Arts Editorial
The rise and fall of the horror movie
By F. T. Morris
Of The Print
It
started
with
“Halloween.”
Horror movies have been
around for a long time (even
Thomas Edison did an early
version of the Frankenstein
story), but no single scary
movie--not even “The
Exorcist”—has inspired more
rip-offs and “similar” kinds of
movies than John Carpenter’s
“Halloween,” made in 1978 on
a small budget of approximate
ly $300,000 (about one eighth
the cost of the average movie).
It was clear, watching the pic
ture that Carpenter’s highest
aesthetic ambition was to simp
ly scare the audience (I first saw
“Halloween” in New York City
in late ’78 and, being not only
in a strange theater but in an
entirely new state, I was doubly
terrified-for that reason, my
anxious, spooky feelings about
the movie are not entirely the
result of what I saw on the
screen).
The success of this one
film, which even managed to
make Time Magazine’s “10
Best List,” sent every producer
scurrying to crank out an imita
tion. Many surfaced, and most
were low budget enough to
recoup their production costs
and show a small, tidy profit.
Therefore, horror flicks became
the current Hollywood fad.
Of all the post-“Hallo-
ween” scares, “Friday the .
13th” was the biggest success,
and it influenced much of what
was to follow. The bad thing
about this, aside from the fact
that “Friday the 13th” sucked,
was that what most of these
films imitated were the worst
parts of “Halloween”: the sex
uality of the (usually teenage)
victims and the bloody car
nage.
The victims were usually
women who had either just had
sex or were-preparing to do so.
It’s a rather facile psychological
excuse for murder, though,
and said more about the direc
tors’ hangups than it did the
killer’s. But there was really
very little explicit sex or nudity
in “Halloween”, and the
violence was suggestive as op
posed to graphic—which made
it all the more effective because
one had to rely on one’s im
agination.
Is there anyone out there
who doesn’t cringe at the
memory of that ghastly scene
in which Bob, one of the
babysitter’s boyfriends is brutal
ly stabbed through the chest
while the camera shows only
his curling toes? It was a
brilliant way to handle a bit of
necessary but grotesque
violence.
Nobody thought to copy
that, of course. Instead, au
diences were forced to witness
the explicit axing (in the face-
ouch!) of a young girl (“Friday
the 13th”), a young boy stab
bed through the mouth and
throat with a shishkebob poker
(“Happy Birthday to Me”) and
one man’s body rammed onto
a shower nozzle so the spray
came out his dead, gaping
mouth
(“My
Bloody
Valentine”). They were all
either about to have sex or had
just finished—or didn’t you
guess?
As a true horror affi-
cienado, I have personally seen
some of the most disgusting
moments in cinematic history.
The lowest-of-low points had
to be the sequel to the one that
started it all, “Halloween II.”
This movie fell into the same
trap that all the others had: one
saw stabbings, shootings, a
nurse’s face scalded beyond
recognition in a hot tub (she
and her boyfriend were
naturally in it together) and a
horrible death scene where a
man slips in a huge puddle of
blood, falls and cracks his skull.
I must say, to be fair, that
occasionally these two
elements of horror genre-the
negative gross-out and the
positive suspense—can melt
together semi-successfully.
“Friday the 13th—Part Two”
had as many onscreen murders
as its predecessor, but it also
had some suspense that was
well-generated. This year’s
“Hell Night” was pretty silly
and brutal, but it gained some
momentum as it knocked
along, and there was genuine
tension that had little to do with
people being savagely killed.
Instead, the suspense arose
because of the fear that they
would be killed. Everyone
(save the heroine) died, but the
onscreen deaths were surpris
ingly few (only four).
The more cruel these
movies got, the more fed up
people became; even the in
discriminate can reach a limit
when it comes to trash. The
horror genre has,, on the
whole, been dying down. Au
diences stopped showing up
long before producers ran out
of holiday themes • for their
hack/shoot/stab shows. I think
Thanksgiving, April Fools Day
and Ground Hog Day are the
only three to remain unscath
ed.
Well, I hate to be the
bearer of bad news, but there
are only two real horror films
(as opposed to sci-fi/horror or
fantasy/horror) currently out.
They are: “Satan’s Mistress”
and “Halloween III: Season of
the Witch.” I have not seen the
first—and I never will!—but, oh,
have I seen the second.
This is the worst piece of
drek thrusted at the public since
the unbelievably sick (I almost
threw up) “Don’t Go in the
House,” which actually show
ed a chained-up, nude woman
burned to a literal crisp with a
blowtorch. “Halloween III” isn’t
really a sequel to the first two
(there are no returning
characters and the setting is in
another state), and it has what
must surely be the dumbest
plot someone ever dared to
write down—one can only
hoot, except when trying not to
gag (snakes and bugs crawl out
of heads). The only good thing
this junk has going for it is some
fine night photography by
Dean Cundy—and that’s all
(and it is a pity to see the
wasting of Dan O’Herlihy—an
actor with the richest tones ever
to be heard—who can’t even
begin to rise above his pathetic
material).
This is where we are now.
It is a shame, becasue I love
scary movies and I’m sure
many others do, too. Not
gross-outs, not sex/stab epics,
but movies that work at the
viewer’s nervous system and
make one squirm with dread
(and anxious delight). “Eyes of
Laura Mars” is the last truly
great horror movie made, one
with real tension and flair, but
that was four years ago! The
saddest part of all this is that,
since horror flicks are starting to
slip at the box office,
Hollywood might typically turn
away from them and release an
avalanche of whatever the next
trend turns out to be. (Did you
notice how quickly the sword
and dragon epidemic came to
an end? After only a few
movies, “Excaliber” is being re-
released!)
What the executives don’t
seem to realize is that it’s their
own lack of judgment and taste
that has forced the public to
take a stand and stop being in
sulted with too-graphic
violence when all we want is a
rich, satisfying shudder or
scream. If Hollywood does
shun the horror genre, there
won’t even be that occasional
fun chill.
Gold medal violinist holds Tchaikovsky concert
Elmar Oliveira, the first November 21, 7:30 p.m., and
American violinist to ever win a Monday and Tuesday,
gold medal at the famed November 22, 23, 8:30 p.m.,
Tchaikovsky Competition in at Portland Civic Auditorium.
Moscow, will make his debut The concerts are sponsored in
with the Oregon Symphony part by the National Endow
Orchestra under the direction ment for the Arts.
of Music Director James
The all-Russian program
DePreist
on
Sunday, will open with “The Tempest”
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page 6
by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky,
receiving its first performance
by Oregon Symphony. The
work is one of three fantasies
based on the plays of William
Shakespeare, written by
Tchaikovsky between 1869
and 1895. The work paints a
musical picture of some of
Shakespeare’s most fanciful
characters: the magical Pro
spero, the monstrous Caliban
and the sprite Ariel, and Miran
da, the lovely maiden who falls
In love with Ferdinand, a hand
some youth who has been
washed ashore on their en
chanted island.
Oliveira will join DePreist
and the orchestra in Tchaikov
sky’s Violin Concerto, one of
the composer’s most beloved
and beautiful works. The se
cond half of the concert will
feature the mighty Sixth Sym
phony of Dimitri Shostakovich,
written in 1939.
Elmar Oliveira has per
formed in the most prestigious
concert halls throughout the
United States, Europe and
South America. He has been a
guest soloist with such
renowned conductors as
Eugene Ormandy, Lorin
Maàzel, Erich Leinsdorf, Max
Rudolph and Sergiu Commis
siona, and has appeared with
such
distin
guished American orchestras
as those of Atlanta, Baltimore,
Chicago, Cleveland, Min
nesota,
Saint
Louis,
Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Bluegrass founder visits area
Bill Monroe, recognized
worldwide as the originator of
Bluegrass music, will appear in
concert with his Bluegrass Boys
on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:30
p.m., in Grant High School
Auditorium, 2245 N.E. 36th.
Opening the show will be
Beverly Cotton, a nationally-
recognized dogger who frails
the banjo, dances, and sings all
the at the same time. Also per
forming will be Sunny South
and The Sawtooth Mountain
Boys.
Bill Monroe forged the
Bluegrass sound in the 1930’s
by blending the Appalachian
string band music of his youth
with other styles, most notably
the country blues of Southern
Black people. His first band in
cluded Earl Scruggs and Lester
Flatt, later to become Bluegrass
stars in their own right. The
band has always been the
“graduate school” of Bluegrass
musicians, and some of the
notables who developed their
styles while with Bill are Vassar
Clements, Chubby Wise, Jim
my Martin, and the Osborne
Brothers.
Monroe’s mandoline style
is definitive and his playing, at
age 71, is as fine as ever. He
has penned such songs as
“Blue Moon of Kentucky,”
“Footprints in the Snow,” and
“Kentucky Waltz.” In addition,
Monroe is a recipient of a Na
tional Heritage Fellowship from
the National Endowment for
the Arts for development of a
traditional folk art. A Pendleton
saddlemaker was honored at
the same ceremony.
The Bluegrass boys
feature Kenny Baker, the dean
of country fiddlers, who has
many records to his credit as a
soloist. Rounding out the band
are Blake Williams on banjo,
Wayne Lewis on guitar, and
Mark Hembree on bass.
The concert is being spon
sored by the Oregon Bluegrass
Association, KWJJ, and Solar
dynamics Northwest. Ticket
prices are $7.00 in advance,
$7.50 at the door. Ticket
outlets are G. I. Joe’s, Pioneer
Music, Green Grass Pickin’
Coop, and Everybody’s
Records.
Clackamas Community College
63.51
34.26
59.60
Density
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