|
|
Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 9, No. 45 |
 |
HALLOWEEN |
 |
|
MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SCREAM!
|
You never forget the ones
that make you scream!
of TheColumnists.com
I remember the exact
time and day when I first screamed in a movie theatre. It was
in the fall of 1954—Oct. 11—and I was at a kids’
matinee at Toronto’s Century movie emporium.
The usual fare hadn’t arrived, the manager told a screaming
mob of kids under 15, so he had some unusual treats to throw
in–and one of them was 1935’s "The Werewolf Of
London." The print was murky, but the audience sat very
silent when Henry Hull began those piercing wolf songs. Me? I
got up, screamed and ran 10 blocks home in the rain.
Now that I think back I realize I could have taken the streetcar.
But, no, I wanted the sheer pleasure of being spooked to linger
so I ran all the way home.
My little brother had his own screaming experience when we took
him , aged seven, to see "Abandon Ship" (1957) with
Tyrone Power, first run at Toronto’s Odeon Carlton cinema.
It wasn’t even a horror flick but the sight of the mighty
ship poised to plunge and sink really set him off. He had to
be taken into the lobby to cool down.
It was the fun of being scared that always excited me. I simply
liked being in the foyer of the Downtown theatre where William
Castle's "Macabre" (1958) was playing. There were nurses
and hospital beds in case anybody fainted and one had to sign
a beneficiary insurance form in case of sudden death during the
film performance. Alas, "Macabre" only induced a feeling
of dullness.
"Emergo" was another gimmick that passed me by. I saw
it in 1959, back at the Century, but I was older and wiser by
then. It was used during the original "House on Haunted
Hill." A skeleton was cranked out on wires over the heads
of the audience. It did evoke some screams but not from me. I
watched as the skeleton got stuck half way over and stayed for
some time before getting yanked out of view. I boycotted entirely
the one where certain patron’s seats were wired to induce
a mild shock. ("The Tingler," 1959).
I was just plain nauseated by Smellovision when it arrived in
Toronto circa 1961 as the gimmick for a documentary called "Behind
the Great Wall," narrated by NBC’s Chet Huntley. We
got to smell the Chinese earthworms and the stench caused a mass
exodus from the Towne cinema. I often wondered why they didn’t
make a horror flick in Smellovision.
 |
 house on the Universal lot. Above, Janet Leigh screaming in the terrifying shower sequence. |
By my teen years, it was what I didn’t see or hear that caused most fear. That’s why my first screening of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" truly scared me–the brutality of the shower scene and what I thought I’d seen but really hadn’t and then the sudden appearance of “mother”. Now that I’ve read the books explaining it all, I’m rather bored by Hitch’s trail of tricks.
Similarly, I could appreciate those elaborate color remakes from Britain’s Hammer Films of "Dracula," "Frankenstein" and "The Mummy," all dressed up. But they never really scared me on any level.
I much prefer too little to too much in horror. For example 1963’s "The Haunting" truly haunted me when first seen because I could hear the sounds of the house but never actually saw who or what was making those sounds. The 1999 remake boasted big stars and I hurried to the cinema to catch it on its first day out. Was I disappointed. There were special effects galore which ruined everything by making scenes too explicit.
Just about here I want to stop for a moment to extol Canadian horror films. It’s a proud tradition. I don’t know what others think of "Cannibal Girls" (1973) but the mere mention of this title makes my mouth water–hey, I’m only fooling. But certain scenes from Toronto director David Cronenberg movies including "Rabid," "Scanners," "Dead Ringers" and "Crash" are pretty stomach churning. But are they scary on any level? That, I’m still trying to find out.
I remember being on the set of "Black Christmas" (1973), but it was just to meet Olivia Hussey, I admit. But the finished product wasn’t half bad. Also recommended: "Prom Night" (1980) and "Terror Train" (1980). Did you know "Terror Train" was photographed by John Alcott, who also photographed Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"? Will wonders never cease.
 |
all-time scariest movies, "Black Christmas." That's a dead coed inside the wreath, tucked away in the attic of her boarding house. |
But one entry in that demented genre actually did disturb me: "Halloween"–the first one, not all those interminable sequels. With the nerve-tingling music, the presence of Donald Pleasence, the fact we never saw the killer without his hockey mask and the night time scenes of dark and lonely streets, I found myself getting truly shaken up when I first caught this one on video at home. Incidentally, I interviewed Pleasence way before he went the horror route and he had a Claude Rains aura about him–a great character actor now only remembered for his appearances as the sort of "Van Helsing" figure in the "Halloween" horror movies.
Watching a film on a big screen with an audience present evokes one set of senses. Watching an old movie in a darkened house late at night provides a different environment for chills. Although I admire many antique Hollywood horrors including "Bride Of Frankenstein," "Son Of Frankenstein" and "Mark Of the Vampire," I’m hardly chilled by them. However, anything made by RKO’s Val Lewton ("Cat People," "I Walked With A Zombie," etc.) is in a special category of minor movie masterpiece.
 |
Val Lewton's 1943 "I Walked With A Zombie" is Frances Dee, between two zombies. |
An old friend, Harry Purvis, now 84, tells me that at the original run of "Dracula" in 1931, women actually did faint or run up the aisles in fright. Seventy-five years later we can only watch these films with great admiration for how they were made.
I’m still watching horror but mostly from the safety of my TV set. A currently running series that boasts a high fright level is "Supernatural," (but not "Ghost Whisperer"). The latest batch of "Mummy" movie adventures are well made parodies of the old adventure flicks and are made on huge budgets.
Something that really intrigues me these days are old "Inner Sanctum" radio mysteries. That’s right, I’m back to the future. I’m listening to old radio programs like "Inner Sanctum" and "The Shadow" and finding horror in its purest form, stripped of all visuals. That’s it, the creaking door, the scariest moment of any old "Inner Sanctum" show.
©2008 by Jim Bawden. The photo from "Werewolf of London" is courtesy of Universal Studios. The photos from "Pyscho" are courtesy of Paramount and Universal. The photo from "I Walked With A Zombie" are courtesy of Turner Classic Movies and RKO Pictures. The ad from "Black Christmas" is courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Video. This column first posted Oct. 27, 2008.
JIM
BAWDEN is the former TV Columnist and Vintage Movie specialist
for The Toronto Star. He was written for many film magazines,
including "Films in Review." His columns now appear
in TheColumnists.com.
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Jim Bawden. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Jim' name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
|
|
|
Archives |
|
|