Terror in the Aisles (1984)

Donald Pleasence: Donald Pleasence (Host)

Photos 

Quotes 

• Self - Host : [her first line]  ... It's strange, isn't it? In real life, nobody cares to think about violence and pain, blood, and death. But project these experiences on a screen, and people form lines in the street. That's because a terror film is a lot like a roller-coaster ride... Only you're sitting in a theater, which is *relatively* safe.

  Self - Host : ...Deep down, some of us actually have a need to be scared. Why else would we go to these movies? Perhaps we're taking a dare, proving to ourselves that we're not afraid. Besides, there's something delicious about fear; especially somebody else's... Scary movies tap into your childhood fears of the dark, and of being alone.

  Self - Host : ...Young or old, we go to the movies so we can see our dreams and fantasies come to life. But not all of our fantasies are wholesome or dignified.

  Self - Host : In the privacy of our thoughts, we can be as childish as we like. There, all the little scenarios of power and revenge we conjure up can be quite satisfying... Resorting to violence in order to get back at someone might not be your cup of tea. But it's a safe bet you thought about it. We all carry a certain amount of resentment and rage, because we can't let it out - except in the movies.

• [first lines] 

  Self - Host : ...As you watch the screen, your heart beats faster. There's a fluttering in the pit of your stomach. Your throat is dry. Your palms are damp. Suddenly, a chill runs down your spine. You clutch the person next to you. And you tell yourself, "It's only a movie."... But sooner or later, it's time to go home.

  [after opening credits] 

  Self - Host : There's no question about it: some terror films go too far; but so do their audiences. First they start grabbing each other; which is all very well, if you have a date. Before long, however, people are yelling at the characters on the screen.

• Self - Host : The question is, why make up horrible things when there's so much real terror in the world? Perhaps we invent artificial horrors to help us cope with the actual ones. In 1974, a picture came out that was inspired by a true story. It was called "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". In it, the character of Leatherface was based on Ed Gein: a mass-murderer and grave-robber who lived in a small, isolated town. Gein was a cannibal, a necrophile, and a transvestite. But he didn't dress up in women's clothes. He dressed up in their *skins*... No wonder these films give us nightmares. Or is it our nightmares that give us these films?... That's the trick, isn't it? Once the lights go down, whatever you see - or can't see, or merely think you see - is beyond your control. You're at the mercy of the filmmakers. And when the camera takes on the killer's point-of-view, we see what they see... but not who they are.

• Self - Host : Of course, you can always close your eyes, but you can't close your ears.

  Self - Host : And yet, keeping your eyes open is a good thing, especially if you're out on a night with a full moon, because you never know what's in store for you. Years ago, when filmmakers wanted to transform someone into a werewolf, the actor just sat still and trick photography did all the work. Today, people are more sophisticated. And becoming a werewolf can take a great deal out of you. Combining skill, ingenuity, and a strong stomach. Artists and technicians continue to defy logic, stagger the imagination, and astound our senses. All the time raising the stakes.

  Self - Host : But special effects are not essential to a good movie. It's the filmmaker's technique that matters most. And the unquestioned master was Alfred Hitchcock.

  Alfred Hitchcock : When I say that I'm not interested in content, it would be the same as a painter worrying about whether the apple that he's painting, whether they're sweet or sour. Who cares? It's his style, his manner of painting them. That's where the emotion comes from.

  [on the infamous shower scene from "Psycho"] 

  Alfred Hitchcock : This scene is 45 seconds long, but was made up out of 78 pieces of film coming onto the screen in great rapidity. But the overall impression given the audience, is one of an alarming, devastating murder scene.

• Self - Host : The fact is, from the moment you buy that ticket, you know you're gonna get it. It's just a question of how, where, and when. The name of the game is suspense.

  Self - Host : [speaking to the audience]  In effect, the filmmaker says to the audience, "Now get ready. You're going to see something that's going to scare you. But I'm not going to tell you when." You're being programmed to go nuts.

  Alfred Hitchcock : [speaking to the audience]  The essential fact is to get real suspense, you must let the audience have information. Now let's take the old-fashioned "bomb theory". You and I sitting, talking, we'll say about baseball. We're talking for five minutes. Suddenly, a bomb goes off, and the audience have a 10 second terrible shock. Now, let's take the same situation, tell the audience at the beginning that under the table, and show it to them, there's a bomb, and it's gonna go off in five minutes. And we talk baseball. What are the audience doing? They're saying, "Don't talk about baseball, there's a bomb under there. Get rid of it." But they're helpless. They can't jump out of their seats up onto the screen and grab hold of the bomb and throw it out.

  Self - Host : Shock and surprise are very different from suspense. If you want to shock people, you just have to catch them off guard, and then clobber them. That was shocking, wasn't it? But suspense can be equally brutal.

• Self - Host : Terror owes its very existence to the one group of characters devoted to its cause. The villains. From the dangerously disturbed to the thoroughly demented. They run the gamut in age, appearance, even occupation. And yet, they can be encouraging. They can be disarming. They can be reassuring. You may even be married to one. So that even when you're certain of who they really are, there's still no guarantee that you're safe. At times, we can't help but marvel at their cleverness. Slick and calculating. When it comes to cruelty, they seem so self-assured. The most compelling villains are often most confident. For each villain brings a style and a method to his madness. Untroubled by conscience, their capacity for evil has no limit. Some are capable of doing anything. In the end, they simply don't distinguish between right and wrong. Perhaps they don't know the difference. Perhaps they just don't care. Whether they are ruthless, desperate, or totally deranged. However unstable the villains, they are the ultimate figures in power. So no matter how much they make us hate them, they know how to make us watch them.

• Self - Host : You don't have to be looking for trouble to find it. Evil can come from anywhere. Arriving mysteriously from outer space, or appearing suddenly here on Earth. On land or at sea. Environments once familiar, even pleasurable, becoming bewildering, and ominous, concealing and protecting the enemy. While leaving us exposed. But of course, nature is not always to blame. Malevolent lifeforms from other worlds may jeopardize our position as the supreme beings on this planet. How do we fight what we don't understand? How can we triumph over the unknown? Evil doesn't have to come from another world to control life here on Earth. Out oldest fear, the Devil himself can take on any form. Even that of a child. More frightening, still, are those who worship the power of evil. The potential for evil may be hidden within all of us. Most of us never discover it. Some of us do. Who are we? What is inside us? And what if that, which we held back suddenly were let go? In a world where evil plays without rules, no one is beyond reach. It's no longer a question of what's to become of us. But rather, what we're to become.

• [last lines] 

  Self - Host : In the beginning, horror films were dominated by the classic figures. Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man. But as the years passed, they began to lose their shock value. And found themselves being used to create the opposite effect. As horror and comedy became more intertwined, it was hard to know how to react. Or how to feel...

  [after montage with song "They're Not Very Nice"] 

  Self - Host : [as a warning to the audience]  It's only a movie... It's only a movie. But sooner or later, you must leave the theater and go home. Perhaps alone.