A Mant Among Men!

Mant is one of the finest movies never made. It's actually the fake movie which is central to the plot of Joe Dante's early 90's nostalgic opus Matinee which takes a gander at what life might have been like in the Florida Keys during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Matinee has a wit and charm which surmounts its nostaligic sentimentality. John Goodman portrays a vintage huckster slash showman named Lawrence Woolsey who is in the trenches of old time movie making and attempting to make it big with monster and horror flicks geared toward the mass audience. He is a spin on the real world William Castle and it's difficult to say that Goodman's portrayal is broader than reality since Castle was such a large personality, but it's fair to say that Dante's affection for the work of Castle limits the defects we are treated to in Woolsey. He's a generous, big-hearted larger than life man who brings gusto to even the tiniest aspects of his life. And in the movie we meet a young man who finds in Woolsey a father figure who fills in while his real Dad is off defending the United States from the encroaching nuclear missiles just to the South.

The movie-in-a-movie Mant is a send up of the vintage sci-fi flicks from Universal and other studios which dominated the early years of the Cold War and in many respects reflected much of the anxiety of that era. Even the "M" from Mant on the marquee (not on poster though) is the "M" from The Deadly Mantis one of the more brisk of the giant monster flicks and one which drew direct parallels to the nuclear threat from above. The monsters in those movies were big and scary but they were never as scary as real life had become in the last half of the 20th century. Monster movies could only ape and imitate the dread which dominated the culture in many ways and which still does really.

Matinee is generally light-hearted, but it's not without depth. The emotion of fear is readily evident, the fear of death, the fear for loved ones, the fear of failure are all part of the mix. One of the best things about this movie that struck me is that the kids actually look like kids and not adult playing teens. It added an aspect of verisimiltude to a story which could easily have become a romp. This is a story which another less adept directior could have ruined, but instead it's one of the best movies I've ever seen from Joe Dante and I'm only sorry I didn't finally get around to seeing sooner.

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Old Wolves Tale!

The Howling is a clever werewolf movie. It's very self-aware, but unlike some films which recognize their context, this one doesn't get bogged down with marking the cliches. It simply operates smartly in a the broader scheme, and offers its alternative.

The main notion of course is that werewolves are among us and like many folks in the modern world have to find a way to fit into a modern world that might not immediately seem friendly. The werewolves of The Howling aren't limited by things like full moons, but are susceptible to silver bullets and the can be burned. That is if they pose a threat, which as it turns out not all of them do.

I assume most folks have seen this 1980's classic, so I'll not offer up any technical spoilers. On the off chance you haven't, tread carefully past this point.


The key to the success of this movie, and fully intentional according to Joe Dante the director, is that they didn't want the thing to become a werewolf movie immediately. The story begins like a crime drama dealing with a serial killer (Robert Picardo) who contacts a pretty and famous TV reporter to shout out the world. The meeting turns tragic and the killer is "killed" and the reporter traumatized. She and her husband fall into the care of a psychologist (Patrick MacNee) who sends to "The Colony", a remote area where his patients are recuperating.

The place is riddled with werewolves, in fact the only ones not already infected are the reporter and her husband. The killer returns, more reporters get involved and quite a bit of death and mayhem ensue. The ending ain't really a happy one by any stretch, but is oddly satisfying for a horror flick.

Dee Wallace Stone is the reporter and she fairly glows in this very early part. Apparently it was this role that got her noticed and in E.T. where she became briefly a household name. Her fiance plays her husband in this this one, and they do in fact get married and were so for many years until his death.

The highlight of this movie for me though is always John Carradine. He's simply outstanding in a medium-size role as an older werewolf who is trying to find a way to fill out his remaining days with some dignity. His struggle is really the essence of what the story is about, and his age suggests he's the kind of werewolf we are all familiar with from the old movies. He does some dandy acting in a role that must have hit close to home for an actor of his years and experience.

The Howling is a movie that most often gets discussed because of its special effects. That stuff frankly bores me. I like good special effects, but rarely do I watch a movie just for that. The story has to work, and the solid story and really good acting in The Howling gets overlooked as just a good movie I think as people discuss yet again how impressive the transformation scenes are. They are, but without the story it doesn't matter.

If you haven't seen this one in a while, I highly recommend it.

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