Be Afraid

The Phantom isn't only the scary guy coming to town next week as the Society for Cult and Underground Movies (SCUM Cinema) hosts a Tobe Hooper double bill at Chye Seng Huat Hardware on April 26.

Screening at The Courtyard will be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the 1974 slasher classic so controversial it is still banned in several countries. Regardless, the film and its onscreen villain Leatherface have gone on to define the horror genre and spawned sequels, spin-offs and remakes.

The Cupping Room will screen Poltergeist, the 1982 supernatural flick which Steven Spielberg wrote but wasn't allowed to direct due to a contractual clause. The Poltergeist franchise is often said to be cursed as several cast and crew - including lead child star Heather O'Rourke - died prematurely.