who would later star as Hans in Freaks, almost steals the show as the foul-tempered midget who bullies the others and even kicks a child in the face(!). The answer to many silent horror fans’ prayers,
this profane classic is available as part of a wave of classic Lon Chaney re-releases from Warner Archive, including the less successful 1930 talkie remake of the film.
PAUL CORUPE Another Turtle Twofer
THE LEGION (1995-96) Blu-ray Starring Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera and Akiji Kobayashi Directed by Shusuke Kaneko Written by Kazunori Itô Mill Creek Entertainment
GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE/ATTACK OF
As Godzilla’s Heisei era was wrapping up in the
1990s, Toho competitor Daiei Studios tread in his giant footsteps with a modern update of its kaiju cousin, the giant rocket-propelled sea turtle Gam- era. With a fraction of a Godzilla movie budget, di- rector Shusuke Kaneko (Death Note) crafted a memorable trilogy of modern mega-turtle tales that, to everyone’s surprise, managed to surpass the Big G’s quality. Guardian of the
Universe begins with the massacre of an entire village by giant flying reptiles called Gyaos. This coincides with the discovery of a small floating island in the
Sea of Japan, which comes to life and is revealed as the shell of Gamera. Through his human-bonded avatar Asagi, we learn Gamera was engineered by an Atlantis-like civilization to protect the Earth from Gyaos. Guardian benefits from an engaging script (even
when the monsters are off-screen), strong human characters and some stand-up-and-cheer monster mayhem. The restrictive budget meant less model work, but improved digital compositing placed suitmation actors in the midst of real cityscapes, with impressively visceral results. The new Gamera was everything a modern mon-
ster fan could ask for, leaving audiences clamour- ing for more, a demand met with Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion. When a massive meteor strikes Earth and unleashes not one, but two extraterres- trial threats – enormous plant-like pods with a deadly life cycle and massive insectoid creatures dubbed Legion – Gamera returns. But overwhelm- ing enemy numbers and mankind’s waning faith in the turtle conspire to put everyone’s survival in jeopardy. Gamera 2 is kaiju eiga entertainment at its ab-
solute best, with a fast-paced script and an imag- inatively terrifying enemy. With a spearhead skull
Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe: Kaiju for modern monster fans.
and a vicious array of electricity-spitting spines, the adult Legion is one of the nastiest, most strik- ing monsters ever conceived. The story perfectly balances human conflict and monster-scale de- struction, and when the two converge, it’s pop- corn-throwingly brilliant. Remastered in high definition from the original
film elements, the picture quality on both films is noticeably sharper and cleaner than ADV’s 2003 DVD releases, though the darker scenes have picked up some noticeable grain as a result. The disc sadly lacks anything resembling special fea- tures, though more conspicuous is the absence of the final chapter in Kaneko`s trilogy, 1999’s Re- venge of Iris, which leaves the presentation feeling a little lopsided.
JOSEPH O’BRIEN Full Moon Mama
MY MOM’S A WEREWOLF (1989) DVD Starring Susan Blakely, John Saxon and Katrina Caspary
Directed by Michael Fischa Written by Mark Pirro Mill Creek Entertainment
shortcomings,
Though it had loads of the 1980s
were at least a great decade for horror comedies. You had An American Werewolf in London, Fright Night, The Lost Boys and Monster Squad to name just a few. One of the more obscure releases was 1989’s My Mom’s a Were- wolf. In this admittedly cheesy
yet fun flick, Leslie Shaber (Susan Blakely) is a devoted housewife and mother whose husband Howard (John Schuck) doesn’t pay enough attention to her. In addition to never com-
ing home in time for supper, he spends his week- ends with friends drinking beer and watching foot- ball. Is it any wonder then, when Leslie has to pick up a flea collar one day for the family dog that she allows herself to be seduced by a mysteriously charming pet shop owner named Harry Thropen (John Saxon)? In his exotically decked-out pad in the back of
the pet shop, Thropen puts the moves on Leslie by sucking on her feet and biting her toe. Later, she finds herself undergoing lycanthropic changes in- cluding an increased libido, newfound fangs, pointed ears and hair, and she’s developing a taste for raw meat. Turns out that Thropen wants a “were-wife” to bear his “were-children” and carry on the bloodline, and it’s up to Leslie’s teenaged daughter Jennifer (Katrina Caspary) and the girl’s monster-obsessed best friend Stacey to stop his nefarious plan. While there’s no real horror on display here (ex-
cept, perhaps, the painfully cheap rubber masks used for the transformation scenes), there is plenty of humour, including one truly outrageous scene in which Leslie – upon discover- ing her newly grown fangs – visits a hack dentist to get them filed down. Saxon is, as always, awesome to watch and his fanged, orange-eyed werewolf is a fun departure from his usual serious cop roles. Released in fullscreen format, the film is part of Mill Creek Entertainment’s new Rare Cult Cinema box set con- sisting of twelve releases from indie studio Crown Interna- tional Pictures. While far from a masterpiece, My Mom’s a
Werewolf is a good way to maul 90 minutes. JAMES BURRELL
R E I S S U E S 45RM
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