FEATURE LIST
PHILIP MORRIS
keeps trying to strangle him. he and says ‘Who’s sorry now’ and
and puts a hook on top. And the book ls A Farewell to Arms. It’s
--: rut:
‘Bruce Campbell’s hand gets possessed by a demon and
amputates it with a chainsaw
then he covers it with a bucket
so corny. . .’
‘We wanted a film that was very tunny but also very bloody.
I think we’ve got a film that’s bloodytunny’
orget Freddy, Frankenstein or Drac. it‘s the chilling spectre of the Censor who looms omnipresent over the horror film industry. He is the true bogeyman. nastily slashing the most tantalising terrors. chopping up the lovingly-crafted goresome special effects (British censors demanded so many cuts to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel that it was never released here) and damning most films to an over-18 audience only. Anyone old enough to scrape together the price of a ticket for the stalls is welcome to their l8-rated tack. Many full moons ago I saw the original Friday the 13th; passe now. but I was 14 and it scared the shit out ofme. All that stood between me and nervous collapse was my ingenious ploy ofscrabbling around on the floor (‘oops. think I‘ve dropped my choc ice‘) whenever I reckoned a mega-scare was on the way. These are always easily spotted: they‘re heralded by sudden spooky music and signalled by the dumb teens on screen taking solitary midnight strolls through creepy woodland, casing out deserted old shacks and ambling into rooms without first switching on the lights. Jeez. these goofs deserve to be slaughtered.
Some people are made ofsterner stuff— equipped with strong stomachs and imaginations which
don‘t gallop off screaming at the first sight of blood: they merrily gobble up all the graphic massacres the horrormeisters can chuck at them. Satanic curses? Smashing. Palpitating innards? Yummy. give us
‘ more. Chainsaw decapitations? Cor.
keep ‘em coming. Despite the restricted adult audience — or often because of it. as being deemed fit for wimpy 15 year-olds diminishes intrigue — horror films grossed more box office bucks than any other movie genre last year. Creepy cinema sucks in the crowds. and this weekend 400 devotees converge on the Salon cinema in Glasgow for 18 hours of fright flicks at Scotland’s first horror film festival.
Cheerily titled ‘Black Sunday‘ (the logo features a skull and crossed Chainsaws) the festival will present ten UK film premieres. These include the first European showing for Salute oftheJugger featuring Rutger Hauer. the most menacing man ever to glare into a camera; the latest in the .N’ightmare 012 Elm Street series; Stepfather II (he was killed at the end ofthe first film but returns in faithful adherence to horror‘s edict that Death Never Stands in the Way of a Sequel); Sundown. a vampire comedy western starring Bruce Campbell and David Carradine; and .N'ekromantiks — a love story with a difference.
Starting at 11.30pm on Saturday night, the marathon will be
punctuated with guest appearances from horror authors. directors and special effects experts. The convention has been put together by Mancunians David Bryan and Malcolm Dalglish. who have previously organised two such horror bonanzas in their home town.
‘It‘s not just for Glasgow. it‘s a Scottish festival.‘ stresses Bryan. ‘People are coming from all over: Edinburgh. Aberdeen. Dundee and umm. Brechin.‘
Brechin'.’ Aaargh! Return ofthe KillerTeuchters! Glasgow is a singularly apt venue: it has the most fanatical horror film folowing in the UK. Evil Dead [1 had its world premiere here and each time the Grosvenor cinema screens The Exorcist it immediately sells out. Video shops agree that horror titles positively leap from the shelves. Series like Nightmare on Elm Street (streets ahead in the popularity stakes). Halloween and Friday the 13th are consumed like pop-corn.
? with addicts popping back to await eagerly the next gruesome
instalment. Whilst some shops reckon the genre is primarily a teenage fad. the manageress ofAzad
' in Argyle Street disagrees. ‘It‘s a
favourite with all ages — we get a lot ofold folk who keep very up to date.‘ The tall assistant in Forbidden Planet, a sci-fi and fantasy comic shop. his pale face shrouded in long hair. looks like a likely fan. ‘Nah.’ he
10 The List 23 February — 8 March 1990