Its funny how Joe Dantes verdict on Ed Wood mirrors his own career: His movies all have a certain consistency and you have to probably say this guy was an auteur of sorts because you can recognise his movies. Thats quite an achievement in this day of homogenized movies, where peoples personalities are not really encouraged to shine on film. Joe Dantes puts his personal stamp on all his films, and whether hes making a movie about killer fish, werewolves or Mogwai, youll find a playful sense of humour, a ton of movie references and a cameo from Dick Miller. How many other filmmakers would think to reunite Miller with Jackie Joseph, his co-star in The Little Shop Of Horrors (1960), the way Dante did in Gremlins? The filmmaker got the directing gig on that film after Steven Spielberg saw Piranha, Dantes Jaws rip-off that featured Barbara Steele, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Bartel in small roles. Its perhaps worth noting that when the film was remade in 2010, the makers did away with the in-jokes (save for a cameo from Richard Dreyfuss) in favour of lots of women in bikinis.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
