Blah, blah, blah - I'm bored and etc. Anybody got a car they want washing?
Blah, blah, blah - I'm bored and etc. Anybody got a car they want washing?
Member since:03.10.2000
Reviews:231
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45 minutes, that's what it takes. A whole 45 minutes before the obligatory sex scene and Jenny Agutter gets her baps out (and for those not au fait with Middlesbrough speak, for baps read breasts). Why do I mention this? Well every film that she's been in includes a quick flash (or sometimes more) of her ample charms and it's a big reason why many blokes watched it (the only film I can think of where she DIDN'T get 'them' out was The Railway Children and even then she waggled her knickers on the end of a pole). Is this an indication of the rest of the film or a cheap attempt to garner some interest?
American back packers Jack and David are touring the moorland of the UK and find themselves on a bleak moor in the middle of nowhere. Stumbling across the rather macabrely named The Slaughtered Lamb public house, the pair find themselves in the classic situation of total outsiders (the jukebox stops, all conversation stops, and every eye in the place turns to watch them). Noticing a pentangle on the wall, the pair ask about and immediately
find themselves thrown out into the night with little but scant warnings about the moon and sticking to the road. With the weather worsening, they stray from the road and hear a bloodcurdling howl. Terrified, cold, and wet they flee into the night but are attacked by a strange creature which injures David and kills Jack. Falling into a coma, David awakens three weeks later in a London hospital, only to be told that Jack and he were attacked by an escaped lunatic. Despite his protests, the authorities do nothing and he is forced to get on with his life, but strange visions plague him and when the full moon appears, things turn decidedly nasty...
Having gained a reputation in the early 80's this was one of those films that adolescents proudly boasted that they'd seen - one of those films that proves how 'hard' you are. Coupled with some acclaimed effects, it's a film that has a lot to live up to and quite frankly I was suprised. I won't say disappointed as it doesn't disappoint but it's perhaps not what you're expecting.
Far more contemporary and grounded than many horror films, this doesn't deal with horrors in a strange far away place, but with a horror lurking here in our own green (or should that be grey?) land. For a British audience it creates a sense of reality that we never seem to get from US based films. We're seeing familiar objects, locations, and people in a film and it allows us to relate far more to the picture. While Hollywood may be better when it comes to pyrotechnics, effects and all the rest of it, Britain is simple THE place to get gritty, realism and the UK based production doesn't do this perception any harm at all. If you're looking for explosions, car chases, super heroes, and all the other American trappings then forget it. What we get instead is solid performances, realism, a sense of reality, and an atmosphere of normality (well except for the werewolf, but what's a werewolf between friends?).
Despite Jack and David being American, the rest of the cast are British through and through and it has to be said, they do something that American's simply can't do - make it real. We all recognise the characters, the mannerisms, the accents, and indeed some of the faces and it makes it feel like it's 'ours', like we've come home. Naughton gets top billing but when compared to his British counterparts, he does seem to suffer from fish out of water syndrome a little too much. Agutter delivers a more realistic (there's that word again and I apologise for my lack of a thesaurus) performance, as does the almost nameless John Woodvine as Dr Hirsch. British character spotters will spy Brian Glover booming his way hairlessly through his pub scenes, and a VERY young Rik Mayall looking geeky and spotty playing chess (and losing I hasten to add).
The effects work of Rick Baker pushed the edge of the envelope at the time and although pretty lame by modern standards, they are impressive none the less (no CGI here, just body suits, puppets, and latex). Coupled with a rather strange soundtrack it creates a sense of almost parody, but this may just be to put the viewer onto the wrong foot. Is it a parody of the genre? Certainly not and director Landis controls himself very well (unlike in his following films when stupidity would abound), and he introduces an element of black humour that keeps us off balance and counterbalances well with the visual horrors. Fundamentally a horror film, there is also a subtle romance set amidst the gore, and it does allow Agutter to shine (far more so than Naughton) and the ending may almost bring a tear to the girly's eye.
Well made but maybe lacking the polish of a US production (but is that a bad thing?) early 80's genre fans will no doubt have seen it. As for the rest of us, well it is a good film. Not a great film mind you, but certainly good. The English-ness of it all creates something different and the combination of humour and horror works well
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Jun 4th, 2001
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