Sleepwalkers (1992) #463

 

"Sleepwalkers" is an often overlooked and forgotten horror film from the early 1990's, directed by Mick Garris and a written by Stephen King. This was in fact the first time Mr. King wrote an original script for a full length film that wasn't adapted from one of his of his own stories. The story revolves around the last two survivors of a vampiric species of shape shifters that can only survive on the blood of virgins. The movie itself has it's strengths and weaknesses but is still a pretty fair movie for the time.

Alice Krige ("Gretel & Hansel") and Brian Krause star as Mary Brady and her son Charles, two shape shifters that feed on the psychic essence of human female virgins. Their powers include strength and the ability to turn themselves as well as their car invisible. They can change the appearance of the car as well. They differ from standard vampires in most aspects; the sun doesn't hurt them being the first and foremost. The odd thing about these two, and perhaps one the more problematic aspects of this film is their incestral relationship between mother and son. This is how the two are able to pass the psychic energy that Charles consumes from his victims. It's awkward and unsettling to say the least. 

The Brady's intended victim is Tanya Robertson, played by Madchen Amick, who was best known at the time for her work on "Twin Peaks". She is a delight to watch and is one of the bright spots in the film, coming across as a genuine teenager (although she wasn't anymore). Her emotions as a girl with a new crush to being the final girl come across sincerely. 

My favorite, as well as many others I bet, thing about this movie is how it is packed with cameos of several masters of horror that include Stephen King, Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper, John Landis, and Joe Dante. I'm pretty sure this was how Mick Garris was able to forge the foundations for his series Masters of Horror, which would showcase work from three of the four artists. Mark Hamill and Ron Perlman as have small roles as well, both in law enforcement. 

Besides the cameos, I love the shape shifters unique weakness which is a mortal fear of cats. It seems that cats are their natural enemies and gather in large numbers wherever the Brady's live. When they get close enough, the cats would pounce and attack Charles and Mary. I love when cats are used in movies and are more than just a jump scare....which they are really good at. 

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

"Gremlins 2: The New Batch" is the delayed, less successful follow-up to the smash 1984 hit by director Joe Dante. After being given complete artistic control, Mr. Dante finally agreed to make a sequel six years after the first film, taking the chance to create a satire of his film and sequels in general. This film is much more of a comedy than horror, keeping the violence at a minimum and less intense. Horror fans will be delighted to see Christopher Lee making an appearance as an "evil" scientist whose experiments result in some of the gremlins evolving into more chaotic creatures. With the different types of gremlins, Rick Baker was brought in to work some of his special effects magic.


After Mr. Wing dies of old age and his grandson is no where to be found, Gizmo ends up in the science labs of Clamp Enterprises, located inside an office building in Manhattan. It isn't long before Gizmo has some water splashed on him and he multiplies again, and of course it isn't long before those new mogwai grab a bite after midnight and turn into the evil gremlins. But it just so happens that Billy and Katie, now his fiancee, also work at Clamp Enterprises and saves Gizmo from the gremlins. Together, along with the help of Clamp Enterprises ego-driven owner Daniel Clamp, they try to keep the gremlins from escaping the office building and causing havoc all across New York City.

Gremlins (1984)

"Gremlins" is one of the best horror movies set during Christmas, as well as being one of the best horror movies with a PG rating ever made. It is a brilliant mix of horror and comedy, finely directed by Joe Dante with a heavy influence by producer Steven Spielberg. The soundtrack is incredibly catchy and easily becomes an ear worm when you least suspect it. The film's violence helped to encourage the rating of PG-13 to be created, mainly for the scene where a gremlin is killed by a microwave. The mogwai and gremlins were created with puppetry and not computer animation which is wonderfully; multiple puppets were created in all sizes for the various scenes that were shot.

Billy is given the most unique present a boy could ever have, a mogwai! Billy's dad found it while doing business in Chinatown and secretly bought the miniature creature from the owners grandfather. Billy is told the three important "rules" of owning the mogwai, named Gizmo; keep it out of bright light, never get it wet, and never ever let it eat after midnight. Of course all of these rules are broken in due time and that's when havoc breaks loose. When Gizmo gets wet, he multiplies. And when the new mogwai break Billy's clock and he feeds them after midnight, the cute fuzzy creatures become devilish and violent little imps. It's up to Billy, Gizmo, and Billy's love interest to save the town from Stripe and his horde of green misfits.

Gizmo

Stripe

The Screwfly Solution (2006)

“The Screwfly Solution” is a short story written by Alice Sheldon and was adapted into an episode for the Showtime series “Masters of Horror”. This installment was written by Joe Dante and stars Elliott Gould and Jason Priestly. Due to the nature of the story, I found this episode difficult to watch.

The story is about a plague that is first identified in the US South and after all attempts to figure out a cure and to contain it, the plague over takes the world’s population. The plague only affects men, causing them to become irrationally violent towards women. The story follows Anne and Amy as they try to hide from Alan, their husband/father, who becomes infected with the plague. Their mutual friend Barney discovers that the only cure is chemical castration. Alan ends up killing his daughter and Anne is forced to dress up as a man and hide in the Canadian wilderness. The cause of the plague is revealed and feels suitable to end this vicious tale.

The Howling (1981)

“The Howling” is another strong werewolf movie from the early 1980’s but where “An American Werewolf in London” is about one person who changes into a vicious beast, this movie is about an entire colony of them! The make-up and special effects for the werewolves is ok but I don’t particularly care for what the last werewolf in the movie looks like; reminds me too much of a poodle. I liked the plot, the pacing, and overall quality of the movie in general. Several sequels follow ranging from horrible (mostly) to decent but none of them reach the level of quality that the original set. Kudos goes out to director Joe Dante who co-wrote the script and went on to work on many other great films in horror and other genres.

Karen is a reporter who is working on a story about a serial killer. During a sting operation with the police, she meets the killer, Eddie Quist, in a porno theater. When things look like they are getting are out control, the police come in a shoot Eddie. The event is too traumatic for Karen and develops a case of amnesia. Her therapist sends her and her husband to a secluded countryside resort to recovery. There are other patients at the resort and one of them tries to seduce Karen’s husband Bill. When he turns down the advances, he is attacked by a werewolf as he is walking back to their cabin. Soon Karen’s friend Terri is attacked when she comes to visit, only after they discover that Eddie is still alive and hiding out at the resort. Terri’s boyfriend comes to Karen’s rescue, bringing along silver bullets in order to kill Eddie and any other werewolves they may encounter. As they try to escape, they realize that everyone at the resort is a werewolf, including Bill. After getting away and making it back to the city, Karen goes on TV during a live showing to tell the world that werewolves are real. To prove her point, she turns into one and Chris promptly kills her, as she requested. But the viewers are left to wonder if it was a hoax or not…

Favorite moment – The beginning is thoroughly creepy and gross.