Terror in the Aisles

JlLL:
Hello?

Robert, I don't think

this is very funny.

Bobby?

Who is this?

(TELEPHONE CUTS OFF)

HOST:
As you watch the screen,

your heart begins

to beat faster.

There's a fluttering in

the pit of your stomach.

Your throat is dry.

Your palms damp.

Suddenly, a chill

runs down your spine.

You clutch the

person next to you.

You tell yourself,

"lt's only a movie."

lt's only a movie.

But sooner or later,

it's time to go home.

(GlRL GlGGLlNG)

(DOOR CREAKlNG)

Hello?

Who's there?

(SCREAMlNG)

HOST:
There's no

question about it.

Some terror films go too far.

LAURlE:
Tommy, unlock the door.

HOST:
But so do the audiences.

LAURlE:
l want you

to go down the

stairs and out the front door.

I want you to go down the street

to the MacKensie's house...

First they start

grabbing each other,

which is all very well,

if you have a date.

I want you to tell them

to call the police. Hey!

And before long...

Now, do you understand me?

No. No, baby, no, no. No!

People are yelling at the

characters on the screen.

MAN:
Hey, watch out, baby!

WOMAN:
Watch out!

Please stop.

Do something!

(AUDlENCE EXCLAlMlNG)

(WOMAN SCREAMlNG)

Get him!

(AUDlENCE EXCLAlMlNG)

(AUDlENCE CHEERlNG)

MAN:
Don't drop theknife, you a**hole!

MAN:
Hey, get out of that room!

LAURlE:
Babies.

HOSTESS:
lt's strange,

isn't it?

In real life, nobody

likes to think

about violence, 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.

Did you see that?

Yes.

(SCREAMlNG)

(GROANlNG AND GURGLlNG)

(CHlLDREN SCREAMlNG

AND PANlCKlNG)

HOST:
Maybe, deep down, we

have a need to be scared.

Why else do we go

to these movies?

Perhaps we're taking a dare,

proving to ourselves

that we're not afraid.

Go ahead, Lonnie.

Chicken.

Go in!

Hey!

Hey, Lonnie,

get your ass away from there.

HOST:
Besides, there's something

delicious about fear.

Especially somebody else's.

(GRUNTS lN SURPRlSE)

(THUNDER CLAPPlNG)

(BELL TlNKLlNG)

HOST:
Scary movies tap

into your childhood fears

of the dark,

and of being alone.

(GASPS)

(MUFFLED SCREAMlNG)

HOSTESS:
Young or old,

we go to the movies

to see our dreams and

fantasies come to life.

But not all of our fantasies

are wholesome and dignified.

HOST:
ln the privacy

of our thoughts,

we can be as

childish as we like.

And the little

scenarios of power

and revenge we conjure up,

can be quite satisfying.

Creepy Carrie!

Creepy Carrie!

(LAUGHlNG)

(GROANS)

HOST:
Resorting to violence

to get back at someone

might not be your cup of tea.

Will you look at that

fellow over there?

I mean, l have never seen anything

so disgusting in all my life.

HOST:
But l'll bet you've thought about it.

He's staring.

I think he's looking at us.

I think we're being picked up.

It's too awful.

Can you believe it?

On how they can let creatures

like that in here.

I mean, really...

Anne, what's

the matter? Anne?

Help, someone, please!

Please help!

HOST:
We all carry around a certain

amount of resentment and rage

because we can't let it out.

In the movies, we can.

(DlSTORTED CARNlVAL

MUSlC PLAYlNG)

(CHlLDREN SCREAMlNG)

(MAN YELLlNG)

The question is, why

make up horrible things

when there is so much

real terror in the world?

Perhaps we invent

artificial horrors

to help us cope

with the real ones.

HOST:
ln 1 974, a

picture came out

that was inspired

by a true story.

(CLUCKlNG)

lt was called The Texas

Chainsaw Massacre,

and in it, the character of

Leatherface was based on Ed Gein,

a mass murderer and

grave robber who

lived in a small, isolated town.

(CRYlNG OUT AND PANlCKlNG)

(SCREAMlNG HYSTERlCALLY)

(SCREAMlNG)

HOST:
Gein was a cannibal,

a necrophile,

and a transvestite.

But he didn't dress up

in women's clothes.

He dressed up in their skin.

No wonder these films

give us nightmares.

Do l have to close my eyes?

It doesn't matter.

Yes, l have something.

All right.

HOST:
Or is it our nightmares

that give us these films?

(PANTlNG)

(SCREAMlNG)

(SCREAMS)

(YELLlNG)

(AUDlENCE EXCLAlMlNG)

Hey, how'd they do that?

That's the trick, isn't it?

Once the lights go down.

HOST:
Whatever you see,

whatever you can't see,

whatever you think you see,

is out of your control.

You're at the mercy

of the filmmakers.

(CAT MEOWS)

(SlGHS lN RELlEF)

BRETT:
Jonesy!

Hey. Hey, Jonesy.

That's a good kitty.

(CAT GROWLlNG)

That's it.

(HlSSlNG)

Hey. l'm not gonna hurt you.

(YELLlNG)

HOST:
When the camera takes on

the point of view of the killer,

we see what they see,

not who they are.

(HUMMlNG)

(MUFFLED HEAVY BREATHlNG)

(SlNGlNG)

Michael!

(EXCLAlMlNG)

(CRYlNG OUT lN PAlN)

Mrs. Bates.

HOSTESS:
Of course, you can

always close your eyes,

but you can't close your ears.

HOST:
And yet,

(HOWLlNG)

keeping your eyes open is a good idea,

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.

(HOWLlNG lN PAlN)

Today, people are

more sophisticated.

And becoming a werewolf can

take a lot out of you.

(CRYlNG OUT lN PAlN AND SHOCK)

Help me! God!

Combining skill,

ingenuity,

(WOMAN EXCLAlMS)

and a strong stomach.

(ROARlNG)

All right.

I'm gonna suck your brain dry.

HOST:
Artists and technicians

continue to defy logic,

stagger the imagination,

and astound our senses.

All the time

raising the stakes.

(WOMAN SCREAMS)

HOSTESS:
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.

CARNlE:
You've just

won a Kewpie doll.

Why, he's broken the thing.

(CARNlVAL MUSlC PLAYlNG)

ls your name Miriam?

Why, yes. How did you...

(GASPS FOR AlR)

HlTCHCOCK:
When l say that l'm

not interested in content,

it would be the

same as a painter

worrying about whether the

apples that he's painting,

whether they're sweet or sour.

Who cares?

(DOOR CREAKlNG)

HlTCHCOCK:
lt's his style,

his manner of painting them.

(EXCLAlMS)

That's where the

emotion comes from.

No!

HlTCHCOCK:
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.

(CRYlNG OUT lN PAlN)

HOSTESS:
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.

(DOOR CREAKlNG)

(LAUGHS)

Cute, Bob. Real cute.

See anything you like?

What's the matter?

Can't l get your ghost, Bob?

All right, all right, come on.

Where's my beer?

In effect, the filmmaker says to

the audience, "Now, get ready.

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