Gordon MacDonald Movies

Several "wilding incidents" occur during a Hispanic Pride festival in Central Park. When a woman's body is found in the park's lake, the detectives at first believe that she was a victim of random violence. Slowly but surely, however, the suspect field narrows down to those closest to the woman -- especially her very rich and very powerful husband. Due to complaints from a number of ethnic organizations, this episode was withdrawn from the Law & Order rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Basket Case director Frank Henenlotter explores another bizarre symbiotic human-monster relationship in this surreal horror comedy about a young man named Brian (Rick Herbst) who emerges from a night of bizarre hallucinations to find a jovial talking slug attached to his body. The creature, a brain-eating parasite called an "Aylmer" (but who prefers the simpler handle "Elmer") came calling after abandoning his former companions -- a European couple who tried to wean him from human brains by supplying him with sheep brains from the local butcher. Preferring prey of the bipedal variety (and a younger, more mobile host), Elmer hitches a ride with Brian, administering doses of a highly addictive psychedelic drug to keep him under control, and sends him out in search of human gray matter. Understandably, this drives a wedge in the relationship between Brian and his girlfriend, Barbara (Jennifer Lowry), who doesn't buy the monster story but nevertheless begins to recognize Brian's junkie behavior patterns. Fighting a losing battle against Elmer's magic juice (and trying to keep Elmer from munching down on Barbara's skull), Brian is forced into a hideous showdown for possession of his own mind. Clever highlights include horror host John Zacherle as the Bing Crosby-esque voice of Elmer and a cute cameo from Basket boy Kevin Van Hentenryck. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide