Entering theaters this week is Troy Nixey’s fabled spook-fest, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, which has, every step of the way, been creatively shepherded by Mexican visionary Guillermo del Toro. And even though The Arrow found the film a disappointment, we thought what a great opportunity to use the release of the film as a time to reflect on some of the better examples of the subgenre Nixey and del Toro are reveling in. The creepy-crawly-critter variety! That’s right y’all…we’re about to get down with all things diminutive, dingy, and downright deleterious. Here now is our TopTen cinematic Critters. Let’s run it…
WARNING: MINOR TO MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!
#10. CAT’S EYE (1985)
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Who knew Drew Berrymore would be tormented by trolls her whole life (whoa, is that a Justin Long dig?) Anyway, in Lewis Teague’s 1985 adaptation of Stephen King’s CAT’S EYE, a pretty creepy stint occurs when a nasty little ghoul – the suddenly animated troll – climbs on top of the little girl while she’s sleeping, and begins subsuming the life-force right out of the poor kid. With red eyes aglow, the dangling din of his belled-horns…when the cat flies into save the day, a full-on duel between the feline and the troll goes down. The ugly little beast pulls a blade, the cat swipes its mighty claws and all hell ensues. Sure, by the end the troll becomes a comic foil…comported in a cartoon style, but there’s no denying the technical aplomb the sequence demonstrates. Teague gives a clinic in scope-and-scale, doing matte work with close-ups of the cat with far shots of the small-actor playing the troll. The result makes it seem like both entities coexist naturally in the same frame. A fun sequence!
#9. TROLL/TROLL 2 (1986/1990)
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Has there ever been such a head-scratching lacuna between one film and its purported sequel? Dubbed THE BEST WORST MOVIE in its own documentary subject, Claudio Fragasso’s 1990 riff on John Carl-Buechler’s 1986 original is largely known for the absence of TROLLS altogether, instead focusing on the Goblins of Nilbog. And while I’m tempted to rehash my own personal experience watching TROLL 2 on HBO at the formative age of about 8 or 9, I’ll refrain and simply applaud the Lilliputian terror of both flicks. Largely divided by tone and tenor – Buechler’s film was more or less a sincere piece of fantasy-horror, Fragasso’s an exercise in camp and kitsch of the highest degree. However, one thing remains a constant…and that’s the ability to create an unsettling sense in the viewer at some point. The inescapable close-ups and dizzying frame-jobs Fragasso uses in TROLL 2 are just as eerie some of the more low-key images Buechler employs in the original.
#8. THE BOOGENS (1981)
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Not until I bit off of Eric’s 31 Days Of Horror last October (an offense I tend to repeat this year, mind you) had I ever heard of the lost 1981 creature-feature THE BOOGENS. But boy am I glad I did! In this obscure, slow-burning early 80s ditty, a throng of young adults become unceremoniously targeted by a subterranean breed of monster. While no masterpiece, the film certainly deserves to be seen more than it has (it’s not even on DVD). I mean, come on…razor-clawed turtle mutants who dwell in a small mining town’s interconnected sewer system? This shite has C.H.U.D-forerunner written all over it. And like most B-movies of its time, James L. Conway wisely keeps creature sightings to a scant dose, instead immersing us through a range of handheld POV shots of the monster (JAWS style). And while the comparisons to Spielberg’s masterpiece halt there, I love the way the action in THE BOOGENS ratchets to a full-throat in the last 20 minutes.
#7. SLITHER (2006)
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While James Gunn’s hyperkinetic 2006 creature-feature SLITHER owes a tremendous debt of inspiration to NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, the not-so-subtle homage still ranks as a damn fun time to be had. I fondly remember clocking this film, by my lonesome, in one of London’s Odeon theaters. Packed in a tiny theater, no more than a dozen patrons dispersed throughout, I vividly recall the smile plastered on my face. SLITHER is a film, while at times extremely graphic, has such a sure-handed grip on its tone – an absurdist comedic one – that I just couldn’t help but have a good time. Of course, Michael Rooker slowly devolving into a giant, bloodsucking leach never fails to amuse…nor does the comic stylings of Nathan Fillion and a young Elizabeth Banks. But it’s the slimy slugs themselves, created by Todd Masters and his team, that help elevate the film from mere comedic pastiche to something more alarming. If a palpable threat isn’t conjured, the comedy won’t work as well.
#6. NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)
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Although remolded two decades later by James Gunn, Fred Dekker’s 1986 horror-comedy NIGHT OF THE CREEPS stills holds as an extremely fun, witty, blackly comedic party! With all the in-jokes of horror lore (each character named after a horror icon), the deeply entertaining laconicism of Tom Atkins’ jaded sheriff, the cheesy 80s repartee spat by Jason Lively and Steve Marshall…and of course, black-alien-slugs that wriggle through the night looking for fresh brains to eat…all these facets congeal into a movie fully aware of its playful tone. For those who’ve never seen this undeniable gem, the alien parasites find their way into human brains…essentially turning their host bodies into mindless but murderous zombies. And truth be told, the way the slugs are shot, both from afar and with a rapidly moving POV, are at times very unsettling….definitely not for the squeamish. If you have a copy nearby, pop it in and see if you can spot F/X legends Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger in the background as zombies!
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!