10 minute read
Screen Time
Love at first fright — three scary films that left a mark
Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK
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In space no one can hear you scream.
The night He came home!
The ultimate in alien terror.
These are the taglines to the first three R-rated movies I ever saw at a movie theater with a parent or guardian because I was under 17 and no one under 17 would be admitted without a parent or guardian present.
Believe it or not, movie theaters were strict back then.
Thinking about these films the other day, I realized, in addition to the inherent, multiple connections of pairs shared by these three movies (including two having very strong female characters as their protagonist, two of the movies’ antagonists are from outer space, two pay homage to Alfred Hitchcock, two of the movies I saw at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema, and two were directed by John Carpenter), they are all modern classics and are good scary movies to watch during the Halloween season.
Heck, even one has the word “Halloween” in its title.
Yes, if the taglines didn’t give them away, I am talking about “Alien,” “Halloween” and “The Thing.”
These three movies are so good that I still brag to fellow film-lovers who discovered these films on video or DVD that I saw them all when they first came out on the big screen.
And the great thing back then, we went to the movies with very little to go on other than, maybe, a spooky movie trailer, an enticing TV spot, a colorful movie poster (which, oftentimes, were better than the actual movies themselves), a scary premise, or the star or director promoting his film on a late-night talk show.
The only actor I knew going into “Alien” was Yaphet Kotto, who played Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big in the first James Bond movie I ever saw in a first-run movie theater (and the first and best with Roger Moore), “Live and Let Die.”
“Alien” was a revelation in the movie theater. It’s Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” in outerspace. And it was the first movie I ever saw in which the main female wasn’t a damsel in distress or merely eye candy but a bona fide action hero. Except for some schlocky revenge flicks, it was unheard of at the time. It was totally unexpected. It was incredibly refreshing.
Everyone in the movie theater concluded that Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) was going to be the hero in the movie because he’s a man. But it turned out Warrant Officer Ripley, played by a then unknown Sigourney Weaver, was to be humanity’s savior. And I’ve had a crush on her ever since.
The visual of the derelict spaceship and the discovery of the skeletal “space jockey” are some of the best and most imaginative special effects I had seen since the original “Star Wars” two years earlier. But “Alien” was a far cry from “Star Wars.” George Lucas’ space soap-opera never gave me nightmares.
And H.R. Giger’s alien — which is Hell incarnate, the personification of pure unadulterated evil that only exists in our deepest, darkest subconsciousness — is the best movie villain since Darth Vader. And, somehow, Kenner was able to produce an 18-inch figure of the alien, which sold on the shelves (until they took them off the market) next to the Wayne Gretzky dolls at Child World in White City, Shrewsbury.
Also, the infamous chest-bursting scene is still one of the most nightmarish, original and unexpected death scenes I’ve ever seen on the big screen.
I once met Mr. Chest-Burster actor himself, John Hurt, at the “Love Ride” in Glendale, California.
Being a big “Alien” fan and still buzzing from scoring the highest grade in a 400 Level college course “Orwell Seminar: 1984” at Worcester State College (it was still a college back then) and the fact that Hurt was pitchperfect as George Orwell’s doom protagonist Winston Smith, opposite Richard Burton’s O’Brien in his finale role, in the last screen version of “1984,” I couldn’t wait to tell him, “I cried when you died in ‘Alien.’”
And, Hurt laughed and said, “Yes, me too.”
The only complaint at the end of “Alien” was not seeing enough of the alien. But all that changed with James Cameron’s ambitious and original “Aliens” sequel, which is arguably one of the best movies ever made about the Vietnam War (no kidding) and one of the few sequels that is, arguably, better than the original.
Leaving the theater for the original “Alien,” everyone thought Jones the cat was pregnant with the alien and that would be a sequel. A better script-writer than director (and he’s an exceptional director), Cameron is too clever for the kitty litter cop-out like that.
And not only did he magically build on the “Alien” universe, Cameron gave us more scenes with the alien. In fact, Cameron gave us a gazillion aliens, coming out of the wall and falling out of the ceiling. And he even had a humongous killer queen alien, which was not only something newly introduced to the movie-goer but the shell-shocked characters in the movie as well.
“Aliens” also gave us a memorable platoon of Space Marines led by Cpl. Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn), Pvt. Hudson (Bill Paxton) and Pvt. Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein).
But my favorite thing Cameron gave us in “Aliens” is Carter Burke, special projects director for WeylandYutani, aka the epitome of corporate slime, played by Paul Reiser. It’s an incredibly evil and ugly change of pace character for the usually likable “Mad About You” actor.
Anything after in “Alien” franchise is absolute garbage. And David Fincher should have been deported into dark space after what he did to Corporal Hicks and Newt in the first five minutes of “Aliens 3,” off camera.
For some reason, my brother and I both happened to be home, up past one o’clock on a weekday and watching “Late Night with David Letterman” when filmmaker John Carpenter was the final guest.
Carpenter was promoting “The Thing,” his inspired remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic “The Thing from Another World,” which featured the future Marshall Matt Dillon of “Gunsmoke” fan (James Arness) as a defrosted flying saucer pilot with anger-management issues from outer space frozen in the Arctic ice for 100,000 years.
After a few minutes of banter with the maverick filmmaker, Letterman showed one of the most amazing movie clips I have ever seen to promote a film on television, all hell breaking loose in a dog kennel with some of the most intense special effects I have ever seen.
When the minute clip was over, Letterman quipped, “So then it’s the story about a boy and his dog. My, my, wow.”
Then in unison, my brother and I looked at each other and agreed that we have to see “The Thing” the night that it opens at Lincoln Plaza.
And what a movie.
Besides the imaginative special-effects and suspenseful, tension-filled storyline, it is full of killer, crass and very quotable dialogue. Imagine if David Mamet wrote a monster movie, it would be something like “The Thing.”
“The Thing” is very much a guys’ movie. The memorable dialogue is rough, the alien transformation scenes are deliciously gory and over the top, and there are too many cool scenes to count.
Although it is minus the creatures, it has plenty of blood; the only thing I’ve seen that comes close to “The Thing,” in regards to its chilly, claustrophobic tension and edge of your seat suspense, is another Kurt Russell
Sigourney Weaver outwits an evil E.T. in “Alien.”
20TH CENTURY FOX
5THINGS TO DO
HALLOWEEN, DIA DE LOS MUERTOS EVENTS AND MORE ...
Richard Duckett and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK
There will be a Dia de los Muertos celebration held at several locations in downtown Worcester Oct. 30. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE
Celebrating Dia de los Muertos
Downtown Worcester will be “alive” Oct. 30 for a “Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in the Woo Celebration” hosted by the Jean McDonough Arts Center, the Worcester Public Library, Main IDEA, and the Worcester Art Museum. There will be a block party, sculpture, storytelling, public art, and more. Events include a mural by the Mexican artist Marka27 at City Hall; a sculpture by Ecuadorean artists and storytellers Jose Criollo and Germán Chiriboga staged at the JMAC (noon-4 p.m.); two offerings curated by Mexican artist and scientist Maya Rojas at City Hall and the Worcester Art Museum; and a block party on Worcester Common (including artists, community organizations, artisans, food vendors) hosted by the City of Worcester with youth programming led by Main IDEA in partnership with the Worcester Public Library. (RD)
What: “Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in the Woo Celebration” When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 30 Where: Various locations. To learn more, volunteer, or make a donation, please email: woo.dayofthedead@gmail.com
Nightmare on Park Avenue?
If anyone in town knows how to throw a geeky cool all-ages Halloween party, it’s the folks at comic book store and pop culture emporium That’s Entertainment. This year is no exception, and its free day-long Halloween party and costume contests will also feature Freddy Krueger, courtesy of Dream Killer Cosplay, and professional cosplay photography by photographer Christopher Robin Wetherell. In addition, “Radio of Horror” host Chris Denmead and comic book artist Ken Hunt will be signing and selling copies of their new comic, “Vlada: A Dracula Tale,” and children’s book author Kathryn Hulick will be on hand to autograph copies of her book, “Strange But True: 10 of the World’s Greatest Mysteries Explained.” That’s Entertainment will also be giving out candy and free “Halloween Comic Book Extravaganza” exclusive comic books at the front counter to trick-or-treaters all day long, while supplies last. (VDI)
What: Halloween Party When: noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 Where: That’s Entertainment, 244 Park Ave., Worcester How much: Free
Cassie Blanchette SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Songs of Unity” is the theme of the Assabet Valley Mastersingers’ first concert of the 2021-22 season with a program of works by contemporary composers. “Unity in Diversity” by Cynthia Lee Wong is a song cycle with texts by Wordsworth, Teasdale and Tagore, touching on themes which resonate today - nature and destruction, love and unity. “LUX: The Dawn From On High” by Dan Forrest explores ancient liturgical chant, scripture, and modern secular love poetry, while Oliver Caplan’s “We Exist” is a response to the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, honoring all races, faiths and genders. (RD)
What: “Songs of Unity” — Assabet Valley Mastersingers When: 8 p.m. Oct. 30 Where: Robert R. Jay Performing Arts Center, St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury How much: $25; $20 students and seniors. www.avmsingers.org
Actor and singer Cassie Blanchette will perform her show “The Freedom To Dream” as a benefit concert for veterans Oct. 30 at The Stone Church, 283 Main St., Gilbertville. Blanchette has appeared in several area productions including at The Center at Eagle Hill in Hardwick and Theatre at the Mount in Gardner. Her husband served 10 years in the Marine Corps and was deployed in Iraq. The concert will benefit The Brookfield Institute in Ware which works to build resilience in veterans, active duty service members and military families. Blanchette will perform songs fromBroadway, including numbers from “Phantom of the Opera” and “LesMiserables,” as well as pop songsand a fewcomedic songs. Joining her will be singers Julie Bouchardand Taylor Lawton. The accompanist is Steph Parker. (RD)
What: “The Freedom To Dream” — Cassie Blanchette When: 2 p.m. Oct. 30 Where: Old Stone Church, 283 Main St., Gilbertville How much: $15. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-freedom-todream-tickets “The Moth Mainstage” is coming to the Hanover Theatre Nov.
4. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE
The art of storytelling
The Moth is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. “The Moth Mainstage” features wildly divergent raconteurs celebrating the ability of stories to honor both the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for connection. (RD)
What: “The Moth Mainstage” When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 Where: The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester How much: $47. (877) 571-7469; www.thehanovertheatre.org
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The theme of Assabet Valley Mastersingers’ first concert of the 2021-22 season is “Songs of Unity.” ALLAN JUNG/T&G FILE
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