MOVIES OF THE ‘80s : HORROR : SHOCKS AND YOCKS

Horror movies always have their detractors and defenders. Nay-sayers see them as low, seedy and irresponsible. Defenders counter that they have a good artistic lineage (Jacobean tragedy, Gothic novels, ghost stories of every country) and are one of the truest tests of cinematic ingenuity. Cynical bystanders theorize that, since teen-agers like to grab each other in dark theaters, cheaply made horror movies can reap amazing profits. All three sides have a point.

But one thing is clear: the horror movie--which had a heyday in the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s--is now going through a self-conscious phase. The directors either push at the outer limits of taste (Romero’s “Day of the Dead,” Carpenter’s “The Thing”); go totally bonkers (Hooper’s “LifeForce”); send the material up, either blatantly or with perverse wit (Romero’s “Creepshow,” O’Bannon’s “Return of the Living Dead”); or re-examine and reflexively juggle the whole genre (the great, underrated “Company of Wolves”).

Arguably, the two most effective, “The Terminator” and the first “Nightmare on Elm Street,” each had perverse humor, and teased and outguessed audiences, detonating expectations left by dozens of puerile slasher and monster movies. But horror movies in general now suffer from that same general movie affliction: They cost too much, and higher budgets can strangle creativity. Perhaps they were better off when they were made in Pittsburgh, Texas or Malibu.

The best: The Company of Wolves (Neil Jordan), A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven), The Terminator (James Cameron), Videodrome (David Cronenberg), The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi), Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon), The Shining (Stanley Kubrick), Gremlins (Joe Dante).