La Marca Del Hombre Lobo (1968)

A gypsy couple release a werewolf from deep slumber while robbing his tomb. The werewolf goes on a rampage and is finally stopped by international playboy Waldemar Daninsky. Wounded, Daninsky now carries the werewolf’s burden and finds out the reason why his fore-bearer did not take a possible avenue for a cure.

Not only is this the first movie in the Waldemar Daninsky series of movies, turning shy scriptwriter Jacinto Molina into Paul Naschy, international horror star, but this is the first Spanish horror movie ever. The Franco regime was strict during it’s day and it’s movie censor board even stricter. Without German money and American distribution, this movie would not have been big as it is. Based off of Universal and Hammer pics, this movie works high on gothic settings and uses ruins effectively to augment the chaos of Naschy’s powerful and animistic performance as Daninsky, exceeded all other performances of tormented monsters. This movie was originally shot in 70mm which makes the film more vibrantly colorful then other film. Sometimes, the color patterns are the most beautiful in the film.

There are some low points. The American distributor tries to forcibly shoehorn a ridiculous premise of why there was no Frankenstein in the whole picture. While it doesn’t hurt the movie, it’s just plain stupid to try to form it around the name instead of vice versus. The movie also had times where it was very slowly paced and was making some scenes longer then they should be. The film had to be clipped to fit run times. I think they could have done a bit more here and there, but other then that, it was a good college try.

The DVD from Shreik Show is Fan-tastic. The video is a bit unsteady. The editing of both the European and American print restores the full movie, but gives you patches of soft and sharp stock in the movie. The audio is great. You get all the American promotional materials (trailers, posters, radio spots, etc.), an interview with Paul Naschy, liner notes from DVDdrivein.com’s George Reis and a commentary from the American distributor Sam Sherman who talks about how he found and should this movie, what makes a great horror movie from an artistic and marketing standpoint and how this movie was tied up into the fall of 3-D technology. A very fun and informative commentary.

4 stars.

Coming Attractions…

The Monster Squad (1987)

A group of young horror fans receive Van Helsing’s diary that reveals a plot by Dracula and friends to shift the balance between good and evil and to take over the world.

The Good

How can you not say The Monster Squad isn’t good? This movie is like the stuffed animal or the favorite plaything you had when you were younger that you thought you lost but you finally found, bringing you back to a time of happier days gone past.

Another reason why it was good was the combination of being ahead of it’s time and being shown on national cable outlets. Because film audiences didn’t get it, it didn’t do well in the theater, which then fast tracked it to cable, where it was played to thousands of bored eyeballs. Our little brothers and sisters can boast about how they had R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but we can now hold up a copy of Monster Squad and trump them.

Another great thing about the movie is the Shane Black script. The man is a dialogue genius to almost Elmore Leonard like proportions.

The Bad

There are somethings that stand out if you are taking a critical view of it or your a silly retard taking apart cult movies. There are some plot holes in the movie. Particularly Dracula’s fetish with dynamite. Sure, he could’ve killed the kids with his bare hands, but decided he didn’t want to. Maybe he wanted a challenge and was being a good sport about it. Or maybe he was lazy. Never thought of that did you. Did you.

The DVD!

Oh my god, the two disc set just makes me hard just thinking about it. The visuals and audio are awesome as well as natural. I now can retire my VHS bootleg HBO copy. The first disc has the movie and two commentaries. One with Director Fred Dekker and actors Ryan Lambert, Ashley Banks and Andre Gower reminiscing about the movie and the other is Dekker wit DoP Brian May talking about the technical elements.

The second disc holds an 87min Monster Squad documentary done by Red Shirt Prods. A very awesome job by them might I add. You also have a materials collection, TV spot, movie trailer, Storyboard set up with the movie soundtrack playing, a rare interview with Frankenstein and deleted footage as well.

Conclusion

This DVD set is a must have for fans of Horror, fans of 80’s films and just DVD fans in general. This is really one of the best cultural tomes available out there. I urge everyone to buy it.

4 stars.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

A British squadron finds themselves in a bit of trouble when an exercise goes wrong thanks to the appearance of werewolves.

This is a very solid movie. Lot’s of action. Lot’s of characterization. Keeps you riveted every minute and on the edge of your seat. Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd & Liam Cunningham really make the characters work. They have a nice supporting cast as well.

It’s basically like Evil Dead. A great evil in the wilderness taking out people stranded in the middle one by one. One of the major points that makes it work is that the production crew opted to make the werewolves out of men in suits instead of CGI. A bold move seen by the movie community. But really, how is this a bold move? When you see a CG werewolf, are you going to say “That’s a Fuckin Werewolf!! Get Me The Fuck Away!!”? No. You’re going to say “My god. That’s some nice computer animation.” By opting for MiS tactics, not only does it give the movie a level of believability, but it saves them a lot of money so they can buy blood and guts. Something the film community fails to understand.

All in all, this a great movie that will find itself in the classics pile as well as considered one of the best Werewolf movies ever. See this with friends or at a party. It’s also great to watch home…alone.

Three stars.