REPULSION, Polish director Roman Polanski’s answer to Alfred Hitchock’s PSYCHO, also follows the violent decline of a lonely, troubled person haunted by the demons of the mind. Released in 1965 and part of Polanski’s influential “apartment trilogy” (followed by 1968’s ROSEMARY’S BABY and 1976’s THE TENANT), REPULSION begins a special nine-day engagement with a new, sharp 35mm print at New York City’s Film Forum (209 West Houston; [212] 727-8110) from October 31 through November 8. Named one of FANGORIA’s Top 300 horror films of all time in issue #300, REPULSION remains essential viewing for fright aficionados.

Not only is the world ALONE IN THE DARK inhabits, fittingly, insane, but it firmly believes so is ours. Twice in Jack Sholder's feature debut, Donald Pleasence’s kooky asylum head Dr. Leo Bain makes reference to this. “What do you expect? It’s a violent society,” he tells Dr. Dan Potter about the past exploits of the “men on the third floor.” Later, still defending the murderous psychopaths—even after they’ve broken out and already killed—he shouts, “Alright they’re crazy, isn’t everybody?” Once the frenzied picture reaches its incredible, intense final scene, it would really seem so.

You can’t keep a psychotic magician down, even in death. In William Conrad’s 1965 TWO ON A GUILLOTINE, the recently departed Great Duke Duquesne (Cesar Romero), “The World’s Greatest Illusionist,” is about to perform an encore direct from the afterlife. In his will, he has left his estranged daughter Cassie (Connie Stevens) his entire fortune—on one condition: Stay for seven straight nights in his palatial, possibly haunted, mansion… alone.

The book was called A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF HORROR MOVIES by Denis Gilford. On page 88, in glorious color, was a full page still from THE SORCERERS. I won’t describe the picture because it will blow the ending, but needless to say it piqued my curiosity about this atypical Boris Karloff film. I subconsciously added it to my list of eventual viewing.  Unfortunately copies of THE SORCERER were extremely hard to come by, and I wouldn’t get an opportunity to see it until the Warner Archives made it available.