Recap: “Monster Movie”
Every trick in the movie making book from the 1930ās is done here.Ā Someone did their homework, and I credit this to be the most technically perfect episode of the series.Ā We discover no detail is spared the second the old Warner Brothers logo fades on the screen, the same logo that kicked off such Warner classics as Jezebel, The Maltese Falcon, and Casablanca.Ā The credits roll, with names displayed in creepy block letters while eerie music playing prominently in the background.Ā My only complaint so far is that the black and white is too clear.Ā Everything was so grainy back then.Ā Iām sure thatās asking for too much authenticity though.
A dark hazy night and the Impalaās headlights zoom from the horizon to the increasing sound of running violins.Ā The darkish Impala swishes by, and after a lightening flash āWelcome To Pennsylvaniaā is changed to āTransylvania.āThis supposedly takes place in Canonsburg, PA, which is known as the most radioactive town in America.Ā Iāve been through it on my way to Pittsburgh a few times myself, and the statue of hometown boy Perry Como alone tells me this town is off.
Dean naturally spots the big pretzel, buys two, and whatās this, Sam takes a bite??Ā Sam??Ā The brother that never eats??Ā Not only does he take a bite, he digs in as vigorously as Dean.Ā Man, Sam has changed since Deanās been in Hell.Ā
By now, some may notice (about two of us) the outdated camera focus techniques being used in this film. In the days before Citizen Kane, focus of the camera was shallow, making the characters on the screen clear while the background was fuzzy.Ā There werenāt many wide shots either, so only a small part of what was happening in the room was seen at a time.Ā Sam and Dean enter the bar, Dean hits on the waitress from earlier (Jamie), and here is our first glimpse of Jensen Ackles going into iconic Hollywood leading man territory.Ā āIām a Maverick maāam, a rebel with a badge.Ā One thing I donāt play by is the rules.āĀ Wow, that sounds as ridiculous coming from Dean as John McCain.Ā Yet Dean delivers it with a certain swagger that every Hollywood lead used at the time.
Jamie is unimpressed, as is Sam, as are half of us (the other half laughing their fool heads off).Ā The brothers go speak to Mr. Brewer, who is drinking out of one outrageously sized beer stein.Ā I want one!Ā It would complement the giant martini glass on my bar.Ā Sam and Dean try to play it straight, and Dean even says āwe have a lot of experience with strange.āĀ Thereās our clue that this guy can top that.Ā He swears it was a vampire, Count Dracula style, right down to the accent.Ā Sam lets a smile slip, then hides it in an attempt to be professional.Ā Ā Iām taken back to that same reaction he had when listening to the guyās alien story in āTall Talesā.Ā I start laughing hysterically based on that memory alone, for I love āTall Talesā.Ā Ā
Mr. Brewer does his hilarious Dracula impersonation, which proves to be better than the actual Dracula we see later.Ā Flash to Sam and Dean, who are both stunned.Ā Time for a TiVo pause, for that look alone is worth about 10,000 words.Ā As I wipe the tears from laughter away from my eyes, I go on.Ā āYou do believe me, donāt you?āĀ Faces still frozen in deadpan silence.Ā The humor in this one is dry, just the way I like it.
Sledgehammer clue #1.Ā Woman wipes lipstick from face, and the camera focuses on the napkin being placed on the bar.Ā Dean asks for a giant beer by flirting with Jamie some more and Sam picks up that napkin for another close up, just in case we didnāt catch the clue the first time.Ā Clues are far more subtle now, which is strange considering our attention spans are shorter.Ā
Then Dean completely shocks us with his theory that since he came back from the dead, everything about him has been healed.Ā āNo bullet wounds, knife cuts, none of the off angle fingers from all the breaks, I mean my hide is a smooth as a babyās bottom, which leads me to conclude, sadly, that my virginity is intact.Ā Iāve been re-hymenated.āĀ Oh, did he just go there?Ā Ben Edlund is a warped man.Ā Iām too busy giggling over the mere notion of Dean being pure.Ā Sam agrees with my āangels canāt do thatā thoughts.Ā Iām waiting for Castiel to appear in thin air and say āthatās it, back to Hell for you.ā
Sam and Dean interrogate the girl, whoās telling her strange tale while sipping on an outrageously large soda, thus turning scared witnesses consuming large beverages into a running gag.Ā I used the word āsodaā since the setting is Pennsylvania, but in Ohio itās called āpopā.Ā Yes, strangely enough, that debate has come up at family reunions in the Keystone State.Ā She declares the villain was a Werewolf and now Sam fights off a bitchface.Ā Both he and Dean are less amused now.Ā Theyāre off to the morgue.Ā After nearly puking over the mangled mess (continuity!) they determine the culprit isnāt a psycho wannbe, but considering the heart is there, itās no werewolf either.Ā Still, the sheriff shows them canine hairs from the scene.Ā This is getting too weird for even them.
Back at the bar and whatās this, Samās eating again???Ā They both are chomping on burgers?Ā This story is definitely weird.Ā Pretty blonde waitress is back with larger beers, and the waitress wants Dean this time.Ā So it takes a Werewolf mauling to make him attractive?Ā We get another heavy handed clue of other waitress with lipstick on napkin.Ā Dean asks if Dracula could turn into a bat, for that would be cool, and then gets beer foam all over his upper lip.Ā I again go back to āTall Talesā with the caramels stuffed in his cheeks.Ā Iām pausing again for another fit of laughter.Ā
Next we see the Canonsburg museum, thanks to the clearly lit sign outside.Ā Thereās dark storage area with sarcophagus and a security guard on the phone asking where it came from, and this is where the lighting of the genre and era becomes rather noticeable.Ā The room is covered in dark shadows, except for the swipe of light over the signs so we can read them, and partial lighting of the security guardās face via reflections off the wall.
The light sprays on the lid as it slowly moves and the mummy rises from bright fog in the box into the dark room.Ā Thatās supposed to add a scary element for those of us that are immune to this tactic by now.Ā It freaked the guard out, thatās for sure.Ā We only see his stunned eyes while the rest of him is dark.Ā He shoots and the bullets donāt hurt the mummy, letting us know whatever creature it is, itās supernatural.Ā The suspenseful scene is cut away to the outside of the building, where lightening strikes.Ā
Ā
Alice Jester is the founder, editor-in-chief, head writer, programmer, web designer, site administrator, marketer, and moderator for The Winchester Family Business.Ā She is a 30 year IT applications and database expert with a penchant for creative and freelance writing in her spare (ha!!) time.Ā Thatās on top of being a wife, mother of two active kids, and four loving (aka needy) pets.
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My friend and I have the same conversation about the whole Soda and Pop thing. Here in Canada most of us say Pop but in Florida they say Soda. Both are right as the whole term is “soda pop” but I digress. Michael Ecklund is the actor who plays our poor Mr. Ed Brewer. If you want to see more of his awesome acting you need to check out his role in Blood Ties. He plays Norman and he’s fantastic. I was so excited to see him in this episode. I’m just sorry his part was small.
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Great review Alice.
Great review as always. You write with great insight and humour. Did not enjoy Sam as a sidekick. Even Bob Singer recently said in an interview that Jared was amazing in comedy, so why he was so sparingly used I don’t understand. All the other comedy episodes were gems because both boys had equal screen time. As much as I love Jensen and Dean, I am getting bored of the Dean Show and I am more shocked by this statement than anyone.
wow, great as always.I loved this episode and I saw it more than 10 times:-) Not kidding!
My first point is, how many months has it been between this episode and Dean’s return from hell? I can’t believe Dean, of all people, would wait that long to get laid after coming back from hell! I mean…there must have been countless hot waitresses and bartenders along the way…
Second, the scene in the bar where Dean’s tells Jamie what he really does, I always thought he said ‘some people pay’. Just checking.
Third, thank goodness they didn’t go with the grainy quality pictures, all the better for us to drool at black and white Winchesters! š
My first point is, how many months has it been between this episode and Dean’s return from hell? I can’t believe Dean, of all people, would wait that long to get laid after coming back from hell! I mean…there must have been countless hot waitresses and bartenders along the way…
Second, the scene in the bar where Dean’s tells Jamie what he really does, I always thought he said ‘some people pay’. Just checking.
Third, thank goodness they didn’t go with the grainy quality pictures, all the better for us to drool at black and white Winchesters! š
Hi, Narcissus,
I’m thinking Monster Movie is rather quick in the whole scheme of things. FIrst off this was meant to follow right after Are You There God but it got shuffled back in order to be mytharc heavy the first four. Are You There God is only three days after the end of Lazarus Rising (as stated by Castiel when he speaks with Dean in Bobby’s kitchen) and while In The Beginning is possibly a few weeks after that it’s likely not much further as Castiel and Dean do not have much of a rapport and and it’s not likely he would have waited too long to alert Dean to Sam’s ‘extracurricular activities” so a couple of weeks to a month at the most and we know MEtamorphosis is right after that so Monster Movie is perhaps a month after Dean was resurrected…that’s my guess.
As for the line, yeah, Dean says…some people paint. Maybe an inside joke on painters????
Hi, Narcissus,
I’m thinking Monster Movie is rather quick in the whole scheme of things. FIrst off this was meant to follow right after Are You There God but it got shuffled back in order to be mytharc heavy the first four. Are You There God is only three days after the end of Lazarus Rising (as stated by Castiel when he speaks with Dean in Bobby’s kitchen) and while In The Beginning is possibly a few weeks after that it’s likely not much further as Castiel and Dean do not have much of a rapport and and it’s not likely he would have waited too long to alert Dean to Sam’s ‘extracurricular activities” so a couple of weeks to a month at the most and we know MEtamorphosis is right after that so Monster Movie is perhaps a month after Dean was resurrected…that’s my guess.
As for the line, yeah, Dean says…some people paint. Maybe an inside joke on painters????
Yo! I had not realised Dean and Jamie got it on, until I read the comments. Because, simply, I had never realised what ‘with a happy ending nonetheless’ meant šÆ Is that like a pun? š³
Yo! I had not realised Dean and Jamie got it on, until I read the comments. Because, simply, I had never realised what ‘with a happy ending nonetheless’ meant šÆ Is that like a pun? š³
I was re-watching Monster Movie, so funny, and I read this article about it, so funny! What I don’t get is why the Shapeshifter would do that lipstick-on-handkerchief thing, or was that just a BOOM!Clue, suckas moment?
I was re-watching Monster Movie, so funny, and I read this article about it, so funny! What I don’t get is why the Shapeshifter would do that lipstick-on-handkerchief thing, or was that just a BOOM!Clue, suckas moment?
Haha, thanks, Alice! You are so … painfully omniscient. A walking encyclopedia of … supernatural references š
I liked Jamie! She was cool. She goes down in the trivia books as ‘just another one’. When will Dean ever fall in love? š
Haha, thanks, Alice! You are so … painfully omniscient. A walking encyclopedia of … supernatural references š
I liked Jamie! She was cool. She goes down in the trivia books as ‘just another one’. When will Dean ever fall in love? š