BLURRED VISION

Rip It Up, Issue 177, 1 April 1992, Page 33

BLURRED VISION

"Oh no, look at that, he's reading that thing, you know that thing, the one about, oh, you know, that thing." The sound of a few literary critics discussing my choice of , reading matter on the bus. IPs American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. Critical opinion is against me on this one, but hey, I liked it.

It's as if a crack in the earth opened ; up and spewed forth this collection of > rich stupid people from hell. Moving . through one empty scenario to another, lacking only comprehension; the frequent stabs of violence jolting the boredom of their lives. Best bits are the chapter-long discussions on music, including the history of Genesis, Whitney Houson and Huey Lewis ’ fantastic. As is the U2 concert, where the book's protagonist gets real dose to Bono. The book continues the fascination we have with 'the killer inside' and especially that modem creation, the serial killer. Which, if you've been watching television lately, have been popping up as regularly as long-haired guys singing dumb love songs do on - our sad video shows. - What with Hollywood bestowing The Silence of the Lambs with its many awards, the serial killer has become our new favourite folk devil. Apart from frequent appearances in regular weekly shows, they now have their own showcases, what the industry calls 'the mini series'. Interesting recent TV spectaculars have been The Hillside Strangler about Angelo Bouno and Kenneth Bianchi's reign of terror, this one had a nice sense of B-grade ’ desperation with the actor who played Bianchi particularly good when he did the multiple personality bits. The Night Stalker opus was pathetic, starring Cruise from the soap Santa Barbara, things just didn't look right here. Richard Ramirez was a Satanist from Texas, smoked animal tranquiliser, listened to AC/DC and then killed people. The mini-series just lacked any

sense of evil, even when we finally got to see what he looked like, disappointment reigned, looking more like Peter North the 'adulf film star than any drug crazed killer. The ultimate cop-out was missing out Ramirez's famous last words. After his 13 death sentences he sneered “See ya in Disneyland". That's what you call a bad attitude. John Wayne Gacy was the latest to have the TV treatment and despite Brian Denneh/s professional touch, it tended to get bogged down in soap opera conventions. We got to see the infamous Pogo the Clown suit, but it steered away from the exploitive elements a more flamboyant director might have explored — such as Gacy cruising the Greyhound depot, or the excessive drug taking. Anyhow, all these shows just don't show the full extent of things, the true horror is never revealed. That's one of the unfortunate aspects of the medium, unlike cinema which can open up reality like a scalpel through skin, television tends to look at the skin and merely suggest the scalpel. I'm no psychiatrist, so I can't tell you what makes a serial killer, but maybe, just maybe, one day you're watching Give Us A Clue (TV3) and Lionel Blair with the serious hair just sets something off. People like Lionel have a tendency to do that to other people. Another psycho trigger would have to be Bruce Forsyth and his unnerving Generation Game. Mr Forsyth represents that annoying motif of English popular culture, that of the leering wink and constant innuendo. The grand tradition can still be seen on Sticky Moments with gamemaster Julian Clary. Good to see how some things just remain the same. Anyhow, 'see ya in Disneyland'.

KERRY BUCHANAN