Classic 80's Horror Double Feature: The Fog and The Howling

Recently the greatest studio known to man or beast, Shout Factory, opened the flood gates on horror fans with brand new transfers of The Howling and The Fog onto baby blu. I figured it'd be a good time to rewatch these classics and pay homage to two of my favorite directors.

The Fog
(1980) [Trailer]
Director: John Carpenter [IMDB]

My worship of John Carpenter has been well documented with the hallowed halls of Williams Film Review... don't believe me, then click here. It would be extremely perplexing to try and arrange JC's movies in order from "best" to "not so great" (he doesn't make "worst" films... well maybe, I just have a hard time dealing with it.) Let's say I were to try... The Fog would be in the upper echelon, maybe like 4th or 5th, but definitely in the top 3 for horror from him.

This is the part where I'd normally say "let's put this in and see how it holds up", but that's not needed here... it holds.

Synopsis: Shit gets weird when a small California town stands at the threshold of it's 100 year anniversary and a looming fog roles in off the sound.

I really dig how The Fog opens up, especially the first 20 minutes which are truly ominous and strange. It's fun to watch the town slowly break and shatter as the initial wave of fog creeps onto the scene. After that, when the first daybreak hits, it's Carpenter's job to reel in the story and give you context, which he does masterfully. Then that ending... it's sick. The cross that's too hot to handle for the priest carrying the sins of Antonio Bay, the red eyed veiled threat slowly marching towards its victims, and just when you think everything is cool... nope.

The Fog is indeed a classic. It's a juicy filet mignon, with the correct proportions of seasoning, seared off in a little butter and served medium... in other words... a nice meal.

The Howling
(1981) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Dante [IMDB]

I also love Joe Dante. His films are like tequila... when I drink one I feel all warm inside and if his titles are like tequila brands, then The Howling is like his Patron (that's a nice tequila right?) It has been years since I took a swig of this concoction and as I recollect, it was terrifying, especially the transformation scenes... I mean look at that poster over there to the left... scary shit man.

Synopsis: A killer is on the lose in San Fran. A local reporter gets tangled up in a trail that leads to the killer and a lot more.... and by more I mean killer werewolves.

Upon inserting the blu-ray into my player I began to hear the intro music on the menu screen and a huge smile developed on my face. It was comforting, just like this rest of the film. I was surprised to remember so much of The Howling as it unfolded before me. It's still creepy and weird and totally feels like a Dante film. It's a little slow moving during the first half, but makes up for it by the end. The special effects are like a fine chevre and just get better with time, people may disagree with the statement, but they would be wrong.

If you're into werewolves and want to see what they were like in film before Twilight, give this a poke.

Gremlins & Gremlins 2

Gremlins
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Dante (IMDB)

Synopsis: A furry little critter from Chinatown is picked up as a Christmas gift and turns out to be more than its new owners can handle.

This is one of my all time favorite childhood movies and also one of the best Christmas movies ever. Joe Dante is an overall rad dude and probably one of the most effective directors when it comes to blending horror and comedy. There's lots of interesting practical effects and puppetry, which is something you don't see in a films nowadays... stupid CGI. Jerry Goldsmith (RIP) provides an incredible score as he does in every film he's involved in.

There are lots of amazing scenes in Gremlins that I loved as kid and that still hold up for me. Here's my top 5.

1. The final confrontation at the department store... the chainsaw scene is the best.
2. The hatching of the Gremlins at Billy's house and the kitchen massacre scene.
3. The Gremlins watching Snow White... so genius... I love the Mickey ears that you'll briefly see if you look hard enough.
4. The Gremlins getting wasted. Who doesn't love a drunk monster?
5. The teacher trying to feed a snickers bar to a Gremlin.

Gremlins 2
(1990) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Dante (IMDB)

Synopsis: The boys are back and this time they're taking it to the big apple.

Dante returns to direct this follow up and it delivers a cracked out version of part one. It's pretty extreme and goes a bit over the top, but in a fun way. Like part one, I noticed a lot of homages to other classic films: Rambo, The Wizard of Oz, King Kong, and Phantom of the Opera are all given nods and there's also a chorus-linesque scene at the end which is great. There's a very meta scene involving the Gremlins interrupting the movie and taking you out of the film into what is meant to be real life. The blu-ray offers both the theatrical version featuring Hulk Hogan, and the home VHS version featuring the Gremlin's shoot out with John Wayne. Both versions are pretty funny and it's an interesting idea I haven't seen before. 

Although this isn't as good as part one, it's still pretty funny and worth a viewing.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Twilight Zone: The Movie
(1983) [Trailer]
Directors: John Landis (IMDB), Steven Spielberg (IMDB), Joe Dante (IMDB), George Miller (IMDB)

This movie freaked me the hell out as a child. I remember being scared of racists, being scared of old people, being scared of other kids, and being scared of flying. Thanks to this movie all those things are still true.

Segment 1: After an epic racial tirade, this old anti Semite gets blasted back through time to see just how it feels to be on the receiving end of hate. I love this one. I know people will say it's preachy and shit, but they are bigots, so who cares. The Nazis have never looked more evil.  I think they could have found a better scenario then placing him in Vietnam however. The end is creepy and effective. Good Stuff.

Segment 2: Spielberg delivers a story of magic as old people get to feel what it's like to be young again. I think this is generally considered to be the worst of the bunch, I like it however. It's completely not scary, but still a fun tale and delivered with style. The one older kid with the cape kinda sucks though.

Segment 3: A women gets drawn into a house where a boy has any wish he wants come true. One of my all time favorite horror pieces. Joe Dante rules this segment and delivers a super creepy installment. The practical effects are the absolute best. They are scary yet maintain that cartoony look. I love the set design of this house. It's so unsettling and weird, the bedroom is sinister and the sister in it looks insane. I really can't praise this one enough. It's been awhile since I've seen it and it's probably better then I remember.

Segment 4: A man loses his shit on a flight when he sees a monster on the wing of his plane. John Lithgow's at his absolute best. He plays bat shit crazy extremely well. The scenes of the monster out on the wing is very spooky and mysterious. When you finally get the close up, the monster is great, he kinda looks like a gremlin meets the predator.

Definitely pick this up if you haven't seen it before. If you have, it's a fun revisit.