760 The Carpenter ( 1988 )

 This  Canadian  slasher  has  a  limited  budget  but  makes up  for  it with an  interesting  premise  and  good  performances. Alice is a  bored  housewife  recovering from a nervous  breakdown when her controlling husband Martin  ( Pierre Lenoir )  moves them into a country manor which  is  still  being  renovated. Alice begins to bump into Ed ( Wings  Hauser) an amiable  carpenter who  works very unusual hours and  has  a  pretty brutal way of  of dealing with uninvited guests. It  is  a  little clunky  at  times - a sheriff  drops  by  purely  to  explain Ed's  backstory  - but  otherwise it's  an  intriguing  little  chiller.

Lynne Adams ( as Alice )

Sex : Alice has sex in the shower with Ed

Death : Survives

Since  first  appearing in a TV movie  in 1986, Lynne has  amassed nearly 100  screen  credits  while  flying  under  the  radar, this  being  one  of her  few lead roles.

Barbara Ann Jones ( as Rachel )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Barbara was the Assistant Art Director on Scanners  before becoming a bit part actress. Her acting career ran from 1981 to 2000 including  a  minor  role in Scanners II

Louise-Marie Mennier ( as  Lauren)

Sex : Lauren is Martin's mistress

Death : Alice kills her with a nail gun

This was  the  first of  only  two  film roles for  Louise-Marie in a short career.

759 The Brain ( 1988 )

 This  Canadian sci-fi  horror  is  a  shocker in all the wrong senses. Tom Breznahan plays Jim , a  student  trouble-maker  sent  to a TV psychiatrist ( Reanimator's David Gale ) , who  just  stumbles on the fact that  he's  serving  a giant  sentient brain  with teeth. As soon as you catch  sight of  the  brain,  it's  all downhill as  this  preposterous lump of rubber with a  very  limited range  of  movement , wouldn't frighten a  four year old  and  its  ultimate  destruction  scene is  utterly  risible. When it's not  trying  to  be  an Ed Wood  movie , the  film  is  just  illogical and  boring.

Cynthia Preston ( as Janet )

Sex : Janet has sex with Jim  but  it could be an hallucination

Death : Survives

Cynthia  was  born  in  Ontariobut took US citizenship in 2008. This  was  one of  her  first  films. She  has  maintained her  career through  versatility. She  was the voice of Zelda  in  the  animated series The Legend  of  Zelda, had  a  five  year run in  General Hospital in  the  noughties  and  was  in  the  2013 remake of Carrie.

Christine Kossack (as Vivien)

Sex : Vivien strips to the waist to get Jim's attention

Death :  Vivien gets eaten by the brain ( despite it being little bigger than her had when it first attacks her)

This  was  the  only substantial role of Christine's three film career.

Susannah Hoffman ( as Becky )

Sex : No

Death : The hallucinations directed by the brain cause her to fall out of a window

Susannah is  a  former  ballerina  from  Ontario  whose  work  has  mainly  been on Canadian TV. Her  career is  ongoing.

Sarah Chapple ( as Debbie )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  the  third and  last  of  Sarah's film roles.

758 American Gothic ( 1988 )

 A  rather  presumptuous  title  for  this  Canadian  shocker which is something of a cross between a  less carnal Texas Chainsaw Massacre and  Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly. Six not particularly likeable  weekend  holidaymakers have  to  down their  seaplane  on  an  isolated  island where  an old  couple live as  though  it  were still the  1920s with  their  three  infantilised offspring. The  culture  clash  soon  turns  nasty.  Despite  a  slow pace  for  the first half   hour or  so  and  some  glaring plotholes, this does  become viscerally  exciting  and Rod  Steiger is  excellent as the  mild-mannered but malevolent patriarch.

Sarah  Torgov ( as Cynthia )

Sex  : No

Death : Survives

Sarah  was the daughter of  Canadian novelist Morley Torgov. She  had  an  acting  career of  about 10  years  but  this  film  was  actually  her  swansong as  she  gave  up  acting to  be  an  artist  and  book illustrator.

Caroline Barclay ( as Terri )

Sex : Terri's  corpse  is  raped by Teddy, one  of  the  clan

Death : The  oversized Teddy unintentionally snaps her neck

Caroline was born in France and this  was  her  first  film  after  starting  out  as  a  child  actress, She  had  small parts in some  big  films ( Roxanne, Species, The  Game ) and  a  lead  role in  Candyman:Farewell To The Flesh. Her career petered out  in  the  late  nineties but she has  popped up  in  a  few shorts  since.

Fiona  Hutchison ( as Lynn )

Sex : No

Death : Hanged from a  tree  by  a  skipping  rope (offscreen )

Fiona  was  brought  up in Jamaica. She was  a  promising ballerina but had to give up  through  injury when she was 17. This  was  her  second  film  role. She  had  more  success on TV in  the  soaps  The  Guiding Light and  One  Life  To  Live . In  recent  years , she  has moved  into  TV  production and  is  more of a  talk show  hostess than  an  actress these  days,

757 Hellbound : Hellraiser II (1988 )

 This  quickfire  sequel  picks  up  exactly where the original  left off  with  heroine Kirsty  detained by police who  find  her explanation of  the  carnage at her family home a  little hard  to  believe. She is  passed on  to a psychiatric hospital where the  head  doctor, Crannard ( Kenneth  Cranham )  beliees  her  only  too  well and  is  looking after  a  mute  teenager with a predilection for puzzle boxes  for  a  very  specific  purpose. The  film  works  very  well for  the  first  hour  then  it  loses  all coherence  with  the  characters  bumping  into each  other  in   a  labyrinth  with  no clear  purpose  and  the  terrifying  Cenobites getting a  meagre  amount  of  screen  time. It's  not  atrocious  and  Cranham   is  great  but  it  could have  been a  lot  better.

Clare  Higgins ( as Julia )

Sex :  Julia  uses  her  seductive  charms on all  the  male  characters

Death : Julia  is  pulled out  of  her  skin by  some  inexplicable  force  but  she's  come  back  from  the  dead  before

Clare  bowed  out  of  the  franchise after  this  film  and  hasn't  returned to  the  horror  genre.  

Ashley Laurence ( as Kirsty )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Unlike Clare, Ashley signed up for the next one.

Imogen Boorman ( as Tiffany )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Imogen was  born in Kent. Despite her surname. she is not thought to be  related to director John Boorman. She  started out as a child  actress in 2002. Although this was her second and last  film  role , she  was  successful in British TV with  brief  runs in Casualty and Coronation Street before  quitting  acting in 1993.  In  recent  years  she  has frequently  been in  trouble  with  the  law  over  alcohol-related  misbehaviour and  she  is  now on  the Sex  Offenders Register after a  naked  rampage in a pub in Montrose.

756 Watchers ( 1988 )

This  film is  loosely based on a  Dean Koontz novel, so loose in fact that it  renders  the  title irrelevant. Who's  watching  who and  that's  not  the  only  question  left  unanswered by  the  film's  conclusion.  A  dog  escapes from a  government  research  centre  following  an  unexplained  explosion and is  pursued by a maniacal creature that can track it telepathically and kills  anything that gets in the way. The  dog  finds  its  way  to  the  home  of  young Travis ( Corey Haim )  but  the  creature isn't  far  behind. There  are  one  or  two things  to  like  about  the  film such  as  Michael Ironside's villain  and  Travis  taking his mum along when  he  goes  on  the  run  but  the  tone is  too  uneven,. One  moment  you're in Scooby Doo  territory,then  there's another gory killing. The  creature when  finally  revealed is  ridiculous.

Barbara Williams ( as Nora )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Barbara was  born in Vancouver  and  started appearing on Canadian TV in the late  seventies. She met  her  first  husband Nick Mancuso on the set of her second film  Tell Me  That  You Love Me . She had a solid career as a TV actress  and  supporting player in films. In 1993, she  married political activist  Tom Hayden who was previously  married to Jane Fonda.

Lala  Sloatman ( as Tracey )

Sex : Tracey  starts  undressing  for  Travis but  they  are  interrupted.

Death : Survives

Lala  is  the  neice of  Frank  Zappa  and  is  more  famous  for  her  love life than her undistinguished film career. She  was  dating Corey  Haim  in  real life when they made  this and they also appeared  together in Dream A Little Dream. She then moved on to C Thomas Howell  and  was  briefly maried to singer  Chris  Robinson in the mid-nineties. Her acting  career appeared  to  have  peterd out  by  then  but  she  briefly  resurafced in  2003  and 2011. 

Ghislaine and Justine Crawford ( as Girls at School )

Sex : No

Death : Survive

These  sisters appeared  together six times across  film and  TV ( and  each  has one  other  credit )  But  I  can't  find  a  common link between their  outings.

 

 

755 Child's Play (1988)

 The  controversial franchise  started  here with  what  amounts to  a  pretty  nifty litle shocker with good  performances and  impressive special effects. A  serial killer played with wild-eyed relish by Brad Dourif  is  mortally wounded but uses  his  knowledge of  voodoo  to  transfer his  soul into a plastic  doll to  seek  revenge on the  cop who shot him ( Chris  Sarandon ) 

Catherine Hicks  ( as Karen Barclay )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Catherine's  last  horror  role.

Dinah Manoff  ( as Maggie )

Sex : No

Death: Rather unconvincingly, she  falls  out  of  a  high window after being  hit with a toy hammer

Dinah  is  the  daughter of actress Lee  Grant. She  started acting hereslf  in  the  mid-seventies and  is  best  known for  playing  Marty in Grease ( at 21 she was  the nearest thing to a  real teenager in the cast ). She  also  appeared in Ordinary  People  and  won a Tony Award  for  I  Ought To Be In Pictures on Broadway. She  reprised  her  role in the film  version  but  it  flopped  and  she  fell  into  TV movies  with  the  odd  supporting  role in films. She  seems  to  have  retired  now.

754 They Live (1988)

 Perhaps  the  strangest  entry  in  John Carpenters  body of  work, this is  an odd blend  of  social satire, science  fiction  and  action  movie  which only  works  in parts. Professional wrestler Roddy Piper plays Nada , an unemployed drifter existing on  the  fringes of  LA  society  who  realises that a  small  band  of  conspiracy theorists  are  actually right and that  US society  is  controlled  by  hidden aliens. David  Icke  must  love  this  movie. He  then becomes  a  resistance  fighter  and  the  film goes rapidly  downhill into  a  stew  of  unrealistic  violence and  borrowed sci-fi tropes ( Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, Blakes Seven, V, The Running Man).

Meg Foster ( as  Holly)

Sex : No

Death : Nada shoots  her

Meg is from Pennsylvania . She  made  her  TV debut in 1969 and worked almost exclusively  in  TV during  the  seventies. She  started  making more films in  the  eighties often in villainess  roles due to  her  strikingly pale blue eyes. She  is probably best  remembered as Cagney in the  first series of Cagney and Lacey before being replaced by Sharon Gless. She  retired in 2004  but  returned to  acting in 2011 , mainly in horror  films. Though they appeared  together in the film Carny , she  is unrelated to Jodie.

Cibby Danyla ( as Naked Lady )

Sex : She  discovers she's having sex with an alien in the  final scene

Death : Survives

Cibby was a  film  extra  in the late eighties who  usually went  uncredited.In  the mid-noughties she was involved in Christian broadcasting.