Wolfen (1981)

Wolfen (1981)

[5] Albert Finney, Gregory Hines, Edward James Olmos, and Diane Venora star in this thriller about ancient shapeshifters lashing out at New York land developers for encroaching on their sacred ground. The wolf attacks are depicted with steadicam point-of-view shots…
The Howling (1981)

The Howling (1981)

[7] Dee Wallace plays a TV reporter who escapes to the country after a traumatic experience. Unfortunately, the country turns out to be filled with werewolves! The Howling is a well-made horror flick from director Joe Dante (Gremlins), who likes…
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)

The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)

[4] Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons star in dual roles, as Victorian lovers and the actors portraying them in a film production. The parallel storylines are a tedious gimmick. We're told half way through the movie that in one story,…
Clash of the Titans (1981)

Clash of the Titans (1981)

[8] Special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen brings Greek myths to life in Clash of the Titans. The story centers on heroic Perseus, favored son of Zeus, who must accomplish several deadly chores in order to save his beloved Andromeda from…
The Fox and the Hound (1981)

The Fox and the Hound (1981)

[7] Disney's The Fox and the Hound opens with a young fox being chased by a hunting dog. It scrambles through the woods and finds a hiding place to ditch the baby fox it's carrying in its mouth. Then it…
Mommie Dearest (1981)

Mommie Dearest (1981)

[7] Mommie Dearest is something else. I can't tell if it's trying to be an earnest expose on the turbulent home life of legendary star Joan Crawford and her adopted daughter, Christina, or if the dark comedy and camp value were intentional.…
Strange Behavior (1981)

Strange Behavior (1981)

[4] Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) co-wrote this low-budget horror flick that dovetails two storylines -- one involving a scientist medically experimenting on teenagers to turn them into controlled assassins, and one about a widower sheriff trying to solve the…
Zombie Lake (1981)

Zombie Lake (1981)

[2] German WWII soldiers killed and tossed into a French lake come back for revenge in this underwater Nazi zombie flick that is mostly famous for its generous amount of full-frontal female splendor. But it pretty much fails on all…
Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire (1981)

[3] A Jew and a Christian compete in the 1924 Olympics, both running in the name of God and adversity. I'm sorry to say I just couldn't give a shit. I couldn't empathize with their motivations. They feel God when…
The Pit (1981)

The Pit (1981)

[6] A sexually infatuated twelve-year-old boy does what his teddy bear tells him to, which includes feeding the locals to a pack of monsters who dwell in a pit in the woods. I don't know what the teddy bear and…