. . . Among the Videos, Some That Will, Some That Won’t

When you go to a video store this weekend looking for a scary movie, you may find the old standards in the horror section already rented. That means you’ll be confronting shelves full of titles you don’t recognize.

Here are some movies to avoid :

First of all, most sequels are lousy. Avoid the sequels of these scare classics: “Friday the 13th,” “Halloween,” “The Howling,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Silent Night, Deadly Night,” “The Omen,” “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Fly,” “Psycho,” “Basket Case” and “Child’s Play.”

There are a few exceptions: the “Alien” sequels and “Piranha II: The Spawning” (Columbia TriStar, 1981), a grisly tale of mutant flying fish terrorizing a resort, which is the first film by director James Cameron, who did “The Terminator” films. It’s much better than the original.

Some other films that provide very few frights: “Gothic,” “Fire-starter,” “Cutting Class,” “Slumber Party Massacre,” “Stage Fright,” “Prom Night,” “Phantom of the Mall” and “Mountaintop Motel Massacre.”

On the positive side, you can get first-rate scares with these fairly obscure horror movies: “Black Christmas (Stranger in the House),” “Massacre at Central High,” “The Demon” and “Jack the Ripper” (the one starring Klaus Kinski). And nearly all the movies based on Edgar Allen Poe’s stories are at least adequate and have some genuinely frightening moments, particularly two gems starring Vincent Price: “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Masque of the Red Death.”

The good news in the fright-movie genre is that “The Uninvited,” the terrific 1944 ghost tale starring Ray Milland, is just out on video (MCA/Universal). The bad news is that Jack Clayton’s “The Innocents”--a 1961 adaptation of Henry James’ “Turn of the Screw” starring Deborah Kerr and arguably the scariest ghost story ever filmed--still isn’t.

Hot Seller: Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” though just being officially released today, is well on its way to becoming the all-time best-selling tape. The current record-holder is another Disney animated feature, “Fantasia.”

Some small retailers, ignoring the release date, have been selling it since early this week. And the $25 tape is being heavily discounted--for as low as $13--in non-video stores that are using it as a loss leader.

“Beauty and the Beast” is due out on laser disc on Nov. 24 but it won’t be the same version that’s on video. What laser fans will get for $50 is a double-disc “Work in Progress,” with some sequences consisting only of pencil sketches--geared more to animation buffs than to the general audience. The release of the theatrical version on laser disc has been moved to next September. The reason for the delay is fear of piracy: Laser discs are great to use as masters for duplication.

More Disney Video The company is planning to re-release “Pinocchio,” the 1940 animated classic, on March 26 at $25. When it first came out on video in 1985, only about 30% of homes had VCRs, and America wasn’t in the habit of buying children’s tapes, and cassettes cost about twice as much as they do now.

So not many people own “Pinocchio,” and even those who do might want a new one, since Disney, taking advantage of techniques introduced since the mid-’80s, has refurbished the sound and color. Disney probably will be able sell at least 10 million copies.