Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: Niko Mastorakis
Starring: Meg Foster, Wings Hauser (RIP), David McCallum, Robert Morley, Steve Railsback
From: Feref Associates/Omega Entertainment
RIP Wings Hauser
While only having seen a few of his pictures, I was always entertained by his bold, wild performances in those B-movie flicks. Whether it was as a racist cop in Tales from the Hood, the wildest character in Tough Guys Don’t Dance (no small achievement) or his incredible take as the evil pimp Ramrod in Vice Squad, Wings always captivated me. From a Letterboxd mutual yesterday, it was learned that in the past, a vengeful ex spread rumors in this past of his demise; as his wife broke the news he passed away this past weekend at the age of 77… time to tip my cap.
As Arrow’s streaming site is never used enough by me, time to see a slasher from Niko Mastorakis which intrigued me due to its Greek setting, the presence of several other familiar actors, and a score done in part by HANS ZIMMER, one of his first credits. The plot is simple: while the cast also includes David McCallum, Robert Morley-of The African Queen fame-and Steve Railsback, most of the plot consists of mystery novelist Meg Foster in a barren Greek town attempting to complete her upcoming novel versus Hauser in a very Wings Hauser sort of role. Is that REALLY a spoiler?
Various nitpicks could be made. One obvious detail is that her name is shown on a book cover as Sean Anderson yet for some reason the end credits reveal her first name is “Sian” yet the pronunciation is still “Sean.” That didn’t matter too much as I enjoyed both Foster and Wings in their roles. As she is only slightly younger than Hauser, it reminds me that I should give Meg Foster her props while she’s still alive. While I’ve only seen a few of her films, she has quite the distinctive look and besides the fun B-movie Leviathan and her contributions to They Live, I’ll always remember her for Evil-Lyn in Masters of the Universe, a childhood favorite.
The real-life Greek town of Monemvasia was a nice setting; the stone buildings are hundreds of years old and had a nice distinctive appearance. This includes the fortress that much of the movie is set in. Whether or not that area has a strong prevailing wind that blows much of the time, that was the scenario here; that added to the atmosphere, along with the foggy night lit pretty well—it was another example of how modern movies unfortunately don’t light themselves all that well any longer. If a B-movie from the 80’s can do it…
The Wind isn’t essential cinema, whether it be for the genre, the director, or its two stars. The movie… didn’t blow me away. On the other side of the coin, the film is still an enjoyable cat-and-mouse thriller. Those that like trashy thrillers and haven’t tackled Vice Squad, you really should just to see Wings as the villain. In the future, I’ll tackle more of the B-movies that featured the talents of Wings Hauser.
No comments:
Post a Comment