Yuku free message boards

I have a friend who's 34, and we oftentimes discuss film--he's a big fan of 70's and 80's stuff, since that was his "era." But he's not opposed to watching classic stuff IF its historical significance is explained to him beforehand. For example, we watched Hitchcock's Saboteur together, but before I ran the whole thing, I explained about the end sequence on the Statue of Liberty. I explained how an actualy mock hand had been made, etc., and this got him interested. We watched the entire film, and he was mesmerized...and not only at the ending.

The same thing happened with The Birds, except this time, I brought over my DVD and played just one bird attack--on the school. He liked the
"hokey" feel to the scene (remember, the fx aren't great by today's standards) most. But then I explained how Hitch built up the suspense by showing the empty playground, then there are a few birds here and there, and then Melanie notices one bird flying...and when she follows it and turns, the entire playground is filled with crows. Given that tutorial, he enjoyed the entire movie much more.

40 isn't young, but it's still KINDA young for people to enjoy the classic films like Werewolf of London. And to be honest, I'm 55, and when I first saw it as a youth, I thought it was slooooow. I only stuck with it because it was a Universal film, had been on my Spook Stories cards, and FM referred to Henry Hull every now and again.

It's funny, but a lot of stuff I was scared by as a kid (Earth vs. the Spider, for example) are so incredibly slooow for me today. There are fright scenes, strung together by what seems like hours of talk, talk, talk. The teens trying to convince the authorities, the teens taking matters into their own hands, the musical number (there always seemed to be one of those), the car chases, the fights between thugs, etc. I actually much prefer films like Aliens that have their slow spots, but the action and excitement comes fast and furiously.

Joe, perhaps it would've worked better with your buddy if you'd explained something about Werewolf of London prior to the film. Tell him to watch for the moonflower sequence, or the interesting werewolf make-up--which is minimal because Hull didn't want a lot of muck on his face, etc. Whet your friend's appetite for what's to come. Remember, we had FM and such to get us "going." That's why I would sit through The Invisible Man, for example--even though I think it's creaky and not at all scary. Same thing for Dracula. I watch it more now for the historical aspect of the horror film...and to see if I can notice anything new.

Try a little tutorial next time. I bet it would work wonders.

Rod

Well, maybe you just struck out with that particular film. I remember showing "Tarantula" to a friend, and she kept asking, "where's the bleepin' tarantula?"

Rod