Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween 2018: Day 8: Stephen King’s IT (1990)

The title of one of the greatest authors of horror has to belong to the one and only Stephen King who has been scaring people since at least the 80’s. The stories he creates are so iconic that they many have been turned into films like Stand By Me, The Mist, Misery, Graveyard Shift, Pet Sematary, and the film I chose for today in Stephen King’s IT. which is only a fraction of the 74 stories that have been turned into films. Last year, the remake thrilled audiences so much that I felt the need to watch the original to see the differences and such. In Derry, Maine, there have been too many unexplained disappearances that have involved children over it’s history. For seven kids known as the Losers Club, they’ll do whatever it takes to kill the evil manifestation known as Pennywise (Tim Curry), but 30 years later he has returned and the gang has to face the fear once again. The film stars Jonathan Brandis (Ladybugs) as Bill-age 12, Richard Thomas (The Waltons) as Adult Bill, Seth Green (Robot Chicken) as Richie-age 12, Harry Anderson (Night Court) as Adult Richie, Brandon Crane (Otherworld) as Ben-Age 12, John Ritter (Three’s Company) as Adult Ben, Adam Faraizl (RoboCop 2) as Eddie-Age 12, Dennis Christopher (Django Unchained) as Adult Eddie, Ben Heller as Stanley-Age 12, Richard Masur (My Girl) as Adult Stanley, Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps) as Beverly-Age 12, Annette O’Toole (48 Hrs.) as Adult Beverly, Jarred Blancard (The Boys Club) as Henry Bowers-Age 14, Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas) as Audra Denbrough, and the film was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season Of The Witch).

I know that one of the biggest questions that you are all are wondering how I am going to answer is who did it better? I think it’s kind of an unfair question to ask because Tim Curry’s performance was iconic, but his performance was very different than Bill Skarsgård’s performance. I feel like Tim Curry’s Pennywise was more sinister and it was in a very direct way. You could tell that there was something seriously evil about him in just the way he spoke while Bill’s Pennywise has that innocent and playful side that he uses to fool you. One thing I will say about the film is that the special effects were a little cheesier in this one like the coming out of the drain pipe scene looks like they used claymation to shoot it and then the spider at the end of the film and that whole sequence was a little cheesy. Nonetheless, the film is three hours in length so you better be prepared to spend the time watching it because it’s an investment. The film was originally laid out as a TV miniseries so while you are watching you will see the pauses for commercial breaks. The style of this one is that they go back and forth in time to the present when addressing what happened which is why I give the remake a lot of credit. I like the idea that the first chapter was focused on them as kids so they can fully tell the story. Some details have changed as far as who presents the news about Derry’s past and who gets chased in the famous rock throwing scene. This was an iconic film that left an impression on a lot of people hence why people flocked to the theaters when the remake came out and why book sales probably jumped. I know I am going to try and read that monstrosity of a 1200 page plus book. For now, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade. Beep beep Richie!

Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween 2015: Day Three: Wolfen (1981)

For today’s 31 Days Of Halloween film, I wanted to have a werewolf movie, but I wanted to have a movie that was a little different than most films with werewolves. So, I came across Wolfen, a film that was released in 1981 and it was directed by Michael Wadleigh (Woodstock). In New York, people die all of the time in the big city, but there is something strange and unusual about the way certain people near a construction sight are dying that it bothers a police detective by the name of Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney). A wealthy high profile magnate, his wife, and bodyguard are slain one night in Battery Park, but it looks as if they were torn to shreds by a beast which is strange in the city of New York. Dewey along with his partner Whittington (Gregory Hines) and criminal psychologist Rebecca Neff (Diane Venora), are put on the case by Wilson’s superior who is pressuring them to get to the bottom of it because the mayor and commissioner want the case solved. Is it a person committing the crimes pretending to be a wild animal or is it werewolves that are committing the crimes? The film also stars Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner) as Eddie Holt, Tom Noonan (Last Action Hero) as Ferguson, Dick O’Neill (The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three) as Warren, Peter Michael Goetz (My Girl) as Ross, Dehl Berti (Invasion U.S.A.) as Old Indian, Sam Gray (Suspect) as Mayor, and Ralph Bell (Guiding Light) as Commissioner.

Werewolf movies were always some of my favorite types of horror movies because the idea of a werewolf kind of hits home if you think about it. The idea of the beast inside who can not be held back due to it’s desire to be unleashed because of it’s animalistic needs and desires. This film literally takes the genre and it does something different with it. The werewolves are literally just very scary killer wolves in this film which is kind of cool because it takes the idea that we transform into wolves and not human like werewolves. There’s also more of a mystical side to them as you’ll find in the film where there is a rhyme and a reason for what they are doing. One of the cool things I liked is the filter they use for the cameras when the camera is showing the wolves point of view. It kind of predates what they did for the Predator films. There are some really big names in this film which means that the acting was definitely superb especially from Noonan and Hines. There’s plenty of suspense in the film and the cinematography is also pretty cool especially during a scene when Wilson has to climb to the top of a bridge to talk to a suspect. I will say that there is also a weird scene involving Olmos getting naked and running around like a werewolf so check that out. If you love werewolf movies as much as I do, I would definitely give this film a shot. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.