BLACK ZOO (1963), aka HORRORS OF THE BLACK ZOO

Director: Robert Gordon

Writers: Aben Kandel, Herman Cohen

Producer: Herman Cohen

Cast: Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Jerome Cowan, Virginia Grey, Elisha Cook, Jr., Edward Platt, Douglas Henderson, Marianna Hill, Warrene Ott, Oren Curtis, Byron Morrow, Eilene Janssen, Joseph Mell, Jerry Douglas, Eric Stone, Zamba (the lion), (and uncredited cast members) Claudia Brack, George Barrows, Dani Lynn, Susan Slavin, Herman Cohen, Daniel Kurlick, Michael St. Angel 

Michael Conrad (Michael Gough) is the proprietor of the Conrad’s Animal Kingdom zoo in Los Angeles. Conrad is absolutely devoted to his animals and treats them with kindness and reverence. The wild animals are so docile in Conrad’s care that he can control them. Whenever anyone threatens to disrupt his life or his zoo, Conrad uses the most dangerous of his animals to kill the offender. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review 

Producer Herman Cohen was on quite a roll of youth-oriented horror films in the 1950s beginning with such attention-getters as I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). The titled monsters may have been teenagers, but they were made into killers by the schemes of the evil adults that controlled them. Cohen would continue with his teen-angst terrors into the next decade. However, those ’60s productions were more focused on the middle-aged antagonists responsible for all of the villainy. The youths were no longer the title subject or the main drivers of the plot. While those later films seemed to fixate almost exclusively on the petty ambitions and egos of their middle-aged fiends, they still depicted young people being exploited, traumatized, or victimized by their elders. 

In 1963’s Black Zoo, Cohen had once again concocted a crazy scenario that let actor Michael Gough off his leash to chew the scenery as only one of my favorite movie madmen can. As in two previous Cohen productions, Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) and Konga (1961), Michael Gough’s lead performance as another obsessive and amoral asshole provides most of the entertainment value. That’s plenty for this fan of actors you love to hate. 

Cohen and co-writer Aben Kandel usually reworked premises from previous classic horror films for their own victimized-youth productions. 1933’s Murders in the Zoo seems to be the probable inspiration for Black Zoo. Both films feature a maniacal zookeeper killing his enemies with wild animals. The novelty of those beasts sharing a lot of screen time with the actors was something to distinguish each film from its competition in the genre. 

That is not to say that Black Zoo is a remake of the earlier film. Like all of the other Cohen-Kandel stories, Black Zoo is a variation on a horror trope that goes its own demented way. In the case of this film, the villain does not just use wild animals to dispose of his enemies; he actually controls the beasts. At first it seems that this ability is just the unlikely result of zookeeper Michael Conrad’s love and care of the animals. There is a later suggestion of some mysticism involved. Conrad is a member of an eccentric animal-worshipping cult. There is no direct correlation stated between Conrad’s cult activity and his uncanny control of his beasts. However, being the Michael Gough fan that I am, I can explain almost any antics his despicable characters perpetrate. 

Although I can contrive some credibility for the feats a Michael Gough villain performs, I certainly can’t justify his absolute assholery. (That damned spell-check is even more anal than I am. Assholery is a word, dammit!) It’s bad enough that Gough’s Michael Conrad makes assassins out of his zoo animals. Conrad also treats Carl (Rod Lauren), his mute, teenaged zoo attendant, like a slave. He gets totally pissy about his wife, Edna (Jeanne Cooper), having a few drinks with dinner, and then he flies into a rage when she shows any concern for the sad, mute Carl. Control freak Conrad finally stoops to get his own hands dirty with domestic violence. Amazingly, this abuse turns out to be some very effective foreplay. One murdered casserole and a vicious backhand later, Conrad and Edna are lip-locked in the kitchen. Where’s the justice? This is just another fine example of why we all love to hate Michael Gough villains. 

That kitchen scene leaves us wondering what the hell Jeanne Cooper’s Edna ever saw in the selfish Michael Conrad. Dysfunction between the featured couple is another mainstay of earlier Cohen-Kandel horror films. Like the male heel in the other stories, this film’s Michael Conrad can turn on the charm when he wants to put up a good front. I expected him to start hitting on the cute art students that are sketching animals at his zoo. Gough’s Dr. Decker in Konga would have probably been making the moves here on young Audrey (Marianna Hill). Yet this movie’s Michael Conrad seems devoted only to his zoo animals. 

Rather surprisingly, when Audrey tries to flirt with the handsome, mute Carl, this never leads to anything more than giving Conrad another opportunity to be the belligerent boss. It would have seemed like the perfect opening for more character conflict by having the lonely Carl wanting more out of life than being Conrad’s bullied henchman. This story focuses almost entirely on the “family” of Michael Conrad, wife Edna, young Carl, and the zoo animals.

Those featured animals are usually shown sharing scenes with the actors. Aside from our old friend, the homicidal gorilla suit (George Barrows this time) from Konga, the other dangerous beasts are big cats. We are not only treated to tiger and lion attacks, we also get to see assorted huge felines lounging on the furniture in Conrad’s living room as he serenades them with his pipe organ. They are even allowed to attend a funeral rite Conrad conducts for his deceased tiger in a foggy forest. There are also a couple scenes where the lion is walking right past Michael Gough without the benefit of any trick photography. Maybe it helped the lion to keep his cool sensing that Michael Gough himself was actually very fond of animals. That took a helluva lot more nerve on Gough's part than petting a baby chimp back in Konga! 

Michael Gough’s co-star, Jeanne Cooper, is required to play a character almost as offbeat as the crazed Conrad. As Edna, she had a trained chimp act that she was developing before she married Conrad and devoted her show solely to appearing in Conrad’s zoo. Jeanne Cooper’s acting chops are given quite a workout against Michael Gough in the aforementioned dinner demolition scene. This squabble is mostly covered in a few long takes that show how veteran performers can keep things moving with the spirited back and forth of their performance. That ability to handle long dialogue exchanges must have been a great asset to Jeanne Cooper for her later soap opera career in her forty-year-long role of Katherine Chancellor from 1973 to 2013 on the CBS television series The Young and the Restless (1973 — present). 

Two other familiar television faces appearing here are Edward Platt as Chief Detective Rivers and Elisha Cook, Jr., as zoo attendant Joe. Platt was immortalized later in the decade playing another frustrated authority figure, The Chief, on the spy-spoof series Get Smart (1965-70). Cook had already established himself as mild-mannered or victimized film characters since the 1930s. From the mid-1950s through the mid-1980s, Cook was also a familiar guest star in a multitude of television series. 

While producer Herman Cohen’s earlier Gough-starring films, Horrors of the Black Museum and Konga, get more attention, this 1963 production really delivers the villainy seasoned fright flick fans can relish: zookeeping zealotry inspiring animal attacks and casserole carnage. Black Zoo is yet another cockeyed horror premise valiantly legitimized by the great Michael Gough at his beastly best.

THE HOWLING (1981)

Director: Joe Dante

Writers: John Sayles, Terence H. Winkless, adapting the novel by Gary Brandner

Producers: Michael Finnell, Jack Conrad

Cast: Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, Patrick Macnee, Belinda Balaski, Dennis Dugan, Elisabeth Brooks, Robert Picardo, Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller, Slim Pickens, Margie Impert, James Murtaugh, John Carradine, Don McLeod, Kenneth Tobey, Jim McKrell, Noble Willingham, Herb Braha, Steve Nevil, Joe Bratcher, Bill Sorrells, Mesach Taylor, Ivan Saric, Wendell Wright, Michael O’Dwyer, Sarina Grant, Chico Martinez, Daniel Nunez, (and uncredited cast) John Sayles, Forrest J. Ackerman, Roger Corman, Michael Chapman, Mick Garris, Robert A. Burns, Robert Hammond, John Jensen, Jonathan Kaplan, Kelli Thompson 

Eddie ‘the Mangler’ Quist (Robert Picardo) is a serial killer that has been using Los Angeles as his hunting ground. He has a fixation on television news anchorwoman Karen White (Dee Wallace). In cooperation with the police, Karen agrees to meet with Eddie in the hopes that this will result in the killer’s capture. The dangerous encounter results in Eddie being shot to death and Karen being traumatized. To help recuperate from this disturbing experience, Karen and her husband, Bill Neill (Christopher Stone), take a vacation at The Colony, a country retreat for group psychological therapy. Karen finds more stress with some of the odd characters staying at The Colony, and the howling that she hears from the woods around her cabin frightens her. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review 

Director Joe Dante’s previous fright flick, Piranha (1978), was his sci-fi variation on Jaws (1975). His horror follow up here is a modern spin on werewolves that reveals they are as susceptible to incompatibility with modern society as anyone else. In their case, those concerns are not just to achieve happiness but also to ensure their survival. 

Although this film is adapted from the original novel by Gary Brandner, director Dante was unsatisfied with earlier scripts that were more faithful to the source material. So, John Sayles was brought in to write an entirely new story using just a few elements from Brandner’s novel. Sayles once again concocts a fine mix of horror, humor, and quirky characters as he did for Joe Dante’s Piranha. Sayles also plays an uncredited role as the morgue attendant. 

Another of the talents from Piranha, special make-up effects artist Rob Bottin, created a lot of The Howling’s attention-getting buzz with a fantastic transformation sequence. His efforts result in the scene that set the creature effects standard for decades to come. Bottin’s expertise was noticed and he became a much-in-demand talent. He would continue to distinguish himself with his work in a succession of thrilling genre films, such as The Thing (1981), RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), and many more. 

The Howling is a film that looks and sounds great. Cinematographer John Hora’s lighting enhances the mood of just about every interior scene and his views of the foggy forest have a nightmarish beauty. Pino Donnagio’s fine music score boosts the creep factor even higher. 

Ably assisted by these great talents, director Joe Dante once again expertly mounts a horror gem of many facets. The Howling flaunts humor that is never at the expense of the horror, which is a pretty tricky balancing act. Much of that humor is used to expose the pretense and crassness of media that caters to a cynical and apathetic audience. The film’s characters are not explored at any great depth, but they are all well realized with good performances. 

Anyone who can’t fall in love with Dee Wallace during this movie is heartless. As our heroine, traumatized newscaster Karen White, Wallace gives a great performance with her simply drawn character. Her sensitivity and vulnerability keep us loyally on her side every minute. Wallace had appeared in horror specialist Wes Craven’s classic The Hills Have Eyes (1977). She would soon star in the Steven Spielberg sci-fi blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). When Wallace got top billing in the Stephen King novel adaptation Cujo (1983), she was joined in the small cast by The Howling’s Christopher Stone. 

Dee Wallace’s soon-to-be husband, Christopher Stone, appears in The Howling as her character’s spouse, Bill Neill. He provides a nice, solid support to the traumatized sensitivity of Karen White. Bill seems like a stable and caring sort of guy and is responsible for prompting Karen to follow through on visiting the retreat to help with her emotional trauma. Unfortunately, Bill eventually becomes unreliable and creates even further stress for our troubled heroine. 

Belinda Balaski, who was so likable in Piranha, continues to win me over as Karen White’s best friend and co-worker, Terri Fisher. She is featured in two of this movie’s scariest scenes. 

The third beauty to grace the main cast is Elisabeth Brooks. She is unforgettable as Marsha, the most exotic resident of The Colony. Whether decked out in her provocative leather dress or much less, she manages to be both sexy and unsettling. 

Certainly the film’s most unsettling character is Eddie ‘the Mangler’ Quist. Robert Picardo plays Karen White’s fiendish fanboy to perverse perfection. His rendezvous with his favorite anchorwoman in the movie booth of a porn shop is the first of many creepy scenes in The Howling. We are introduced to Eddie as only a shadowy presence that neither Karen White nor the audience is allowed to get a good look at. Picardo’s soft-spoken dialogue is dripping with lust and menace that makes the audience squirm as much as poor Karen. 

One of director Dante’s favorite actors and cult film favorite, Dick Miller, plays yet another of his characters named Walter Paisley. This time around he is the proprietor of an occult bookstore. Miller’s character is this film’s brusque, modern answer to the Professor Van Helsing-type of folklore authority found in many traditional horror films. Miller has said that this was his favorite role and he really shines during his brief time in it.

The cast is rounded out with a lot of other great actors for fans of genre films and television. Patrick Macnee, John Carradine, Kenneth Tobey, Slim Pickens, and Dennis Dugan join Piranha’s Kevin McCarthy. Even Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine editor Forrest J. Ackerman makes an appearance. 

With such casting, it is apparent that director Joe Dante was indulging himself and other horror film fans. In addition to The Wolf Man (1941) playing on television, many of this film’s characters are named after directors of werewolf films. Despite this sense of fun, the film never lapses into meta-film contrivances that take us out of the movie. Dante still keeps us invested in the characters’ situations and concerns. 

“Repression is the father of neurosis,” states Patrick Macnee as trendy psychotherapist celebrity Dr. George Waggner. The effects of repression on individual behavior and society are evident throughout The Howling. We see the denizens of the sleazy side of town called “flotsam and jetsam” by Kenneth Tobey’s veteran cop, yet many of them are there just to partake of the disreputable delights of prostitutes and pornography. Repression by society does not quell those longings; it merely makes their indulgence more dangerous. 

While repression has been responsible for so many people throughout the ages being guilted into their hang-ups, society also recognizes that an individual’s amoral freedom can pose dangers to others. The Howling explores the sociopathy of hedonism. Releasing the most basic inhibitions may be a lot of fun, but lycanthropy demonstrates the worst-case scenario for such behavior. The abandonment of empathy and conscience results in a loss of humanity. It is this total disregard for others and ultimately the resulting destruction of a stable society that is the danger posed by everyone giving in to all of their innermost, selfish desires. 

The Howling also makes the sensual aspect of werewolves more overt than prior films. Lycanthropy is not treated as a curse but as a turn-on. However, turning into a werewolf is risky behavior. Civilization has a long and often shameful history of persecuting those not conforming to prevailing social norms, but stopping monsters that enjoy killing people seems to be a wisely accepted standard. The main concern here for those afflicted with lycanthropy is not being cured but to figure out how to keep getting away with it. As if that’s not deep enough for you, The Howling also answers the burning question: Do werewolves do it doggy style? 

1981 was a golden age for horror films. As a regular reader of the new Fangoria magazine, I had been really jazzed to see The Howling, and it did not disappoint. Its perfect blend of horror, humor, sex, and satire serves up a fun fright flick that is thrilling, touching, and just a bit thought provoking. The Howling was one of the best times this horror hound has ever had at a movie theater.