One part end-of-the-world thriller, two parts werewolf-like nocturnal beast on the rampage horror picture, and all parts quick-moving, animated, get right down to business butt-stomping fun, this hugely enjoyable romp makes for a most pleasant surprise. An ancient rhunestone that's the prison for a centuries old clawed, fanged, highly lethal lupine humanoid monster gets unearthed in a Pennsylvannia coal mine. When the gigantic rock is sent to New York City so it can be displayed in an art gallery, naturally our hairy, hulking, none too friendly or sociable whatchamathingie wakes up from its lengthy slumber and boy is he one grumpy SOB! Pretty soon it's racking up a hefty corpse tally as a gruesome preliminary to a possible apocalypse said beast is a harbinger of. Of course, your usual colorfully mixed bag of courageous protagonists -- skeptical artist Joan Severance, her hunky boyfriend Tim Ryan, plucky teen Chris Young, and eccentric clockmaker Alexander Godunov -- have to stop this vicious critter or it's curtains for us all, baby!
Besides the inspired and imaginative handy dandy multi-genre combo narrative which scores bonus novelty points for making Armageddon part of a Nordic prophecy rather than the standard hackneyed Christian religious hooey, this surprisingly well-produced and energetically executed little number further benefits from William Carroll's brisk, capable direction, a steady, unflagging forward-ho pace, David Newman's rousing score, some nice witty touches, a cool monster, handsome photography, several lively kill scenes, and a properly spooky atmosphere that positively reeks with ominous portent. The performances are uniformly stellar as well, with Peter Riegert giving a wonderfully rough-edged portrayal of a coarse, irascible, candy-noshing homicide detective and delightfully crusty cameos by Lawrence Tierney as a gruff police chief, William Hickey as a flaky elderly mythology expert, and Arthur Malet as an amiably yappy fuddy dud museum curator. Dynamic, thrilling and refreshingly bereft of any needless pretense or condescending campy humor, this vastly entertaining and charmingly old-fashioned fright film overall rates as one completely worthwhile and satisfying bloodthirsty behemoth on the loose in the Big Apple horror blast.
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