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25 - Friday, October 28, 1988 - North Shore News

get you in the Halloween mood

IN HONOR of Halloween, here’s a hangman’s dozen of
ghoulish delights available on video.

Frankenstein (MCA)

The granddaddy of them all has
had footage restored that hasn’t
been seen since its original release
in 1931. Karloff's performance is
both sympathetic and brutish,
winning universal recognition.
Bride of Frankenstein (MCA)

Director James Whale injects a
streak of black humor in this se-
quel that manages to top its
predecessor. The highly-strung
Colin Clive is cajoled into creating
a mate for the undying monster by
the sinister Ernest Theseiger. Elsa
Lanchester makes movie history
premiering the beehive hairdo
(with lightning streaks yet).

As an added bonus, the tape in-
cludes the original trailer for
Psycho with Hitchcock giving a
droll puided tour of the eerie Bates
Motel.

The Body Snatcher (RKO/
Nostalgia Merchant)

Producer Val Lewton specialized
in atmospheric, low-budget tales
that used restraint while raising
-hackles.

Based on Robert Louis Steven-
son’s story, this chiller shows the
downfall of a Scottish doctor who
is forced to deal with a blackmail-
ing cabman (Karloff) who
moonlights as a grave robber.

After supplying some particularly
fresh specimens for the doctor's
anatomy class, they fight to the
death ... or so the survivor thinks.
Horror of Dracula (Warner)

Hammer Films’ full-blooded
retelling of the old classic offers an
athletic Dr. Van Helsing (Peter *

Cushing) battling the screen’s most
dynamic Count (Christopher Lee).
The sexuality of the vampire is

brought front and centre as his
female victims, with bosoms heav-
ing, eagerly await his kiss.

A brassy score and an exciting
chase climax make this the best
undead film made.

Dead of Night (Thorn/EMD

Five supernatural tales unfold at
a gathering of strangers who feel a
dash of deja vu about their
meeting. Each relates a dream or
story, with the most horrific left for

TIM
BELL

film reviewer

last, as ventriloquist Michael
Redgrave finds his dummy ad-libb-
ing during his act. The segments
are unsettling, except for a light-
hearted ghost story which acts as a
breather. .
Psycho/The Birds (MCA)

Hitchcock’s two frightening
yarns initiated a series of pale im-
itations based on his then-novel
themes of, respectively, a slasher
killer and a natural Armageddon.
Both films will instill a lifelong
uneasiness, if not outright dread,
about showers and our feathered
friends.
The Haunting (MGA/UA)

Taking a tip from Val Lewton’s
less-is-more theory, director

Robert Wise never shows the
ghosts that walk the halls of Hill
House. Four hardy mortals try to
record the supernatural events but
things that go boom in the night
soon have them reconsidering.

Daughters of Darkness (Con-
tinental)

This Belgian vampire story
follows a newlywed couple falling
under the influence ofa _>
mysterious woman in a luxurious
hotel. When asked to what does
she owe her youth, she replies,
“Diet and rest.” An offbeat
movie that tosses in nudity and
lesbianism as well as some shivers.

The Exorcist (Warner)

The first horror movie to crack
the top-ten moneymakers. After a
brilliantly moody opening in Iraq,
the movie shifts to an urban
brownstone where the demon
takes up residence in a pubescent
girl. Subtlety is not the film’s
strong point, but overall it’s well-
crafted and delivers the scares
with a wallop.

Alien (CBS/Fox)

Basically, this is a haunted
house-in-space, as an ever-evolv-
ing life form runs amuck on a ship
hauling ore, whittling the crew
down to Sigourney Weaver. It
builds slowly to a graphic gore
scene, the infamous chest-burster,
but all gore from there on is
discreetly hinted at.

The sequel, Aliens, is faster-
paced and more of a Space-
Rambo movie, as Weaver again
battles not one, but a horde of
oversized, man-eating insects.

offer get away!

H This coupon cannot , oe

HORSESHOE BAY
6695 Nelson Ave.

uw” be used in conjunction with any other offer.
(Maximum two coupons per party — No separate cheques)

Reservations accepted.

West Vancouver
9 88

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566 Cardero St.

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