Category Archives: Transformation or Shape-shifter Horror Films
MASTERS OF HORROR SEASON ONE, EPISODE SEVEN: DEER WOMAN
MASTERS OF HORROR SEASON ONE. EPISODE SEVEN: DEER WOMAN-United States-2005
Brian Benben as Detective Dwight Faraday
Sonja Bennett as Dana
Cinthia Moura as Deer Woman
Directed by John Landis
Written by Max Landis and John Landis
I don’t really know if I should admit it or not, but I enjoyed the hell out of Deer Woman. Director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) is the perfect choice to direct this Masters of Horror episode about a failed cop (Brian Benben, Private Practice, Radioland Murders) investigating three weird (he’s the ‘weird calls’ guy) deaths in which the victims, all male, were trampled into hamburger meat while in a state of arousal. In other words, they didn’t die with their boots on; they died with their hard-ons. Ha! I’m here all week! The case gets even weirder when the coroner (Sonja Bennett, Fido) finds what appears to be deer hair and hoof impressions under the fingernails and bodies of the deceased. But wait, I am not done with the weird shit just yet. Witnesses all report seeing a beautiful Native American woman (Cinthia Moura, in her only credited role to date) with the men prior to their deaths. Hmm, deer hair, hoof prints and a hot chick. Could this be the work of…cue ominous music…Deer Woman?!?
I’m not taking this review very seriously. Why should I? Writer (with Max Landis) and director John Landis keeps his tongue firmly planted in his cheek with Deer Woman because he knows there’s no other way to play it. If a director were to take a story like this seriously he’d be laughed out of Hollywood. If you don’t believe me, just ask M. Night Shyamalan. Deer Woman is goofy, dumb, stupid and totally retarded. It’s also the most fun I’ve had so far with Masters of Horror. I’m hoping it’s a sign of better things to come with the series.
TRIVIA
One of the three men who win the jackpot in the casino is Mick Garris who created the Masters of Horror series.
When talking to the captain, the police discuss a wolf attack in London in 1981. That’ll be the events of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London they are talking about.
One of the paintings shown on the beginning is ‘Frida Khalo”s “La Venadita”
Related articles
- Horror Movie Roundup #3: Slither, An American Werewolf in London, Eden Lake (twscritic.com)
- Woman Killed in Crash After Her Car Strikes Deer (sandiego6.com)
- Woman Crashes Over Embankment to Avoid Deer (wsaz.com)
- Woman Doesn’t Understand Deer Crossings? (new102.cbslocal.com)
- Lame Deer woman denies manslaughter charges (billingsgazette.com)
- Masters of Horror Season One, Episode Five: Chocolate (jmountswritteninblood.com)
- Masters of Horror Season One, Episode One: Incident on and Off a Mountain Road (jmountswritteninblood.com)
- Masters of Horror Season One, Episode Three: Dance of the Dead (jmountswritteninblood.com)
- Woman: Deer Crossing Signs ‘Irresponsible,’ Deer Should Be Directed To Cross Elsewhere (wreg.com)
- Woman: Deer crossing signs should be moved, directed to low-traffic areas (wtvr.com)
THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF
THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF-United Kingdom-1961
Clifford Evans as Don Alfredo Corledo
Oliver Reed as Leon Corledo
Yvonne Romain as Servant Girl (Jailer’s Daughter)
Catherine Feller as Cristina Fernando
Directed by Terence Fisher
Written by Anthony Hinds
Based on the novel “The Werewolf of Paris” by Guy Endore
Don’t you just love these old horror movies? No matter how cheesy they are you just can’t seem to get enough of them. I remember these films from my childhood and I recall fond memories of Saturday afternoons spent watching horror movies on the local channels. Films like “The Curse of the Werewolf” kept my fingers in a position just under my eyes so that I could cover them quickly when the werewolf reared his horrible head. 40 years later and I find myself writing about the same movie that scared me so much as a boy. Life is grand.
The Curse of the Werewolf is the tale of Leon. Born on Christmas day he is cursed to become a beast, a killer, a werewolf. Oliver Reed plays the role of Leon to perfection. Here is a man who makes the most out of overacting and it shows in every scene he appears in. In the final scenes Reed is so terrifyingly good as the werewolf I actually found myself hiding my eyes like that little ten year old boy all those years ago. Alright, alright, I can’t back that up. I didn’t hide my eyes.
I hid under the bed. My dog looked at me like I was crazy. I looked at her like ‘who was under here first, bitch?’
Seriously though, “The Curse of the Werewolf” was one of my favorite horror films growing up. Watching it again after all these years was such a thrill despite the fact that it’s an overacted mess. The werewolf makeup still stands as some of the best of all time and I’m talking just as good as “The Wolf Man” here. The only question I have concerning the film is why was the werewolf’s fur blonde when Oliver Reed’s hair was black? That, my friends, is a mystery for the ages. Ah-woooooo!!!
TRIVIA
The only werewolf movie made by Hammer Studios.
Makeup-artist Roy Ashton based his makeup for this film on Jack P. Pierce’s makeup forThe Wolf Man.
In an interview, Richard Wordsworth stated that in the original screenplay his beggar character was a werewolf. Hammer told him that the censor had problems with the notion of a werewolf/rapist, so out it went.
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- Book Review: The Hammer Vault by Marcus Hearn (writer.fitzhome.com)
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- Live! In person! Me! (moviemorlocks.com)
- His hair was perfect… (somecamerunning.typepad.com)
- Horror In Our Time: An American Werewolf in London (1981) (mibreviews.com)
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- Oh, That’s Why Cars In Horror Movies Never Start The First Time [Video] (jalopnik.com)
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THE BEAST WITHIN
THE BEAST WITHIN-United States-1982
Ronny Cox as Eli MacCleary
Bibi Besch as Caroline MacCleary
Paul Clemens as Michael MacCleary
Directed by Philippe Mora
Screenplay and Screen Story by Tom Holland
Novel by Edward Levy
I saw this movie in 1982, the first year of its release. I was 20 years old at the time. Thinking back, I remember hating the movie. I hated the horrible overacting. I hated the horrible stereotyping given to the southern characters. I hated the transformation scene when Michael MacCleary finally turns into a giant cicada. At the young age of twenty as I was still discovering what I liked and didn’t like about the movies I watched, this film was at the top of my list for most hated of all time. You got all that? Good, let’s jump in the time machine and go back to the future to 2012.
Doodly doodly doodly doodly doodly (that’s the sound a time machine makes).
Okay, we’re back in 2012. I am now 50 years old and watching the film again for only the second time. Will my opinion of it have changed 30 years later? The film is about a woman (Bibi Besch) who is raped by a strange creature in the woods. She gives birth to a son, Michael (Paul Clemens). When Michael turns seventeen, he begins going through a change. He goes out at night committing acts of violence each time more badly than the previous. To the casual horror fan, he’s slowly turning into a giant bug, a cicada. Metaphorically speaking, he’s on the search for his sexual identity and his first piece of ass. My wife said I would lose half my female readers with that last comment. I don’t mean to sound sexist and I hope that I am far from it. I just felt that the term was more in keeping with the tone of the film.
The Beast Within is directed by Philippe Mora, the same director who gave us The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. The most memorable part about that film was the repeating shot of Sybil Danning ripping off her toga and standing butt naked. If you’ve ever seen Sybil Danning, you know why that’s a good thing. Again, I am not being sexist, Sybil is a beautiful woman and that’s all there is to it.
The best thing about The Beast Within is the end because then you know it’s finally over.
30 years later and I still hate this piece of shit.
TRIVIA
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