The upside of all this is that when somebody really focuses on doing it right, you end up with some of the best flicks that horror has to offer. It’s so damn easy to get these wrong, that you almost have to end up well above the mean with an honest attempt to get some lycanthrope done up proper.
So let’s take a closer look at these hairy cinematic bastards, and if I’ve missed your favorite
shape shifter then spit some silver bullets below.
As much fun as it is to watch Jack Nicholson as a werewolf, this movie was largely a missed opportunity. Sure it was pretty much a done deal for genre fans given the strength of the casting (including James Spader and Michelle Pfeiffer), but the mistake is they tried to make Nicholson seem like a bit of a sad sack. And nobody other than Alexander Payne can make THAT believable. Still, Jack and rage go together like Jack and Coke, so while not a classic this is still a solid ride.
Always good times to see beasts battle, and when one of the animals baring fangs is the family dog, the emotional intensity gets ratcheted up to a surprising level. Without the hook of having the dog’s perspective on things, this would be a well-made, though mostly by the numbers lycan opus. But you add in that hook, and the subtle, unexpected touches that you can always expect from Eric Red’s work, and this turns into one mean little treat for your next full moon.
While this early monster fest doesn’t work anymore the way it was intended to when first released, it’s still more fun for a modern audience than you’d expect. It skates the line of campy and lacks any legit scares, but none of that takes away from a first rate cast, outstanding atmosphere and lighting, with a surprisingly credible performance from Lon Chaney in the title role.
Well let’s just admit up front that this ultra-stylized trip through a nightmarish dreamscape of fairytales and wolves is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, just reading the previous sentence has probably already either sent you straight to your Netflix rental queue, or put you to sleep. There’s certainly no question that a movie this layered in imagery and symbolism runs up against pretentiousness on a fairly regular basis. But it’s a fascinating ride, that while perhaps not all that deep when you get to the bottom of it, definitely keeps your eyes dutifully splashed.
Kinda straddling two sub-genres here, but what I love about Underworld (outside of Kate Beckinsale in black leather which is a no brainer), is that this is one of the few times that werewolves are really given a well developed backstory. Plus these suckers are in pretty firm control of their gift, turning it on and off when they need it. Too bad the next two movies fell short of the promise of the first.
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!