The summer silly’ season is in full swing, and Hollywood is doing more than its fair share to hold rationality at bay. Latest cinematic entry in the superna- tural sweepstakes is The Amity- ville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, a film guaranteed to do to your mind what a hot day in Toronto does to your clothes. The story opens on a melod ramatically stormy night in the Long Island, New York commun- ity of Amityville, as a deranged young man systematically guns downs his entire family in their beds. Later we discover that mys- terious voices told him to perform the pointless crime. One year after the slaughter George and Kathleen Lutz (Games Brolin and Margot Kid- der) decide to buy the murdered family’s house even though they are aware of its bloody past. ‘**Houses don’t have memories,” they tell themselves. Besides, the real estate agent assures them, “‘there’s nothing like it on the market.”” Prophetic words indeed. No sooner have the happy couple and their three children moved in than their dream house begins to de- generate into a nightmare. .When the family priest (Rod Steiger) ar- rives to bless the house he is locked in his room, surrounded by houseflies, nearly strangled, and told to ‘Get out!’’, all by some unseen agency. And that’s just the beginning. Before the longed-for conclusion of this bloated frightfest the be- leaguered family and the audi- ence) is subjected to a veritable smorgasbord of bizarre goings- on. Chandeliers shake and empty rocking chairs rock. A babysitter is locked in a closet that has no lock. George and Kathleen fre- quently wake up at 3:15 a.m., the time of the mass murder. Kath- leen has gruesome nightmares and George becomes progres- sively irrational. All this and more leads up to an explosive climax _ If I sound cynical, its not be- cause the shock sequences have no impact. More than once the makers of The Amityville Horror managed to squeeze shrieks of terror out of the packed theatre. The problem is that in doing so they have displayed all the sub- tlety of a rabid doberman pin- scher. For example, just in case you miss the implications of the opening murder sequence (which would be about as easy as missing , the month of January) the film cuts from George and Kathleen on their first visit to the house to gory scenes of the madman Fal MSar: Amityville hokum emptying his shotgun into Mum, Dad and the kids. A nice touch. Moreover, even within the confines of its own perserve logic the film makes little sense. The key to the mystery'is supposedly the fact that a local Indian group used to incarcerate their sick, mad and dying on the very plot of land on which tthe house was ouilt. However, towards the end, George sees an image of a giant pig. (Did the Indians lock up luna- tic pigs, t60?). George is also con- fronted with an apparition of what appears to be his own face, only to discover that he is the ‘‘spittin’ image”’ of the murderer. ee The acting performances fail to salvage this glossy piece of schlock shock. Margot Kidder as Kathleen is alternately charming and convincingly terrified as the plot demands, but her role lacks the strength and gritty realism of the character portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in Alien. James Brolin’s portrayal of George is unrevealing and shal- low. Rod Steiger shamelessly overacts as the bedeviled priest whose doomed attempts to save the family drive him to emotional collapse. But in fairness, it should be added that none of the three have much of a script to work from. Likewise, the background music does its job without being Driven to the breaking point by hostile supernatural forces Geoff and Kathleen Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder) call on a hig! authority. Unfortunately. all they get is a busy signal and things contin to go bump in the night. especially memorable and the €liminated for the sake of dram tic impact. hotography is gimmicky but not 4 et a The book itself, supposedly! particularly deft. : el However, what really makes real McCoy, is the subject © some suspicion. In the Mar The Amityville Horror much more insidious than Rosemary’s issue of Writer’s Digest Williall Baby, The Exorcist and other films G. Roll, head of the Psychical Re of the genre is that it claims to be search Foundation, is quoted # based ona true story. That claim, saying that he considers it a wo? however, is bunk. Many changes of fiction. And what has authd! have been made in transferring Jay Anson to say in his defenc® Jay Anson’s allegedly non-fiction . Ihave no idea whether book to the screen. Not least of book is true or not. But I’m sult these is the film’s scene in which that the Lutzes believed wh George, apparently possessed, they told me to be true ... It® nearly does a hatchet job on his_ possible that none of the “event marriage — quite literally. No- actually happened.”’ thing like that appears in the § So much for journalistic int book. The supposedly factual grity. Thanks anyway Jay, bl! elements have -been unscrupul- most people prefer their fictio! ously manipulated, added to, or straight. —.Shane Parkhl! John and 1Eaya Weir (left) areieit acopy ofthe novel “Maria Chapdelaine” in Russian translation. The novel describes lite of French Canadian people in Northern Quebec. The Dandelions were delighted to learn that several books by French and Canadian authors have been printed in the USSR. Canadian Gulliver in Moscow The ‘‘Pissenlits’’ (Dandelions) ictacon: s Theatre’ from Montreal put on their original play ““Gulliver’’ in Moscow, Tbilisi and Odessa as part of the USSR- Canada cultural exchange pro- gram. They were warmly applauded by Soviet children and adults alike. An original play, based on Jonathan Swift's ‘‘Gulliver’s Travels” the Canadian ‘‘Gulliver’’ by Pierre Fortin (music and songs by Joseph Saint-Gelais) combines clowning, pantomime and puppetry to pro- duce a delightful show. **The Canadian actors use the universal language of kindness and life-asserting humor,”’ said N. Taranenko, director of the Odessa Children’s Theatre. ‘*The acting and production methods are very interesting.” Gulliver is a sad clown. He brings joy and laughter to others, but is himself unhappy. His friends, the other clowns, try to cheer him up, but he keeps weep- ing. Finally they suggest that he travel to distant lands as a cure for his despondency. He visits Lil- liput and would make friends with the small, bustling inhabitants, but their fierce king drives him out. Then he goes to the land of the giants, but they think only of gorging and acquiring things. Even the beauty Glumdalklick only wants to buy Gulliver as a toy. Disillusioned, Gulliver re- turns and then discovers that happiness is to be found at home and in the heart. We snatched the opportunity to meet the cast and talk with them before they flew back to Montre- al. PACIFIC TRIBUNE— AUGUST 31, 1979— Page 6 “*Soviet audiences are wonder- ful,’ said actress Lynne Lamarche. ‘‘We are only sorry that our tour was at the time when most children were already at summer camps or cottages. But nevertheless there were quite a few children at our performances and the message we try to put ac- ross is good for adults too.”’ The acting was truly excellent and the message humanist. Rene Lemier as Gulliver was out- standing; he even spoke most of his lines in Russian. Here’s hoping that more Cana- dian -‘‘Gullivers’’ visit the USSR and Soviet groups tour Canada. It’s good for both sides. : — John Weir Tribune Moscow Correspondent Top: Gulliver reads “Gulliver's Travels” to decide where to travel Bottom: Glumdalklich buys Gulliver as a toy.