Movies: 'Halloween' hooks and captivates Hy JOHN WARD 0 Daily Collegian Staff Writer ' There's a neat little hook midway .. ..through "Halloween." The film's heroines are driving along the street, :, talking casually. But I happened to hear their car radio softly play the Blue ' Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" 'ht the same time, and it gave me chills.. ' That little touch capsulizes my general feelings about the film. It's a short, 'tightly-done suspense thriller that grips • the audience with sly camera work, : tense music and non-bloody violence. ..11irector John Carpenter has turned out - the first true "sleeper" hit in quite a while with "Halloween," and it should get him some recognition. The film's action takes place in one evening, Halloween night, 1978. A psychopathic killer has escaped from a mental institution and returned to his 0 beautiful tp bargain is 0 i back! Celebrate the return ..of lan's $6.00 SHAMPOO and HAIRCUT every , Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Regularly a $7.50 value. Drop in or call for a money-saving ap pointment with your fa vorite stylist. Discover the great-looking 1• t you at lan's. Dalt -01111 \\l Corner of Beaver and Va le t: o Streets' iiege • hometown of Haddonfield, 111., where the psycho murdered his sister 15 years before. Now he's back for more thrills, at the expense of , some unfortunate teenagers. The acting isn't bad, with Donald Pleasance hamming it up as the killer's doctor and Jamie Lee Curtis as a babysitter terrorized by the killer. But acting isn't the strong point of this film. Neither is the screenplay, which many might see as a trite hack job. What makes this movie such an honest-to-God spine-chiller is the un nervingly precise way Carpenter han dles his camera. Often he takes the killer's view, cutting from victim to .victim with cold-blooded casualness. The audience never gets a decent look at the killer's face. He moves in and out of the shadows like a ghost. I usually check the audience for reactions while watching a film. On the night I saw "Halloween," there weren't many people in the place. But it could' have been packed, for all anyone cared, since the audience was rigid in their seats. Any film that grabs the moviegoer with such force deserves at least one look. "Halloween" brings to mind the best of Hitchcock, and that's high praise indeed. the Salon Hours, 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. Monday to Friday 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. Saturday Kinks fans find they ain't misfits By KEN FREEMAN Daily Collegian Staff Writer "Oh, this is so heavy," says Frank, a Kinks folower for more than ten years, as he reels back in his seat during a particularly sentimental moment in The Kinks show February 17 in Eisenhower Auditorium, Frank, the ultimate Kinks devotee, (Ray Davies even dedicated a song to him) hitch-hiked all the way from Brooklyn, New York to .catch his bud dies' blazing performance. So, the show had better have been heavy. The Kinks show, even in its ,scant length, left ears as well as souls devastated. But I'm sure there were fans in the sold-out crowd who were hoping for some of the theatrics that garnished tours of the concept albums ("Arthur," "Soap Opera," "Schoolboys In Disgrace") and felt let doom a bit. However, with last year's largely college-small-hall tour (in order to produce a live album), The Kinks have fashioned their performance back to its primal format, the result still being a helluva lot of fun but no games. Probably because of the eventual live LP, the concert was a showcase of their greatest hits, a musical autobiography. Don't fret, The Kinks aren't about to write their final epitaph yet; they're just out to make a decent live record which is sorely needed from this important band. The fact that they're stronger than ever was affirmed in aggressive ren ditions of their classics, "You Really Got ATTENTION GRADUATING STUDENTS - ACT NOW!!! The Spring Term on-campus recruiting service is now in motion. Recruiter announcements are posted outside Room 413 Boucke. Most of the recruiters will be on campus the weeks of March 26-30 and April 2-6. Requests for Interviews must be submitted to the Career Development and Placement Center in Room 413 Boucke. , ..„ • • ••,,, .4, eldt, TODAY, Friday, March 9 for employers on campus March 26-30 No later than Monday, March 12 for employers on campus April 2-6 A (HUB) Performing Arts Committee presentation Me," "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Lola." The exuberant "Live Life" from the LP "Misfits," was a fitting encore. Perhaps the clearest evidence that the Kinks continue to push forward was in "I Wish I Could Fly Like Superman," a new song tailored for the disco generation, but with great lyrics. Yeah, they're conforming a little musically but the message is still intact. Ray Davies was his usual jovial self, confiding in the audience ("I can wear silly hats as well"), lassoing us into songs by his micro-intros ("This is a real Kinks re-request number"), or by his hilarious carousing during "Demon Alcohol." Brother Dave Davies' contributions ("Death Of A Clown," "Sleepless Night," "Trust Your Heart") along with his engagingly exact guitar style heightened suspense for a long-awaited solo album. Okay, great tunes performed with a flair that is rare, but what really was so heavy about this concert? It was heavy for a few reasons: That The Kinks even came to Penn State in the first place (let's hear it for that committee); that they were booked for the acoustically vibrant Eisenhower Auditorium instead of that airport hanger of a gym, and especially for the audience , maintaining themselves in a respectful manner (you know what I mean) and still having a good . time. I think . that says a lot for The Kinks' performance. . 1 n AL' ,/ f1 *fit The Kinks' lead singer Ray Davies used a foaming bottle of Heineken as a prop during a rendition of "Demon Alcohol." Or perhaps he was just thirsty. q. 7
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers