Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Horror.

Watching horror films at home by yourself may be the loneliest activity I can think of. It just seems that the genre calls for a communal screaming, yelling, talking to the screen experience, but alas, I live with my mother in the suburbs and I have no friends. Let's not dwell.

Wednesday night's feature: Joe Dante's 1981 Werewolf classic The Howling (1981). The best thing about the movie is the scenes where humans transmogrify* into werewolves, the old fashion way, with those air pressure bubbly thingies under the makeup. Pardon me for once again being a fuddy duddy about the olden days, but CGI has ruined the world of cinema and beyond. Remember when you could trust images to really exist in time and space? The real deal might look hokey to sophisticated modern eyes, but god damnit, I like hokey. But enough about me.

My friend Nick, featured here is not only Detroit's go to Horror Film Historian, he's also completely nutso for Joe Dante's work (You may know him from Gremlins, Matinee, Looney Tunes Back in Action... or you may not know him at all, and you're sick of me talking about movies you don't know doing things you can't see. Whatev.) And so these questions are directed to him.

1. I couldn't help noticing many instances of intertextuality and self referencing of horror films/popular conceptions of werewolves throughout. For example, they watch an old werewolf movie, the husband reads a Thomas Wolfe novel in bed, the camera cheekily lingers on a copy of Allen Ginnsberg's "Howl". I was born in the 80's and forgive me, I guess I implicitly assumed that Kevin Williamson/Wes Craven invented the concept of characters educating themselves on the paranormal through film. Having found out just how wrong I am, I wonder, when did this truly start and just how ubiquitous is it? SUB QUESTION: What werewolf film were they watching?

2. Remember when Karen runs straight to the doctor in the barn in tears and horror that everyone is turning into werewolves and he just looks at her and says "Uh, no." Cuz you know, he's a werewolf too and isn't in the mood to help? THAT WAS AWESOME. That was the best part of the movie. Agree? Disagree?

***BONUS QUESTION open to the public***
Does anyone have a favorite horror film they recommend I watch during this fabulous holiday season? Do you hate horror films? Why or why not? DIscuss.

*I would just like to congratulate myself David Foster Wallace style for using the word transmogrify completely legit.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only horror films I've seen have been of the incredibly cheesy variety, like Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. I don't have any good recommendations. I rather like mind thrillers instead. Like Psycho, or Rear Window or even The Shining.

I would, however, HATE watching any of the above by myself. When I lived alone, the only movies I'd allow myself to watch alone besides the usual fare were girly movies I'd never admit to even renting. That is scary in and of itself.

Chick Young said...

Rather late right now, but in the wake of my Howling quote text-a-thon to you this evening, you know that I shall respond to this later. Real quickly, some of Dante's bread and butter is his sophisticated (at times very sophisticated) networking of a cache of intertextual references structured around his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. His background as writer, trade paper reviewer, trailer cutter for Corman, director, producer, his 1950s upbringing, and a wealth of other "important" factors have led to the acute intertextuality you mention. It's just simply in his blood. more later... sleep now...

Chick Young said...

So hey, thanks for the shout out in your blog. Very thoughtful of you.

So, yeah Rob Bottin and Rick Baker were really pushing the bladder effect to its limits back then. I saw both of their babies in the theater. At that time I preferred Landis' American Werewolf, but flip flopped about ten years ago and now prefer The Howling. Why? I dunno, they are both great films (although Ebert denounced Howling as crap when it was released), I guess that in my opinion Dante has matured like fine wine over the years and has delivered countless great projects while John Landis never seemed to recover from his Twilight Zone Vic Morrow tragedy (Dante also directed a segment in the film) and wound up giving us drek like Blues Brothers 2000 and Beverly Hills Cop III.

As for the knowing self-conscious winks? It's certainly a component of the postmodern text - but you can find it late modernity in general. For ex. - The Hope and Crosby films have the 4th wall being broke constantly and the self-referentiality that made the series fun - etc etc.

There's two movies in the film aren't there? There's the Big Bad Wolf cartoon (Tex Avery? I think) and SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT KNOWING THE OTHER - 1941's THE WOLF MAN (Which figured PROMINANTLY in the Universal Studios documentary we watched in class Missy!). We now return to our regularly scheduled comment...

As for my favorite part? TOO MANY, although you picked a damn fine one! It's not mine, but it's up there. There's just too many, but my favorite sequence might be the entire Dick Miller antique/book store scene. Dick Miller has been in EVERY Joe Dante Film - they are a team, If Dante is directing - Miller has a part. Butter and toast from coast to coast.

As for the last part - do I have a horro film to suggest to you? Yes, thousands...

I'm going to hit post without proofing this - so if there's tons of spelling and grammar issues, don't mark me down prof!