It was about halfway through Secret Window that the thought came to me. I don't want to do this. I hate scary things. But I'm in it and there's no going back. I'm a little behind in my Halloween movie blogging, so here's a quick catch up.
Kendra's Pick: Secret Window starring Johnny Depp, based on a story by Stephen King.
I've actually wanted to see Secret Window since it came out forever ago. It seemed like the right kind of spooky for me, and for the most part it was. I'm going to spoil this movie, so skip the paragraph if you care. First of all, I KNEW that dog was going to die. I knew it. I hated that. I actually didn't guess the big twist. Hilary did. She said something that alluded to it and it put me on the trail. I'm not sure when it would have occurred to me if she hadn't given me a hint. It's a good twist. My only complaint was that there weren't more bread crumbs along the way. There were a few instances of an internal monologue, but I think layering that in better would have made a stronger film. I was most fascinated when Mort (Johnny Depp) externalized his conscience and tried to stop crazy Mort from killing more. That bit was too small to really sell it and I think more should have been done with it. I also feel the movie went on one scene to long. The whole thing is that "Shooter" wants the story to end right. Mort with shovel, repeating that final line was it. The epilogue felt tagged on and only served to belabor a point that we already got. All in all, a good thriller with some minor missteps. Also, does Timothy Hutton ever play a nice guy?
Bonus Pick: Werewolf of London, the precursor to the Lon Chaney classic
My pick was the The Wolf Man so I picked up the legacy set from Barnes & Noble. It comes with a whole bunch of other films so Hilary and I decided to check out the first of Universal's werewolf movies. This movie follows botanist Wilfred Glendon and felt more Jekyll and Hyde than Wolf Man. It wasn't terrible, but you can see why the Lon Chaney version gets all the love. It's a decent suspense movie, but I prefer the Warren Zevon song.
Bonus Pick: The Visit by M. Night Shymalan
Eric and I took advantage of a conference in Painted Post by first popping in to a matinee of M. Night's latest film. Now there was a time when you'd see his name and get excited. Now it's like when your friend decides he wants to give stand-up comedy a try so you go to be supportive and spend the whole time cringing, waiting for the clock to run out. This film was not the next Signs, but it also wasn't the next Lady in the Water. Or the next The Last Airbender. Instead it was... OR the next After Earth. Sorry. Instead it was somewhere in the middle. It's scary. It's suspenseful. It's about to get spoiled so skip the paragraph if you care. You come to expect the M. Night twist. This was a letdown. Crazy people. That's it. Crazy people pretending to be Grandpa and Grandma. I don't know. They make such a big deal about 9:30. It's even on the poster. They get crazier after dark. That's all. They sundown. Because they are crazy. Plus there was a lot of rapping. It was an entertaining movie, but very forgettable.
Nic's Pick: The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney, Jr.
From what I've seen of the Universal Monster Movies, I like them. I enjoyed the whole run of Mummy movies and so far the Wolves are pretty good. The Wolf-Man was much better than it's predecessor. I liked the gypsy connection (featuring a cameo from Bela Lugosi). I liked the pentagram showing up on the next victim. You never really knew how it was going to go. Having him kill the werewolf with a silver cane, then having the cops just find a dead gypsy was a cool start. The whole movie had a fun, menacing drive that Werewolf of London lacked. We plan to watch more in the set.
Hilary is up next.
