Horror Films

Horror movies began as low-budget bloodfests and have come to this: multimillion-dollar bloodfests.With high production values and low aspirations, "Event Horizon" begins as a mildly intriguing science-fiction movie and degenerates into yet another slasher flick about evil from another dimension.Sam Neill, who has starred in a number of ambitious films and got a taste of popular stardom in "Jurassic Park," must have been crazy or broke to sign up for this trip. Same with the usually compelling Laurence Fishburne, Kathleen Quinlan ("Apollo 13")

One of the first great horror flicks gets an airing on TCM tonight.From 1919, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (8 p.m.-9: 30 p.m.) is the story of a sinister doctor and his traveling freak show, which includes a sleepwalker (Conrad Veidt, who 23 years later would turn up as the evil Maj. Strasser in "Casablanca") he uses to murderous effect.The story is serviceable enough, with a gotcha ending that's a classic, and Werner Krauss as the demented Caligari is fairly horrific. But the real stars here are the sets: "Caligari" marked the height of German expressionism in cinema, complete with sets that look like the products of a deranged mind, with jagged edges and vaulted ceilings that meander this way and that.

Bugs have been terrorizing mankind for centuries -- Remember Moses and the locusts? -- but never more than in the five films the Sci-Fi Channel is airing during its "Big Bad Bugs" theme week.The many-legged fun kicks off tonight with "The Fly 2" (9 p.m.-11 p.m., repeats 1 a.m.-3 a.m., Sci-Fi), in which Eric Stoltz follows a little too closely in his father's footsteps and ends up turned into an insect, just like dear old dad. Watch for Daphne Zuniga of "Melrose Place" as the love interest.

If I told you the most successful film director in the world was named Ivan, you'd say "Huh?"Well, get ready to "Huh," hon.Ivan Reitman, whose "Dave" opens today in about a jillion theaters to glowing reviews and long lines, has very quietly become, if not the No. 1 director in the world, certainly the No. 1 comedy director. His movies have been sublimely successful: "Ghostbusters," still one of the highest-grossing comedies in the world; its sequel, which only made more than $100 million in domestic release; as well as "Twins," "Kindergarten Cop" and on back to two films that made Bill Murray a huge star: "Stripes" and "Meatballs."

Aben KandelWrote screenplaysLOS ANGELES -- Aben Kandel, 96, who wrote the screenplay for such horror films as "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" and "Horrors of the Black Museum," died of heart failure Thursday at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital, said his son, Stephen.Mr. Kandel also wrote Joan Crawford's last film, "Trog," and one of Leonard Nimoy's first, "Kid Monk Baroni."His other films included "The Iron Major," "The Knute Rockne Story" and "Dinner at Eight."Kandel also wrote the novels "Vaudeville" in 1927, "Black Sun" in 1929 and "City for Conquest" in 1936, which was made into a film starring James Cagney.

LANDOVER -- When you have suffered as many excruciating losses in the closing minutes as the Washington Bullets have this season, it is difficult equating their pain threshold.But yesterday's 112-110 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime at the Capital Centre hurt bad. Real bad.With 5:51 left in regulation, the Bullets led 97-84. With 2:28 remaining, they still had a 101-93 cushion. But, in typical fashion, the game went slip, sliding away.And you could count the ways:* 1. Repeated offensive breakdowns in crunch time;* 2. Crucial defensive lapses;* 3. Poor adjustments to the Lakers traps, and,* 4. That old bugaboo -- the absence of a "go-to guy" with the game on the line.

"What are you going to do with that collection of Playbills?" we ask Lou Cedrone, who's busily stacking and arranging them, just so. "They're going to the Enoch Pratt Free Library," he says with pride, satisfied that his years of carefully filing and protecting these programs wasn't for naught.This was just a few days before he wrote his final column as film and theater critic for The Evening Sun, a tenure that began at a quarter to Jayne Mansfield and ends at half past Madonna. After 40 years at the newspaper, 28 of them as its critic, Lou Cedrone bids adieu to Calvert and Centre streets, the crossroads where he wrote thousands of movie, stage and television reviews for Baltimore's afternoon newspaper.

Here's a scary story in the Halloween spirit: A little girl at an after-school program watches the horror movie "Poltergeist" and finds it very frightening.But here's the really scary part: The little girl's parents file a $350,000 lawsuit against the people who showed her the movie.Susan and Glenn Abrams, of Rockville, say their little girl came home from watching "Poltergeist" and refused to sleep in her own room. They say she needed a bright light burning all night long. They say she became hysterical and talked of dying, and they say she needed psychological treatment.

MENACING giant spiders, large mole-like people from subterranean depths, a gangster brain from outer space set out to conquer Earth are the creatures that have made movie actor John Agar a cult figure to thousands of science-fiction/horror fans.For FANEX reservations and further details, call 665-1198.

ALTHOUGH POP SINGER Patti LaBelle wowed the audiences at the new Pier Six Concert Pavilion this weekend, she surely didn't "wow" Mayor Kurt Schmoke Saturday night.The singer, in fact, stood up Hizzoner, who waited about 45 minutes to present her with a key to the city.When she finally appeared on stage to acknowledge his presence and was told the mayor had gone, an unabashed LaBelle turned to the audience and exclaimed: "I'm scared of that man!"SPEAKING OF SINGERS, don't forget to catch former Oriole turned Milwaukee Brewer Rick Dempsey tonight at Christopher's Timonium.