Rating of
3.5/4
Blue Moon at its best!!
mdtinney - wrote on 09/09/09
Director John Landis weaves just the right amount of thrills, chills, violence, humour, and good old fashioned suspense into one movie to create one of the greatest horror films in history, in this tale of two American youths who find more than they bargained for on the English moors. From the opening shots of the English moors with Bobby Vinton's slow romantic version of "Blue Moon", to the end credits with the Marcels' fast paced rendition of the same song playing you'll be left in awe as to what you've just seen. Not since several decades earlier with Lon Chaney in "The Wolf Man" have we had the pleasure of seeing such a superb "Full Moon Induced Monsterism" film, and we've still yet to see one just as good twenty years later! And let's not forget the wonderous transformation scene which has contributed immensley in giving this film the status it has today, computer animation in films was unheard of at the time, so John Landis and special effects wizard Rick Baker had to rely on simple camera trickery and makeup effects to create what has been hailed as the greatest werewolf transformation scene in horror film history. The change happens in clear light, right before your eyes, while Sam Cooke's version of "Blue Moon" plays in the background, it is clearly agonizing and excruciating however you can't take your eyes off of it. Landis also has fun with the soundtrack, all the songs contin the word "Moon" in the title, including the above mentioned versions of "Blue Moon", Van Morrison's "Moondance", and in my opionion the best song on the soundtrack Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising". The story is simple but done in a very different way, with the principle actors giving fine performances, especially the wise-cracking zombie played by Griffin Dunne. Also within the story is a surprisingly sweet-natured love story between the Main character David and the Nurse whom he falls in love with named Alex, the two players make it believable and you really start to care for the two of them, right up until the heart-wrenching ending, that unlike other horror films doesn't try to make everything all happy and wonderful! No other werewolf film will ever come close to matching the status of this classic, for no one else has the brilliance that John Landis has to make a film such as this! A true triumph in horror cinema!
