things considered.
Rest of the Best:
The Company of Wolves Directed by Neil Jordon, this is a bit of an arthouse film that makes explicit all the sexual and other subtest not entirely well hidden in the darker, more threatening unexpurgated fairy tales of old, primarily Little Red Riding Hood. Fans of this will want to check out the soon to be released, seemingly very similar short Little Red Riding Hood, starring Christina Ricci back in 1997.
Dead of Winter: This is a nifty thriller about a actress (Mary Steenburgen) hired for a role who find herself cast in a literally murderous scheme. Two things recommend this film; one is another (if more typical) role for Roddy McDowell, and another is a scene that reminds us that, properly set up, a comparatively small act or violence can have more dread power than a scad of chainsaw dismemberments. This is arguably a suspense film more than a horror film, but again, it’s narrower definition of horror works for me.
Return of the Living Dead: Man, there’s some good stuff in this. John Russo was, along with George Romero, one of the original Night of the Living Dead creators, and as such he also has the right to use “Living Dead” in a film title. Hence this. This is one of that rare films that ably walks the line between parody and regular horror, and it does so exceedingly well. (The first sequel, meanwhile, is more of a straight out comedy.) The central idea is that the events chronicled in Night of the Living Dead actually happened, on a somewhat smaller scale, but there was a government cover-up. Soon things are off to the races again, though. The scene in the medical warehouse after the zombie gas is released is classic stuff, and the scene where one fellow learns that shooting these zombies in the head doesn’t stop them, whereupon he shouts in crushed despair “The movie lied!,” remains a more than fond memory. The only problem I have with it is an ending that I feel strains entirely too mightily for effect. But what’ya gonna do? Great cast, too, including Clu “The Uninvited” Galager and ’80s mainstay James Karen. Meanwhile, Linnea Quigley’s punk girl nude dance in a graveyard is the stuff of legends, and legitimately so. This is available on an admirably loaded DVD, by the way, so you should definitely give it a look.
The Stuff Blob knock-off with the obligatory corporate malfeasance sub-plot, from directed and scripted by the great Larry Cohen. A corporation comes up with a whip-cream looking foodstuff that quickly addicts half the nation, but there’s a problem: It’s sentient and eating people. Michael Moriarty stars (I know, in an ’80s Larry Cohen movie, go figure), along with Garrett Morris (!), Danny Aiello AND Paul Sorvino. Bada bing, bada boom. This isn’t great, but like most of Cohen’s stuff, it’s a bit raggedy around the edges, a bit weird, and often compulsively watchable.
Meh: Cat’s Eye, Silver Bullet (hmm, what do those two films have in common?), Warning Sign. What’s interesting about Warning Sign, sort of, is that it’s one of three similar sorta-zombie movies made about that time, all centered on corporate malfeasance and each not great but fairly watchable in that “let’s see what’s on TV at four in the morning” sort of way. The other two are Mutant (1984) and Nightmare at Noon (1988). Warning Sign is probably the least cheesy and ridiculous—which is arguably either bad or good—but has the most impressive cast, including a young Sam Waterston, Kathleen “The Promise” Quinlan and the inevitable Yaphet Kato. Anyway, I wonder if there’s a few more of these that I’m not remembering.
Memorable, If Not Very Good, Schlock: Creature (Alien rip-off, you know, the one with Klaus Kinski), Future Kill (not an Alien rip-off, although that’s what the film’s famous poster seemed to promise), the utterly silly Lifeforce (ah, Matilda).
Weirdly Successful Garbage: Ghoulies, a horrible little film that eventually got three sequels!
Oh, Yeah, I’ve Got to Get Around to Reviewing That: Monster Dog, starring Alice Cooper (!).
Haven’t seen, but others love it: Creepers. (I know, get off my back. Yeesh.)
Haven’t Seen: Bioharzard, Bloody Wednesday, Boggy Creek 2 And the Legend Continues (I might have seen this on MST3K, actually, although all these Bigfoot movies tend to blur), The Bride, Day of the Dead (just never got around to it), Demons, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2, The Housekeeper, A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy’s Revenge (warned off by bad reviews and massive distaste for the first film’s ruinous ‘shock’ ending), Thou Shalt Not Kill…Except.
