Body Snatchers (1993).

Review #2095: Body Snatchers.

Cast: 

Gabrielle Anwar (Marti Malone), Terry Kinney (Steve Malone), Billy Wirth (Tim Young), Meg Tilly (Carol Malone), Reilly Murphy (Andy Malone), Christine Elise (Jenn Platt), R. Lee Ermey (General Platt), Forest Whitaker (Major Matthew Collins), and Kathleen Doyle (Diana Platt) Directed by Abel Ferrara (#1963 - The Driller Killer)

Review: 

"Body Snatchers was kind of laid on me. It wouldn't have been my choice. If I was going to make that movie from scratch, I would stick to the original from 1956 where the event happened in a town where he grew up in so he kind of knew everyone and realized who was changed and who wasn't. With the military, it's training."

Admittedly, this film has a hard ground to get over in being the third film adaptation of the novel The Body Snatchers (1956) by Jack Finney. You might already know the first version as directed by Don Siegel in 1956, or perhaps the 1978 version as directed by Philip Kaufman (as was the case with the 1978 film, Robert H. Solo served as producer for this film). But here we are with a third film that was directed by Abel Ferrera, fresh off the results of Bad Lieutenant (1992), an NC-17 rated film that is now thought of as a cult classic; this was the first sci-fi film Ferrera did, as I'm sure you can tell from a director considered a cult favorite for those who read into that. But this was a production that was distributed by Warner Bros and made for a budget of $13 million, what could go wrong? Well, Ferrera groused at the fact that he had to film with a setting that is distinct from the previous films, because it takes place on a military base. The screenplay was written by Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, and Nicholas St. John while the story had been done by Raymond Cistheri and Larry Cohen. Anyway, Warner Bros. had planned to release the film in 1992...and then they decided that Innocent Blood would match well in that time when compared to the handful of horror films packed around that time such as Candyman and Bram Stoker's Dracula. So, instead, the film made a run on the festival circuit (such as Cannes, I am serious) and then was dumped. To put it lightly, Warner Bros. should have felt deep shame that they let this film get released to less than a thousand theaters, but, well, here we are. Incidentally, this film was released 15 years after the 1978 version, and the next rendition of the Finney work would come 14 years later with The Invasion (2007).

In a different era, conformity striking its tendrils upon the individual happens all the same just as much as it did in the 1950s or the 1970s. It can't really hold a candle to the previous adaptation when it comes to paranoia or all the gobbledygook that folks say made it better than the original (debatable at the very least), but I enjoyed this one as an embrace of sticking out in violent oddness more than anything. How many films have the stones to have a scene that depicts a kid getting bopped out of a helicopter? The threat present is one that lives among a structure that undoubtedly would have little trouble living undetected: the military structure of rules and order. And, this time around, it also looks upon the family structure (one bit of dialogue relates a feeling of "replaced" when it comes to describing a stepmother) and gives it a nice kick in the stomach with a film that might as well dwell in chaotic order, complete with looking upon the feeling that has to come when seeing a bunch of tendrils upon you and a slowly growing lookalike version lurks nearby. Admittedly, the cast with its lead has hard ground to cover, since one has moved from town doctors and health inspectors to a youth (okay, 20-year-olds playing minors, but still). But Anwar makes a worthy focus because of the vulnerability that comes through in reacting to the conformity that occurs around these strange military man and among the family around her that makes for compelling entertainment in the build of alienation. Kinney and Tilly are two ends of the "ordinary parent pod", which proves interesting for the inevitable confrontation of conformity crashing into chaos, as signified best by the sequence revealing the end of the normal version of the latter complete with decay that looks neat. I'm not too big on Wirth, but then I realize that anybody with a seeming pulse that looks like they care more than the usual guy lackey would seem interesting to Anwar, so that's fine. The most interesting person to probably react to the pod stuff in support is either Elise (edgy looking folks, cool) or Whitaker, although the latter is best spent in their last scene about the reaction to seeing offers of conformity. Ermey is probably underused, but he's a neat presence to see for a bit anyway. In general, I get a kick out of the movie because its 87-minute runtime makes for a generally involving good time of intense interest that rewards viewers that appreciate a good effects show but also a good show about the desolation of authority and family when it comes to pods that want for the thoughts to sound alike. Granted, the ambiguity of the ending is probably not as enduring as the aforementioned last one, but at the end of the day, well, "Where you gonna go?" is still a pretty good one to look upon, as one can't stay up forever nor seemingly trust anyone. It seems strange that Ferrera groused a bit at being wrapped with a military base setting rather than one that honed closer to the 1956 film, because in the end he made an interesting film that is entertaining in its own merit of being more than just a remake. For the folks interested in a degree of horror from a director with a distinct manner for weaving a film in his own way, this is a pretty good one to sift through.

 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next up: The Mummy (1959).

The Lost Boys.

Review #1745: The Lost Boys.

Cast: 

Jason Patric (Michael Emerson), Corey Haim (Sam Emerson), Dianne Wiest (Lucy Emerson), Barnard Hughes (Grandpa), Edward Herrmann (Max), Kiefer Sutherland (David Powers), Jami Gertz (Star), Corey Feldman (Edgar Frog), Jamison Newlander (Alan Frog), Billy Wirth (Dwayne), Alex Winter (Marko), and Brooke McCarter (Paul) Directed by Joel Schumacher (#197 - Phone Booth, #217 - Batman Forever, #218 - Batman & Robin)

Review: 

“Warner Bros. took a big chance with this movie, and with me, because they really didn’t know what the heck I was doing."

The 1980s must have been an interesting time for horror fans to see come out on the screen, particularly for folks who wanted to see a fresh rendition of the vampire. They certainly got their money's worth with this spectacle, one that definitely owes as much to MTV as it does to Peter Pan. There were a sea of movies with vampires in that era (and, of course, a great one with Nosferatu the Vampyre in 1979) such as The Hunger (1983), Fright Night (1985), Lifeforce (1985), and even The Monster Squad (1987). But when it comes down to lingering influence, one can't ignore the lasting endurance of The Lost Boys, which inspired filmmakers such as Joss Whedon. The original idea came from James Jermias, a grip at the time on studio lots that had read Anne Rice's 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire (which if you remember had its own adaptation in 1994), which led him to think about Peter Pan and the idea of vampires that could come out at night to fly without growing up (hence the title). He wrote the screenplay with Janice Fischer in 1984, but their idea involved pre-teens rather than adults (for example, the Frog brothers were written originally as eight-year-old Boy Scouts and the character of Star was a boy). The following year resulted in the script being sold for a fair sum with plans to have Richard Donner direct, albeit with a re-write. Jeffrey Boam was brought in to do a fresh draft, but Donner would not be around to direct, since Lethal Weapon soon was offered to him. Enter Schumacher. If you remember, he had gotten his start in Hollywood as a costume designer before dabbling into screenwriting with Car Wash (1976), with directing coming in The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) before having his first notable hit with St. Elmo's Fire (1985), which had been produced by Lauren Shuler, who recommended Schumacher for this film. If it wasn't for the fact that he developed ideas of his own upon seeing the script (which he described as "Goonies Go Vampire", complete with a cave), he would have turned it down...instead, he found inspiration involving teenaged vampires with motorcycles (for his part, he believed vampires to be a metaphor for oral sex), one that he tasked to make the "coolest vampire movie ever made" (in his words). At any rate, the film is generally considered one of Schumacher's most enduring works, which included a few more horror films in a three-decade career before his death in 2020.

Honestly, it did take me a while to buy into this film, mostly because one has to remember that Schumacher really seems to have a fascination with getting pretty shots that might as well have been edited for a music video before getting on with creeping weirdness. But it always manages to keep you drawn in with the characters of the night with a curious charisma to go with wonderful design and effects that make for a fun time. Sure, it is a horror film, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a few tinges of humor to ride along with the experience in offbeat characters. Of course, one has to start with the lead in Patric, who actually had to be convinced repeatedly to do the film; he does a fine job here, one that has to balance calmness with eccentrics at every turn that either want to party or take him. Haim matches him just as well, probably best exemplified by the scene where one finds out the other is a vampire with a mirror and all one can say is that they are going to tell on 'em to mother. Wiest is the general strait-laced one of the main triangle that we are introduced to, and she makes it count with useful grace that is warm to follow on the side when not thinking too much about creeps at night. Undeniably, the highlight of the film is Sutherland, who has the most presence among the vampire cast-mates despite not having as many lines as the others; regardless of line count, he gives it his all in evocative charisma in a way that hadn't been seen in a vampiric lead in quite a bit of time, one that oozes along with carefree life befitting the requirements needed for a creeping film of wild living in the night. Feldman and Newlander make a worthy pair of offbeat hunters, selling it beat by beat in half-hearted chuckles. The same can be applied to Hughes, who actually might be my favorite presence in terms of his stubborn approach to everything that includes various traits such as "going out to the country" by turning on the ignition and doing nothing and acting stoic when it comes to the climax with vampires formerly around him. Others do well in smaller focus such as a hazy Gertz and a ruffled Herrmann, but one will find plenty to keep interest for 98 minutes. It moves with the mood of a glossy project with appropriate music trimmings (such as Tim Cappello performing "I Still Believe" in full detail and sax) and a worthy look that I think hits most of its marks with the right touch of effectiveness without becoming a cliché of the youth.

 

The film was a fair hit on release, making back its $8.5 million budget three times over while being a considerable video hit. There were ideas of doing another Lost Boys film with Schumacher involved (with his suggestions being one set during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and a "Lost Girls" film), but they never came to pass; instead, two direct-to-video sequels came with Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008) and Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010), which each featured just Feldman and Newlander returning to their roles. Sure, The Lost Boys might be an acquired taste for folks that have their own preferences for vampire horror (with or without tinges of humor), but when it comes to glossy roaring chaos, no one is better suited for such material than Schumacher, and he milks it all for what is needed in curious entertainment. In a decade with a handful of re-inventions, one can't go wrong with The Lost Boys for a fresh take on the desires that comes with eternal youth and bloodlust in all of its weird trappings.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: Candyman (1992).