Werewolf by Night (2022)

Marvel Studios surprised us all with a sudden release of their very first TV special, Werewolf by Night (2022).  I had never heard of it until it was suddenly available for streaming on Disney+, but it was apparently a Marvel comic series that's been running since 1972.  Let's discuss it!

SYNOPSIS:
Monster hunters from all across the globe gather at Bloodstone Temple to honor the recently deceased Ulysses Bloodstone, their former leader.  His ultimate weapon which bears his namesake, the Bloodstone, is up for grabs and his widow has prepared a deadly monster hunt to determine who will earn the right to wield the powerful weapon.

REVIEW:
This TV special is visually stunning! With black-and-white film, spooky music, and a ton of practical effects, it successfully mimics the Universal Monsters horror film genre popular in the 30s and 40s.  Even Werewolf by Night himself looks similar to The Wolfman (1966) in appearance.  They went (mostly) practical effects on the werewolf make-up instead of giving him a CGI body like The Hulk.

Werewolf by Night, in all his horror film glory

Oh yeah - that's his actual comic book superhero name: Werewolf by Night.  His alter ego, Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal), is a timid man who has an impressive monster kill tally.  He joins the hunt for his own personal reasons.

The comic book version of Jack Russell was born with the curse of lycanthropy, inherited by an ancestor who was bitten by a werewolf in 1795.  Interestingly, it was his father who activated the werewolf curse by reading about it in the Darkhold, a powerful and evil magic book.  We actually saw the Darkhold in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), earlier this year. Do we now have a movie connection between Marvel's new horror monsters and the previously seen Darkhold?  Only time will tell...

Also joining the hunt is Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), who is the estranged daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone.  She disagrees with the monster hunter's lifestyle and wishes to claim her (forfeited) inheritance from her stepmother so that she can disband the monster hunters once and for all.

She spends the film being tired of dealing with people, being a badass assassin, or scared for her life.  In an age of female empowerment, it's rare to see lead women scared on screen anymore, for fear of angering progressives.  But she managed to pull off the badass hunter vibe, while also being genuinely scared when her life was in danger.  It added a touch of realism to her character, which I appreciated.  Who wouldn't be terrified for their life when trapped and outmatched by a giant monster?  It also calls back to the days of the Universal Monsters, when women were essentially pretty damsels in distress and constantly fearful for their lives. Granted, Elsa is no damsel in distress and proves she can take care of herself, but it adds to the vintage tone of the film to see her scared and a bit vulnerable when confronted with actual monsters.

Elsa Bloodstone, tired of everyone's shit

We also get a small appearance of a monster familiar to long-time Marvel comic book readers: Man-Thing (Carey Jones for motion capture; Jeffrey Ford for voice).  He's an empathetic swamp monster who normally lives in the Florida Everglades, but he finds himself mixed up with the monster hunters. Despite his well-known monster name, in this special he actually goes by his former human name, Ted.

In the comics, he was originally the biochemist Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis, of Omaha, Nebraska. He was in the Florida Everglades, researching the development of a new super soldier serum like the one that created Captain America, but found himself running from the technological terrorist organization A.I.M.  Attempting to evade them, he injected himself with the only sample of his serum.  But while he was on the run, he crashed his car into a swamp, where the scientific chemicals in his blood and the magical properties of the swamp transformed him into the giant, lumbering Man-Thing!  Ted's mind was forever lost in that swamp, but the mentally-stunted monster manages to periodically find himself saving the day, sometimes alongside the Avengers themselves.

Man-Thing, making his live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe debut!

The Bloodstone itself gets the honor of being the only color in this film, casting an eerie red glow among the black-and-white scenes.  Near the end of the TV special, we hear Over the Rainbow, sung by Judy Garland, playing as the black-and-white film slowly turns to color.  A very lovely tribute to The Wizard of Oz (1939), a classic film of the same black-and-white era that surprised audiences by changing into a full color spectrum when Dorothy woke up in Oz.

The vibrant red Bloodstone, stealing the scene

RECOMMENDATION:
At 53 minutes, this short film was a brilliant introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's horror genre.  Hopefully it will spawn more monsters and creatures of the night, further expanding the world of the MCU.  We saw Sony fail to introduce Marvel's monsters with the film Morbius, which has become a running joke on the Internet.  But the MCU managed to pull off a vintage-inspired short story, teasing audiences with the darker realm of Marvel and leaving us begging for more.  Surprisingly, this special dodged the TV-MA rating, due to the black-and-white film obscuring the more visceral scenes.  So watch it along with your older children, but you might want to put the young kiddos to bed before putting this on.

Frosty the Snowman (1969)

Tonight. I'm really doing a Christmas movie marathon!  For my second of three films tonight, I watched Frosty the Snowman (1969).

SYNOPSIS:
When a terrible magician (Billy De Wolfe) throws his hat out, some kids pick it up and add it to their snowman, who magically comes to life!  Afraid of melting in the warming temperatures, Frosty (Jackie Vernon) decides to go to the North Pole to stay cool. He is assisted by Karen (June Foray), one of the children who helped bring him to life.  But the magician, discovering the magic in his hat, wants it back and proceeds to follow them...

REVIEW:
I loved this film as a kid!  I can't tell you how many times I watched it over and over again.  But I haven't seen it since I was really young, so it was interesting to see it again as an adult.

This story was narrated by Jimmy Durante, who played a cartoon version of himself, something he was known for doing at the time (playing himself, not the cartoon version of himself).  This is the second older cartoony film I've seen today that had a narrator who looked like his character, as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) had a snowman designed to look like Burl Ives, who narrated the story.  Must've been a thing in the '60s.

I always thought it was funny how Frosty always said, "Happy Birthday!" every time he came to life.  I mean, it's accurate; he WAS just born...

It was interesting that everyone claimed the magician had no right to his own hat, simply because he got mad and threw it out the door.  His own rabbit (named Hocus Pocus), who lived in the hat, made sure he wouldn't get his hat back and follows Frosty and Karen, doing what he can to help them out and keep the magician away.

Karen made a dumb decision to go with Frosty to the North Pole, which put her in a dangerous situation.  While Frosty was fine in the cold, Karen started to freeze to death and had to be rescued.  Also, the scene where they both get locked in a greenhouse and Frosty started to melt in the heat was devastating for child me!

RECOMMENDATION:
I absolutely loved this TV special!  Like I said, I watched the hell out of it when I was little.  Anyone who hasn't seen this wonderful special needs to track it down on YouTube (I haven't seen it anywhere else).  It's a fun little story about Frosty coming to life and learning about the world around him with the help of children.  Go watch it!  It's only 25 minutes long.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Happy Holidays!  Tonight, for my Christmas movie marathon, I'll be reviewing THREE films!  (Not counting Elf (2003), which I actually watched yesterday)  The first review is on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).  Just a reminder that you can read all my reviews at https://cobyreviews.blogspot.com.

SYNOPSIS:
Sam the Snowman narrates the tale of Rudolph, the reindeer born with a glowing red nose.  Rudolph's unique nose is rejected by his father, Donner.  He attempts to hide it, but the other reindeer discover it and make fun of him, not letting him play in any reindeer games.  He runs away and runs into a couple other misfits: Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist; and Yukon Cornelius, a prospector.  The trio of misfits escape from the Abominable Snowman and come across an island of misfit toys.  Rudolph decides to help the toys find homes and heads home to the North Pole.

REVIEW:
I haven't seen this film since I was a child!  I remember the Abominable Snowman scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.  I was also weirded out by King Moonracer, the winged lion who rules the island of misfit toys.

Santa is really mean in this TV special!  He shames Donner for having a red-nosed son, is bored out of his mind when the elves perform a song for him, and constantly complains about everything.  He only changes when he realizes Rudolph's red nose might save the day.  Which honestly, is pretty selfish.  Probably the worst Santa I've ever seen on film.

I've always known the story of Rudolph, but this film seemed to add a ton of filler to the tale.  Like the elf who wanted to be a dentist, the eccentric prospector, the island of misfit toys, and the Abominable Snowman.  Not to mention, Rudolph has a love interest in the doe Clarice and has to save her and the rest of his family from the Abominable Snowman.  It felt like the story was all over the place.  I kept wondering how the story was going to get back to Rudolph saving the day, but it kept branching into new adventures.  Which was plenty entertaining, don't get me wrong.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a classic Christmas story that's been around 20 years longer than I have.  It's a traditional TV special that's familiar to most everyone.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should!

Random trivia: In the original version of the film, Rudolph promises to tell Santa about the misfit toys so they can be given to children who would love them.  But then no other mention of them was ever made.  Children from all over wrote in to the producers, complaining that nothing was done to help the misfit toys.  So they added a segment to the end where Santa goes to pick them up and distribute them to the children of the world.  That addition has become a standard part of the special ever since.

Sonic Christmas Blast (1996)

All right, tonight's Christmas Movie Marathon pick is gonna sound a little weird... get ready for the TV special, Sonic Christmas Blast (1996)!

SYNOPSIS:
A fake Santa announces his official retirement and hands off his title to Dr. Robotnik, who uses the role of Santa to steal all the presents of the world and enslave everyone in his workshops. Only Sonic the Hedgehog can find the real Santa and save Christmas for all!

REVIEW:
If you didn't already know, I'm one of the biggest Sonic the Hedgehog nerds you'll ever meet. I've been following the franchise ever since I was 10 years old. My personal website (http://cobysev.net) is a public archive of all the Sonic comics that have ever been released, and I own all 799 of the American comics (802 as of tomorrow's comic book release 😉). And I've watched all 7 (Yes, SEVEN) TV series and played almost all of the 90+ video games. So of course, I couldn't resist reviewing the ONLY Christmas special in the entire franchise. (And yes, I WILL review the live-action Sonic movie coming out on Valentine's Day next year!)

The Sonic Christmas Blast special is the series finale for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), a 66-episode acid trip of yelling, childish quips, and psychotic breaks in reality. Surprisingly, this special is one of the most sane episodes in the series. It also came out 3 years AFTER the series ended, so there's been plenty of time for the series creators to grow as people and reflect on their past work. Maybe that accounts for a slightly more coherent story here.

This special also includes a small cameo of Princess Sally, a main character in the other Sonic cartoon airing at the same time: Sonic the Hedgehog (1993). She doesn't have any speaking lines, though, and is mostly there for the fan service. Also, she's pink like her original test colors in the Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) pilot episode, not her usual squirrel brown colors.

This version of Santa is probably the most depressing version ever! After Sonic rescues him, he gives up, proclaiming that Robotnik has ruined Christmas and there's no hope. He even encourages Sonic not to try and save Christmas! Sonic is the only one who doesn't lose hope, and he finds out that a ring Princess Sally gave him happens to be the key to unlocking the "secret of ultimate velocity." To unlock it, he has to master all of the "impossible challenges." Sonic manages to pass all the challenges and gains the ultimate velocity. He uses it to steal back all the presents from "Robotnik Claus" and redistribute them to the children of the world, all in a matter of minutes!

Even after Sonic saves the day, Santa admits that he should retire anyway and proclaims Sonic the new Santa.

Also, weren't there a bunch of enslaved people to save? Maybe I missed the part when Sonic saved them all. Or maybe the special just forgot about them. It's really hard to tell with all the running and screaming and whatnot that happens on this show.

RECOMMENDATION:
If you're a die-hard Sonic fan, then you absolutely must force yourself to sit through this hot mess of a special, including the previous 65 episodes of this diarrhea of lights and sound. But for the average joe, you may be a bit lost trying to figure out what's going on. Despite the whole special being focused on Christmas, I doubt this will ever make a top-10 list of greatest Christmas specials. Unless you have a hyperactive kid that needs something flashy and noisy to distract them, I'd recommend you skip out on this one.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Sorry for a late review tonight... I spent my evening binging the three "Berserk: The Golden Age Arc" movies. (I love that franchise!) But Berserk is far removed from anything resembling Christmas. So tonight's Christmas movie marathon review is on A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965).

SYNOPSIS:
As Christmas approaches, Charlie Brown finds himself depressed at all the commercialism overtaking the holiday. Lucy offers him the role of director in the Christmas play, but he's inundated with more calls for commercialism. When he gets a small wilting Christmas tree to bring back the spirit of Christmas in his peers, he's instead yelled at for not getting a shiny, expensive, aluminum tree. Desperate, he turns to Linus for advice on the true meaning of Christmas, who gives a rousing speech and stirs the Christmas spirit in their peers.

REVIEW:
This is a classic TV special that predates my existence by a couple decades, but was still an important and nostalgic part of my childhood. Vince Guaraldi's original piano music score is the perfect soothing blend for this calm, Christmas piece. One of these days, I'm gonna get some sheet music for this special so I can learn these songs on piano!

The Peanuts has always been a wholesome Christian comic series that, like Mr. Rogers, promotes good will to your fellow man without cramming religion down your throat. However, the important "meaning of Christmas" speech that Linus gave at the climax was a direct biblical quote; Luke 2:8-14 to be precise. Which is fine in this context, being that a lot of Christians attribute Christmas to the birth of Christ.

Even if you aren't religious (like myself), the message that commercialism distracts from the true meaning of Christmas is still a powerful one. And at the end, when all of Charlie Brown's peers use that blatant commercialism to help decorate his poor wilting tree and make it beautiful for him... that camaraderie and willingness to help out that one depressed kid (even if everyone agrees he's a blockhead) shows that the meaning of Christmas has not been lost to them.

RECOMMENDATION:
I cannot recommend this special enough! It's only 25 minutes long, so you're not put out of your way to watch it. It's wonderful that they actually got child actors to play all the parts, so you don't feel like you're being pandered to with adults mimicking children's voices. And despite showing a day-in-the-life of the Peanuts children, you still get a pretty straight-forward and powerful message. This is a must-watch for EVERYONE!

Rose Red (2002)

Tonight, I finished Stephen King's Rose Red. I had to start it yesterday because it's a 3-episode mini-series and each episode is an hour-and-a-half long. Whew!

This film is about a psychology professor who organizes a group of psychics to spend a weekend in a haunted mansion. She hopes that their psychic energy will bring the house alive and legitimize her research into paranormal phenomenon.

I watched this mini-series the day(s) it was first broadcast on TV. I was glued to the TV the 3 days it aired and I've always been fascinated with it. Most Stephen King movies turn out cheesy and campy, but this mini-series actually turned out really good. And being the length of 3 movies, it has plenty of time to flesh out an excellent story and still have room for scary edge-of-your-seat moments.

Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)/Ghoulies (1984)

Tonight I decided to watch an old classic that most have seen, yet forgotten exists. Halloween is Grinch Night is a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It's only 25 mins long, so I've linked to the entire video on YouTube, in case you want to see it yourself.

I forgot to post yesterday, but I watched Ghoulies, an old 80s horror film about a guy who finds old cult books and tools in his mansion basement and becomes obsessed with the idea of summoning demons. It was a very low-budget film with not much plot, but it was apparently good enough to warrant 3 sequels.