An American Werewolf in London bared its fangs in 1981, written and directed by TFH guru John Landis.
Two backpackers decide to see how much trouble a couple of young Americans can get into on the English moors. A lot, it turns out. Griffin Dunne and David Naughton bring laughs to the horror as the latter is bitten by a werewolf and suffers some howling side effects. Naughton's character is left wishing he could have stayed a Pepper.
How does one kill a werewolf? Well, first, you gotta find one. But once you do, it's probably too late for you to be the one doing the killing. There's the rub.
Landis kept the script in his top drawer for more than a decade when possible backers felt it was too funny for horror and too horrific for comedy. It turned out to be a huge hit, prompting the musical question, "What do producers know, anyway?"
Werewolf wines are from Transylvania, and they sport the scariest "critter labels" I’ve ever seen. They even glow in the dark. The line features Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, all of which pair well with werewolf. So I'm told.
1943's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man has Bela Lugosi donning the monster clothes, while Lon Chaney unleashes the Wolf Man. A couple of grave robbers unearth the Wolf Man, who then chips Frankenstein's monster out of a block of ice. Wolfie gets a date and goes to the Festival of the New Wine. How lucky! The monster decides to get some of that new wine, too. Cue the villagers. They are not having it.
Pick any wine from the Alsatian Grand Cru Frankstein Vineyard. I know, not actually Frankenstein, but it's close. Oh, wait...
South Africa's Radford Dale Winery has a Pinotage called Frankenstein. The name was given due to the bad reputation the Pinotage grape has for being harsh and medicinal. They say if the grape is treated meanly it will show its angry side. Pinotage, they say, "is not a monster; it is a soul with a heart and one which will repay kindness with abundant generosity of its own." Keep your pitchforks in the barn.
The 2001 French horror film, Brotherhood of the Wolf, actually features a beast which is later found to be a lion. Maybe I should have employed a spoiler alert there. Oops. That lion didn't stop the Brotherhood from giving naming rights to the canis lupus.
The French have trouble solving a string of murders, so they call in a band of Iroquois Native Americans to help in the fight. WTF, right? Stay with me. Their paths had apparently crossed during the American Revolution. Now it all makes sense.
This movie is set in 18th century France, and is noted for its action scenes, mixing swashbucklers with martial artists. Think Bruce Lee with a sword. I'd buy a ticket to that, and even stand in line at the New Bev to see it.
The Beast is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Del Dotto Vineyards. It runs close $300 a bottle, and you have to be a VIP member for the privilege of purchase. So it's true, “membership has its privileges.”
No comments:
Post a Comment