80's American Horror Part Fifty-One

THE NINTH CONFIGURATION

(1980)

Dir - William Peter Blatty

Overall: GOOD

While it is not a horror film, William Peter Blatty's directorial debut The Ninth Configuration is based off of his own novel of the same name, a novel that is the second installment of the author's "Faith trilogy" which could be seen to coexist in the same universe as The Exorcist.   A bizarre and challenging work, it is littered with colorful performances that range from pure, excitable eccentricity to zen-like, deliberate contemplative states where a Pacific Northwestern castle is home to Vietnam vets that have suffered mental breakdowns.  The plot is elaborate and before it introduces the foreseeable twist in the third act where it get streamlined a bit, things are difficult to come to terms with.  The dialog is uniquely rich though; both funny and philosophical as it takes on a hypnotic quality after awhile where just watching the crop of top-notch actors sink their teeth into their roles is more enticing than actually following the narrative.  Stacy Keach, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, and particularly Scott Wilson as a bitter, traumatized former astronaut are all in peak form, with minor roles from Tom Atkins, Robert Loggia, Steven Sandor, Richard Lynch, and Neville Brand providing plenty of memorable moments of their own.

A STRANGER IS WATCHING
(1982)
Dir - Sean S. Cunningham
Overall: GOOD

Sean S. Cunningham's follow-up to the initial Friday the 13th is the gritty adaptation of Mary Higgins Clark's 1977 novel A Stranger Is Watching.  Largely set in the grime-covered underbelly of Grand Central Station, it features command performances from all involved, with Shawn von Schreiber, (in her only acting role ever), as a terrified eleven year old, Rip Torn being particularly odious as her rotten-mouthed kidnapper, and Captain Janeway herself Kate Mulgrew making a resourceful news anchor who gets caught up in the scheme.  The plot manages to be suspenseful without being loaded with surprises, though the combination of disturbing subject matter and a relentless stream of close calls may prove to be too ugly and frustrating for most viewers.  Still, Cunningham handles the proceedings with a keen sense of pacing, the location shooting provides the right ominous atmosphere, and there is at least a naturalistic brutality to it that steers light years away from the director's aforementioned, moronic Friday the 13th predecessor that inexplicably spawned a franchise.

CREEPSHOW 2

(1987)

Dir - Michael Gornick

Overall: MEH

Though technically sub-par, there are still moments of gleefully ghoulish, 80s horror fun in Creepshow 2, the sequel to the beloved and, (universally considered), superior initial Creepshow from 1982.  The first film's cinematographer Michael Gornick takes over for George A. Romero in the director's chair, though the latter stuck around to pen the screenplay along with an uncredited Lucille Fletcher.  Featuring only three stories instead of five to save on production costs, all of them are once again Stephen King adaptations, with the author himself making a cameo appearance as a truck driver.  The tone is perfectly in keeping with what had already been established and most of the humor comes from Joe Silver's Creep narration between segments, (the Creep himself being played under heavy guise by Tom Savini).  Because there are merely three segments, each one could do with some trimming to keep the momentum going, but they all have some nasty gore to please the intended fanbase.  It is certainly not a bad anthology outing; it is just cheaper and duller than what could otherwise be hoped for.