Halloween Fridays Finale

Welcome to final installment in the Halloween Fridays series for this year. Today is Halloween Eve, and in honor of this spooktacular holiday, I will be paying tribute to three classic movie monsters today. These monsters are the Thing, the Invisible Man, and of course, the Wolf Man. What do these three have in common, I have no clue, but they are classics and my book and will be honored in this year’s Halloween Fridays Finale.


The Thing



The Thing comes straight the 1930s novel, Who Goes There, but he is best known for his role in Howard Hanks’ classic 1951 film, The Thing From Another World. The monster is far different in the movie than he is in the book, but that only makes him more iconic. Instead of him multiplying like in the novel, he can regrow limbs, and in the book, his skin is made of a certain material so he can take on the form of others, for in the movie, his skin is made of something similar to a vegatable and it feeds on blood.The Thing in the film may be a hell of a lot different, but still is badass. Though he doesn’t kill a lot of people in this film, he still is vicious, and capable of doing a lot of things us humans cannot do. And you don’t even know when this guy is going to show up in the movie, he just shows up out of nowhere, getting our adrenaline going. In my opinion, this creature is similar to the persona of Frankenstein’s Monster in the classic 1931 film, but seems to be a little smarter and more intelligent. He’s not a sad, confused creature trying to find his purpose in the world, he’s just a plain old mean alien that kills and causes a lot of chaos. In the 1982 remake, the creature is portrayed in a vile, bloody manner. He is also like he was in the novel, able to take the shape of others. As the Thing kills something and takes on it’s form, it rips out of it’s victim, resulting in blood, guts, and strains of mash spagetti. There is even a seen where it rips itself out of a dog. In the end, the Thing in this film is slightly better than the one in 1951 film, but still has issues. You can not watch this movie without getting sick to your stomach. It’s gruesome, vulgar, and just plain disgusting. Another remake is in the works, but God forbid, I don’t know what to expect.


The Invisible Man



What a film. Directed by the director of Frankenstein, James Whales, the Invisible Man is a dark, twisted tale of a man who is invisible. No dah. But what makes this man so unique is the effects on him. They are so awesome, it makes you wonder. How the heck did they do it? Based upon the H.G. Wells novel, the Invisible Man is a doctor named Jack Griffith who turned himself invisible during a science experiment. Now, he is unable to turn himself back. So, in order to find a cure and return to his normal state, he does everything, from robbing to killing, even running around the town in his pants. It’s a good thing he was invisible. The voice of the Invisible Man is great. Claude Rains did a fantastic job playing the role of the mad scientist, and went on to play other famous monsters like the Wolf Man’s father and the Phantom of the Opera. The Invisible Man can also be two people at the same time. He can be magnamious, showing mercy and care, and be a ranting, raving psycho at the same time. He’s also cruel, making carsgo off a cliff and going around, tormenting the citizens of his town. The freakiest part is the scene where Griffith strips out of his clothes, revealing his invisible body.  All I can say is that the Invisible Man is still a classic movie monster, even if he is whacked in the head.


The Wolf Man

Played by Lon Chaney Jr. the son of the Man of a Thousand Faces, the Wolf Man is one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. Out of all the werewolf movies out there, this one if truly the most well done and the most famous, and for many reasons. The Wolf Man, aka Larry Talbot is a confused misfit who has been bitten by a werewolf. The movie is made so that it is unclear whether he is turning into the werewolf physically or mentally. But then, they show the Wolf-Man, depicting it as real. Then he goes chasing people throughout the city, including the main female character, Gwen. The transformation of the Wolf-Man is a little slippy, but still has that edge to it. It’s just a standard fading effect because as anyone could guess, they didn’t have the money nor technology to make special effects as of 1941. The film is mainly about the enemy within, rather than the enemy on the outside. Though the Wolf-Man was a monster, his alter ego  was to deal with a lot of things. In the beginning of the film, he buys a silver stick, representing a wolf, foreshadowing his transformation into the wolf. Then, as the film progresses, the villages keep reciting a poem, until the moment when Larry is bitten by the werewolf. The only time when the Wolf-Man is awakened is when there is a full moon, a great symbol of a character’s transformation from a normal guy to a cold, vicious creature.

Well, that’s all folks. That ‘s this year’s set of Halloween Fridays, but don’t worry your behind off. I will be back with many fun filled posts in the near future, but for now, all I can say is Happy Halloween to all, and remember, a creature is not judged for who he is, but for what’s inside of him.