Yesterday HeyUGuys kicked off our Halloween celebrations in style by watching a family fall apart in the home of their dreams.
The Union Chapel Islington was the setting for our disquieting entertainment, as once again, Jameson Cult Film Club threw open the creaking double doors for a night of Chills in the Chapel. The all-star line up for the Chills 2010 season were Dracula, which screened on Thursday night in Liverpool, Quatermass and the Pitt – which alarmed a whole new generation on its Friday London debut – and The Amityville Horror last night. In addition a fortunate few have grabbed gold dust tickets to Psycho this evening – never have the chilling chord shrieks of that theme had such an atmospheric home to echo through!
A clue to the affection the Cult Film Club is held in was apparent as we crossed the road to where the fingertip of the chapel spire broke through the misty night. A wraparound queue had formed, despite the cold, and buzzed as it hugged the building with whispers of what might await. The whisperers upgraded to shrieks of delight as they entered the mood lit vestibule and followed a sunken cheeked butler into the singular screening room. If only I could request that every movie I see would be at the Union Chapel! Necks strained to catch a glimpse of an excited young couple sharing a sofa on stage before the giant screen. The Lutzes were enthusing about a property they were viewing that very day – the perfect family home by all accounts – ideal for a happily ever after…
Anyone who remembers the events of The Amityville Horror well will know how very wrong that unfortunate young couple were!
Here’s what I remembered before the screening began: one priest, many flies and a very serious beard. A good clue to the twist of wrongness the movie would soon take headed to the stage to jog our memories as young George Lutz returned, axe in hand, to have a little meltdown right before our eyes. With that the lights dimmed, the soundtrack mumbled to an end and the credits rolled on my return to Amityville and the start of my Halloween of film.
I cannot believe how much I had forgotten about The Amityville Horror, great gory chunks of film had entirely escaped my mind. I forgot for instance that the walls of the house ran with blood, that a demonic force lived in the basement and that the Lutz’s dream house was a huge horrible nightmarish box of evil sent straight from hell to steal their souls and kill them all…
Ahem. I forgot rather a lot.
Some of the lighter moments had also fallen out of my head, not least Margot Kidder’s incredibly eccentric and borderline schoolgirl wardrobe and her ill-explained penchant for painting figurines of Jesus’ Mum. I particularly relished her rocking the one legwarmer look as she seduced bearded hubby James Brolin – the kids from Fame had nothing on Kidder! An altogether more powerful force onscreen was elder statesman of cinema Rod Steiger as tormented man of God Father Delaney, fighting in vain to hold off the dark spirits feasting on the hopes and dreams of the innocent young family.
It was, as ever, a pleasure to snigger and shriek in such good natured company. To share chills in the chapel and cocktails in the pews still feels a naughty treat and The Amityville Horror was a perfect slice of classic cult cheese to accompany the drinks. Tonight thanks to Jameson I have learned two extremely valuable lessons: NEVER creep up on a man with an axe in his hand and always spend my spooky holidays at the Cult Film Club!
