I Guess You Had To Be There
Submitted by jim on Mon, 01/12/2004 - 11:26
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- An American Werewolf in London (1981) ... This strikes me as one of those movies that you have to see pretty close to its original release to love (within 5 years, perhaps). That group of fans then drives the cult following for 20 years. The movie was passable, but I really don't think the humor or the horror stand the test of time. And while I don't know anything about David Naughton, it wouldn't surprise me if he were the David Schwimmer of his day. I probably would have liked this quite a bit more if Bruce Campbell were the lead. On the bright side, Jenny Agutter was good, as was the pre-CGI werewolf transformation.
- Dead Alive (1992) ... I'm sure if I were a fan of splatter films I would've loved this, but I'm not, so I didn't. Still, I recognized it as effective. Even though the blood and various other fluids, organs, and creeping entrails were obviously fake, I was still revolted at all the right times. The big problem is that the humor left me cold. Had the movie gotten more help from the dialog rather than relying almost entirely on slapstick I probably would have enjoyed it more. While it was clearly an upper-low budget effort, the rat effect was surprisingly good and the baby effect was surprisingly bad. I have to give Raimi the nod in the low budget arena, and Jackson the nod when the budget inflates. Nonetheless, it was amusing to watch this early Jackson effort on the eve of seeing Return of the King. How the mighty have risen.
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) ... If I ever see this again I'd probably list it here, but I saw it many years after it first came out, and I'd already heard all the best lines badly done over and over AND OVER by the time I got to it.
- This is Spinal Tap (1984) ... See Grail above. Listed here.
Author Comments:
These are movies that you loved, and I'm sure I would have loved them too, had I seen them with you. Alas, I did not.
Go Bruce Campbell! I loved "An American Werewolf in London" many years ago, but like most things am afraid to watch again for fear of spoiling the good memories.