Supernatural: Monster Movie
July 17, 2021 4:46 AM - Season 4, Episode 5 - Subscribe
It's Halloween, and the Winchesters face off against a shapeshifter with a fetish for impersonating classic movie monsters such as Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Mummy.
Quotes:
Dean: Well, look at me. I mean, I came back from the furnace without any of my old scars, right? No bullet wounds, knife cuts, none of the off-angle fingers from all of the breaks -- I mean, my hide is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Which leads me to conclude, sadly, that my virginity is intact.
Sam: What?
Dean: I've been re-hymenated.
Sam: Re -- please. Dean, maybe angels can pull you out of hell, but no one could do that.
Dean: Brother! I have been re-hymenated. And the dude will not abide!
Dean: We still gotta see the new Raiders movie.
Sam: I saw it.
Dean: Without me?
Sam: You were in hell.
Dean: That's no excuse.
Dean: C'mon Sammy. It's Oktoberfest. Beer and bar wenches.
Sam: Pretty sure women don't react well today to that bar wench thing.
Dean: Hey, bar wench! How's that beer coming?
Jamie: Coming up, good sir!
Dean: [to Sam] Oktoberfest!
Dean: Hey, you think this Dracula can turn into a bat? That'd be cool.
Sam: [tries unsuccessfully to tear out Ed's ear] It's supposed to come off.
Ed: No, it's not!
Pizza Delivery Guy: Uh, pizza delivery?
Dracula: Ah, you have brought a repast. Excellent. Continue to be of such service, and your life will be spared.
Pizza Delivery Guy: Uh-huh. That'll be $15.50.
Dracula: Tell me...
Pizza Delivery Guy: Yeah?
Dracula: Is there garlic on this pizza?
Pizza Delivery Guy: I don't know. Did you order garlic?
Dracula: No!
Pizza Delivery Guy: Then no. Look, mister, I've got four other deliveries to make. You want to just pay me the money so I can go?
Dracula: Of course. Yes. But I have a coupon.
Dean: [dressed in lederhosen and manacled to Dracula's electrocution table; to Sam who has arrived on the scene] Oh, thank God. Just in the nick of time. That guy was about to Frankenstein me.
Sam: Hey there, Hansel.
Dean: Shut up!
Dean: It feels good to be back on the job, doesn't it? Hero gets the girl; monster gets the gank. A happy ending. Complete with happy ending.
Sam: Classy, Dean.
Dean: It would be nice if life were like the movies -- simple. Although if I was turning life into a movie, I wouldn't do this "Abbott & Costello Meet the Monster" crap.
Sam: Yeah. No, I know what you'd pick.
Dean: No, you don't.
Sam: Yeah, I do.
Dean: No, you don't. You don't.
Sam: Porky's II.
Dean: What?
Sam: You heard me.
Dean: ... Lucky guess.
Trivia:
This episode was filmed in black and white as an homage to classic monster movies. The usual title of the episode doesn't play. Instead the opening credits are presented in the same way that classic black and white film credits were. There is even an Intermission panel complete with closed curtain and soft music playing half way through the episode. The sign in the beginning of the episode reading "Pennsylvania" changes to "Transylvania" when the lightning flashes.
In the mummy scene, the security guard asks if "Helen" might have any record of the delivery of the mummy. Helen is the name of the female lead in the original 1932 movie The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff.
Dracula's line, "It was beauty that killed the beast," is from King Kong (1933).
The monster refers to Dean and Jamie as Harker and Mina, respectively. There is also a character named Lucy. All three are references to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fitting with the theme, Sam would be Van Helsing, the bookish professor who hunts Dracula.
When the monster is about to die and then during the end titles, the violin theme quotes the first 4 notes of Young Frankenstein main theme.
Todd Scott, who plays the security guard in this episode, is the stunt double for Jensen Ackles. He, uh, looks nothing like him.
Quotes:
Dean: Well, look at me. I mean, I came back from the furnace without any of my old scars, right? No bullet wounds, knife cuts, none of the off-angle fingers from all of the breaks -- I mean, my hide is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Which leads me to conclude, sadly, that my virginity is intact.
Sam: What?
Dean: I've been re-hymenated.
Sam: Re -- please. Dean, maybe angels can pull you out of hell, but no one could do that.
Dean: Brother! I have been re-hymenated. And the dude will not abide!
Dean: We still gotta see the new Raiders movie.
Sam: I saw it.
Dean: Without me?
Sam: You were in hell.
Dean: That's no excuse.
Dean: C'mon Sammy. It's Oktoberfest. Beer and bar wenches.
Sam: Pretty sure women don't react well today to that bar wench thing.
Dean: Hey, bar wench! How's that beer coming?
Jamie: Coming up, good sir!
Dean: [to Sam] Oktoberfest!
Dean: Hey, you think this Dracula can turn into a bat? That'd be cool.
Sam: [tries unsuccessfully to tear out Ed's ear] It's supposed to come off.
Ed: No, it's not!
Pizza Delivery Guy: Uh, pizza delivery?
Dracula: Ah, you have brought a repast. Excellent. Continue to be of such service, and your life will be spared.
Pizza Delivery Guy: Uh-huh. That'll be $15.50.
Dracula: Tell me...
Pizza Delivery Guy: Yeah?
Dracula: Is there garlic on this pizza?
Pizza Delivery Guy: I don't know. Did you order garlic?
Dracula: No!
Pizza Delivery Guy: Then no. Look, mister, I've got four other deliveries to make. You want to just pay me the money so I can go?
Dracula: Of course. Yes. But I have a coupon.
Dean: [dressed in lederhosen and manacled to Dracula's electrocution table; to Sam who has arrived on the scene] Oh, thank God. Just in the nick of time. That guy was about to Frankenstein me.
Sam: Hey there, Hansel.
Dean: Shut up!
Dean: It feels good to be back on the job, doesn't it? Hero gets the girl; monster gets the gank. A happy ending. Complete with happy ending.
Sam: Classy, Dean.
Dean: It would be nice if life were like the movies -- simple. Although if I was turning life into a movie, I wouldn't do this "Abbott & Costello Meet the Monster" crap.
Sam: Yeah. No, I know what you'd pick.
Dean: No, you don't.
Sam: Yeah, I do.
Dean: No, you don't. You don't.
Sam: Porky's II.
Dean: What?
Sam: You heard me.
Dean: ... Lucky guess.
Trivia:
This episode was filmed in black and white as an homage to classic monster movies. The usual title of the episode doesn't play. Instead the opening credits are presented in the same way that classic black and white film credits were. There is even an Intermission panel complete with closed curtain and soft music playing half way through the episode. The sign in the beginning of the episode reading "Pennsylvania" changes to "Transylvania" when the lightning flashes.
In the mummy scene, the security guard asks if "Helen" might have any record of the delivery of the mummy. Helen is the name of the female lead in the original 1932 movie The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff.
Dracula's line, "It was beauty that killed the beast," is from King Kong (1933).
The monster refers to Dean and Jamie as Harker and Mina, respectively. There is also a character named Lucy. All three are references to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fitting with the theme, Sam would be Van Helsing, the bookish professor who hunts Dracula.
When the monster is about to die and then during the end titles, the violin theme quotes the first 4 notes of Young Frankenstein main theme.
Todd Scott, who plays the security guard in this episode, is the stunt double for Jensen Ackles. He, uh, looks nothing like him.
This has aged way better than the equivalent X-Files episode, "The Post-Modern Prometheus".
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2021
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2021
Okay, I'm going by memory here, so I may be getting a few details wrong, but this is one of those episodes where it's best not to use logic to follow what's happening. The boys found wolf hair but said something to the effect that "real" (to them) werewolves don't grow wolf hair. The shapeshifter was trying to replicate the look of movie monsters, so they certainly wouldn't have used wolf hair in their makeup. But he still transforms into a werewolf with wolf hair, so it must mean he's a different kind of werewolf than actually exists in the Supernatural universe, so he's a real werewolf but not. Okay, I'm going to stop thinking about this for now.
Jamie looks like a cross between Ruby and Jessica. I'm not sure what that says about Dean and his feelings about Sam's relationships.
I thought Dean's favourite movie would have been something like Smokey and the Bandit (road trip in a fast black car, picking up the love of his life along the way, hauling beer, accompanied by a trusted partner to run interference, 1970s era, so a bit before his time, but certainly something John would have seen and probably enjoyed)--either that or something sappy and weepy and romantic. That said, I've never seen Porky's, but what I know of it, it makes sense.
It has been a long time since I've read the book and even longer since I've seen the original movie, but as far as I know, there is no canon-related reason for dressing Harker (i.e. Dean) up in Lederhosen, so of course it's done as a "joke." i just think that if the shapeshifter were going for movie accuracy he would have picked a different outfit for Dean.
Look, I get that we're at a point in history where it's perfectly fine to make Germans and German (or Bavarian or Tyrolean) culture into jokes, but I find laughing at anybody's historical/traditional dress pretty culturally insensitive. Mind you, it's not like Supernatural is big on cultural sensitivity to begin with, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Yes, on the wrong person Lederhosen can be a very bad idea and not an image you want burned into your memory banks. (And believe me when I say I've seen lots and lots and lots of the wrong people wearing them.) On the right person, they're perfectly fine. Of the two Winchester boys, Dean is probably the best stereotypical fit and look for the clothes (bowed legs aside). I mean if Dean had no problem with the teacher gym shorts, this shouldn't be too much of a leap for him to make (unless the gym shorts came with the built-in authority that allowed him to lord his teacher's position over the gym class students and the Lederhosen were put on him without his consent and he only discovered them while tied down and powerless). I can't get too upset at mocking Oktoberfest celebrations (or at least North American ones, as i have no experience with European ones) but I feel like they took the easy way out in the process of doing so. Personally, I would have loved the boys being horrified at the idea of shooting games (with real guns and archery equipment) at a festival that encourages the consumption of so much alcohol. Remember kids: always practise good weapons' safety first and foremost! (Or, for a more modern take on Oktoberfest events, having Baby lose out on best in show at the car show.)
As for the boys' physical trauma, it's not too often the audience gets a glimpse at what's under the jackets and shirts and jeans, so we really don't know how much of a mess the Winchesters really are, but yes, they should definitely be showing signs of badly healed injuries and chronic pain and concussion-related damage and all sorts of things. Maybe hunter lore has a ton of herbal/medicinal cures for all that ails people who chase after monsters.
posted by sardonyx at 10:54 AM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Jamie looks like a cross between Ruby and Jessica. I'm not sure what that says about Dean and his feelings about Sam's relationships.
I thought Dean's favourite movie would have been something like Smokey and the Bandit (road trip in a fast black car, picking up the love of his life along the way, hauling beer, accompanied by a trusted partner to run interference, 1970s era, so a bit before his time, but certainly something John would have seen and probably enjoyed)--either that or something sappy and weepy and romantic. That said, I've never seen Porky's, but what I know of it, it makes sense.
It has been a long time since I've read the book and even longer since I've seen the original movie, but as far as I know, there is no canon-related reason for dressing Harker (i.e. Dean) up in Lederhosen, so of course it's done as a "joke." i just think that if the shapeshifter were going for movie accuracy he would have picked a different outfit for Dean.
Look, I get that we're at a point in history where it's perfectly fine to make Germans and German (or Bavarian or Tyrolean) culture into jokes, but I find laughing at anybody's historical/traditional dress pretty culturally insensitive. Mind you, it's not like Supernatural is big on cultural sensitivity to begin with, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Yes, on the wrong person Lederhosen can be a very bad idea and not an image you want burned into your memory banks. (And believe me when I say I've seen lots and lots and lots of the wrong people wearing them.) On the right person, they're perfectly fine. Of the two Winchester boys, Dean is probably the best stereotypical fit and look for the clothes (bowed legs aside). I mean if Dean had no problem with the teacher gym shorts, this shouldn't be too much of a leap for him to make (unless the gym shorts came with the built-in authority that allowed him to lord his teacher's position over the gym class students and the Lederhosen were put on him without his consent and he only discovered them while tied down and powerless). I can't get too upset at mocking Oktoberfest celebrations (or at least North American ones, as i have no experience with European ones) but I feel like they took the easy way out in the process of doing so. Personally, I would have loved the boys being horrified at the idea of shooting games (with real guns and archery equipment) at a festival that encourages the consumption of so much alcohol. Remember kids: always practise good weapons' safety first and foremost! (Or, for a more modern take on Oktoberfest events, having Baby lose out on best in show at the car show.)
As for the boys' physical trauma, it's not too often the audience gets a glimpse at what's under the jackets and shirts and jeans, so we really don't know how much of a mess the Winchesters really are, but yes, they should definitely be showing signs of badly healed injuries and chronic pain and concussion-related damage and all sorts of things. Maybe hunter lore has a ton of herbal/medicinal cures for all that ails people who chase after monsters.
posted by sardonyx at 10:54 AM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Dean mentions that his body is in pristine condition since his return from hell. Which has me thinking that realistically, given how often the Winchesters get beaten up, they would not stay as pretty as they are for long. They'd get so battered looking, and have so many scars. And then there's the matter of all their injuries, many of which would never quite heal. They get knocked out a lot, and always come to very quickly, with no after effects such as a concussion or worse, which surely would not happen in real life.
I assume that after this point Castiel is just healing them up every time he sees them.
posted by chaiminda at 3:30 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
I assume that after this point Castiel is just healing them up every time he sees them.
posted by chaiminda at 3:30 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
The shapeshifter dressed Dean in the lederhosen while he was unconscious, so I think it's fair enough for him to be disgusted about it when he regains consciousness and realizes what he's wearing. As we've previously discussed, Dean is very particular about what he wears, and wants to wear only what reflects who he is, or at least a type he admires and would like to roleplay, and he did not otherwise make fun of any of the traditional Oktoberfest costumes at all.
Yes, I can definitely see Dean loving Smokey and the Bandit, but so far as I can remember it's never referenced during the series. As I've mentioned, I had a brother who was a lot like Dean, and Smokey was probably his all-time favourite movie. Back in the nineties, he complained to me once that he wanted a copy of it but no store he'd ever looked in had ever had it. I special ordered a VHS copy from Sam the Record Man (Lord, how dated this story is!) for him, and gave it to him for Christmas a few months later. He smiled beatifically when he opened it, and my oldest brother exclaimed, "That's one of the best movies ever made!"
posted by orange swan at 8:02 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yes, I can definitely see Dean loving Smokey and the Bandit, but so far as I can remember it's never referenced during the series. As I've mentioned, I had a brother who was a lot like Dean, and Smokey was probably his all-time favourite movie. Back in the nineties, he complained to me once that he wanted a copy of it but no store he'd ever looked in had ever had it. I special ordered a VHS copy from Sam the Record Man (Lord, how dated this story is!) for him, and gave it to him for Christmas a few months later. He smiled beatifically when he opened it, and my oldest brother exclaimed, "That's one of the best movies ever made!"
posted by orange swan at 8:02 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't have even thought twice about how "dated" (cough) your Sam the Record Man story and reference is if you hadn't mentioned that fact, orange swan. Way to make me feel old! Good on you for being a considerate and loving sister and buying your brother a gift that meant a lot to him. I'm sure that's a great memory for you.
Maybe if this pandemic thing clears up to a higher degree by fall, we could organize a MeFi Oktoberfest get-together.
posted by sardonyx at 8:17 PM on July 17, 2021
Maybe if this pandemic thing clears up to a higher degree by fall, we could organize a MeFi Oktoberfest get-together.
posted by sardonyx at 8:17 PM on July 17, 2021
Michael Eklund (Ed Brewer) deserves a lot more work. He's got the poor-man's Ethane Hawke down, but he can be a chameleon too.
posted by porpoise at 8:26 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 8:26 PM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
Is "gank" a word that actually exists in people's vocabularies? (Yes, I know I can look it up.) It was new to my ears when I started watching this show. It even took me a while to figure out if it was gank or yank. (I could see it being used as we're yanking demons, i.e. pulling demons out of people's bodies.
posted by sardonyx at 11:20 AM on July 18, 2021
posted by sardonyx at 11:20 AM on July 18, 2021
Highschool, North Vancouver, mid-late 90s - yes, "gank" (as in steal or otherwise acquire) was in full play.
posted by porpoise at 2:57 PM on July 18, 2021
posted by porpoise at 2:57 PM on July 18, 2021
I love the individual elements of this but it didn’t gel together for me as the monster of the week never came across as genuinely frightening. I am an absolute wuss for horror films but supernatural always managed to be creepy and threatening without relying on jump scares overmuch.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:24 PM on July 18, 2021
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:24 PM on July 18, 2021
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
I liked Bar Wench Jamie's character a lot. She's smart, empathetic, game, a good shot.
The exchange with the pizza guy was a classic, as was Dean dressed as Hansel. It's amusing that he was more pissed off about the lederhosen than about the fact that he was about to be turned into Dean bacon.
Dean mentions that his body is in pristine condition since his return from hell. Which has me thinking that realistically, given how often the Winchesters get beaten up, they would not stay as pretty as they are for long. They'd get so battered looking, and have so many scars. And then there's the matter of all their injuries, many of which would never quite heal. They get knocked out a lot, and always come to very quickly, with no after effects such as a concussion or worse, which surely would not happen in real life.
posted by orange swan at 4:53 AM on July 17, 2021