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Top 5 Joe Dante Movies!

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Earlier this week I visited the set of the new Joe Dante film Burying The Ex. I dug his last movie, The Hole, and feel like it was given the short end of the stick when it came to its release, so it was nice to see him at work on a picture that will likely grab a wide audience. What I saw looked great, with some of the stuff you’d expect to play broadly instead performed with an endearing specificity that I think horror geeks will engage with.

The whole thing got me thinking back on his filmography, so I thought it would be fun to toss a list together highlighting my favorite films of his. Dante has obviously directed way more than 5 features, so this isn’t meant to slight the ones that didn’t make the cut (a lot of them are great) – but rather to celebrate the ones that did.

Check it out below!

5: The Howling


I’ve been vocal about how this film stacks up to the other great werewolf movie of 1981 for me (An American Werewolf In London), but the fact remains that this is still one of the best lycanthrope pictures out there. It’s very difficult to make a werewolf film that’s any good at all, so making a classic one is certainly a coup of some kind. Having a script by John Sayles doesn’t hurt, and the swinging vibe of the commune/retreat gives The Howling a ton of personality.

4: Innerspace


Not horror, but since this is my list I’m making the rules. I loved this movie growing up. Admittedly, I haven’t seen it in a while but the fact that it’s imprinted on my brain has to be good for something. Inventive, suspenseful and hilarious with a great cast. If you’re a younger reader who missed this film for some reason, it’s well worth your time and money.

3: The ‘Burbs


A divisive entry, but sometimes I think people who don’t love The ‘Burbs have no sense of adventure. Met with mixed response upon is release in 1989 (perhaps due to the general public’s inexplicable aversion to horror comedies), I think it’s time for a widespread reappraisal of its merits. I love that the suspicions of Tom Hanks and Rick Ducommun pay off. I love the camaraderie of the whole block (Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman et al..) banding together. But the real genius of the film is how it aligns us against its protagonists by positioning them as bullies against an awkward but sympathetic and misunderstood family. Then it flips everything on its head. Perfect.

2: Gremlins 2: The New Batch


I’m the guy who wrote 5 Reasons ‘Gremlins 2’ Is A Masterpiece, so believe me when I say that this flip-flops with the number one entry on this list on a daily basis. The fact that Gremlins 2 is a high budget satire of corporate entropy is great, but the fact that it manages to successfully import its characters from one genre to another is a miracle. Also, major points for making John Glover’s character (Daniel Clamp) sympathetic when they could have easily repeated past success by taking the Mrs. Deagle route with him. This film really is a masterpiece.

1: Gremlins


Gremlins 2 isn’t Dante’s only masterpiece. Like I said, it often jockeys for #1 position with the original Gremlins. This is one of the perfect Christmas movies, one that embraces both the darker (consumerism) and brighter (family) sides of the holiday. Phoebe Cates’ speech about her dad is the kind of magically dark moment you would never find in a mainstream PG movie these days. It’s also easy to take for granted the kind of world building that’s at work here. Not only does it establish every nook and cranny of Kingston Falls (including the social pecking order), it also successfully introduces a brand new movie monster with an elaborate and complex biology. Hoyt Axton is also perfection. In fact, the entire movie is.

Be sure to check out my Script To Scream on the film, in which Gerald gives the famous Phoebe Cates speech (then dies), Gizmo turns into a butterfly and we conclusively find out about the Futtermans’ demise.

What’s your Top 5? I bet Piranha is on there right?

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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