First published in 1818, the novel "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" was marvel of a horror novel. The novel was originally published anonymously, but more remarkably the true author was Mary Shelley, who was only 18 when she first began writing it, and published it when she was 19. The novel itself is a great book, and unusual in that it is almost entirely in the first person. The story begins with a ship which is stranded in the Arctic that finds Victor Frankenstein in poor health. He recites his life story of growing up and creating the monster that went on to destroy his whole family, including his wife Elizabeth. He vowed to hunt the monster at whatever cost and until his last breath. He ends up dying just before the monster breaks into the ship's cabin. Upon learning that his creator had died, he throws himself from the ship to perish in the ice. A dark novel that ends darkly and is creepy and full of horror. Perfect for Hollywood.
"Frankenstein" - 1931
Following the success of "Dracula", Universal chose to adapt another classic horror novel - Frankenstein. This film has Boris Karloff as the monster, and Colin Clive and Frankenstein. This movie really does not follow the novel at all, but it is unique and an intriguing film. The makeup and acting of Karloff are great. Dwight Frye appears in this movie as Fritz, the assistant to Frankenstein, who was not in the book at all. One switch is Frankenstein and his friend's names: in the movie, they are Henry Frankenstein and Victor Moritz; but in the book, they were Victor Frankenstein and Henry Clerval. The story from the book is all but abandoned.
The movie begins with Frankenstein and Fritz digging up bodies and cutting down hung bodies, and family members and friends worrying about Frankenstein working too much, and really, it takes awhile before you understand that Frankenstein is so wrapped up in his work to create life from death that he is losing his sanity. Friends ask his old professor Dr. Waldman (played by Edward van Sloan, Van Helsing from Dracula) to figure out what he is doing. Although Waldman disagrees with what Frankenstein is doing, he doesn't stop him either. Then follows the classic scene where he awakens the monster, and he shouts the famous "It's alive!", but then follows with a line that was originally censored out for many years "In the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be God!" Soon, Frankenstein realizes that a criminal brain was used for the monster, and he considers it a failure, which is accentuated when the monster kills Fritz. Frankenstein leaves Waldman in the castle where he's been experimenting so he can get married to Elizabeth. Waldman doesn't show up at the wedding because the monster killed him and escaped. The monster finds a little girl who isn't afraid of him and there is again a classic scene where he throws the girl in the pond. The father brings the girl into town where they go searching for the monster that killed her (although it's not clear how they know it was murder, or who killed her). The monster shows up at the wedding and attacks Elizabeth, but has to flee before he kills her. The town bands together to find the monster. When looking for the monster, Frankenstein is abducted by the monster and taken to a windmill, where he is thrown off. The windmill is burned, and presumably so is the monster. The movie ends happily, with Frankenstein recuperating, and everyone happy... a major departure from the novel.
One interesting fact about this movie was that Bela Lugosi screen tested for the part of the monster on the set of Dracula, and supposedly dressed up in full makeup. However, this footage has been lost and all that remains is a poster. Overall, this isn't a bad classic movie.
"Bride of Frankenstein" - 1935
Inevitably, the call for a sequel went out. Director James Whale wanted nothing to do with making a sequel to his original Frankenstein, but when Universal gave him complete artistic freedom, he agreed. Many people consider "Bride of Frankenstein" to be the best sequel in the original Universal Horror subgenre, and many even call it superior to the original. Watch it and see for yourself. Karloff returns as the monster, Clive returns as Frankenstein, and Fry returns as a different character.
This movie begins with Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron discussing the novel Shelley had written, and while their discussions go, you learn that it was a contest between them that inspired her to write the dark tale (and you also see a synopsis of the original). She reveals that the story did not end. Frankenstein has given up his ways of trying to create life from death and is instead now just trying to enjoy life. The monster on the other hand, who had survived the fire, spends his time trying to make friends. He spends time with an old hermit in the woods and his granddaughter. The hermit teaches the monster to speak, which is unique. And for a short period, he is happy, until the rest of the family returns home, and drives the monster away. Also thrown in the mix is Dr. Pretorius, who is the stereotypical mad scientist. Pretorius takes the monster in and tries to force Frankenstein into making a mate for the monster. Frankenstein chooses not to, but then changes his mind when his wife Elizabeth is abducted. The film climaxes when the bride is awakened. She has the now classic hair that stands up with the white shock through it. She is afraid of the monster, the monster seeks revenge. Frankenstein escapes with Elizabeth, but the monster attacks Pretorius. The castle blows up, burying the monster and taking Pretorius with it.
The original novel had the monster ask for a mate from Frankenstein, and Frankenstein agrees, then changes his mind and destroys his second creation before it is finished. This causes the monster to go after the rest of Frankenstein's family. Also, Elsa Lanchester who playes as Mary Shelley in the opening scene also plays as the Bride, but the credits give her no credit for the latter. The credits simply say the bride was played by "?"
"Son of Frankenstein" - 1939
Once again, a sequel had to come out. But this one breaks from the previous two in several ways. Pretorius is not mentioned, and the monster has no speech ever again. Although references are made to the first movie, and short scenes had been lifted for exposition purposes. Karloff returned as the monster, but gone was Clive and Frye. Making his appearance as Frankenstein's son was Basil Rathbone. Making his first appearance in a Frankenstein movie was Bela Lugosi who played as Ygor, a crooked, broken-necked blacksmith. This is actually a very good movie, sequel or not, and is the only Frankenstein movie of a normal length (this one being over 100 minutes).
The movie follows Wolf von Frankenstein and his family returning to the town of Frankenstein to claim his inheritance from his father. It is now the modern 1930's with cars. The town is slow to accept him because of his family's history. He becomes friends with Krogh the head inspector who has a fake arm because the monster had ripped it off when he was a child. While exploring his father's laboratory, he finds Ygor hiding inside. He explains that the village tried to hang him and failed, so now he is all crooked. He also shows Wolf what is hiding in the basement: the tombs of his father and grandfather, as well as the monster, who is now in a coma. He asks Wolf to revive "his friend". Wolf, who is torn between destroying the monster and resurrecting it for science, ultimately decides to resurrect the monster. After his attempt failed, Wolf leaves to ponder what to do next. But soon, villagers begin to turn up missing, and soon all the men who had sentenced Ygor to death have all been killed. The villagers blame Wolf, and they band together to storm the estate. Krogh doesn't believe that his friend had nothing to do with the monster, and remains inside the estate to get the truth from him. Finally, Wolf chooses to banish Ygor from the estate, and in the process shoots him. The monster chooses to get revenge for his friend's death by kidnapping Wolf's son. Wolf and Krogh (unaware or each other) hunt the monster back to the laboratory, where Wolf is able to send the monster into a steaming pond of sulfur. The movie ends with Frankenstein and his family leaving the town and leaving the deed with the townsfolk.
Originally, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains were to play as Wolf. Also, the town in which the developments take place is called Frankenstein, but in the previous two movies, it is called Goldstadt. Another interesting fact was that most of the script was unprepared until shortly before shooting scenes, which kept Bela Lugosi working. Ygor's character wasn't in the original script, and the rewrites that continued keep making Lugosi's character larger and larger, and some consider Ygor his best role.
"Ghost of Frankenstein" - 1942
Three years later came yet another sequel, which is for all intents and purposes not as good as the previous three. Karloff leaves the role of the monster, and in to fill it is oddly enough Lon Chaney (yes, the WolfMan!). Back again is Ygor, played by Bela Lugosi, who apparently didn't die in the previous movie. It is revealed that apparently Ygor has nearly superhuman strength and can't be killed by ordinary means.
This movie begins with Ygor finding his friend, the monster, and leading him to Ludwig Frankenstein, brother of Wolf from the previous movie. Ludwig, as a pure scientist, decides that the problem with the monster is the brain. He figures if he can put a pure mind in the monster, then the monster will be a good person. The monster kills one his doctors, so Ludwig plans to place his brain in the monster. Ygor implores Ludwig to put his brain in the monster's body, but Ludwig is strongly opposed to this. Ygor convinces the other doctor (Dr. Bohmer) that if Ygor's brain is put in the monster, then Bohmer will get all he wants from the medical profession. Unbeknownst to Ludwig, Bohmer follows through with Ygor's wishes. The brain is put in the monster, and when the monster awakes, he has the voice and characteristics of Ygor (which is slightly disturbing, but only in the sense that it seems rather comical). The towns people storm the house/laboratory to kill the monster that has been secretly creating havoc throughout the movie. Gas is released in the halls, and fire is set to the building. The monster, with Ygor's brain inside, is lost in the blaze as well as Ludwig.
Overall, this is not a very strong movie. Chaney's monster was in my opinion weak. His acting is what we now think of as the typical monster, arms out and staggering. No personality at all.
"House of Frankenstein" - 1944
The sequels kept coming, but the public's interest was fading. In order to keep the interest alive, crossover movies began to come out. These crossovers had multiple monsters in them. This was the second of three. It features the monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, and of course the mad doctor and hunchback. It features John Carradine as Dracula, Boris Karloff as the Dr. Niemann, Glen Strange as the monster, Lon Chaney as the Wolf Man, and a short cameo by George Zucco as Lampini. For certain, this was a B movie, but had some interesting moments.
This movie is about a mad doctor (Dr. Niemann) and his assistant (a hunchback) who escape a prison and decide to get revenge against those who have harmed him. his plan is to take on the role of being Lampini, by killing the real Lampini and pretending to be him. Along the way, they discover they had Dracula with them, so Niemann sets Dracula free to do his bidding. Dracula does for a short time, but is soon destroyed by the sunlight. Niemann and the hunchback continue their journey. They find a gypsy girl that the hunchback falls for, but she isn't quite so interested in him. They soon find the monster and the Wolf Man enclosed in ice, so they melt them and take them to his old laboratory. Niemann promises to operate on Talbot and put his brain in someone else to cleanse him of the Wolf Man syndrome. Talbot's impatience grows, and as it does, his interest in the gypsy girl increases, much to the chagrin of the hunchback. The hunchback takes his frustrations out on the monster because he feels the whole problem is from him. The Wolf Man awakens and goes on a rampage and attacks the gypsy girl, who soon shoots him with the silver bullet. The monster awakens and takes his aggression out on the hunchback. Again the villagers storm the laboratory of Niemann. They are chasing the monster who takes Niemann with him into the swamp. Niemann pleads with the monster not to go the way he does, and they both end up sinking in quicksand.
Once again, not a particularly good movie, and even stranger that this movie is like two in one: the first being Niemann taking over Lampini's role and using Dracula, and the second being when he finds the monster and the Wolf Man and taking out his revenge. This movie references the first crossover movie "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" from the previous year, which I'd recommend seeing before this one. From what I've read, Kharis the mummy was to appear in this movie as well, but was cut due to budget restraints. Lugosi was to reprise his role as Dracula, but because of a delay in schedule, he could not take on the role. Oddly enough, because of the delay, Lugosi took a role in the play of "Arsenic and Old Lace" that was previously held by Boris Karloff. A story I read about the shooting of this movie was that Strange had a tough time in the role of the monster: the makeup was painful and at times he had to stand in the cold mud (for the climax of the movie) for hours while the crew argued over the placement of the cameras. Chaney suggested he have some alcohol to keep warm. All day Chaney would pass a whiskey bottle to Strange, and at the end of the day, Strange admits he could barely dress himself he was so drunk.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Universal Horror - Creature from the Black Lagoon
People have always been afraid of what they don't know. For example, fear of the dark is a major fear because of the unknown of what might be lurking in it. Fear of the water is an old phobia probably reached its pinnacle with another Universal movie from 1975 - Jaws. But in 1950's, monster movies about radiation and man's meddling in unnatural science was all the rage. Creature from the Black Lagoon presented an escape from man's flaws and showed a misunderstood creature and the story of trying to understand him. This series was the last of the classic Universal horror movies, and it also featured the shortest number of sequels for the classic horror movies.
"Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954)
This movie is certainly a classic, with one of the most recognizable monster makeups ever made. The marketing alone for the Creature is off the charts, making this movie a cash cow for everyone involved. Also, the underwater shots are amazing! They give a surreal feel to the movie. The best scene to me is the one with Julie Adams swimming, and the Creature is swimming just below her - naturally, she has no idea. A great element of this movie is the introduction of the Creature: he is introduced slowly. First, you see his claws and hand. Then you see part of his body. Then you see all of him. You see what he's capable of before you see what he looks like. A trend ahead of its time.
The movie begins as a group of archeologists uncover a fossil of a hand in limestone on the edge of a tributary of the Amazon River. The main doctor leaves to get help in excavating the rest of the fossil. He returns with more doctors and the beautiful Kay, but they find the camp destroyed and the hired help killed. Assuming wild animals, the scientists go to work and discover the rest of the limestone had crumbled into the tributary and been washed into the Black Lagoon. They ship into the Black Lagoon, where they soon find out that not only is the fossil in the lagoon, but so is a very alive one. The Creature takes out some of the men, one at a time. The scientists want proof the Creature is alive, but when the stakes become too high, they decide it's safer to escape with their lives. The problem arises when they try to leave and the Creature has blocked the exit into the tributary. They eventually free themselves, but the Creature steals Kay. The men rescue her and shoot the monster several times. The Creature falls to the bottom of the lagoon, apparently dead, and the scientists leave.
The Creature was known as Gill Man because of his gills on the side of his head, part of the reason he is so recognizable. Two men played as the Gill Man: one for the underwater sequences, and one for the land sequences. Both men are not the same height, but you wouldn't know it by watching the movie. Creature from the Black Lagoon was shown in 3D when it came out, but that required two reels running at the same time, which they usually weren't. Most of the theater employees didn't know or care, so if the 3D wasn't running in sync, then the image would be all screwed up. One of the reasons 3D fell out of favor in the 1950's.
"Revenge of the Creature" (1955)
The inevitable sequel came out just the following year. This one took a dramatic turn than many of the Universal horror sequels. The typical sequel would've had another group of scientists come, get attacked and one by one die, and then barely make it out alive after maybe killing the Creature. But this one took a radical departure from the normal and instead took a modern approach.
The captain of the boat that survived the first movie takes a new group of scientists into the Black Lagoon, but this time their goal is to capture the Creature, which they do. They bring him back to Florida to be studied. Clete and Helen study the Creature, who is put on display in a large tank and chained to the floor for the safety of the researchers. They begin putting the Creature through tests that border on torture. The Creature begins to obviously take a liking to Helen and struggles to escape. When he finally does, he wreaks havoc and escapes into the ocean. A search ensues but turns up nothing. With the coast on high alert, Clete and Helen try to live their lives like normal. The Creature finally shows up at a party and abducts Helen. Clete and the police go on high alert and pursue the Creature until they find him on a beach and shoot him repeatedly. Once again, he appears to die, falling to the bottom of the water.
This movie made an extraordinary switch in horror movies: sympathy for the Creature. One feels sorry for the Creature in this movie because of the cruel experiments he is subjected to, but at the same time, they are appalled at his abduction of Helen. One unusual element is that since the creature comes from deep in the Amazon, he is a fresh water creature, but they put him in a salt water tank with sharks and barracuda. Also, the Creature kills a college student by throwing him into a tree, but the strings clearly show. But one fascinating bit is an uncredited appearance by Clint Eastwood as a science tech early in the movie. The makeup itself had changed a little for Gill Man; weaker than the first, in my opinion.
"The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956)
The last of the Gill Man movies came out the very next year, and ended what could easily be called a trilogy. Each movie picks up where the previous one left off. Many have their feelings about these movies: some say the first is the best, others say the second is a great sequel, but not many will give high praise to the final in the Creature chronicles. It is actually, in my opinion, very highly underrated. It isn't all about scare or about violence, it's more about philosophy and man vs. nature vs. science, and it's more about questioning the nature of the Creature.
This movie is about a group of scientists once again trying to find the Creature in the everglades of Florida. They finally do, but the Creature is burned very badly in the process. The scientists take him in and bandage him, trying to heal his wounds. In the process, they find that he has lungs, and the allow them to breathe since his gills have been burned off. Most of his scale structure had been burned as well, and what is left is much more human than before. They clothe him and take care of him. He lashes out one night and escapes into the water, but with his new lungs, he begins to drown. He is rescued by the scientists and transported to a private residence where he is placed in a large cage with some sheep. He is surprisingly non-violent, and discussions arise on whether he is only violent to protect himself or because he sees it. One day a mountain lion enters the cage to get the sheep, but the Creature kills it. Debate begins one whether he killed it because he wanted to kill, or because it was self-defense. One of the scientists is obsessed with his wife, thinking she's always cheating on him. He accidentally murders a man he thinks is having an affair with his wife, and he tries to conceal the murder by placing the body in the cage with the Creature. The Creature, who saw the whole thing, breaks out of his cage, and goes on a rampage through the house looking for the man who tried to frame him. When he comes to the scientist who'd helped him earlier and the wife, the Creature leaves them alone and instead pursues the one that framed him. After killing him, the Creature leaves the estate, only killing one more man who tried to attack him. He reaches the sea, and begins walking toward it. You the audience knows that he will drown when he gets too it, because he no longer has gills.
There is much more subtext in this movie than any of the other Universal horror movies, and as such, a great way to end out the classic horror movies. There is real philosophical depth to this movie, which makes it just a good movie. Once again, we are sympathetic toward the Creature, which makes for a great story. Are the people the villains? Is the Creature? Is there a villain? Problems with this movie include seeing the strings that hold up the furniture and people the Creature throws, but with the climax, one doesn't always notice them. One interesting note was that this was the only one of the three Creature movies not shown in 3D. Overall, this was a great way to finish out not only the Creature movies, but the whole classic Universal horror genre.
"Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954)
This movie is certainly a classic, with one of the most recognizable monster makeups ever made. The marketing alone for the Creature is off the charts, making this movie a cash cow for everyone involved. Also, the underwater shots are amazing! They give a surreal feel to the movie. The best scene to me is the one with Julie Adams swimming, and the Creature is swimming just below her - naturally, she has no idea. A great element of this movie is the introduction of the Creature: he is introduced slowly. First, you see his claws and hand. Then you see part of his body. Then you see all of him. You see what he's capable of before you see what he looks like. A trend ahead of its time.
The movie begins as a group of archeologists uncover a fossil of a hand in limestone on the edge of a tributary of the Amazon River. The main doctor leaves to get help in excavating the rest of the fossil. He returns with more doctors and the beautiful Kay, but they find the camp destroyed and the hired help killed. Assuming wild animals, the scientists go to work and discover the rest of the limestone had crumbled into the tributary and been washed into the Black Lagoon. They ship into the Black Lagoon, where they soon find out that not only is the fossil in the lagoon, but so is a very alive one. The Creature takes out some of the men, one at a time. The scientists want proof the Creature is alive, but when the stakes become too high, they decide it's safer to escape with their lives. The problem arises when they try to leave and the Creature has blocked the exit into the tributary. They eventually free themselves, but the Creature steals Kay. The men rescue her and shoot the monster several times. The Creature falls to the bottom of the lagoon, apparently dead, and the scientists leave.
The Creature was known as Gill Man because of his gills on the side of his head, part of the reason he is so recognizable. Two men played as the Gill Man: one for the underwater sequences, and one for the land sequences. Both men are not the same height, but you wouldn't know it by watching the movie. Creature from the Black Lagoon was shown in 3D when it came out, but that required two reels running at the same time, which they usually weren't. Most of the theater employees didn't know or care, so if the 3D wasn't running in sync, then the image would be all screwed up. One of the reasons 3D fell out of favor in the 1950's.
"Revenge of the Creature" (1955)
The inevitable sequel came out just the following year. This one took a dramatic turn than many of the Universal horror sequels. The typical sequel would've had another group of scientists come, get attacked and one by one die, and then barely make it out alive after maybe killing the Creature. But this one took a radical departure from the normal and instead took a modern approach.
The captain of the boat that survived the first movie takes a new group of scientists into the Black Lagoon, but this time their goal is to capture the Creature, which they do. They bring him back to Florida to be studied. Clete and Helen study the Creature, who is put on display in a large tank and chained to the floor for the safety of the researchers. They begin putting the Creature through tests that border on torture. The Creature begins to obviously take a liking to Helen and struggles to escape. When he finally does, he wreaks havoc and escapes into the ocean. A search ensues but turns up nothing. With the coast on high alert, Clete and Helen try to live their lives like normal. The Creature finally shows up at a party and abducts Helen. Clete and the police go on high alert and pursue the Creature until they find him on a beach and shoot him repeatedly. Once again, he appears to die, falling to the bottom of the water.
This movie made an extraordinary switch in horror movies: sympathy for the Creature. One feels sorry for the Creature in this movie because of the cruel experiments he is subjected to, but at the same time, they are appalled at his abduction of Helen. One unusual element is that since the creature comes from deep in the Amazon, he is a fresh water creature, but they put him in a salt water tank with sharks and barracuda. Also, the Creature kills a college student by throwing him into a tree, but the strings clearly show. But one fascinating bit is an uncredited appearance by Clint Eastwood as a science tech early in the movie. The makeup itself had changed a little for Gill Man; weaker than the first, in my opinion.
"The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956)
The last of the Gill Man movies came out the very next year, and ended what could easily be called a trilogy. Each movie picks up where the previous one left off. Many have their feelings about these movies: some say the first is the best, others say the second is a great sequel, but not many will give high praise to the final in the Creature chronicles. It is actually, in my opinion, very highly underrated. It isn't all about scare or about violence, it's more about philosophy and man vs. nature vs. science, and it's more about questioning the nature of the Creature.
This movie is about a group of scientists once again trying to find the Creature in the everglades of Florida. They finally do, but the Creature is burned very badly in the process. The scientists take him in and bandage him, trying to heal his wounds. In the process, they find that he has lungs, and the allow them to breathe since his gills have been burned off. Most of his scale structure had been burned as well, and what is left is much more human than before. They clothe him and take care of him. He lashes out one night and escapes into the water, but with his new lungs, he begins to drown. He is rescued by the scientists and transported to a private residence where he is placed in a large cage with some sheep. He is surprisingly non-violent, and discussions arise on whether he is only violent to protect himself or because he sees it. One day a mountain lion enters the cage to get the sheep, but the Creature kills it. Debate begins one whether he killed it because he wanted to kill, or because it was self-defense. One of the scientists is obsessed with his wife, thinking she's always cheating on him. He accidentally murders a man he thinks is having an affair with his wife, and he tries to conceal the murder by placing the body in the cage with the Creature. The Creature, who saw the whole thing, breaks out of his cage, and goes on a rampage through the house looking for the man who tried to frame him. When he comes to the scientist who'd helped him earlier and the wife, the Creature leaves them alone and instead pursues the one that framed him. After killing him, the Creature leaves the estate, only killing one more man who tried to attack him. He reaches the sea, and begins walking toward it. You the audience knows that he will drown when he gets too it, because he no longer has gills.
There is much more subtext in this movie than any of the other Universal horror movies, and as such, a great way to end out the classic horror movies. There is real philosophical depth to this movie, which makes it just a good movie. Once again, we are sympathetic toward the Creature, which makes for a great story. Are the people the villains? Is the Creature? Is there a villain? Problems with this movie include seeing the strings that hold up the furniture and people the Creature throws, but with the climax, one doesn't always notice them. One interesting note was that this was the only one of the three Creature movies not shown in 3D. Overall, this was a great way to finish out not only the Creature movies, but the whole classic Universal horror genre.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Universal Horror - The Mummy
The 1920's were full of Egypt-mania. It became the fad of the day. New tombs and pyramids were being discovered, most famously Tutankhamen. Even theaters were being made to represent ancient Egypt. So, naturally, a movie about ancient Egypt was inevitable.
"The Mummy" (1932)
The first movie in this series stars Boris Karloff as the mummy called Imhotep (which was named after the designer of the ancient pyramids). His famous makeup has been called the most painful of his career. His screen time in this makeup was short, but very impressive. The best scene in my opinion was the scene near the beginning when he awakens.
The story begins with an expedition in 1921 with Sir Joseph Whemple, who uncovers the mummy of Imhotep. His assistant is told not to mess with the scroll that is found with him, but curiosity gets the better of him. The tampering with the scroll awakens Imhotep, and the sight of such a thing causes the assistant to go insane. Ten years later, Whemple returns with his son Frank. Imhotep is now seemingly much younger and calls himself Ardath Bay. He assists the archeologists, but only to awaken his long lost love, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon. In order to do that, he must cause Helen Grosvenor to die so he can revive her and make her a living mummy like himself.
The most interesting thing about this movie is how little Boris Karloff does. Even when he is Ardath Bay, he moves very little and very gracefully. He underacts the part, which makes this movie much creepier. Arguably this is the best of the series.
"The Mummy's Hand" (1940)
The inevitable sequel had to be made. But, this one was much different than many others. Instead of continuing the story, it chose to start over with a new mummy and new plot points. Everything introduced in this movie spilled over into the next three. Boris Karloff wisely was not in this movie. The mummy was played by Tom Tyler, but with one new addition: his eyes were made black. This was done by putting black over his eyes frame by frame to create the illusion he had no eyes. At the time, it was marvelous special effects, but cheesy if you slow it down, because you can still see his eyes. Plus his acting is far from the underacting of Boris Karloff in the previous movie.
The plot of this movie follows two down on their luck (and bummed) archeologists who come across some pottery that they believe would lead them to the tomb of Princess Ananka. Vowed to protect the tomb is the high priest, who keeps mummy Kharis alive by feeding him 3 tanna leaves every day. The high priest gives his charge up to a new high priest Andoheb, played by George Zucco. You also discover that 9 leaves will awaken Kharis and allow him to move about to cause chaos and death. The two archeologists gather financing and a crew, and soon they believe they have found the tomb of Ananka, but instead it is Kharis's. The high priest gives a 9-leaf brew to Kharis who awakens and begins killing whoever gets in his way. He kidnaps the daughter of the financier and with the high priest plans to make her the living mummy for Ananka. The high priest and Kharis are stopped. The archeologists will be bringing the tomb of Ananka to America to be put on display in a museum.
Interesting note: Kharis is burned at the end of the movie, but not a burn or scratch appears on him in the next movie. Weird, but it gets weirder that it's not explained.
Another interesting note: Due to a clerical oversight, The Mummy's Hand was never legally made available for television viewings, and remained largely unseen until Universal Studios VHS release in 1997.
"The Mummy's Tomb" (1942)
This sequel begins the first of two major jumps in time. This movie supposedly takes places 30 years after the events of "The Mummy's Hand". Time-wise, this should be the early 60's but it's still the 40's; don't you love movie logic? The two archeologists make an appearance in this movie as old men. Andoheb the high priest also makes an appearance as an old man, but this time he promotes Mehemet Bey to be the new high priest and take charge is getting revenge for desecrating the tombs of Kharis and Ananka. Also making his first appearance in the Mummy movies is Lon Chaney Jr., who plays as the Kharis. His movements are more what we think of today as the mummy slide and one arm folded up.
This movie follows Mehemet Bey and Kharis coming to America to kill the members of the archeologists family that opened the tombs in the previous movie. Kharis proceeds to kill the two archeologists and members of their family. The son of one of the archeologists becomes the main protagonist and his girlfriend becomes the new obsession of Bey and Kharis. Kharis eventually kidnaps the girlfriend and is chased by a town mob. They end up back at the archeologist's house which is set on fire by the mob. After a narrow escape by the heroes, Kharis is burned in the house.
In my opinion, this is the weakest of the sequels because the first ten minutes shamelessly uses footage from "The Mummy's Hand" to give exposition. It uses so much that it is not necessary to even watch "The Mummy's Hand". If you take the amount of exposition out of this movie, then the runtime becomes less than 50 minutes.
"The Mummy's Ghost" (1944)
Yet another sequel comes out two years later. This features once again Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis and George Zucco as Andoheb. This is interesting in that Andoheb was shot and died at the end of "The Mummy's Hand", but he returns in the following movie saying he was only shot in the arm. Then he died of old age, but he is back again and doesn't die. Interesting in that you don't see him again. Making a good appearance in this one is John Carradine as Yousef Bey, the new high priest that is bestowed by Andoheb. This sequel is actually not bad, mostly for its tragic ending.
The story follows the new priest Yousef Bey coming to America to awaken Kharis and return Kharis and Ananka to Egypt. However, when they find Ananka's mummy, it disintegrates. They learn that her soul has been reincarnated in a young women named Amina. A white streak appears in her hair, but that is the only thing that symbolizes this. Kharis soon kidnaps Amina and brings her to Bey, who is prepared to make her into a living mummy for Kharis. But his thoughts turn on him, and he wants her for himself. He loses control of Kharis who takes Amina into the swamps. A mob is in pursuit, as well as her boyfriend. As Kharis is fleeing, Amina begins to grow old in his arms, and her hair becomes white. They escape into the swamp and vanish in the murk.
This is the only movie that allows Kharis to get his beloved Ananka, even though they are lost in the muck of the swamp. The tragic ending makes this sequel not horrible, but it's not great either.
"The Mummy's Curse" (1944)
No, that's not a typo: the last of the original Mummy came out the same year as the previous sequel. Once again Long Chaney Jr. suits up as Kharis. Once again Kharis is searching for Ananka. Once again a new high priest is in charge of Kharis. But this time, the serial of movies was out of ideas. Even though the last movie's swamp was in Massachusetts, this movie's swamp was in Louisiana - bit of a glitch. Also, it takes places 25 years after the last movie, which would make this at least supposedly the late 80's or early 90's by now, but no, it's still the 40's.
This movie follows an irrigation project that is clearing out the swamp. The superstitions of the men are fueled by the arrival of an archeologist and his partner, who are searching for Kharis and Ananka in the swamp. Kharis is awakened and is entreated to find Ananka. Ananka awakens from the muck and stumbles into the water, where she is washed and becomes young and beautiful again. She is found by the workers, but soon by Kharis too. The partner of the archeologist is the new high priest, and he has a spy working on the irrigation project. Kharis is tracked to an abandoned temple, where the priest and his assistant are killed, and taking with them the secret of the leaves that gives Kharis power. Ananka is back to being a mummy, and Kharis will be retrieved. Both of which are going to be sent back to the museum.
The stereotyping of the black actors in this movie are the norm for 40's movies, but it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth when you watch.
And thus ends the mummy movies. The sequels are not good movies. I recommend the first and that's it. The others are not essential viewing. The plot holes are horrible: everything from names changing from movie to movie, to changes in location, or the burning and/or killing then reappearance in the sequel without injury. The retelling of the leaves at the beginning of each movie as well as the choosing of a new high priest gets to be a cliche. Fortunately, these are short movies so you won't have to watch them long.
In the late 50's-60's mummy movies came out again, but not much better than the originals. To date, there haven't been really good mummy movies made since. Who knows if there can be. Just watch Karloff in the original, and forget the rest.
"The Mummy" (1932)
The first movie in this series stars Boris Karloff as the mummy called Imhotep (which was named after the designer of the ancient pyramids). His famous makeup has been called the most painful of his career. His screen time in this makeup was short, but very impressive. The best scene in my opinion was the scene near the beginning when he awakens.
The story begins with an expedition in 1921 with Sir Joseph Whemple, who uncovers the mummy of Imhotep. His assistant is told not to mess with the scroll that is found with him, but curiosity gets the better of him. The tampering with the scroll awakens Imhotep, and the sight of such a thing causes the assistant to go insane. Ten years later, Whemple returns with his son Frank. Imhotep is now seemingly much younger and calls himself Ardath Bay. He assists the archeologists, but only to awaken his long lost love, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon. In order to do that, he must cause Helen Grosvenor to die so he can revive her and make her a living mummy like himself.
The most interesting thing about this movie is how little Boris Karloff does. Even when he is Ardath Bay, he moves very little and very gracefully. He underacts the part, which makes this movie much creepier. Arguably this is the best of the series.
"The Mummy's Hand" (1940)
The inevitable sequel had to be made. But, this one was much different than many others. Instead of continuing the story, it chose to start over with a new mummy and new plot points. Everything introduced in this movie spilled over into the next three. Boris Karloff wisely was not in this movie. The mummy was played by Tom Tyler, but with one new addition: his eyes were made black. This was done by putting black over his eyes frame by frame to create the illusion he had no eyes. At the time, it was marvelous special effects, but cheesy if you slow it down, because you can still see his eyes. Plus his acting is far from the underacting of Boris Karloff in the previous movie.
The plot of this movie follows two down on their luck (and bummed) archeologists who come across some pottery that they believe would lead them to the tomb of Princess Ananka. Vowed to protect the tomb is the high priest, who keeps mummy Kharis alive by feeding him 3 tanna leaves every day. The high priest gives his charge up to a new high priest Andoheb, played by George Zucco. You also discover that 9 leaves will awaken Kharis and allow him to move about to cause chaos and death. The two archeologists gather financing and a crew, and soon they believe they have found the tomb of Ananka, but instead it is Kharis's. The high priest gives a 9-leaf brew to Kharis who awakens and begins killing whoever gets in his way. He kidnaps the daughter of the financier and with the high priest plans to make her the living mummy for Ananka. The high priest and Kharis are stopped. The archeologists will be bringing the tomb of Ananka to America to be put on display in a museum.
Interesting note: Kharis is burned at the end of the movie, but not a burn or scratch appears on him in the next movie. Weird, but it gets weirder that it's not explained.
Another interesting note: Due to a clerical oversight, The Mummy's Hand was never legally made available for television viewings, and remained largely unseen until Universal Studios VHS release in 1997.
"The Mummy's Tomb" (1942)
This sequel begins the first of two major jumps in time. This movie supposedly takes places 30 years after the events of "The Mummy's Hand". Time-wise, this should be the early 60's but it's still the 40's; don't you love movie logic? The two archeologists make an appearance in this movie as old men. Andoheb the high priest also makes an appearance as an old man, but this time he promotes Mehemet Bey to be the new high priest and take charge is getting revenge for desecrating the tombs of Kharis and Ananka. Also making his first appearance in the Mummy movies is Lon Chaney Jr., who plays as the Kharis. His movements are more what we think of today as the mummy slide and one arm folded up.
This movie follows Mehemet Bey and Kharis coming to America to kill the members of the archeologists family that opened the tombs in the previous movie. Kharis proceeds to kill the two archeologists and members of their family. The son of one of the archeologists becomes the main protagonist and his girlfriend becomes the new obsession of Bey and Kharis. Kharis eventually kidnaps the girlfriend and is chased by a town mob. They end up back at the archeologist's house which is set on fire by the mob. After a narrow escape by the heroes, Kharis is burned in the house.
In my opinion, this is the weakest of the sequels because the first ten minutes shamelessly uses footage from "The Mummy's Hand" to give exposition. It uses so much that it is not necessary to even watch "The Mummy's Hand". If you take the amount of exposition out of this movie, then the runtime becomes less than 50 minutes.
"The Mummy's Ghost" (1944)
Yet another sequel comes out two years later. This features once again Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis and George Zucco as Andoheb. This is interesting in that Andoheb was shot and died at the end of "The Mummy's Hand", but he returns in the following movie saying he was only shot in the arm. Then he died of old age, but he is back again and doesn't die. Interesting in that you don't see him again. Making a good appearance in this one is John Carradine as Yousef Bey, the new high priest that is bestowed by Andoheb. This sequel is actually not bad, mostly for its tragic ending.
The story follows the new priest Yousef Bey coming to America to awaken Kharis and return Kharis and Ananka to Egypt. However, when they find Ananka's mummy, it disintegrates. They learn that her soul has been reincarnated in a young women named Amina. A white streak appears in her hair, but that is the only thing that symbolizes this. Kharis soon kidnaps Amina and brings her to Bey, who is prepared to make her into a living mummy for Kharis. But his thoughts turn on him, and he wants her for himself. He loses control of Kharis who takes Amina into the swamps. A mob is in pursuit, as well as her boyfriend. As Kharis is fleeing, Amina begins to grow old in his arms, and her hair becomes white. They escape into the swamp and vanish in the murk.
This is the only movie that allows Kharis to get his beloved Ananka, even though they are lost in the muck of the swamp. The tragic ending makes this sequel not horrible, but it's not great either.
"The Mummy's Curse" (1944)
No, that's not a typo: the last of the original Mummy came out the same year as the previous sequel. Once again Long Chaney Jr. suits up as Kharis. Once again Kharis is searching for Ananka. Once again a new high priest is in charge of Kharis. But this time, the serial of movies was out of ideas. Even though the last movie's swamp was in Massachusetts, this movie's swamp was in Louisiana - bit of a glitch. Also, it takes places 25 years after the last movie, which would make this at least supposedly the late 80's or early 90's by now, but no, it's still the 40's.
This movie follows an irrigation project that is clearing out the swamp. The superstitions of the men are fueled by the arrival of an archeologist and his partner, who are searching for Kharis and Ananka in the swamp. Kharis is awakened and is entreated to find Ananka. Ananka awakens from the muck and stumbles into the water, where she is washed and becomes young and beautiful again. She is found by the workers, but soon by Kharis too. The partner of the archeologist is the new high priest, and he has a spy working on the irrigation project. Kharis is tracked to an abandoned temple, where the priest and his assistant are killed, and taking with them the secret of the leaves that gives Kharis power. Ananka is back to being a mummy, and Kharis will be retrieved. Both of which are going to be sent back to the museum.
The stereotyping of the black actors in this movie are the norm for 40's movies, but it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth when you watch.
And thus ends the mummy movies. The sequels are not good movies. I recommend the first and that's it. The others are not essential viewing. The plot holes are horrible: everything from names changing from movie to movie, to changes in location, or the burning and/or killing then reappearance in the sequel without injury. The retelling of the leaves at the beginning of each movie as well as the choosing of a new high priest gets to be a cliche. Fortunately, these are short movies so you won't have to watch them long.
In the late 50's-60's mummy movies came out again, but not much better than the originals. To date, there haven't been really good mummy movies made since. Who knows if there can be. Just watch Karloff in the original, and forget the rest.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Universal Horror 1931-1956
In 1912, Carl Laemmle, Sr. founded Universal Studios, which is currently the second oldest movie production company in continuous production today. In the early days of the motion picture industry, a person was in control of the studios (not a corporation). For about a decade, Universal was the largest studio, and because of shrewd investing, Laemmle financed the movies himself and not allowing the company to take on debt. Universal's main focus for the first number of years was mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns, and serials. Erick von Stroheim was allowed to create lavish movie productions, and because Laemmle was financing it himself, Universal nearly bankrupted. They had to look at other markets and types of films. Irving Thalburg took care of most of the production for the company, but was lured away by Louis B. Mayer (of MGM) which made Universal a second-rate studio for years afterward. The two most successful hits for Universal's early days were "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925), both starring Lon Chaney. With the success of such dark content, Univeral first had its taste of being a successful horror studio.
In 1928, Carl Laemmle, Sr. gave control of universal to his son, Carl Laemmle, Jr. Carl Jr. loved macabre movies and it was just a matter of time before Universal made a real horror movie. In this time, "Showboat" (1929) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) were released.
Beginning in 1931, Universal under the leadership of Carl Laemmle, Jr. began a sub-genre series of horror movies called Universal Horror, all now regarded as all-time classics. The aspect that most notice is that they all had sequels, and soon had tie-ins (where the major characters had a movie together), and eventually spoofs. The first of these is "Dracula" (1931) with Bela Lugosi, and then with "Frankenstein" (1931) with Boris Karloff. In 1932, "The Mummy" was released. "The Invisible Man" was released the following year, starring Claude Rains. In 1941, "The Wolf Man" was released with Lon Chaney, Jr. The last of the great classic Universal Horror to be released was "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in 1954.
The flaws with these movies are the lack of creativity. What I mean is there are whole scenes where the dialogue is extremely similar. Whole scenes of dialogue from Dracula can be found very similar in The Mummy. Also, many of the actors are in several different movies. Such as Dwight Frye, who played as Renfield in Dracula, played as Fritz in Frankenstein; or Bela Lugosi who was Dracula, played as Ygor in later Frankenstein movies.
This month, I am planning to make Universal Horror posts with the five major themes of Universal Horror, and some of the sequels, spoofs, and crossovers that followed.
In 1928, Carl Laemmle, Sr. gave control of universal to his son, Carl Laemmle, Jr. Carl Jr. loved macabre movies and it was just a matter of time before Universal made a real horror movie. In this time, "Showboat" (1929) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) were released.
Beginning in 1931, Universal under the leadership of Carl Laemmle, Jr. began a sub-genre series of horror movies called Universal Horror, all now regarded as all-time classics. The aspect that most notice is that they all had sequels, and soon had tie-ins (where the major characters had a movie together), and eventually spoofs. The first of these is "Dracula" (1931) with Bela Lugosi, and then with "Frankenstein" (1931) with Boris Karloff. In 1932, "The Mummy" was released. "The Invisible Man" was released the following year, starring Claude Rains. In 1941, "The Wolf Man" was released with Lon Chaney, Jr. The last of the great classic Universal Horror to be released was "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in 1954.
The flaws with these movies are the lack of creativity. What I mean is there are whole scenes where the dialogue is extremely similar. Whole scenes of dialogue from Dracula can be found very similar in The Mummy. Also, many of the actors are in several different movies. Such as Dwight Frye, who played as Renfield in Dracula, played as Fritz in Frankenstein; or Bela Lugosi who was Dracula, played as Ygor in later Frankenstein movies.
This month, I am planning to make Universal Horror posts with the five major themes of Universal Horror, and some of the sequels, spoofs, and crossovers that followed.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Chato's Land
In 1972, a movie called Chato's Land was released, written by Gerald Wilson, Directed by Michael Winner, and starring Charles Bronson and Jack Palance. This is in my opinion one of the most underrated westerns ever made.
Westerns of the time were gritty and violent, and few lines of dialogue. Most of the heroes were one step from being villains. This movie isn't far from that, but it takes things one step farther. In this movie, the Americans western drunks are the villains and the natives are the protagonists, even though the movie follows the drunks.
This movie starts out with a native (Bronson) called Chato who murders a sheriff out of self-defense in a saloon. He flees into the desert, and a posse is raised by an ex-Confederate soldier names Quincy (Palance) to hunt and kill the native. Chato leads the men deeper into Indian territory, and toys with his pursuers, slowing taking them out one at a time. As the chase goes on, the group begins to splinter. Quincy begins to start questioning why they are going after Chato, as does a few others, but the more powerful of the group are more ardent than ever to kill Chato. In the middle of the posse's splintering, they find Chato's woman and a few of the crazier men tape her and leave her for bait. Chato rescues her, then begins to kill off the rest of the men one by one, even the ones who wants to quit the chase.
This movie is unapologetic, as are most westerns of its type and time. It's far different than the John Wayne and Alan Ladd movies of twenty years earlier. It is full of character-driven story with the posse, and the slow disintegration of the cause which had rallied them. Bronson has the usual cool composure which adds to his mystery, but also to our hoping he succeeds in his revenge. But when Quincy begins questioning the purpose of the posse, then we feel the inevitable tug that a good Western gives: who do we cheer for? I highly recommend this movie if you can find it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a trailer, but I found a few scenes from the movie. The first one shown is the first in the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0eTRk7YYTI
Westerns of the time were gritty and violent, and few lines of dialogue. Most of the heroes were one step from being villains. This movie isn't far from that, but it takes things one step farther. In this movie, the Americans western drunks are the villains and the natives are the protagonists, even though the movie follows the drunks.
This movie starts out with a native (Bronson) called Chato who murders a sheriff out of self-defense in a saloon. He flees into the desert, and a posse is raised by an ex-Confederate soldier names Quincy (Palance) to hunt and kill the native. Chato leads the men deeper into Indian territory, and toys with his pursuers, slowing taking them out one at a time. As the chase goes on, the group begins to splinter. Quincy begins to start questioning why they are going after Chato, as does a few others, but the more powerful of the group are more ardent than ever to kill Chato. In the middle of the posse's splintering, they find Chato's woman and a few of the crazier men tape her and leave her for bait. Chato rescues her, then begins to kill off the rest of the men one by one, even the ones who wants to quit the chase.
This movie is unapologetic, as are most westerns of its type and time. It's far different than the John Wayne and Alan Ladd movies of twenty years earlier. It is full of character-driven story with the posse, and the slow disintegration of the cause which had rallied them. Bronson has the usual cool composure which adds to his mystery, but also to our hoping he succeeds in his revenge. But when Quincy begins questioning the purpose of the posse, then we feel the inevitable tug that a good Western gives: who do we cheer for? I highly recommend this movie if you can find it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a trailer, but I found a few scenes from the movie. The first one shown is the first in the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0eTRk7YYTI
Dead Calm
In 1989, a movie called Dead Calm was released, directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Terry Hayes (based on the novel by Charles Williams), and starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane. This is such an underrated movie that hearkens back to Hitchcock.
This movie is about a man and wife (Neill and Kidman) who lose their young son in a tragic car accident and decide to go sailing to recover from the emotional loss. John (played by Neill) is an ex-Navy man and his wife Rae (Kidman) was actually driving the car that killed their son. Very shortly into the movie, the two find an adrift schooner that does not answer any radio calls. A man (Hughie, played by Zane) rows to their boat from the schooner. He is a very strange man who at first seems to have a drive to get away from the schooner and everything on board. While Hughie sleeps, John decides to go aboard and see what happened. He finds a boat and an engine that are flooded and a scene of carnage. Hughie has killed his shipmates. When John returns to his boat, Hughie has escaped from his room and hijacks the boat, taking Rae and their dog with him. The movie continues to escalate until John is finally reunited with Rae, but is Hughie still there?
This movie screams Hitchcock like few since his time. It is a small cast (only three main actors) and it has the element of sexuality that is subtle yet obvious, in that no matter what Rae does, she is doing it to get back to John. This movie makes one look at Billy Zane in a totally different way. Yes, he is a jerk in Titanic, but he is a psychotic jerk in this movie. For this reason, I think he is amazing in this movie; you never really know what he’s up to or what he will do. The small scale of the movie is another high point. Since there are few actors, there is little to distract you from the story. You are very in tune with the characters and their feelings. In one way, this is a very character-driven story, but on the other hand, it is very much a thriller. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ew7fItO7P0
This movie is about a man and wife (Neill and Kidman) who lose their young son in a tragic car accident and decide to go sailing to recover from the emotional loss. John (played by Neill) is an ex-Navy man and his wife Rae (Kidman) was actually driving the car that killed their son. Very shortly into the movie, the two find an adrift schooner that does not answer any radio calls. A man (Hughie, played by Zane) rows to their boat from the schooner. He is a very strange man who at first seems to have a drive to get away from the schooner and everything on board. While Hughie sleeps, John decides to go aboard and see what happened. He finds a boat and an engine that are flooded and a scene of carnage. Hughie has killed his shipmates. When John returns to his boat, Hughie has escaped from his room and hijacks the boat, taking Rae and their dog with him. The movie continues to escalate until John is finally reunited with Rae, but is Hughie still there?
This movie screams Hitchcock like few since his time. It is a small cast (only three main actors) and it has the element of sexuality that is subtle yet obvious, in that no matter what Rae does, she is doing it to get back to John. This movie makes one look at Billy Zane in a totally different way. Yes, he is a jerk in Titanic, but he is a psychotic jerk in this movie. For this reason, I think he is amazing in this movie; you never really know what he’s up to or what he will do. The small scale of the movie is another high point. Since there are few actors, there is little to distract you from the story. You are very in tune with the characters and their feelings. In one way, this is a very character-driven story, but on the other hand, it is very much a thriller. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ew7fItO7P0
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Jaws Quadrilogy - Part 3D
After Jaws 2, one would assume that the sequels would stop. The second installment wasn't horrible (at least to me), but there was no way to recreate the feeling or suspense from the first. But it was attempted, and to some mild success. But then in someone's infinite wisdom, a third installment was mentioned. This one was written by Carl Gottlieb (of the first two), Michael Kane, and Richard Matheson, and directed by Joe Alves, and starring Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr, and a young Lea Thompson. This movie was released in 1983, and really, there's nothing nice I can say about this movie.
At the time of Jaws 3's release, the 3D movie boom fad was in full swing. Maybe someone decided it was a good idea to have a 3D shark coming at the audience. Or maybe someone thought it was a good idea to have a severed arm floating at the audience. Either way, there wasn't much thought involved in the plot.
Jaws 3 takes place in SeaWorld (home of marine mammals such as dolphins) and sea shows on skis. Trouble brews when a small Great White Shark strays into the park and begins creating havoc. The shark is caught and displayed, but dies in captivity. Soon, they have a bigger problem on their hands when the shark's mother (yes, you read that right) comes to destroy the killers of her child. As outlandish as that is, get this: the mother is 35 feet long. I can't even make this BS up!
This movie is full of cliches. There is a power-hungry boss who sends an adventure man to kill the large shark with his grenades. There are ecological debates throughout the movie. New cliches break forth in this movie in the hopes of scaring the audience rather than stick with science, such as chasing the skiers at breakneck speeds (a trait begun in the 2nd, but made somewhat believable, and filmed well too). But the worst part is the breaking with science. The first Jaws was all about the science - what's real is scarier than what's fiction. The second began to break from that, but was still mostly science-oriented. The third completely breaks from that just to create excitement and terror... instead only creating hilarity.
The acting is just as bad as anything else in this movie. The cast obviously knew it was starring in some major crap. Nothing of positive memories can be thought of with this movie. It is all about "ohh scary shark!" which takes away from any reality that there could've been.
A big change for the quadrilogy is that we are no longer on Amity Island. This entire movie takes place in SeaWorld. Also gone is Chief Brody, although you do see Martin Brody in the background in two scenes, since he is now working for SeaWorld. The story centers on the kids: Michael and Sean. Michael works for SeaWorld, and Sean comes to visit. Michael is the main one that has to deal with the shark (a theme for the next Jaws movie too). Sean has somehow developed a southern accent and looks like a cowboy; interesting for a guy who comes from Amity... where's the New England accent?
By far the worst part of this movie is the "special effects". Because this movie is meant to be in 3D, certain elements are not in the film, they are added. This makes them look like they are popping off the screen at the audience. The submersible, severed limbs, and sharks are usually what are in this category. But if you watch this movie in 2D, which is the only way it's available now, you will see how poor their techniques were. Because the stand out images are not included in the original film, but added for effect, sometimes, parts of them disappear! The bottom of the submersible disappears when it makes a turn. Also, when the shark is coming at the audience near the end, it isn't swimming: it's just getting closer. One could say it's coasting, but not even the mouth moves. It is so obviously not a real shark that it's painful to watch.
In my opinion, the third Jaws movie is not only the worst of the quadrilogy, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made. There really is nothing positive I can say about it, and even talking about it this much is making me ill. It is difficult for any film fan to watch because it's so bad. Good luck watching it. You might want some liquor first. At least then it'll be hilarious.
Here's the trailer, which shows nothing... thankfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=636cMq0PFT4
At the time of Jaws 3's release, the 3D movie boom fad was in full swing. Maybe someone decided it was a good idea to have a 3D shark coming at the audience. Or maybe someone thought it was a good idea to have a severed arm floating at the audience. Either way, there wasn't much thought involved in the plot.
Jaws 3 takes place in SeaWorld (home of marine mammals such as dolphins) and sea shows on skis. Trouble brews when a small Great White Shark strays into the park and begins creating havoc. The shark is caught and displayed, but dies in captivity. Soon, they have a bigger problem on their hands when the shark's mother (yes, you read that right) comes to destroy the killers of her child. As outlandish as that is, get this: the mother is 35 feet long. I can't even make this BS up!
This movie is full of cliches. There is a power-hungry boss who sends an adventure man to kill the large shark with his grenades. There are ecological debates throughout the movie. New cliches break forth in this movie in the hopes of scaring the audience rather than stick with science, such as chasing the skiers at breakneck speeds (a trait begun in the 2nd, but made somewhat believable, and filmed well too). But the worst part is the breaking with science. The first Jaws was all about the science - what's real is scarier than what's fiction. The second began to break from that, but was still mostly science-oriented. The third completely breaks from that just to create excitement and terror... instead only creating hilarity.
The acting is just as bad as anything else in this movie. The cast obviously knew it was starring in some major crap. Nothing of positive memories can be thought of with this movie. It is all about "ohh scary shark!" which takes away from any reality that there could've been.
A big change for the quadrilogy is that we are no longer on Amity Island. This entire movie takes place in SeaWorld. Also gone is Chief Brody, although you do see Martin Brody in the background in two scenes, since he is now working for SeaWorld. The story centers on the kids: Michael and Sean. Michael works for SeaWorld, and Sean comes to visit. Michael is the main one that has to deal with the shark (a theme for the next Jaws movie too). Sean has somehow developed a southern accent and looks like a cowboy; interesting for a guy who comes from Amity... where's the New England accent?
By far the worst part of this movie is the "special effects". Because this movie is meant to be in 3D, certain elements are not in the film, they are added. This makes them look like they are popping off the screen at the audience. The submersible, severed limbs, and sharks are usually what are in this category. But if you watch this movie in 2D, which is the only way it's available now, you will see how poor their techniques were. Because the stand out images are not included in the original film, but added for effect, sometimes, parts of them disappear! The bottom of the submersible disappears when it makes a turn. Also, when the shark is coming at the audience near the end, it isn't swimming: it's just getting closer. One could say it's coasting, but not even the mouth moves. It is so obviously not a real shark that it's painful to watch.
In my opinion, the third Jaws movie is not only the worst of the quadrilogy, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made. There really is nothing positive I can say about it, and even talking about it this much is making me ill. It is difficult for any film fan to watch because it's so bad. Good luck watching it. You might want some liquor first. At least then it'll be hilarious.
Here's the trailer, which shows nothing... thankfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=636cMq0PFT4
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