Halloween. The end of summer. An excuse for fun and mischief-making but also a sinister time when ghouls and witches go on the prowl.
The Arts Centre addresses both aspects of the festival in its Halloween selection - four original approaches to horror, ranging from the camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show to the macabre but poetic Eyes Without A Face.
Horror films often deal with the dead, or at least, the undead. But the characters of Todd Browning's 1932 morality tale, Freaks, are very much alive.
Freaks attempts to draw sympathy for the horribly deformed people who are used as circus exhibits while being fully aware that the audience has turned up only to gawk at the grotesque.
Consequently the 1932 movie has always attracted notoriety: MGM quickly withdrew it from release and it was banned in Britain for 30 years. Freaks was part of MGM's attempt to emulate the success of rival Universal Studios in producing horror classics such as Bride Of Frankenstein.
Browning, who had worked with horror star Lon Chaney, was chosen to direct, and drew on his experiences in the circus during the 1890s for the film.
