Phillip Kaufman’s remake of the 1956 Don Siegel classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a terrific example of a remake done right. It takes the basic premise of the original but uses themes and metaphors that suit the time period. Where as the original 1955 Jack Finney book and the Siegel film was seen as an allegory for communism and McCarthyism, Kaufman’s version can be interpreted as representing the fears that were going on in America at that time such as the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam war raging on.

Also unlike both original the book and 1956 film which takes in small town America the story takes place in  San Francisco however still manages to create the same fear and dread.

The story is the same as before. An alien race known as pods come to earth from their dying planet. They take the form of small pink flowers which sparks the interest of a laboratory scientist, played by Brooke Adams where it is then revealed that the toxins coming from said flowers start to spread throughout the city, making emotionless duplicates of the citizens and killing the real people in their sleep. Now it’s up to a small group to avoid being hunted by the alien shape shifters.

As already mentioned before what makes this version of invasion of the Body Snatchers so effective is that it stays through to the original film while going in its own direction. The movie has a more surreal tone with it’s hypnotic directing From Kaufman who make the movie more of a horror than science-fiction and is more visually shocking (the human faced dog is a terrifying moment). The performances are all spot on especially Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy as a scientist who serves as a voice of reason (similar to his most famous role of Dr spock from Star Trek) a very young Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright who is certainly no stranger to horror movies, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds as a child and just one year after this movie she would be dealing with another hostile alien life form again in Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic Alien.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers deserves it’s reputation as one of the greatest remakes of all time. It proves that just because you’re taking an idea that has already been done you can still be creative. This ranks along side The Right Stuff as Kaufman’s finest work as a director and is definitely recommended viewing for fans of horror and science-fiction.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is truly the definition of a landmark movie. Released in 1988. The film was revolutionary in it’s blending of animation and live-action. While the concept had been explored before in such movies as Anchors Aweigh, Song of the South, Pete’s Dragon, Mary Poppins among many others this was the first movie to make it truly convincing. When cartoon characters walk on floorboards they move or when hiding under water in a sink the titular character bursts out to gasp for air with water splashing everywhere. The technical wizardry is just astonishing. However the plot, humour and characters are a real highlight.

Set in Hollywood in 1947 The plot follows down and out detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) who has developed a drinking problem following the death of his brother who was killed by a cartoon character (or toons as they are referred to in the film) and never solved the case. This has led him to an absolute hatred towards toons, however when studio executive Marvin Acme is murdered the blame is put on cartoon star Roger Rabbit. Despite his prejudice Valiant believes Roger to be innocent and goes out of his way to clear prove so and protect him from the sadistic toon hating Judge Doom (played by a brilliant and terrifying Christopher Lloyd) while also along the way eventually befriending the rabbit.

As stated already the technical wizardry is just astonishing but the other aspects of the film are all dead on. Bob Hoskins is brilliant as Valiant in the movie that introduced him to American audiences. Christopher Lloyd who previously worked with Zemeckis on Back to the Future steals every scene he’s in as Judge Doom. The voice as acting is also stellar, Charles Fleischer is spot on as Roger Rabbit as is Kathleen Turner as Roger’s seductive wife Jessica (she’s not bad she’s just drawn that way).

 

The movie also has some brilliant adult humour the most memorable being when Roger is hiding in Eddie’s coat and can clearly be seeing sticking out. Eddie’s girlfriend Dolores response is priceless “is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me” or another brilliant hidden joke, while in toon town in a run down restroom writing can be seen on a wall saying for a good time call Alison wonderland which always cracks me up however I think the biggest accomplishment with this film was seeing Disney and Warner bros. characters on screen together. Touchstone studios who produced the film acquired the rights to both animation giants and so it is the only time you can see Donald and Daffy Duck or Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny on screen together. It would be almost be like seeing a superhero film that featured characters from both Marvel and DC comics.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is extremely entertaining from start to finish and never misses a beat with it’s homages to both golden age film noir and classic animation as well as the flawless blending of live-action and animation it is basically a perfect film that hits all the right notes.

John Carpenter’s Halloween is one of the most influential and imitated films of all time. Released in 1978 to at first very small release. It wasn’t until word of mouth and notable film critics such as Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, Dave Kehr and Tom Allen praised the film stating it deserved to be held in the same regard as Psycho. Although not the first film within the slasher genre. It has proven to be the one that has garnered the biggest legacy (Empire magazine even amusingly referred to it as the Elvis Presley of slasher films).

Beginning in 1963 in the fictional suburb of Haddonfield Illinois, the film opens with the then 6 year old Michael Myers brutally stabbing his sister Judith to death on Halloween night. No reason is given for this and Myers remains in a psychiatric hospital for the next 15 years under the watchful eye of Dr Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) however 15 years later on the anniversary of the murder, Michael escapes and heads back to Haddonfield to reek havoc once more, preying on shy and sensible teen Laurie (Jamie lee Curtis in her debut role) and her more ditzy promiscuous friends While Loomis is determined to hunt him down.

So after all the sequels and imitators what makes Halloween work better than most films of this ilk? Well for starters unlike many slasher movies Halloween features little to no blood or gore. Instead it focuses on old school techniques such as suspense and atmosphere as its selling point. The cinematography from the always excellent Dean Cundey is stunning making this small budget movie look more big budget (The opening POV shot which lasts nearly 5 minutes is a real highlight). The performances from Curtis and Pleasence are also standouts. Loomis can even be seen as a modern day take on Abraham Van helsing. Coincidentally enough Van Helsing himself Peter Cushing was considered for the role. However as Halloween was an independent movie and he had just appeared in one of the biggest blockbusters of that era with star wars he wasn’t available. Dracula himself Christopher lee was even offered the role but turned it down (he would later go on to say it was the biggest regret of his career). For her debut role Jamie Lee Curtis does a fine job as the archetypal final girl who uses her wits to avoid the killer while all her friends are mercilessly taken down.

Then of course there’s the music. Along with Bernard Hermann’s score from Psycho and Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells from The Exorcist, the score for Halloween written by Carpenter himself adds an extra layer to the movie and is still recognisable and distinctive all these years later. At the time of it’s release Halloween was the highest grossing independent film ever made (before the 1990 live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film took it’s place).

Halloween is a film that has still stood the test of time very well and has the distinction of being one of the few slasher movies that can actually be called classy. That’s not an easy task and it’s a true testament to Carpenter’s talent.

If Night of the Living Dead started the zombie genre then 1978’s Dawn of the Dead took it to the next level. In my opinion it is one of those rare sequels that is vastly superior to the original. At it’s core the premise is very simple. Just like last time there is a zombie outbreak causing nationwide panic. We open in a TV studio where a doctor is trying to explain how to control the situation however he is met with complete hostility from everyone on the set. We then cut to an apartment block where we see just how bad the situation truly is when a police SWAT team have to control the horde of flesh eating zombies. During the chaos 2 officers on the squad Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott h. Reiniger) head off to escape via helicopter along with 2 survivors who have left the studio. TV traffic reporter Stephen (David Emge) and his weather reporter girlfriend Francine (Gaylen Ross). During a near fatal experience at an abandoned petrol station they finally take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall which they remain for the rest of the film.

First of all when talking about this movie the setting is a key aspect. The Monroeville Mall is up there with the bates motel, the macneil house, the Amityville house and the overlook hotel for most iconic building in a horror movie. The fact that it is an actual shopping mall adds real authenticity to it. It still stands today and is a very popular tourist spot for fans of the film. The characters are also outstanding particulary Ken Foree. This is a rare horror film where you don’t want any of the main characters to die. However what makes this film so memorable (aside from the gory special effects from effects maestro Tom savini who also makes a cameo in the film as the leader of the biker gang who try to take control of the mall near the end of the film) is the heavy use of social commentary. The film basically compares regular shoppers to zombies. One piece of dialogue that makes this obvious is when the characters first arrive at the mall, They look down and observe the horde. Francine asks “what are they doing? Why do they come here?” to which Stephen replies “some kind of instinct. Memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.” This actually portrays the zombies as being tragic characters as the only memories they have of their former selves are not of their loved ones but the need to consume. I personally like to view the biker gang as being the real villains of the film as they just want to rob and then destroy the mall.

There also seems to be a very subtle theme about the argument of religion vs. science. Early on in the film Peter and Roger are approached by a priest with one leg. Later on when the characters are watching TV a scientist wearing an eye-patch is on discussing how these creatures function. I’m probably looking too deep into that but it does seem very random.

Dawn of the Dead remains for me the greatest zombie film of all time and as already mentioned that rare sequel that I rank higher than the original. It’s a strong contender for the film I’ve seen the most number of times and it will never grow old for me.

In 1968 George A. Romero shocked the world with his directorial debut feature, Night of the Living Dead. The film introduced us to the now hugely popular formula of the flesh eating zombies (although the concept of zombies has existed years prior to that) It’s influence has been seen in many mediums such as the novels of Max Brooks, computer games such as house of the dead and resident evil and of course most recently T.V shows like The Walking Dead. It is also serves as the middle ground of horror being the last of the classic black and white films of the genre but also being the first of it’s kind to have a heavy emphasis on violence and gore. however like most of Romero’s films once you can get past the disturbing and violent imagery there is a heavy use of social commentary and superb satire. The film was made during the civil rights movement and the assassination of Martin Luther King, The central character is African-American (which was considered a big deal at the time of the film’s release) and is treated with hostility from the other characters.

Like many other horror films made during this era there are also heavy references to the Vietnam war. The shocking imagery seen on the televisions in the movie parallel the shocking images of the war on TV news reports at the time. And then of course there is the unbelievably bleak ending. (SPOILERS) The fact that none of the main characters survive at the end shows a nihilistic view of the world that Romero has created and that in this new society it shows that even the most moral of people don’t stand a chance.

Night of the Living Dead is one of the most important films in the horror genre. While I personally prefer the follow up Dawn of the Dead it still packs a punch. while the quality is a bit low obviously due to the small budget and some of the performances are a bit hammy (with a huge exception for Duane Jones who plays the main hero Ben and who really should have been a bigger star because of this film) it has an unsettling atmosphere and really gets under your skin. The only film I can think of with a similar feel to it is Herk Harvey’s superb 1962 movie Carnival of Souls which coincidentally was a big influence on Romero. Zombies seem to be all the rage right now in this day and age and to those who are fans of the genre never forget it was this little independent film that started it all.

 

John Carpenter’s 1982 science-fiction/horror movie The Thing is one of the greatest horror movies ever made. It is a film that manages to be a sophisticated psychological thriller while at the same time a no holds barred monster movie. While the movie is considered a remake of the classic 1951 Howard Hawks movie The Thing From Another World, it tends to take more of it’s plot elements from the John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? such as the alien imitating other life forms.

The film takes place in Antarctica where an American research team are working when they come across 2 Norwegians chasing a sled dog via helicopter. The men are killed with one dying after crashing the helicopter while the remaining man flees and is shot in self-defence believed by the men to be crazy. After investigating the Norwegian’s base where they find charred ruins and frozen corpses as well as a the remains of a burned malformed humanoid which is brought back to their base. Meanwhile the recovered sled dog starts attacking suspicious. When the other dogs start to get riled up and barking frantically causing it to horrifically transform into a hideous beast and attack the other dogs. After extensive research, Blair the scientist of the group comes to realize the creature is not trying to kill them, it is trying to become them. It is an alien life form that can perfectly imitate any other living organism. This starts to raise the question who is human and who is not.

1982 was a great year for movies with titles such as Blade Runner, Poltergeist, First Blood, Star Trek 2, The Dark Crystal and of course the big one of that year E.T. The Extra-terrestrial. Sadly The Thing was completely trashed upon it’s release mainly for it’s nihilistic tone and the fact that it came out around the same time as E.T. certainly didn’t help as the latter presented a more optimistic view of extra-terrestrial life. The Thing however is at it’s core a cleverly crafted thriller with wonderful direction from Carpenter, a tight screenplay from Bill Lancaster incredible cinematography from frequent Carpenter collaborator Dean Cundy and of course who can forget Ennio morricone’s outstanding and ominous score. On top of that the entire cast is very strong. However though it’s another Carpenter regular who stands out, Kurt Russell who as always who brings his usual bravado charm to everything he’s in.

Then of course there are the ground breaking special effects by the legendary Rob Bottin which for my money are still the finest use of practical effects put to film. Bottin worked on the effects everyday for over a year and was actually hospitalised due to exhaustion when filming wrapped (talk about suffering for your art). however when you see the finished product it’s completely worth it.

I think The Thing’s biggest strength is it doesn’t simply attack it’s victims just for the sake of it like in most monster movies. It only does so when it feels threatened. It also slyly turns characters against each other. This is evident after it is revealed a pair of shredded long johns are found with Mccready’s (Kurt Russell) name tag on it, as it is revealed that the creature tears through clothes when imitating. This shows that the creature is a highly intelligent manipulator that is more focused on making it’s victims attack each other instead. I think this is a problem that the 2011 prequel suffered from. The creature was just a mindless killing machine instead of a psychological menace. Also the CGI effects just weren’t that scary.

The Thing has truly earned it’s cult status over the years as a classic. I went to see a revival screening of the film a few years back with a friend and when the film ended some people in the audience were applauding. If only it got that kind of attention when it first came out. Either way it truly is a benchmark in horror cinema and John Carpenter at his very finest.

Rob Reiner’s 1987 classic The Princess Bride is a rare example of a cult film becoming a mainstream success. Very much like Reiner’s previous film 1984’s This is Spinal Tap as well as films like Pulp Fiction and The Big Lebowski it is frequently quoted by film buffs casual and obsessive alike. Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel of the same name the film opens up with a sick bedridden child (played by Fred Savage of The Wonder Years fame) as his grandfather (played by Columbo himself Peter Falk) comes over to visit. He reads to him from The Princess Bride and it’s here we’re introduced to our main characters farm boy Westley (Carey Elwes) and princess Buttercup (Robin Wright). Whenever Buttercup gives an order to Westley he simply replies “as you wish.” Eventually she comes to realise it is his secret way of saying I love you. She returns the love back. Unfortunately however when Westley leaves to seek his fortune so that the two can marry his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Five years pass and believing him to be dead Buttercup reluctantly agrees to marry the smug Prince Humperdinck (played by Chris Sarandon) However she is kidnapped before the wedding by 3 outlaws. A Sicilian named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) a wrestler from Greenland named Fezzik (played by the late WWF wrestler Andre the Giant) and a masked Spanish fencing master named Inigo Montoya (played by Mandy Patinkin). Montoya is obsessed with finding Humperdinck’s sadistic six fingered vizier Count Rugen. They are also pursued by another of Humperdinck’s men as well as another man in black who is revealed to be Westley alive and well as he tries to reconnect with Buttercup.

What works wonderfully about The Princess Bride is that it takes the basic fairy tale conventions and turns them on it’s head. My personal favourite scene is when a romantic scene takes place between Westley and Buttercup. It’s a beautiful setting, the music is in full swing and the scene stops when the grandson realises there’s romance involved much to his disgust. As he puts it “hold it, hold it. What is this? Are you trying to trick me? Where’s the sports. Is this a kissing book.”

The cast is also wonderful although I do have to admit I prefer the supporting cast over the leads. Westley and Buttercup are likable enough characters and Cary Elwes and Robin Wright are both fine actors but I always found the side characters all the more enjoyable. Mandy Patinkin is hilarious as Montoya a suave, sword wielding, black masked Zorro like character and of course he delivers one of the most awesome lines in cinema history. “Hello my name is Inigo Montoya you killed my father prepare to die.” There is also an absolutely hilarious cameo from the always wonderful Billy Crystal who is completely unrecognisable  in heavy prosthetic make-up as Miracle Max in a scene where he brings Westley back from the dead( or as he put’s it he’s only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.)

Also as an Irishman I’m proud that certain scenes from the movie where filmed in my home country. The cliffs of insanity where filmed around the cliffs of Moher in County Clare as well as other parts being shot in England such as Sheffield, Derbyshire and Kent among many other places.

The Princess bride has been parodied and referenced in many other media and has a strong cult following and I’m not the least bit surprised. It has a warmth and wit to it that is hard to find in many modern movies.

If ever there was a director to elevate the action genre to the level of high art that would have to be John Mctiernan. Of course he is best known today for directing the 1988 film die hard (a film that was frequently imitated throughout the 1990’s but never bettered) and also unfortunately known for spending 10 months in a federal prison camp between 2013 and 2014 after being convicted for lying to the FBI about hiring a private investigator to illegally wiretap the producer of that godawful rollerball remake that he directed.

However his big break came in 1987 with predator which for me still remains one of the greatest action/sci-fi movies of the 1980’s. With hands down the manliest cast ever put into a film Predator tells the story of an elite special forces team led by Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who are sent to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory deep in the Central American jungle however they quickly realise they are dealing with a much deadlier enemy. An alien life form that is technologically advanced and is able to camouflage around it’s settings. He also just happens to be on safari and has chosen humans as his main target. Soon the group find themselves outnumbered and fighting for survival.

 

While it’s easy at first to dismiss predator as a typical cheesy 80’s action film that merges Rambo with Alien with tons of one-liner’s, tons of gunfire and tons of testosterone I think the film is much better than that. The film clearly takes a lot of it’s inspiration from the classic Richard Connell story The Most Dangerous Game as well as westerns such as The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch as it really is an ensemble piece with a ragtag team of characters and not just Schwarzenegger’s story. The movie also seems to be inspired by John Carpenter’s 1982 classic The Thing as both films open with a similar shot of a spaceship coming towards earth. Even though screenwriters Jim and John Thomas have never mentioned it in interviews it wouldn’t surprise me.

 

The film also takes time to develop it’s characters. It’s roughly about half an hour  into the movie before any shots are fired and there is some very funny banter between them, particularly from fan favourite character Blaine played by Jesse Ventura the former navy seal turned pro wrester turned Minnesota governor turned conspiracy theorist (he certainly gets around). One of my personal favourite scenes in the movie is when the characters are being dropped into the jungle. Blaine offers them a shot of whiskey which no one seems to want which leads to him uttering the immortal line. “Bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here. This stuff will make you a god damned sexual Tyrannosaurus just like me.”

Then of course there is the predator itself designed by the late great Stan Winston. The creature has a unique look to it from it’s dreadlocks to it’s mandibles (suggested by Terminator and Aliens director James Cameron as he had always wanted to see a creature in a film that had them) originally Jean-Claude Van Damme had been originally suggested to portray the predator but then the studio realised that a more physically imposing man should portray to appear threatening to someone like Schwarzenegger. Along then came Kevin Peter Hall who had previously appeared as Harry in Harry and the Hendersons (he was basically the Doug Jones of his day).

On top of some superb action terrific one-liner’s, stellar direction and cinematography entertaining characters and of course that incredible Alan Silvestri score (one of my personal favourite film scores) Predator is still one insanely fun ride 30 years on. It’s a shame what happened with John Mctiernan’s career but I think with Predator, Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October he will always remain a purveyor  of how to make a solid action film.

Added bonus trivia the predator is voiced by Optimus prime himself Peter Cullen.

 

In 1987 Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Ed Neumeier combined forces to make a science-fiction satire that took on corporate America as well as Reagan’s America with a hint of religious symbolism. That film would be Robocop.

Synopsis

The plot at it’s core is very basic. Set in Detroit A corporation known as Omni Consumer Products (or OCP for short) are devising a plan for a mechanical law enforcer as many cops are being killed during various crime waves. After the first model “ED-209” goes haywire and kills a random executive in a shocking and yet somewhat strangely funny scene the next idea goes into fruition to send cops into dangerous territory in the hope that one will be killed to resurrect as a robotic life form. (hey that’s big greedy heartless corporations for you).

It’s here we’re introduced to our hero Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) along with his partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen). Murphy has just been transferred to the precinct when him and Lewis are sent to track down ruthless crime boss Clarence Boddicker (played by Kurtwood Smith of that 70’S show fame) Lewis is knocked unconscious while Murphy is surrounded and brutally murdered (this scene along with Quint’s death in Jaws is the only movie death to absolutely disturb me) shortly afterwards Murphy is resurrected and now known as Robocop along with 3 directives

1.serve the public trust

2.protect the innocent

3.uphold the law

however a 4th one is added not to harm any ocp executives should any executives be exposed of corruption.

Production history

Verhoeven was not the first choice to direct. Legendary body horror director David Cronenberg had been suggested to direct as well as Alex Cox. while Rutger Hauer (who was a frequent collaborator with Verhoeven) Michael Ironside and Armand Assante had been suggested for the title role. Verhoeven originally had no interest in the project when reading the title however when he started to take note of the satirical aspects he became interested saying “it’s not exactly Shakespeare but there are more layers to it than you think.” Which brings us to the next part.

Themes

When seeing Robocop as a kid I loved it for its comic book style action and ridiculous over the top violence however as I have gotten older and revisited the film I have noticed the heavy use of social commentary on capitalist America. Throughout the film documentary style news footage is shown showing the crime ridden state Detroit is in. Sadly this is something that is highly relevant today. The film also takes an amusing swing at American style consumerism by showing a fictional commercial within the film where a typical all American family play a board game called nukem in which in order to win the player must invade countries, impose sanctions and enforce regime change until someone gives up and launches nukes. Another strong theme throughout the film is religion. Robocop can be seen as basically a Christ metaphor such as dying and being resurrected and even during the climax as he walks through a puddle the scene is shot to make it look as if Murphy is walking on water.

 

Humour

 

Despite it’s violence and grim setting of a futuristic Detroit Robocop has a wonderful dark sense of humour. it’s tragic for the poor executive being gunned down by the faulty machine but as the late film critic Roger Ebert put it in his review of the film “there is something hilarious about logic applied to a situation where it is not relevant”. Another example of comedy being used in the film is later on when this supposedly unstoppable killing machine is simply defeated by falling down a flight of stairs and making bizarre animal like noises.

Overall verdict

Robocop has aged well on many aspects for it’s themes on corporations, high crime rates and brainwashing consumerism, very good performances from Weller, Allen, Smith Ronny Cox and the late Miguel Ferrer as well as having superb action and outstanding effects by the legendary Rob Bottin. with 2 lacklustre sequels, 2 tv shows (one live action the other animated) and a not so great reboot in 2014 which failed to capture the satire of the original it’s nice to know that 30 years on the original still has stood the test of time and I suspect that it will for 30 more.