Film Review: WHITE DOG (1982, Sam Fuller)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 90 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Kristy McNichol, Jameson Parker (SIMON AND SIMON, PRINCE OF DARKNESS), Paul Winfield (THE TERMINATOR, STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, ORIGINAL GANGSTAS), Burl Ives, Paul Bartel cameo, cameo by Joe Dante-fav Dick Miller, music by Ennio Morricone, co-writer Curtis Hanson.
Tag-line: "When man's best friend becomes his fiercest enemy!"
Best one-liner(s): "Sour cream....love it!"

Alexander Pope's poem, 'On the Collar of a Dog': "I am his highness's dog at Kew/ Pray, tell me, sir, whose dog are you?" And indeed Sam Fuller's film, WHITE DOG, leaves you thinking that Sam believes there are many members of the human species more deserving of collars than dogs, and many forms of bigotry more vicious than the amorality of the animal world. I must say that I'm inclined to agree with him.

Long suppressed and unavailable to the masses, I'm happy to say that WHITE DOG lives up to the hype. At once wild entertainment and a serious statement on race, its sometimes restrained, sometimes over-the-top acting modes and masterfully emotive Ennio Morricone soundtrack make it feel very much like the work of crazed (but skilled) Europeans.

Much of its success is due to the likability of it's characters- the waifish Kristy McNichol (the same year as THE PIRATE MOVIE!) exudes cheerful grace; Jameson Parker (sans moustache) is a fleeting friend/love interest; Burl Ives is a hilarious, R2-D2 hating (he flings syringes at what he sees as the death of animal stunts!), jolly, roly-poly old man ("Sour cream... Love it!");

Paul Winfield is the determined, black Ahab out to cure the elusive 'white dog;'

and we even get cameos from the likes of Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, and a cigar-chomping Mr. Fuller himself! The script, loosely adapted by Fuller and Curtis Hanson (THE RIVER WILD, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) is at times ridiculous (in the best way possible), but always packs a punch. This tale of trying to "cure" racism (instead of ignoring it or trying to destroy it) is a touch nihilistic, but it is so well-structured and directed that it never rings false. Fuller takes you into the dog's world in a much more visceral way than say, AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (and I'm not talking merely about attack sequences), and the result is a primeval melancholy that's quite unlike anything I've ever seen. Five stars, and one of Fuller's best.


-Sean Gill

Film Review: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987, John Carpenter)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 102 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Donald Pleasence (playing Father Loomis here- perhaps a relation of his HALLOWEEN character?), Victor Wong and Dennis Dun (both BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA alumni), Jameson Parker, Alice Cooper, Peter Jason, Alan Howarth, Larry J. Franco.
Tag-line: "Before man walked the earth...it slept for centuries. It is evil. It is real. It is awakening."
Best one-liner(s): "Hello... Hello... I've got a message for you... and you're not going to like it." [body splits open to reveal insects]

John Carpenter takes the ball from the Twilight Zone episode "The Howling Man," and runs with it. And, boy, does he run with it. A lot of people have problems with this one: "It's too wordy, too scientific, too slow a build, etc." If that's gonna be a problem, then get the hell out of here right now. Carpenter masters the slow build on this one; he puts the screws on the audience classic-Hollywood style. We've got Satan in a jar of green goo. We've got Donald Pleasence and a host of Carpenter regulars. We've got ALICE COOPER as the king of the homeless people (and using some of his PERSONAL gore props from his stage shows).

We've got Jameson Parker of "Simon and Simon" sporting the most intense moustache in Carpenter's entire filmography.

We've got maggots, zombies, other dimensions, graduate students, and Peter Jason playing the mouth trumpet. And if there's one thing Carpenter KNOWS how to nail, it's an ending. From DARK STAR to THE THING, he's delivered denouements that bring appropriate closure, abruptness, and unease. And Carpy gives us one hell of an existential doozy at the end of this one. I will say no more about it. Here's five green-goo-dipped stars. Keep 'em in that ancient vial, and please keep any graduate students from nosing around.

Also of note: I think it's the only movie trailer I've ever seen where the title of the film itself emerges unexpectedly as a 'scare.'


-Sean Gill