CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 10/31/08

Wanna See Something Really Scary?:
Seven Takes on the Classic Monsters

By peter clines

On All Hallow's Eve, CS Weekly takes a few minutes to look back at the three biggest names in horror…and a few screenwriters who looked forward with them.

When we talk about movie monsters, there are certain legends that always spring to mind. Dracula. The Wolfman. Frankenstein (or, as sticklers know, Frankenstein's Monster). The big three of monsters, as it were.

Part of that powerful grip on our imaginations is that all these characters existed long before Universal Studios put an iconic face to them. Frankenstein was one of the first dramatic presentations committed to film when inventor Thomas Edison produced Mary Shelly's masterpiece as a 10-minute silent film in 1910. Stories of werewolves go all the way back to the Greek historian Herodotus and his record of the Neuri people, who become wolves for a few days every year. Dracula is the most filmed fictional character in movie history. The Internet Movie Database lists just shy of two hundred credited film appearances by the Count in various incarnations [far more than Godzilla (33), James Bond (36), or even fellow creature the Frankenstein Monster (82)]. The only people who challenge Dracula for movie stardom are Abraham Lincoln and Jesus himself. So while there may be some truth to the idea of seven or eight original stories in the world, the continual longevity and popularity of these archetypes show that there are always more ways to look at them.

CS Weekly uses this holiday afternoon to look at a few screenwriters who did something fresh and unexpected with the classics. Be warned—these are not your grandparents' monsters…

Shadow of the Vampire
Written by Steven Katz
Unable to secure the film rights to Dracula from Bram Stoker's widow, silent film director Murnau (John Malkovich) simply decides to rename the character Count Orlock, do a tissue-thin rewrite of their adaptation, and begin filming his "original" masterwork Nosferatu. To make his production even more authentic, he hires Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), an unknown theater actor, for the role of the Count. A student of the new Stanislavski "method" style of acting, Schreck will only be filmed at night, the director explains, and will be in character whether the camera is rolling or not…or even in the room. While the cast and crew are devoted to Murnau and impressed by Shreck's devotion to his art, they begin to wonder about the strange new star as filming progresses and mysterious deaths begin to accumulate on the set.

What Makes It Different? The vampire isn't the main monster.
Katz's screenplay defies easy definition: part self-reflexive, part metafiction, and part commentary on the film industry, all wrapped in an eerily accurate "documentary" on the making of one of the first full-length horror movies. While it's no surprise that there have been merciless bloodsuckers in Hollywood from the beginning, Shadow of the Vampire actually delivers one. As the title implies, however, the story is far more about Murnau's obsession with immortality through filmmaking—and the sacrifices he'll make to achieve it—than it is about the ageless undead thing feasting on his crewmembers. Orlock is just another cog in the machine that is Murnau's career.

Fright Night
Written by Tom Holland (also directed)
Charlie (William Ragsdale) is a teenager of simple pleasures—watching old horror movies and getting as far as he can with his somewhat prudish girlfriend, Amy (Amanda Bearse). But that all changes when friendly new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) moves in next door. Dandridge is smooth, charming, handsome…and a vampire, if the coffin he carries in late at night means anything. At the very least, he's a murderer…one who's very aware of Charlie's prying eyes across the way.

What Makes It Different? The killer lives next door.
Writer-director Tom Holland (Child's Play) took his vampire out of the graveyards and old mansions at the edge of town and placed him in a nice suburban two-level, turning Dandridge into the quiet, pleasant guy no one ever believes could be a threat. Half the terror he causes isn't because of what he is but where he is, looking back in through Charlie's bedroom window as the teen tries to keep tabs on what's happening next door. One of the more unnerving reveals comes when Charlie discovers his mother has had Dandridge over for coffee to welcome him to the neighborhood. "Now that your mom's invited me in," the vampire tells Charlie with a dark grin, "I might just drop by anytime."

American Werewolf in London
Written by John Landis (also directed)
Jack (Griffin Dunne) and David (David Naughton) are two average American guys backpacking through Europe, until a strange animal attacks them on the moors one night, leaving David wounded and his friend dead. Jack shows up again soon enough, though, now a tattered ghost warning David he's doomed to transform into a werewolf at the next full moon and slaughter everyone around him. When the curse proves all-too-real, David has to figure out if he's brave enough to end his life before he kills again…or before the ghosts of all his victims drive him bonkers with their nagging.

What Makes It Different? Grounding it in reality.
Writer-director John Landis (Animal House) took his first shot at a serious film and ended up making the first "believable" werewolf movie by pulling off two almost contradictory things in his script. First was the most painful, explicit, and extended werewolf transformation sequence ever seen on film, which immediately put the audience in David's court and removed any doubt he was dealing with a genuine curse. Anyone who's ever seen this transformation is left with no doubt that being a werewolf is the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Landis counters this, though, with actual humor—not the dark slapstick or sly winks (well, okay, one sly wink) seen in horror films previously, but nervous chuckles and honest absurdity that ground his story even more in the real world. Once we believe in David and his curse, the werewolf itself doesn't even need to be seen to be terrifying.

Dog Soldiers
Written by Neil Marshall (also directed)
In the middle of a wargames exercise in a remote part of Scotland, a squad of British soldiers under the command of Sgt. Harry G. Wells (Sean Pertwee) finds their opponents torn to bloody rags, with a well-shredded Special Ops captain (Liam Cunningham) the only survivor. With their radios destroyed and something—or some things—fast and smart stalking them through the woods, the soldiers take shelter with a local zoologist (Emma Cleasby) in a nearby farmhouse and try to get a grasp on what they're facing. Alas, even as they come to terms with the nature of their nocturnal enemies, the men come to realize not all of the threat they're facing is outside.

What Makes It Different? Guns. Lots of guns.
In his freshman outing, writer-director Marshall (The Descent) gave a few nods to some classics while putting a fresh stamp on a werewolf tale. It wasn't the first time we'd seen a few ignorant unbelievers wandering through the woods at night, and several films had people taking on werewolves with muskets, torches, or the odd police-issue pistol, but Dog Soldiers wasn't about a group of lambs being led to the slaughter. Wells and his trained soldiers are armed to the teeth (no pun intended) with rifles, sidearms, shotguns, firebombs, frying pans, and more. It's that solid fighting chance that makes their struggle all the more powerful. They're still vastly outmatched, but no one's gone down fighting this hard since the Colonial Marines in Aliens.

Mr. Stitch
Written by Richard Avary (also directed)
Doctor Wakeman (Rutger Hauer) is trying to build a perfect soldier for the military, and has pieced together his experiment from almost a hundred different bodies. However, the creature who names himself Lazarus (Wil Wheaton) quickly reveals he's smarter and stronger than his creator could've guessed, showing an interest for books and requesting copies of the Bible and Frankenstein to read. Even more disturbing, as the assembled man's memories and understanding continue to develop, Wakeman's widowed assistant (Nia Peeples) comes to realize that she may have known Lazarus before…or, at least, part of him.

What Makes It Different? A keen self-awareness.
Mr. Stitch focuses on an essential but rarely-addressed part of the Frankenstein mythos. Lazarus may be a new being unto himself, but his body is made from dozens of other individuals. Each finger, his clumps of his hair, even his mismatched eyes and eyebrows all have their own histories with other people. Indeed, while previous films skirted the surface of this issue (as with a certain "Abby Normal" brain), the script by Avary (Beowulf) embraces the eerie idea that such a creature is made from dozens of dead people—people who had lives of their own and friends and loved ones still walking around in the world. As he becomes more cognizant of what he is, Lazarus is bombarded with reflex reactions and memories belonging to all the individuals from whom his body and brain have been assembled. He's a gestalt creature, not one entity but dozens of individuals forced together into one form.

Frankenstein Unbound
Screenplay by Roger Corman (also directed) and F.X. Feeney
Adapted from the novel by Brian Aldiss
Joe Buchanan (John Hurt) is a 21st century physicist and engineer working on a machine that freezes objects in time. Alas, his creation is slipping away from him as each test rips more holes into the fabric of space-time, dropping dinosaurs and Mongol hordesman into the present day—and eventually leaving Joe stranded almost four centuries in the past with an early prototype of the device. Even as he tries to devise an escape from 18th-century Europe, however, he can't help but get involved with a local scientist named Victor (Raul Julia), who's been doing electrical experiments with a creation of his own…

What Makes It Different? The metaphor is the monster.
Since Mary Shelly first penned her novella, the name of Frankenstein has become synonymous with inventions that run amok. While the creature himself still gets a fair amount of screen time, the adaptation by Corman (Black Scorpion) and Feeny focuses more on the symbol the monster has become. Despite the overwhelming evidence that their creations are out of control—and perhaps beyond control—both doctors continue to insist they can wield them to better mankind, even as Victor's life crumbles around him. Joe's creation is far more dangerous and powerful than Victor's, but the physicist is still more concerned with stopping his new friend than facing the ironic truth of his own situation.

The Lost Boys
Story by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias
Screenplay by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam
After an ugly divorce, Lucy Emerson (Dianne Wiest) moves her sons Michael and Sam (Jason Patric and Corey Haim, respectively) to the little California town of Santa Carla ("the murder capital of the world"). As they grow used to their new lives, Sam is content to read comics and tease his grandfather (Barnard Hughes), but Michael falls in with the wrong crowd—a rambunctious group that parties all night, sleeps all day, and is almost entirely responsible for the town's huge numbers of missing persons. Now Sam has to save his older brother from aggressive recruitment by the gang's leader (Kiefer Sutherland), and himself from the rest of the gang.

What Makes It Different? Generation X vampires.
Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat was still finding its footing in bookstores when this story found acceptance with the 18-25 demographic. While ageless, gothic vampires had long been old news, no one had realized that a vampiric existence would hold tons of appeal to the average teenager. The fact that Fischer, Jeremias, and Boam littered their screenplay with witty dialogue and fun characters was just frosting on the cake. The vampires of The Lost Boys smoked pot, rode motorcycles, and rocked out to the loudest music they could, all while wearing leather jackets and dark trenchcoats. A consequence-free eternal life (or unlife) struck an immediate chord with slackers and spawned a whole bad-boy vampire sub-genre (and subculture) that still exists to this day.

Of course, hardly a week goes by that we don't hear about a new vampire series, werewolf movie, or Frankenstein film. Personally, I can't wait to see what the big three will be doing by next Halloween.

Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

An American Werewolf in London courtesy Universal Home Entertainment
Frankenstein Unbound courtesy 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Shadow of the Vampire courtesy Lionsgate Home Entertainment

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