ALICE, SWEET ALICE (1976) A wonderful mix of domestic drama, slasher flick, and overall hysteria. The death of nine-year-old Karen (Brooke Shields) at her first communion kicks off a string of brutal murders within a Catholic community by someone in a yellow raincoat and mask. The locals point their fingers at Karen’s jealous sister, Alice (Paula E. Sheppard), but when the murders continue after Alice is placed in an institution for troubled children, the search continues for the knife-wielding maniac. Influenced by Dario Argento and Don’t Look Now, Alice is both insightful and shocking, seamlessly mixing its religious symbolism, well-written characters, and 1961 period setting into its suspenseful and gory kill sequences. A must-see pre-Halloween slasher. B+
THE CHILL FACTOR (1993) No, not that Cuba Gooding, Jr. action comedy, but a dumb hybrid of The Exorcist and Friday the 13th which, despite some shortcomings, is marginally entertaining. A group of friends seeking shelter after a snowmobile accident in a remote patch of woods hole up in an abandoned summer camp that was once operated by a Satanic cult. After they discover and play with a spirit board, it unleashes a shadowy, demonic figure that slowly possesses one of them and kills the rest one-by-one. This has some good moments – the icicle-through-the-eye bit is a highlight – and its snowy landscape lends the movie a genuinely chilly feel, but a lack of energy, and emotionless, mundane characters, dampen a lot of potential impact, especially when the pacing speeds up towards the end. The crap-o music sounds like it was rejected from the pilot of Beverly Hills, 90210. Funniest scene: in response to her friend’s open bone fracture, “It’s probably not as bad as it looks!” C+
NIGHT SCHOOL (1981) Boston-set slasher whodunit about a killer clad in a motorcycle helmet who’s cutting off the heads of the student body at a private, all-female college. Suspects include the pompous anthropology professor (Drew Snyder), who specializes in the study of ancient head-hunting practices (hardy har!); the creeper bus boy (Bill McCann), who’s got eyes for the professor’s pretty assistant (Rachel Ward); and the moody homicide detective (Leonard Mann). Slickly made and nicely paced, Night School isn’t great, but it’s entertaining, well acted, and has a sense of humor, especially in a playful scene that runs like a game of “Guess Where the Decapitated Head Is?” Modern viewers might be more wise to the killer’s identity, but that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying this modest effort. Look for a hockey mask in the background of a suspect’s bedroom. B