Netherlands – Jiggy's Horror Corner

Orca (1977)

Directed by Michael Anderson [Other horror films: Dominique (1979), Murder by Phone (1982)]

I’ve seen Orca once before, and found it a pretty solid experience. Seeing it again confirms that. While I wouldn’t call the movie great, I would argue it possesses a pretty solid story, and even more, a primal example of man versus nature.

Naturally, I have to applaud Richard Harris (Silent Tongue), who starts off as a rough, unlikable character, only to grow into a man accepting of his own fate. It’s a very solid transformation, and Harris does a great job with it. Doing some scant narration is Charlotte Rampling’s (Angel Heart, Asylum) character, which provides a good atmosphere for this. While admittedly a stereotypical portrayal of a Native American, Will Sampson (Poltergeist II: The Other Side) does well too, though I was somewhat surprised by his character near the end.

Smaller roles are provided by Peter Hooten (Night Killer), Robert Carradine (I Saw What You Did, Slumber Party Slaughter, 1996’s Humanoids from the Deep, Attack of the Sabretooth, Massacre at Central High), Bo Derek, and Keenan Wynn (The Devil’s Rain, Piranha, The Dark). Hooten probably stands out most among all of these performances, and he does become an intense character come the finale.

The story is one of pure revenge – off the coast of a small village in Nova Scotia, Harris’ character accidentally slaughters an orca’s mate and child, and because orcas have an intelligence near that of humans, it seeks it’s revenge. I don’t know the science behind that, but I do know the revenge was solid – the orca destroys other ships in the small, coastal town this takes place in, blows up what looks to be some type of power plant, even decimates Harris’ house and eats the leg off one of his subboardanants. It’s a quality time.

Actually, I forgot how long it took to get to the finale that I remembered – Harris’ character sailing north, following the Orca to the end of the earth (well, perhaps not that far, but there were plenty of icebergs in the water, and it sure looked mighty cold) – not that I’m complaining. The build-up was a bit slow, but all of it was fun. At least to watch, that is, as the movie had (as many 70’s movies do), a rather somber feel to it.

More than that, though, I was fascinated by the finale. I was when I first saw the movie, and I still am. Seemingly giving into the killer whale, Harris and his crew follow the whale as its leads them further and further north. Even the sequence they begin sailing out is great, as the townspeople are crowded on the docks, watching his boat sail off.

It has a really inevitable feeling to it. Ever since Harris truly understood the atrocity of his actions, I think he knew that he didn’t really have much of a choice but pit himself against the whale, especially given what we learn about his character’s background. In some ways, it’s a good character study, and though I’ve only seen this movie twice now, I doubt that I’ll ever forget the finale to this one.

Most of the violence is what you might expect from aquatic horror. A couple of people get consumed by a killer whale, a character gets one of their legs torn off, someone dies due to being buried by falling ice. Well, that last one might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but you get my drift. Sure, some people call this one of the many rip-offs following Jaws, but as I enjoy this more, and find it far more digestible, I can only say that the action here is all pretty top-notch.

I enjoyed Orca when I first saw it, and I enjoy it still. It’s not an overly special movie, but it is a very solid movie, and despite the reputation this has in some people’s minds, I personally think it has a lot to offer.

8/10

Amsterdamned (1988)

Directed by Dick Maas [Other horror films: De lift (1983), The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil (1999), Down (2001), Sint (2010), Prooi (2016)]

Hailing from the Netherlands, Amsterdamned is a pretty impressive and unique addition to the slasher genre. While the story can occasionally feel plodding (due more to it’s run-time than anything else), there’s a lot in this Dutch movie to enjoy.

A big part for me would be the setting, taking place in, you guessed it, Amsterdam. Now, I will admit that I know very little about the Netherlands, and related, Amsterdam, but I do know that what with all of the canals and unique city design, it definitely stands out, and focusing strongly on that with a serial killer in a diving suit finding victims on the canals – it’s just a great idea, and leads to some very memorable sequences.

Of course, Dick Maas, the director, isn’t new to great ideas – he’s also the one who directed the 1983 classic De lift (The Lift), which is a movie I’ve only seen once, but it stood up just as strongly as this film did. With some fantastic sequences (the speedboat chase scene, for instance, or the underwater struggle one character had with the killer) and great suspense, Maas knew what he was doing when he made this.

As far as downsides go, the fact that this is an hour and 54 minutes is a bit grueling. A lot of it can go pretty quickly, but there are times when things feel a bit bogged down, and while there’s not a lot that seems filler, I can’t say the almost two-hour runtime didn’t hurt. Related – though luckily, not the fault of the film – the copy I saw was dubbed, and I don’t particularly care for dubbed films. That won’t impact my rating, but next time I seek this out, I’ll aim for a subtitled copy, if such exists.

Most of the central performances here were good. I enjoyed Huub Stapel and Wim Zomer’s relationship, and I sort of wish Zomer’s character stuck around longer. Serge-Henri Valcke’s character was great (and quite amusing – when he falls off the speedboat right at the beginning of the chase sequence, that’s what I call good fun), and while Hidde Maas’ character could have been fleshed out a bit more, I still thought he did well. Monique van de Ven did well as the love interest, and she did get some licks in at the end, but for most of the film, out of everyone, she may have been the most lukewarm.

Gore isn’t that important a part to the movie near as much as suspense was, but we do see some decapitation, solid stabbings, and a slit throat. Oh, and that opening, what with the body dragging across the top of a tour boat, was ace. The suspense alone is great, though, and it’s helped that the diving suit the killer wears looks, as the kids say, hella beast. It’s a great design and idea for a killer, and I think they pulled it off well here.

I don’t think Amsterdamned would appeal to everyone, but it’s a nice mix of slashers and crime movies, with a beautifully unique setting. The finale might feel a bit on the generic side, but it’s still a movie I enjoyed both times I saw it, and I’d definitely recommend giving this one a look if you want something a bit different.

8/10

Cat’s Eye (1985)

Directed by Lewis Teague [Other horror films: Alligator (1980), Cujo (1983), The Triangle (2001)]

This is either the second or third time I’ve seen this King-based anthology, and I’m not any more fond of it now than I was the first time I saw it. Cat’s Eye isn’t without promise, and I appreciate they decided to adapt some of King’s lesser known stories, but the movie is too comedic for me to really fully care for.

The first two stories here (all connected, as the title implies, by being witnessed by a cat) are based off short stories written by Stephen King, “Quitters, Inc.” and “The Ledge,” both published in King’s first collection of stories, Night Shift (a copy of which I’ve owned for years, and as such, it’s quite threadbare, really on it’s last legs). If you’ve read early Stephen King, you know that his writing style, especially in his short stories, can come across as clinical, very matter-of-fact. Not dry, but almost reminiscence of 70’s horror – bleak and without much in the way of hope.

Cat’s Eye throws that out the window and instead brings a lot of comedic influences into both of these stories. For ‘Quitters, Inc.,” we get an utterly ridiculous hallucination sequence with cigarettes (and quality singing from Alan King’s character), and for “The Ledge,” Kenneth McMillan’s Cressner is a lot goofier, almost a spoof of a classic mob boss.

It’s also worth mentioning that the conclusion of “The Ledge” was far better in the short story than it was in this adaptation, and that’s even discounting the dodgy special effects.

My disappointment with how they choose to adapt these stories notwithstanding, I think most of the main cast was okay. Not great – no one here really stands out exceptionally well, aside from maybe, and I say maybe, Alan King – but passable. James Woods (Videodrome) was a bit dicey, but likely did the best with the role he had. Robert Hays felt a bit uninspired as the lead in “The Ledge,” and Kenneth McMillan had potential. I was sort of surprised to see a young James Rebhorn (The Game and Independence Day), but his character didn’t really do anything, so it doesn’t really warrant this mention.

The third story, about a girl and her troubles with one trolly boi, wasn’t based off a King short story. As far as the special effects went, especially concerning the troll, it was probably the best of the three, but I also felt that it really went on too long. Candy Clark was pretty decent as a somewhat hateable mother, and Drew Barrymore (previously in Firestarter) was okay, but I didn’t care for the story.

Honestly, that sums this up. We get three stories here spanning an hour and a half, and while I like the source material for the first two, I just didn’t enjoy how they brought them to the silver screen. Also, while some might find such references cute, the opening which winked at both Cujo and Christine made me groan. It just felt forced, similar to the reference of Pinhead in Bride of Chucky.

Cat’s Eye has it’s place, and the movie certainly has it’s fans, but I can’t say I’ve ever been one, and I doubt the style they go for here will ever really work for me.

5/10

Silver Bullet (1985)

Directed by Daniel Attias [Other horror films: N/A]

Having seen this one a couple of times now, I think that Silver Bullet is a decent werewolf flick with a somewhat nostalgic feel, but I don’t think it’s quite as good as many others seem to feel it is.

The story (based off the Stephen King novel Cycle of the Werewolf) is pretty fun, although I don’t really think it was necessary to have it be narrated by Megan Follows’ character. I enjoyed the mystery elements, however little they were used, in which the identity of the werewolf was trying to be ferreted out. The special effects, not to mention death scenes, were generally good (the decapitation near the beginning being a highlight for me), though the werewolf transformation was a bit lacking.

Silver Bullet did have a solid cast, though. I’ve never been overly fond of Gary Busey, but he does pretty good here, and his character is certainly memorable. Corey Haim does great with his role, and while Megan Follows (playing Haim’s sister) didn’t seem that relevant to the plot until the end, I really liked her also (though again, her narration of the events seemed somewhat pointless). Terry O’Quinn was rather fun as the sheriff, and it’s nice seeing him a few years prior to The Stepfather. I wasn’t completely won over by Everett McGill, though – he just seemed a bit much at times, and occasionally felt somewhat ridiculous.

I’ve not read the source material for this one yet, so I can look at this from a slightly less critical point-of-view than other King adaptations. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t overly impressed, but with a fresh viewing, I feel I understand the appeal of the movie a bit more. The 1980’s was one of the most important decades for werewolf movies, and while Silver Bullet’s no An American Werewolf in London, I definitely enjoy it more than The Howling.

I wish that they had done a little more with the whole mysterious identity of the werewolf before the reveal, and a few other things felt like they needed some expanding, but I still found this a somewhat enjoyable movie, one of the better werewolf films, and overall, I’d rate it somewhere around average, with the performances (especially those of Haim and Follows) being the highlights.

7/10