Who is the Ultimate Werewolf?

 

Welcome back to CCC’s Shocktober Showcase! This October, it’s a werewolf marathon, where I’ll be reviewing werewolf films every weekend of the month leading up to Halloween. To kick off the Wolf-athon, I’m going to look back at some of the werewolf films I’ve already reviewed, as well as look ahead to a couple others I will be reviewing soon, to see if I can determine who the ultimate werewolf in cinema has been up to this point. Perhaps Robert Egger’s much anticipated Werwulf will soon enter the rankings of best werewolves on screen, but looking far back into the past, there have been some fearsome lycanthropes in a number of classic horror films, as well as some truly standout examples in films that are otherwise pretty lackluster.

Before we get to the contenders, here are a few honourable mentions:

Werewolf of London (1935) – Dr. Glendon, played by Henry Hull

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) - Leon Corledo, played by Oliver Reed

The Monster Squad (1987) – Desperate Man, played by Jon Gries 

Van Helsing (2004) – Velkan Valerious, played by Will Kemp  

The Wolfman (2010) – Lawrence Talbot, played by Benicio del Toro

Wolfcop (2014) – Lou Garou, played by Leo Fafard

 

The criteria for what makes a great werewolf is going to have less to do with the quality of the film overall and more to do with the qualities directly tied to the actual creature, as well as the person who undergoes the transformation. I’m considering characterization, kill count, monster design, special effects, and legacy. First up, the one who started it all…sort of.

 

The Wolf Man (1941) – Larry Talbot, played by Lon Chaney Jr.

Let’s all clap for the OG Wolf Man! Universal Pictures’ Jekyll and Hyde-esque tale of the hair-raising curse wasn’t the first example of a cinematic werewolf, but this is certainly one of the most famous. Larry Talbot is a sympathetic protagonist, played so well by Lon Chaney Jr. that he was brought back in a further four films, and his story grew more tragic with each continuation, as he crossed paths with Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and even the comedians Abbott and Costello. Talbot remains consistent in each film, in terms of his character as well as appearance, which differs from many of the more canid characters to come.

Wolf Man gets a little more emphasis on the man part, remaining upright and proportional to his human alter ego, but just a bit hairier, with sharp claws, prominent bottom fangs, and a dog-like nose. In the original film, he makes just one kill, and after his resurrection in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, only commits murder a few more times. He’s certainly not the most lethal werewolf (preferring to try choking out his victims), but is one of the most tragic, and his look is iconic, though I generally prefer the more wolf-ish werewolves over the more humanistic ones. The makeup effects by Jack Pierce hold up pretty well given the design aesthetics and film’s age. Overall, he is certainly one of the most iconic werewolves, setting the bar for future examples. In the storied history of werewolves on screen, I think he’s been surpassed by better ones, though the significance of his legacy and character must not be understated, and I will indeed dig ‘em until the day I die!  

 

Underworld (2003) – Lucian, played by Michael Sheen

In the centuries-long vampires-versus-werewolves war that spans several films in the Underworld series, one werewolf in particular stands out. Lucian is the first-ever Lycan, and functions as a sort-of-antagonist in the original film, but becomes the de facto protagonist for the prequel, Rise of the Lycans. As we come to learn over the course of the first three installments, he played an important role in kicking off this whole feud between the two species, but besides having started his Lycan life as a slave and later falling in love with a vampire, there’s not a whole lot of depth to him.

Michael Sheen plays Lucian pretty straight, and his Lycan form doesn’t look too different from the many others in his pack. When the effects are practical, he looks pretty fearsome, but when they are CGI, he looks about on par with some of the other CGI werewolves of the 2000s era (Van Helsing, Harry Potter, Twilight). Overall, while I think the Lycans are pretty cool action-movie-monsters, none of them are anywhere close to “ultimate” status—not even Lucian, despite his narrative importance.

 

Trick ‘r Treat (2007) – Laurie, played by Anna Paquin

I almost didn’t include this one, but the female werewolf is pretty rare, and despite being only a small part of an otherwise Halloween-focused anthology film, the reveal of Laurie’s secret is a satisfying payoff for her story arc. Spoiler alert if you know nothing about Trick ‘r Treat, but it isn’t really a werewolf movie, per say, until it suddenly is. Laurie is dressed up like Little Red Riding Hood, and she’s a pretty hesitant girl, but her sister encourages her to come to a Halloween party in the woods, and what we eventually find out is the creepy guy stalking her throughout her scenes was the school principal from another story segment all along, and these women are all part of a ritual where they turn into monsters and feast upon human flesh.

The shots of the animatronic werewolves are brief, but look fearsome, and Laurie’s transformation, while not visually exceptional, still looks pretty intense, as do all the others that happen simultaneously, especially as they peel their human skin from their limbs. Laurie’s dark turn certainly comes as a surprise; her timidity makes her a sympathetic enough character, and the fact that her sole kill is a serial killer already previously established as being evil doesn’t undo the sympathy we already had. I will give her the honourable award of Most Surprising Secret Werewolf.

 

Bad Moon (1996) – Ted Harrison, played by Michael Paré

This guy has a secret affair with his “mistress” (the moon), and he is squarely the villain in this basic storyline. As a human character, Ted isn’t particularly likeable or unlikeable, but his werewolf side? Watch out: this thing is fearsome! The animatronic creature is large, powerful, and perfectly designed. If you ignore the theatrical cut, there’s no bad morph effect for the transformation, and this werewolf makes several kills throughout the movie, though none of them are particularly unique.

Everything about the Ted werewolf, down to the raspy roar, is effective. It’s unfortunate that he’s often been overlooked as one of the best werewolves, but he does have one inexcusable weakness. It doesn’t take silver bullets to bring this beast down, though that’s not what I’m referring to. For as fearsome as he is, he can’t defeat a German Shepherd: a pet dog less than half his size—and the dog wasn’t trained to fight werewolves before their skirmish, either.

 

Silver Bullet (1985) – Rev. Lester Lowe, played by Everett McGill

It’s always fun when there’s a secret connection between the werewolf’s human form and one of the human protagonists, and in the case of this religious-coded rapacious tale from the mind of Stephen King, the werewolf turns out to be a rather unlikely person in the small town. The way the heroes make this discovery is one of the creepily fun elements of the story, though it’s not a very tricky mystery to figure out even before this. What I like about the reverend is he’s trying to only kill people who have sinned, so he doesn’t have to feel as guilty, although that doesn’t seem to be going well, as indicated by a nightmare he has in which a whole funeral procession turns into werewolves. But, to paraphrase the Megadeth song, killing is his business, and business is good, right from the movie’s opening scene in which he beheads a railway worker!

The reverend makes a number of kills, and his werewolf form is unique in the climax because he is blind in one eye. The transformation effects are not that remarkable, though the creature looks pretty scary; he’s a little stockier than the similarly designed Ted werewolf from Bad Moon, but quite expressive, and does require a silver bullet to the head to bring down, though given the title of the film, that comes as no surprise. 

 

 

Dog Soldiers (2002) – Captain Richard Ryan, played by Liam Cunningham

Even though he hails from a relatively low-budget film, this lone survivor from a platoon of British soldiers represents the sheer awesomeness of the werewolves in Dog Soldiers. A pack of them have several other soldiers trapped in a remote homestead in the Scottish Highlands one fateful full moon night. Ryan is inside with them, and he reveals his secret after the other beasties have already caused some serious mayhem and taken several lives. These lean, mean killing machines are fast, tall, powerful, and ruthless, making many bloody kills and withstanding lots of firepower. Ryan, as a werewolf, withstands machine guns, attacks from a Border Collie, and even a sword through the gut, but it’s a silver letter opener to the chest followed by a direct shot to the head that finally defeats him.

Ryan isn’t very sympathetic despite not appearing to be a villain for most of the movie, and we don’t see him undergo his full transformation. These aren’t criticisms, necessarily, but they are reasons why he isn’t the ultimate werewolf. In terms of design, practical effects, and the sheer terror they bring, these are certainly some of the most effective werewolves, so I will acknowledge Dog Soldiers with the Most Underrated Cinematic Werewolves award.

 

The Howling (1981) – Eddie Quist, played by Robert Picardo

Now we’re getting back to the werewolf super stars of horror cinema, and this next one is a sexual deviant who strikes fear into the hearts of the characters and viewers long before we even discover he’s part of a secret society at the remote resort called “The Colony” filled with werewolves. Eddie is first known as a serial killer when he meets protagonist Karen (Dee Wallace) in a porno theatre as part of a police scheme to take him out, and we don’t see him transform into a werewolf, but Karen does, and it’s so traumatizing she gets amnesia from it. When we do see him transform again later in the film, it’s one of the best transformation scenes ever shot, with it taking place in broad daylight, because, unlike most other examples before him, humans at The Colony can change into werewolves on command, without the need of a full moon, making them even more unpredictable. The makeup effects by Rob Bottin hold up very well, and the design of The Howling werewolves clearly inspired later films like Dog Soldiers and Underworld, with their upright posture, large heads, and long, dagger-filled muzzles. This might be a random bit of praise, but I like the ears on these guys, too.

Though they instill fear any time they show up, successfully turn Karen and her husband into werewolves, and several of them survive past the film’s conclusion, they aren’t that deadly. I always recall how Eddie, in werewolf form, casually takes a file folder out of the hands of Karen’s friend before clumsily pursuing her around an office, taking way longer than necessary to finally kill her—and she is the only person killed by a werewolf in the whole movie! Several werewolves, including Eddie, meet their demise in pretty standard ways. When Karen witnesses Eddie’s transformation at The Colony, she just stands there and then still manages to get away afterward. The Howling has fantastic werewolves, no question, but Eddie and his compatriots can’t outclass the final two examples to come.

 

Ginger Snaps (2000) – Ginger Fitzgerald, played by Katharine Isabelle

So far, most of these werewolves have been villains, but the heroically tragic ones owe something to Larry Talbot from The Wolf Man and Wilfred Glendon before him in Werewolf of London. Ginger is even more unique than just a werewolf protagonist: she’s a wolf woman, not a wolf man, and she gets attacked pretty early in the film, then it focuses on her slow transformation in tandem with her rapid onset of puberty. Her kill count is low, but as a character, she’s likeable, funny, and at her best when paired with her sister Bridgette (Emily Perkins).

The monster design is very unconventional, but the point of a werewolf is to be scary, isn’t it? Well, a white-skinned, mostly hairless, wrinkled, quadrupedal wolf monster is pretty scary, and even though the animatronic effects aren’t consistently convincing, there aren’t any dated CGI effects to speak of. It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned legacy; despite a tragic conclusion in the original film, Ginger returned for both a sequel and a prequel. As fantastic and unique as Ginger is, she is runner up to only one other cinematic werewolf…

 

An American Werewolf in London (1981) – David Kessler, played by David Naughton

I’ve reviewed this movie twice and referenced it in several reviews for other, comparatively inferior werewolf films, so let’s break it down by the criteria I originally set out with. David Kessler is an average all-American young man who is instantly likeable, and his lycanthropic plight makes him easy to sympathize with. The first kill by a werewolf in this movie is absolutely brutal, and the victim is David’s best friend, Jack. This isn’t the last we see of Jack, though. He repeatedly returns as an increasingly decomposed corpse to guilt David into ending the curse his surviving friend is now afflicted with by committing suicide. David’s full moon metamorphosis remains the greatest werewolf transformation of all-time, hands down.

Werewolf-David’s kill count hits six victims on just his first night, and I can’t even count how many people died in the Picadilly Circus mayhem at the end of the film. Like Ms. Fitzgerald of Ginger Snaps, he transforms into a four-legged hound from hell, and Rick Baker’s award-winning design is truly nightmarish. We see just enough of the monster for him to remain frightening right through to his inevitable death, which ultimately comes about in a King Kong kind of way, with the beauty weeping over the beast after he’s shot down. Though the police didn’t need silver bullets, David certainly didn’t go down without a fight. In a tale brewing with just about as much comedy as horror, David Kessler still stands out all these years and movies later, earning the title of Hollywood's Ultimate Werewolf!   

I’m just getting started with this Wolf-athon! Even though American Werewolf in London gets top honours as featuring the ultimate werewolf in film, there are plenty of other entertaining and, dare I say, even great werewolf movies to come throughout October, so be sure to return tomorrow for the first review in this year’s marathon! 

OCTOBER PROMO: WOLF-ATHON - SHOCKTOBER SHOWCASE 3!

 

CCC’S SHOCKTOBER SHOWCASE III: WOLF-ATHON!

 

For some reason, I seem to love werewolf movies, more than other classic monsters like vampires or ghosts or zombies. Ever since I started reviewing horror movies on my blog I’ve covered some of the all-time greatest examples, and I keep coming back to them time and time again, even though there aren’t that many truly excellent ones. On Christmas this year, one of my favourite directors currently working, Robert Eggers, is taking a crack at the hair-raising horrors of lycanthropy with Werwulf, which will hopefully mark a return to form for one of cinema’s greatest movie monsters, because it’s been a while since I’ve seen a truly great new example.

This year’s third Shocktober Showcase is going to be a deep dive into some lesser-known examples of werewolves in movies and more famous ones I still haven’t covered, ranging from the first werewolf movie ever made to a couple from just the past few years and everything in between. The full moon will rise this October with a marathon of werewolf reviews every weekend right up to Halloween—that’s every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with something special on October 1^st to start off the month. It’s CCC’s Wolf-athon!

Any bloodthirsty readers who can’t wait to sink their teeth into some new reviews can chew on these werewolf movies I’ve reviewed in the past, including black-and-white classics and schlocky sleeper hits!

 

An American Werewolf in London (1981) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2014/10/an-american-werewolf-in-london-1981.html

Wolfen (1981) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2014/10/wolfen-1981-review.html

The Howling (1981) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-howling-1981-review.html

Silver Bullet (1985) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2014/10/silver-bullet-1985-review.html

 

Ginger Snaps (2000) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2017/10/ginger-snaps-2000-review.html

Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2018/10/gingers-snaps-2-unleashed-2004-review.html

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2018/10/gingers-snaps-back-beginning-2004-review.html

 

Wolf (1994) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2021/10/wolf-1994-review.html

 Dog Soldiers (2002) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2021/10/dog-soldiers-2002-review.html

 Trick ‘r Treat (2007) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2023/10/trick-r-treat-2007-review.html

 What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-we-do-in-shadows-2014-review.html

 

The Wolf Man (1941) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-wolf-man-1941-review.html

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/frankenstein-meets-wolf-man-1943-review.html

House of Frankenstein (1944) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/house-of-frankenstein-1944-review.html

House of Dracula (1945) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/house-of-dracula-1945-review.html

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/abbott-and-costello-meet-frankenstein.html

 

Underworld (2003) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/underworld-2003-review.html

Underworld: Evolution (2006) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/underworld-evolution-2006-review.html

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/underworld-rise-of-lycans-2009-review.html

Underworld: Awakening (2012) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/underworld-awakening-2012-review.html

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2022/10/underworld-blood-wars-2016-review.html

 

The Wolfman (2010) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-wolf-man-2010-review.html

Wolf Man (2025) Review: https://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2025/10/wolf-man-2025-review.html

Movies Under 90 Minutes Part 10: Conclusion

 

Part Ten:

The Finals - The Best Movie Under 90 Minutes of All-Time is…?

 

Welcome to the grand conclusion of this series, as I not only crown one film the greatest of all time with a runtime of less than 90 minutes, but look back on the many movies throughout the competition that did not earn that title, though deserve further recognition just the same. 

First of all, I want to include a bunch of movies that I failed to mention at all in the genre eliminations, because for as much research as I did, I still left out so, so many good movies that were under 90 minutes, and some I neglected consciously, but a few I genuinely just missed, because there are way too many movies out there for one man to see! Christopher Nolan’s first movie, a black-and-white indie thriller called Following (1998), is only 70 minutes, and while it’s not one of his all-time best, it’s certainly his best movie that’s under 90 minutes…but then again, it’s also his only one. You know which comedy troupe has more than one movie shorter than 90 minutes? The Marx Brothers! I only mentioned Duck Soup, which is cited as their best comedic film, but they made other ones before that which were just as short, such as Horse Feathers (1932), and some hilarity historians identify other films of theirs as still holding up, too.

I didn’t cover that many short releases from more recent years, and that was by choice. The point of this exercise was to find the greatest movie of all time shorter than 90 minutes, and I just don’t see how a movie that came out only a few years ago could possibly rival something like Stand by Me which came out four decades ago and is still highly praised. It might seem unfair, but that’s just how I tackled it. Some recent films that have been acclaimed are the early-lead-role-for-Florence Pugh Lady Macbeth (2016), the thirty-years-in-the-making stop motion epic Mad God (2021), and the award-winning animated Latvia/France/Belgium production Flow (2024). There’s also The Squid and the Whale (2016), Don’t Breathe (2016), Shiva Baby (2020) and Migration (2023), but I’ve only seen one of those four, and that’s another reason for excluding certain films: I don’t have infinite time to watch every single movie on every list of decent ones that are under 90 minutes—my meditation on time (specifically, a lack thereof) is why I made this series in the first place.

Adam Sandler fans were probably bummed I didn’t mention Billy Madison (1995), at 89 minutes, and Jim Carrey fans likely lamented the lack of Liar Liar (1997), at 86 minutes. Another underrated under 90 comedy is Hot Rod (2007), from the guys behind The Lonely Island. They also made Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), and kept that one under 90, too. Speaking of comedies, I’m not a big South Park fan, so I also didn’t include South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), at 81 minutes. Ditto for SpongeBob, but big fans might think The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie (2004) should have at least been in the running. Oh yeah, and there's 9 (2009), which is often cited as underrated. One last mention for animation: I covered three of Don Bluth’s best animated films but forgot to mention All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), which is still considered a favourite of his by some.

One genre I omitted entirely was documentaries, for a couple reasons. I feel like they are kind of their own thing, separate from fictional filmmaking, for intending to present stories that are true or based on truth. Obviously there are so many good ones, but I’m not familiar enough with the genre overall to speak with any real authority about what the best of them are, regardless of runtimes. Some of the ones I considered when I first started writing this series and thought I might try to include the genre were March of the Penguins (2005), Blackfish (2013), and My Octopus Teacher (2020), which yes, are all animal-focused docs, but those are primarily the types I like to watch. There’s also Searching for Sugar Man (2016), at 86 minutes, and two others that come within seconds of qualifying but are just over 90, Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) and Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013). 

Back to the genres of fiction, there’s The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night (1964), at 87 minutes, the dog lover's family flick Beethoven (1992) (also 87 mins.), the French sci-fi animated film Fantastic Planet (1973), which is 71 minutes, and the first animated adaptation of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm (1954), at merely an hour and twelve minutes! One genre that was pretty packed was horror, but I somehow missed a bunch that were at least worth pointing out, even if they weren’t going to win. The Most Dangerous Game (1932) is the oldest, running a paltry 62 minutes, and there’s Duel (1971), one of Steven Spielberg’s first films, which is 90 minutes if you go by the theatrical version (the only version I’ve seen), but the original version that first aired on ABC was only 74 minutes. The Fog (1980) is usually identified as having a 90-minute runtime, but the actual time on the Scream Factory Blu-ray release is one hour, twenty-nine minutes, and thirty-seven seconds, so it incorrectly gets rounded up! But, is it really the best horror movie under 90 minutes? Of course not. It’s not even the best short horror movie from the 1980s. Five other shoutouts go to Videodrome (1983) (89 minutes), Night of the Creeps (1986) (88 minutes), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) (83 minutes), and two of my favourite killer animal movies, Anaconda (1997) (89 minutes) and Piranha 3D (2010) (88 minutes).

Now, to briefly revisit some previous movies I covered in earlier parts, three of the horror movies I had initially thought would make it further in the competition were Frankenstein, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. While Frankenstein and Texas Chain Saw did make it to the genre eliminations round, Creature from the Black Lagoon just pales in comparison to so many of the other films from other genres. For horror-comedy, I went in expecting Tucker & Dale vs. Evil to make it as far as the quarter-finals, but it didn’t even beat Evil Dead 2 in the first round. I almost regretted not giving This is Spinal Tap a chance to compete in the genre eliminations round, but there was just no way it was going to beat something like The Lion King or Paths of Glory. Some of the animated movies that were toughest to eliminate initially were The Little Mermaid, Brother Bear, and Peter Pan, but that whole genre was tough to wrap my head around, because there is just such a diverse collection of films with so many different strengths that it became hard to objectively identify which ones were the best for what they each represented. I know that was the most bias-heavy genre for electing initial competitors, but I think I was quite generous in giving many of the miscellaneous competitors a chance to move into the next round, though I did expect more than one sci-fi movie to make it through—possibly Chronicle or The Day the Earth Stood Still.

I would’ve been surprised to see any films that weren’t already part of my Favourite Films Series make it beyond the quarter-finals, but the ones that did make it over the ones that didn’t were still surprising. As I narrowed the scope of greatest competitors, some unexpected eliminations in the quarter-finals and semi-finals were The Lion King (the only movie get a perfect CAWSPEEL score), The Naked Gun, which is one of my favourite comedies of all-time, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which I contest is still one of the best Disney classics in spite of being the very first. Speaking of CAWSPEEL, I’m going to look back on those scores for the two finalists, before I review both of them and pick which one is superior. There are reasons relating to quality as to why Fantastic Mr. Fox, Pinocchio, and Homeward Bound all scored one point less than Toy Story or Stand by Me, but those scores alone did not determine the finalists.

 

FINAL CONTENDERS

 

Toy Story and Stand by Me both got 39/40 with the CAWSPEEL system, but lost one point in two different categories. For Toy Story, I gave it a 4/5 for emotional impact, because it’s very difficult to think about the first Toy Story in isolation now that it’s part of an ongoing film franchise which should have stopped at the third entry. The Toy Story trilogy was, for a short time, one of the most perfect trilogies in all of cinema. Toy Story 3 is, ultimately, far more emotional, and a perfect ending. The climax, finale, and resolution of the first Toy Story are all perfect for the story being told in that film. Getting back at Sid for torturing toys is oh-so satisfying and scary and funny at all once, and then it launches right into the high-speed pursuit of the moving truck, and we get the emotional resolution of Woody and Buzz reuniting with Andy. The very end, teasing that Andy’s Christmas present, a new puppy, is going to cause future headaches for Woody and Buzz, is…fine. It’s not bad, not great, amusing enough, but emblematic of Toy Story’s overall greater strength being a comedy meant for general entertainment through amazing visuals and character designs over intending to tell a truly emotionally affecting tale. That is not to say it doesn’t get the audience emotionally invested—the whole Buzz realizing he’s just a toy really does hit, but in comparison to the only other movie left, no, it’s not as emotionally stirring overall. 

For Stand by Me, I gave it a 4/5 for sound/music, which is more on the technical side of things compared to Toy Story’s lost point. I didn’t take any points off for the visuals or sound of Toy Story; the music by Randy Newman fits perfectly, the voice acting is spot on, and the sound effects are memorable, but even in comparison to Toy Story 2 and 3, the first movie still looks pretty good to me, in terms of the details achieved in the animation. Yeah, it’s comparatively dated, but not as much as may be expected, and there was nothing significant enough to take it down in points in any of the other categories.

Visually, Stand by Me is fantastic, but to be honest, the music does not resonate with me all that much. When I say music, I mainly mean the original score by Jack Nitzsche. I like the song from which the movie gets its name when it plays at the end, and I like some of the other era-appropriate tracks we get to hear throughout, but when I think about everything great to do with Stand by Me, the music is one of the last things that comes to mind. That being said, sometimes a really noticeable soundtrack can be distracting, and one thing I like about Stand by Me’s music, despite it not really staying in my ear after the movie ends, is how well it fits most of the scenes and becomes like invisible set dressing, fitting what you are seeing and hearing from the characters without it overpowering the performances.

Previously, I pointed out Pinocchio was a very male-driven story, and the same can be said of Stand by Me, but one is a fantasy tale of many settings and locations featuring characters from many backgrounds and experiences, whereas Stand by Me tells a much more grounded story in a specific point in time about four kids and doesn’t deviate from that. Toy Story, for that matter, also doesn’t have many prominent female characters; we don’t get Jessie until Toy Story 2, and Sid’s sister is a pretty stereotypical supporting part. The remaining comparisons of weaknesses between Stand by Me and Toy Story are slim to none, at this point.

 

FINAL ELIMINATION

 

I did not have an answer to the question “what is the best movie under 90 minutes?” when I first asked it, and after two years of thinking about it, watching more and more movies, comparing and contrasting them, and analyzing each one, I finally have my answer. With that answer now in mind, I look back and find it surprising that it wasn’t more obvious from early on. I guess when there are just so many different movies that are so good for so many different reasons it can cloud one’s judgement, but as I have slowly eliminated movie after movie, being left with just two, it has led to this seemingly inevitable outcome.

Both Stand by Me and Toy Story are adventure stories, at their cores, but two very different adventures featuring a cast of characters who can’t even be compared, because one cast consists of four adolescent friends, and the other cast consists of several anthropomorphic toys, plus two young boys, one good, the other bad. I’ve looked at these movies’ strengths and weaknesses, and at the end of the day, only one can win. I can’t really use the prioritization matrix at this point, because I couldn’t simply pick one over the other as a priority to watch. Both are endlessly rewatchable, but one of them has something the other does not…

 

THE WINNER…

 

Stand by Me is the greatest movie under 90 minutes of all time! What it comes down to in the end, without thinking about anything else other than just Toy Story and Stand by Me, is the lasting emotional resonance and the access to pure nostalgia one has over the other. Toy Story taps into the nostalgia of childhood, but it’s not about Andy, really, it’s about his toys, and their experiences. Stand by Me taps into nostalgia for a specific point in one’s life, and in its simple premise (“you guys wanna go see a dead body?”) it explores the very concept that instigated this series in the first place: time. All of us only have so much time here on earth. The coming-of-age genre has always been a great place to explore the loss of innocence, the inevitability of growing up and getting older, and the formation of early friendships, but Stephen King’s story looks at the way a young life cut short by a tragic accident impacts four other young lives who are just getting started, with so much learning, growing, heartache, and discovery left to come.

The last lines of Stand by Me are devastating, as adult Gordie types them out on his word processor, marking the end of his story recounting the pivotal series of events from his childhood. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” Stand by Me has something more to say with the story it tells without it feeling forced or unnatural. The story is, indeed, about being human, and it’s a story I didn’t fully understand when I first saw it as a kid, but like any great movie, it gets better with age, with more time spent thinking about it, and more times seeing it play out from beginning to end. Stand by Me is not only the best movie with a runtime under 90 minutes, but one of the best movies from the entire decade in which it was made. It’s also a story out of time; though made in the 80’s, it’s a look back at the 1950s, which gives it a timeless quality Toy Story simply does not possess despite its fantastical nature.  

Is Toy Story the best computer animated feature film ever made? I don’t think so. It was the first, sure, and it holds up well, and it’s a great story, but being the first of your kind doesn’t automatically make you the best. It set the bar very high from the start, but it’s not as if that bar hasn’t ever been met or surpassed since. Is Stand by Me the best coming-of-age film ever made? That’s a tougher question, but it’s certainly in that conversation. For it being an example of an art form that’s all about a medium of moving pictures, Stand by Me acts like a snapshot of a moment in time, and shows how one moment can send ripples through your whole life. The human connection, the joy of life, the fear of death, and the inevitable passage of time, all coalesce. It’s a movie that will exist as a singular favourite of mine forever, on a deeper level than Toy Story will.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s been a fun exercise recounting all of these movies spanning many decades and genres through the lens of their unusually short runtimes! It also took way longer than I originally expected, but I’m glad to have been thorough, and even more glad still that I have unintentionally created a resource of sorts for anyone looking for good movies to watch when in a pinch for time. As a fun little bonus to end off with (and because I haven’t done a CCC countdown list in a while), here are my top five movies from each genre, in no particular order. Remember, these are my personal favourites, unranked.

 

Top 5 Horror:

Frankenstein

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Lake Placid

Re-Animator

 

Top 5 Horror-Comedies:

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Trick ‘r Treat

Zombieland

The Evil Dead

Evil Dead 2

 

Top 5 Comedies:

Office Space

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

This is Spinal Tap

What We Do in the Shadows

The Naked Gun

 

Top 5 Disney Animated:

Pinocchio

The Fox and the Hound

Lilo & Stitch

The Jungle Book

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

 

Top 5 Animated – Non-Disney:

Toy Story

Ice Age

The Iron Giant

The Land Before Time

Hoodwinked!

 

Top 5 Stop Motion & Live-Action/Animation Hybrids:

Chicken Run

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Dinosaur

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

 

Top 5 from Miscellaneous Genres:

Run Lola Run

Stand by Me

Paths of Glory

Rope

Once

 

So, what are some of your favourite movies under 90 minutes? Which ones did I get right, and which ones did I get wrong? Let me know, and who knows, maybe I’ll be inspired to revisit this topic one day. But, at this point, now that I’m finally done, I’ll have to find a new cinematic inquiry to explore. Perhaps I could figure out the best movies that are over three hours long? That one might take me a while…like, even longer than this one…