Monster Movie of the Week: Sharktopus (2011)

SHARKTOPUS (2011)
Directed by Declan O'Brien
Genre: Sharktopus


THE MOVIE

Okay, so I have judiciously avoided doing SyFy Original Movies on Monster Movie of the Week because, well, even I have standards. SyFy movies are usually cheapo B monster movies made with an eye towards camp. Movies like Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus and Chupacabra: Dark Skies are the monster movie equivalent of cheap porn (and likely use many of the same actors).

In the last few years, SyFy has been experimenting with splicing different deadly animals together to make the most dangerous, yet ridiculous monsters ever seen. Movies like Dinocroc and Dinoshark show the dangers of scientists and network executives toying with the natural order of things. And, while I could ignore the above movies, the monstrous combination of a shark and octopus was simply too alluring to miss. Sharktopus features the most absurd, yet compelling movie monster I have seen in a very long time.

An offer I can't refuse.

The Sharktopus monster is a product of a Navy experiment to create a combat organism...For Some Reason. When Shartopus' control collar is dislodged during it's first mission its handlers loose control of the beast, and it begins terrorizing the Mexican coast around Puerto Vallarta. Soon, there is a race to stop it between an American ex-pat and his crew and the monster's creators who want to capture it alive because, well, sharktopi ain't free. The head evil scientist is played by Eric Roberts, who's career made a loud whistling noise when he went from The Dark Knight to this movie.

THE MONSTER

So, it's a big-ass shark, but where the tail would be, are tentacles. That's Sharktopus in a nutshell. (Warning: If you encounter a Sharktopus hiding in a nutshell, run and get help.) In addition to the ridiculous/awesome creature design, Sharktopus is also able to use its tentacles to climb and grab and do all kinds of cool stuff, like come on land and mess up your day. The only thing that would have made him cooler, would be if he had little shark faces on the ends of his tentacles with which to bite people, instead of stabbing instruments. I guess someone at SyFy decided to show some restraint fairly late in the game.

Sharktopus, attempting to jump itself.

As you would expect if you have seen any of the other SyFy monster movies, the effects are not Hollywood feature quality and as you can see, Sharktopus does look a little like CGI plastic. Some people have said that the Sharktopus looks fake. Those people are missing the point. Where the effects are actually quite good is in the creatures animation. Sharktopus casts a unique and cool silhouette and its way of propelling itself forward in the water by whipping its tentacles behind it is strange and elegant. What makes this such a great movie monster is Sharktopus is literally like nothing you've ever seen.

Sharktopus came here to chew people and kick ass. And he's all out of people.

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY

Sharktopus is available on DVD and Bluray.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE

Anything involving said Sharktopus.

TRAILER




Patrick Garone
www.patrickgarone.com
twitter.com/patrickgarone
facebook.com/cityofthegodsnovel

Monster Movie of the Week: Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005)

NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS (2005)

Directed by Jun Awazu

Genre: CGI/Anime/Daikaiju eiga, short film

THE MOVIE:

Fans of kaiju movies generally don’t have a lot to look forward to. Godzilla is retired for another five to ten years, with another American remake on the way. The status of the Gamera series is not known. We tend to have to make due with movies that have some kaiju elements like The Host or Transformers, or the Korean movie D-Wars. Once in a while, we'll get a Cloverfield or Pacific Rim but most actual kaiju movies are few and far between. That’s why Negadon: The Monster from Mars is such a nice and unexpected treat.

Negadon is a twenty-five minute short film that is little more than an exercise in kaiju action. But that’s a good thing, right? Although it is a CGI movie from 2005, the film goes out of its way to present a retrofuturistic setting that would have been at home in one of Toho’s movies from the 1960’s or 1970’s.

The narrative is short and sweet. It is the future and man is exploring Mars. A ship brings back a mysterious Mars boulder, which escapes and destroys the ship over Japan, unleashing a giant floating monster, the titular Negadon. Meanwhile a scientist laments the loss of his daughter who was killed in an accident involving the giant robot he had invented. Although he swore never to reactivate the robot, he pilots it in combat against Negadon.

Something tells me Negadon may be the future of kaiju movies, which are becoming increasingly unprofitable in Japan. As CGI becomes cheaper to use we may eventually see entirely CGI Godzilla movies, which would be both bad and good. Bad because we would lose the wonderful artistry that goes into building the sets and monster suits but good because the creatures would no longer be constrained by the technology used to realize them. Either way, despite its shortness and relative obscurity, Negadon: The Monster from Mars may end up being a very important film in the history of monster movies.

THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:

I’m not a fan of the Negadon design, it’s a little too complex for my tastes. It almost looks like it could have come from one of the 90’s Gamera movies. However, I do like the design of Magara, the creature featured in the two micro-movies included as extras. Magara is wonderful firebreathing throwback to the classic Toho monsters. The director Jun Awazu has a wonderful grasp of the kaiju subgenre and I would love to see what he would if let loose on a franchise like Godzilla or Gamera.

MONSTERS FEATURED:

Negadon and the giant robot.

DVD AVAILABILITY:

Can be bought easily enough online but you probably won’t be able to find it at your local video store or even on Netflix. Incidently, the DVD has a couple of nice little micro movies even more in the style of classic kaiju film.

TRAILER:




Patrick Garone
www.patrickgarone.com
twitter.com/patrickgarone
facebook.com/cityofthegodsnovel

Monster Movie of the Week: Alien Resurrection (1997)

ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Genre: Action/Survival Horror/Body Horror

Country: USA

NOTES

1992’s Alien 3 is unloved here in the US but it was well appreciated and financially successful overseas and kindled talk of a fourth Alien movie. However, as many of you know, the ending of Alien 3 was, shall we say, final. It was designed as a way to close out the trilogy and to conclude the Ripley story arc in a dramatic and cathartic way. So what is a studio to do? Since your protagonist is dead, will you venture out and take the series in a new direction with brand new characters? Or will you find some cheap half-assed way to bring a dead character back?

Alien Resurrection features a clone of Ellen Ripley. And as cop-outs go, it is not quite, “It was all a dream” but it is still fairly lame. And I can’t help but feeling that it is a major diss to Alien 3, a movie that is badly flawed but has a lot more integrity than its successor. I think that the decision to do a retread movie and bring Ripley back as opposed to developing new characters and scenarios is one of the reasons that the series fizzled out and was ultimately replaced with the AVP movies and the upcoming prequel/spin-off/nothing-to-do-with-the-Alien-franchise Ridley Scott movie, Prometheus.

"Where's your precious Beetlejuice now?"

THE MOVIE

All of that being said, Alien Resurrection is not a terrible movie. In an attempt to keep the series fresh and in keeping with the franchises history of being a showcase for talented directors, the producers brought in French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, famous for his surrealist movies such as a City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. French directors were very hot back in the 1990’s with the films of Jeunet, Christopher Gans and Luc Besson finding audiences here in the states. Besson’s movies The Professional and The Fifth Element gave fresh Euro spins to well-worn American genres. No doubt the producers of the last Alien film were hoping for Jeunet to give the film a similar feel and he gives Resurrection a Gallic style and quirkiness that sometimes works but often doesn’t. Jeunet’s direction also frequently butts heads with the film’s other major raison d’etre: to recapture the ass-kicking action feel of James Cameron’s Aliens.

Alien Resurrection picks up 200 years after Alien 3 (so, The Future + 200 years) in which military scientists on a remote space station use blood samples from Ellen Ripley to clone her and the alien queen she was carrying at the end of the last movie. Um, okay. That’s same shaky science but okay. It turns out that there is some DNA crossover and this new Ripley has some alien characteristics and vice versa. The film also tries way too hard to make the Ripley clone into a badass: she fights, she shoots hoops, she says “fuck” a lot. This is one of the movies inept attempts to pander to what the producers think is the type of fan that really liked Aliens.

Alien Resurrection is rated R for frequent caressing.

Meanwhile the scientists have arranged to purchase abducted human beings in hypersleep from a group of smugglers that include a mysterious young woman named Call. This macabre storyline is the best part of the movie and makes for some cool imagery and recalls the many great Dark Horse Aliens comics of the time. The idea of these twisted scientists smuggling comatose human beings to breed aliens is dark and cool and it makes you wonder what Joss Whedon’s original Ripley-free script was like.

The smugglers dock with the station and encounter Ripley. Call sneaks into Ripley’s cell and tries to kill her revealing that she has come to prevent the aliens from being bred but is too late. Ultimately the aliens escape and Ripley must lead the dwindling group of military survivors and smugglers off the station. She is kidnapped by the Aliens and taken back to their nest (after apparently making out with one of them!?) where we learn that something is very wrong with these Aliens (this dysfunctional nest and the “mad scientist” type character seems to be a reference to the wonderful “Aliens: Labyrinth” comic). Ripley’s human DNA has infected the hive and the Queen lays prone and gives birth to a live Hybrid creature. After some additional caressing (what is up with the French?) the Ripley clone attempts to escape the doomed ship.

Sad Skeletor.

THE MONSTERS/EFFECTS

This movie features the usual suspects. The alien drone is slightly redesigned (nothing revolutionary) in light of its newfound ability to swim. Again the color scheme is browner and more roach-like than the first two movies. The Queen is featured…well only her head actually. Unfortunately we don’t get any good Queen action in this movie and she gets bitch slapped to death, which is sad.

The “star” creature is the Hybrid, which leaves a lot to be desired, with its pasty skin, sad eyes, potbelly and nasal nub. I’ve heard rumors that the creature was originally designed with a penis (or vagina or some combination thereof) that was digitally removed in post-production. Call me a perv, but I want to see this.

The effects in this movie are somewhat marred by some shoddy CGI, which is too bad because this marks the first use of digital effects on these creatures. Unfortunately the aliens end up looking like Playstation characters in these scenes. This is especially sad because of the high special effects bar raised by the previous movies in the series.

C'est tres francais.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE

The Ripley clone discovers the meaning of the number “8” tattooed on her arm when she stumbles across the horrific previous seven attempts to clone her. That’s good body horror right there!

SEQUELS

Sadly, no. Although the story is continued in some comic books from Dark Horse. This movie marks the chronological end of the Alien series, although it does continue in the form of the AVP prequels and whatever Prometheus turns out to be (seriously, what is the deal with that movie?).

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY

On its own or in the mammoth Alien Legacy DVD set. Or in the even more mammoth AVP set. The extras are nothing great and the extended version adds very little to the movie.

The movie was unceremoniously kicked out of the series for the “Alien Trilogy” DVD set that you can find around. What a burn. I guess that means that Alien 3 has been officially replaced as the redheaded stepchild of the series.

On Bluray, it is found in the wonderful Alien Anthology set, which, like the Legacy DVD set, features a slightly longer cut of the movie.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water...where no one can hear you scream.

MINORITY REPORT

A Latino almost survives the movie. Almost. Although the weird handicapped guy does survive.

TRIVIA

Believe it or not, Alien Resurrection is the most commercially successful of series in terms of global box office.

TRAILER





Patrick Garone
www.patrickgarone.com
twitter.com/patrickgarone
facebook.com/cityofthegodsnovel

Monster Movie of the Week: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)

Director: John Landis

Genre: Werewolf

Country: USA/UK

THE MOVIE

Anyone who follows movies knows that studios periodically jump on certain genres or storylines which often result in two similar but competing projects released around the same time. We had Armageddon and then we had Deep Impact. We had Rob Roy and then we had Braveheart. We had Priscilla Queen of the Desert and then we had To Wong Fu. Well in 1981 we had The Howling and then we had An American Werewolf in London both released within a few weeks of each other. Either one by itself would have been a revolutionary entry into the werewolf movie genre. Both were directed by young and talented horror directors and both employed make-up gurus to handle the effects. Werewolf was worked on by SFX legend Rob Baker,

An American Werewolf in London is also distinguished from its competitor by its droll British infused sense of humor and its Hammer-esque ambiance. It also gives us a unique lupine werewolf as opposed to the simian designs of past movies or even the men-with-wolf-heads as popularized by The Howling. Landis’ movie also features some very disturbing and surreal dream sequences (such as one in which Nazi wolf ghouls attack attack the protagonist’s Jewish suburban family.)

Plotwise, AAWIL is pretty typical werewolf stuff. The film even rather sneakily references the old Wolfman movie with Lon Chaney Jr. A pair of young Americans are backpacking in rural England and make it to a mysterious village on the moors where the people in the local pub (which features a large pentagram on the wall) seem to be hiding something. The boys are attacked by an animal, one is killed (but returns in some black-humored visions later in the movie) and one survives and is taken to London for care where he hits it off with his nurse. As we all know, once you survive a werewolf attack you become one yourself.

THE MONSTER EFFECTS

Like The Howling, this movie aims to push the envelope as far as visual effects in a werewolf movie goes. It also tries to limit the number of cutaways during the transformation sequence and much is done via animatronics and practical make-up to create the films almost tortuous transformation sequence. One has to admire the great artistry and ingenuity that went in to creating a sequence like this when now all we would need to do would be to create it in a computer.

The other notable SFX or design aspect of the movie is in the final representation of the creature itself, of which you get some good looks in the latter part of the movie. AAWIL gives us a werewolf that actually looks something like a wolf (well honestly it’s a little stocky for a wolf. I think it looks more like a wolverine.) This is harkens back to pre –Cinema ideas of what a werewolf should look like. After all, the whole idea of the European werewolf was that a man would turn into an actual wolf, not some creature that looks like a hybrid of the two, as is more common in the movies.

FAVORITE SEQUENCE

The best shot in the movie is actually the very first one in which we see the creature. The werewolf is chasing a man through a subway station in the London Underground and up until this point we have only really seen cheap werewolf POV shots so we might be assuming this is one of those movies that doesn’t give you a real look at the monster. Anyway, this man has been chased through the station and stumbles upon an escalator. He falls dropping all of his things and is being carried up. Once he is at the top we get a near POV shot of his position. It is a long shot from the top of the escalator. It has a very objective feel almost like a security camera. The shot goes for a bit and then the monster simply steps into the frame. It’s fast but a great shot and very creepy.

SEQUELS

And unrelated sequel called An American Werewolf in Paris.

DVD AVAILABILITY

Widely available.

SEE ALSO

The Howling

TRAILER

Patrick Garone
www.patrickgarone.com
twitter.com/patrickgarone
facebook.com/cityofthegodsnovel