Day 89: Masters of Horror: Deer Woman

Masters of Horror: Deer Woman

Better call the Deer Hunter

I need to learn more about Native American mythology. I know chunks of information from various other cultures mythology (mostly thanks to comic books and movies), but Native American culture is just so vast and varied. It seems like an untapped market for fantasy, sci-fi and horror. Thankfully, John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, The Blues Brothers) decided to give us a story that is both unique and enjoyable.

Deer Woman stars Brian Benben (Dream On, Radioland Murders) as burned-out Detective Dwight Faraday. Faraday, who has been relegated to animal attack cases, is called out to a remote area where a vague call about a possible animal attack or murder has occurred. He's joined by beat officer Jacob Reed (Anthony Griffith). At the scene, they discover a horrible mass of blood and flesh that once was a trucker. Faraday questions a witness who describes the victim as being with a beautiful Native American woman with yellow eyes like that kind on deer when it's caught in headlights. He goes to study the body down in the morgue and discovers that hoof prints have been left on the body. Faraday tries to concoct various instances in which a deer hoof would be used to murder someone, but he dismisses all of them as being too ridiculous. We see the mysterious Native American woman charming various men, always leading to the same result; horribly mutilated bodies with deer hoof marks and more evidence pointing to a deer as the culprit. Reed and Faraday travel to a local casino where they learn from a Native American employee the legend of the Deer Woman, a forest spirit who appears as a beautiful woman, but has the legs of a deer. She arouses men and then kills them just for the thrill of it. Faraday believes the story, but Reed is skeptical and wanders off. He drinks and a beautiful Native American woman joins him at a gaming table. Will Faraday be able to save him in time?

"Looks like Arby's to me"

There's no doubt about it, John Landis knows how to make a fun movie. Deer Woman puts more emphasis on humor than horror, but I'm ok with that. The scene where Det. Farady thinks of various ways the trucker was killed with a deer hoof is literally laugh out loud funny. If you ever wanted to see a giant deer costume, dressed in flannel, carry off a screaming woman, this is for you. Brian Benben is great in his role. He's sort of a defeated character that just doesn't care anymore, but still manages to crack a few jokes. Anthony Griffith also does well with some one-liners, making him a good paring with Beben. They could actually do well together in a cop/buddy movie. Get on that, Landis! Another great source of humor are the references to Landis's other movies, such as An American Werewolf in London, where Farady explains how a wolf-like creature was shot dead in Piccadilly Circus in 1981. 

She can trample me any day

The story itself is fairly unique with the inclusion of Native American mythology. It's origins trace back to tribes in the Western and Pacific Northwestern parts of the United States. We get a little bit of the legend, but I would have liked to hear more. It's so rare that we get to hear about Native American culture in pop culture and it's a shame they didn't delve deeper into it. There is a decent amount of action and blood, though more focus is put on the actual story than horror. For being such a funny movie, it does end on a serious down note. That works out for me because I like being bummed, but it may disappoint others that think the entire movie is lighthearted.

Makes sense to me

Deer Woman is a witty horror movie with some great acting and directing. The subject matter is very different from your typical horror and it's too bad there wasn't more time to learn more about the rich Native American culture and mythology. There are lots of legitimately funny moments throughout and with the violence being minimal, this is a good watch for non-horror fans as well. John Landis does a great job crafting this fun watch and I look forward to any future projects he creates.

8.5/10

Day 16: Masters of Horror - Family

Masters of Horror - Family

Where everybody knows your AAAHHHH!!!

Everyone needs a family. Whether its blood relatives, friends, or a group of people with similar interests, everyone needs a support system. But maybe that family isn't what you had hoped. What if you want to start a completely new family? Do you try to find that special someone and waste years of courting, marriage, and childbirth or do you skip all that and create your own new family through ghoulish means?

Family stars George Wendt (Cheers, Outside Providence) as the peculiar Harold and his new neighbors Celia (Meredith Monroe, Minority Report) and David (Matt Keeslar, Scream 3). We quickly learn that Harold is a psychotic serial killer and has created his own family with the bones of his victims. In his mind, he has full conversations with his victims, even tucking a little girl skeleton in a bed at night. He becomes obsessed with Celia and when David mysteriously disappears, Harold makes his move to make Celia a part of his family.

That's terrifying! What's that bunny doing there?!?

Directed by John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, Animal House), Family is more quirky than your traditional horror movie. Sure there's some gore and a bit of violence, but it doesn't rank high in the horror column. Unless you're terrified of skeletons wearing clothes. It has a slow, creeping sort of terror that works because it is set in the real world, whereas other horror movies can take place on a distant planet or in a remote wilderness. A lovely townhouse on a quite street hides the unspeakable acts within, which is far more disturbing than you would think. You almost forget that Harold is brutally murdering people, melting their skin with acids in his basement, dressing up the skeletons and having full conversations with them.

George Wendt makes the character and the entire movie work because he is so likable. That may be a holdover from his days as Norm from the TV show Cheers. Combined with the upbeat music and bright surroundings, you feel yourself almost cheering for Harold. Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar both do a fine job as the new neighbors who may have an ulterior motive for moving to the area. I will say that I thought I knew what the ending would be, but was pleasantly surprised when they went in a different direction. It added a new layer to the movie which I had not expected, making it a better film altogether. 

Cheese! I mean, Boo!

Family is an certainly an enjoyable watch for horror and non-horror fans alike. Good acting, a solid story, and great direction from John Landis make this a fun, yet slightly disturbing movie. Some movies in the Masters of Horror series suffer from being shorter than a feature-length film, but Family fits in perfectly at just under an hour. It's light on the horror and effects, but you won't really notice because everything else is really enjoyable.

9/10