HEADER: Willem Dafoe in Poor Things (2024)
When Universal announced a rebooting of its classic monster movies there was much excitement and interest generated around the project. In 2017, The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella as the eponymous monster was released and to the horror of the Universal fans it was a dismal display of corporate creativity. Unfortunately, the studio had taken a ‘Marvel Universe’ approach without first laying the ground work. The outcome was something of a mixed bag that looked like a Mission Impossible film gone horribly wrong. The project came to a stand still.
Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallace & Tom Cruise in The Mummy (2017)
Then, a film that was beyond expectations was released. Guillermo del Torro’s, The Shape of Water (2017), a wonderfully articulated beauty and the beast tale with depth and pathos was deservedly well received, although not officially a reboot of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Sally Hawkins & Doug Jones in The Shape of Water (2017)
Universal later decided to work with directors that had their own ideas and Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man hit screens in 2020 starring Elizabeth Moss and was a complete success. In the original film the horror is seeing the wrapped in bandages Invisible Man (Claude Rains). In the reboot it is not seeing him at all. Elizabeth Moss’ performance is one of the strongest of her career and puts her on the A list of Scream Queens.
Elizabeth Moss in The Invisible Man (2020)
The release and success of Poor Things (2023), like The Shape of Water, has again illustrated what is possible when there is actual creativity inspired by the original films.
Poor Things is a brilliant film heavily influence by Mary Shelley’s novel and Universal’s Bride of Frankenstein. The imaginations that have run wild in the creation of this epic fantasy belong to Director, Gorgons Lantimos, and Screenwriter Tony McNamara (Cruella 2021) based on the Novel by Alasdair Gray. The casting of the characters brings them to life and all of the performances raise the story higher at every turn. Emma Stone (Bella Baxter) is spectacular as the progeny of Willem Dafoe’s Dr. Godwin Baxter. Defoe’s performance takes on the man & monster persona with a deft calm that itself is disturbing. Mark Ruffalo’s Duncan Wedderburn is at turns hilariously funny and madly melancholy.
Mark Ruffulo in Poor Things (2024)
The year also brought to the screen Universal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, the dark and violent prequel to Dracula. Although both films did well with audiences, only Poor Things gathered accolades from the critics.
The action could only have been the crew trying to survive the journey with a vampire on board. Having said that, as the prequel to Dracula, Demeter succeeds eminently and exceeded my expectations with shades of Nosferatu that are chillingly effective.
Corey Hawkins & Aisling Franciosi in The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Universal also released Renfield in 2023: the concept really appealed to me. Alas, what could have been a wonderfully comedic turn on the Dracula story was marred with the casting of Nicolas Cage. I may be in the minority on this point, so be it.
Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina & Nicolas Cage in Renfield (2023)
The film was titled Renfield. Nicholas Hoult was the star in this film. He and Awkwafina had a perfect foil in Renfield’s replacement as Dracula’s thrall in Ben Schwartz. The film would have been much improved if Dracula had been kept off screen for most of the film and was portrayed by an unknown actor.
Godzilla on a rampage in Godzilla + 1
In addition to all of this, Toho’s Godzilla – 1 and the more recently released, Godzilla – 1 – Color have been very well received. Godzilla – 1 is a fascinating reboot of the original with a strong and engaging story line supported by over the top special effects. The recent black and white release of the film will appeal to those viewers that will appreciate the feel and look of the original.
Ryunosuke Kamiki & Minami Hamabe in Godzilla + 1
After the horrors of WW2, disgraced kamikaze pilot, Koichi Shikishima returns home to find that everything that he knew has been destroyed in the war. The guilt he feels for not dying as he was meant to is compounded by all the death and destruction around him. A chance meeting with a displaced young woman slowly pulls him from his self pity.
Godzilla was a metaphor for the horror and destruction caused by Oppenheimer’s monster. Unlike the bomb–the people could fight Godzilla. And, in the end–defeat him.
I do find the irony in Godzilla – 1 being released in the same year as another film. A film that most would not consider a horror/monster film. Oppenheimer is without a doubt the best film of the year, but it is also a terrifically dark film, and yes–Oppenheimer does create a monster. In many ways, his story is also related to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He is a man of his time looking over the abyss and struggling not to fall in as he reaches for something that man was not meant to find. Unlike Doctor Frankenstein, he knows what horror he is bringing into existence.
Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer delivers an accessible film about an inaccessible subject. Bringing it all down to a human level, he manages to shine a light into an abyss. We see more than enough to feel his exhalation, horror, and pain.
Cillian Murphy & Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer (2023)
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.“ Friedrich Nietzsche
Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer (2023)
Nolan has created a masterpiece of enormous importance. Every performance resonated the gravity of the story. Cillian Murphy becomes Oppenheimer. Robert Downey Jr. gives the best performance of his career.
Facts, Rumors, and Hearsay
THE MUMMY (2017)
The film’s tagline, “Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters,” is a quote from Bride of Frankenstein, which was produced by Universal and would have been the next in the Dark Universe franchise if “The Mummy (2017)” had been a success.
THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017)
After seeing the trailer, Kevin Smith tweeted, “Seeing something as beautiful as this makes me feel stupid for ever calling myself a ‘director.'”
Director Guillermo del Toro first met Sally Hawkins at the 2014 Golden Globes and pitched the film to her while intoxicated. He says, “I was drunk and it’s not a movie that makes you sound less drunk.”
THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020)
Leigh Whannell decided not to have an opening establishing Cecilia’s abusive relationship with Adrian “because I wanted to just drop the audience into Cecilia’s situation without any back story and make them feel everything through her, and luckily I had Elizabeth Moss who is very good at communicating a lot to the audience without saying anything.”
POOR THINGS (2023)
Mark Ruffalo initially was hesitant about the role of Duncan Wedderburn after first reading the Poor Things screenplay . “I said to director, Yorgos Lanthimos, ‘I don’t think I’m right for this’,” Ruffalo said. “And he just laughed at me and he’s like, ‘It’s you.'”
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023)
Dracula’s look is based on Count Orlok from the unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stokers Dracula, Nosferatu (1922). This was also the model for the look of the vampire Barlow in the original Salem’s Lot (1979)
RENFIELD (2023)
In an interview with Collider, director Chris McKay admitted that the film is actually intended to serve as a direct sequel to Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931). McKay had also attempted to have the film’s trailers and poster refer to this fact, but did not pan out.
GODZILLA – 1 (2023)
The “Minus One” refers to the fact that Japan had already been devastated by WWII (brought down to zero), but with the emergence of Godzilla, it puts Japan into the negative. This is reflected in the film’s original Japanese tagline, which translates to, “Postwar Japan. From Zero to Minus”.
OPPENHEIMER (2023)
In order for the black and white sections of the movie to be shot in the same quality as the rest of the film, Kodak produced a limited supply of their Double-X black and white film stock in 70mm. This film stock was chosen specifically for its heritage – it was originally sold to photographers as Super-XX during World War II, and was very popular with photojournalists of the era.
Robert Downey Jr.’s favorite film of his own. When it premiered at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, he said, “Just going to flat out say it: This is the best film I’ve ever been in.”
The Shape of Monsters: Part 2
…and updates including Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man