31 Days of Halloween: Day 22

DOUBLE FEATURE

Day 22

The Addams Family (1991)



My plans got twisted around a bit and so I decided to use what the good cable stations gave me: an Addams Family double feature on ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween. Convenient, right? I thought so.

The first Addams Family movie I hadn't seen in ages! The second one seems to be on all the time, but the first...lovely. I had forgotten the premise until I sat and re-watched it and remembered all of the fun things about the movie. I used to watch the television show (in syndication of course) and I loved it. Come on...a show about a creepy family...why wouldn't I like it?!

Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston are PERFECT as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Their chemistry was beyond fantastic and they had the mannerisms done flawlessly. While Christopher Lloyd is decent, I'm not entirely sold on him as Uncle Fester. I do feel he does a good job...I just don't feel he pulled it off as well as Julia and Huston.

Christina Ricci, as Wednesday Addams...this was her movie that gave her the break she needed. And there is something so creepy about this little girl, showing no emotion, and putting her brother, Pugsley, into an electric chair.

The premise of this first film was that Fester had been missing for 25 years and this mother and son, along with the Addams' lawyer, concoct a plan that the son will pretend to be the long lost brother of Gomez Addams.

You start to see 'Fester' struggle with who he is and go back and forth between family and the money in a battle of good and evil...but who is good and what is evil is what is in question. I really enjoyed this movie as it brought a great old television show to the forefront of cinema and allowed a great family to live again...or die. :-)


Addams Family Values (1993)



Ah...at the end of the first film, you find out that Morticia is expecting a baby...so another Addams is coming into the world. At the beginning of this movie, she has the baby and thus sibling rivalry is born.

Pugsley and Wednesday are feeling shunned and do what they can to destroy the baby. They are thwarted at every turn, much to their dismay. Enter storyline number two: Debbie. She's a nanny who is brought in for the children...and she's after Fester's money. She's a black widow killer...and she has her sights set on her next target.

To get the two older children out of the way, she tells their parents that they wish to go to...SUMMER CAMP! The images of these two dark children amidst sunshine, greenery and blondes is hysterical. I really enjoyed the 'life-saving sequence' at the lake. It's just great dry humor that makes you smile.

While the summer camp frivolities continue...ending in utter chaos at the annual play, Debbie moves in for the kill so to speak, marrying Fester...and unsuccessfully trying to kill him. Debbie's final sequence as the psychotic killer that she is should have been longer. Joan Cusack played her so well and her slide show of her rise to becoming what she was is great!

A great sequel in my opinion and if you liked the show, you'll love the films!


UP NEXT

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

31 Days of Halloween: Day 21

UPDATED!

Day 21

The Mummy (1999)

This may not be the first film that comes to your mind when I say the words Halloween or horror, but the original film with Boris Karloff, back in 1932, was more of a horror film, especially for the time.

This version focus's on those trying to get away from the mummy, rather than the mummy himself, as in the original. A librarian, itching to make her niche in the Egyptian history field, joins a former soldier (and ex-con) along with her brother, in seeking out the city of the dead. Along with a group of Americans looking for the same thing, they release an ancient mummy bent on releasing the 7 plagues of Egypt and bringing his lost love back from the dead.

I love all of the CGI moments in the 1999 as I feel that CGI was really starting to come into its prime at the time. How they were able to work on the mummy's regeneration was fantastic, rebuilding him piece by piece, but still leaving sections of him missing. Pretty cool if you ask me. Also, making the plagues happen (I particularly like the flies coming from the mummy's mouth).

I think this movie is made by Jonathan, Evelyn's brother, who is basically just a waste of space. He's got great comedic timing and is played tremendously by John Hannah (of Four Weddings and a Funeral). The chemistry between Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser is very believable. I enjoyed their 'drunken' scene together (or rather her 'drunken' scene with him). I think its one of the most lighthearted scenes in the movie...which was rare considering the mummy is killing everyone and sucking the lives out of them. Fun times!


Similar Movies:

The Mummy (1932)
The Mummy (1959)
The Mummy Returns (2001)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)


Up Next - DOUBLE FEATURE

The Addams Family (1991)

Addams Family Values (1993)