| The Outing | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster by Drew Struzan |
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| Directed by | Tom Daley Warren Chaney (2nd Unit Director) |
| Produced by | Warren Chaney |
| Written by | Warren Chaney |
| Starring | Deborah Winters James Huston Andra St. Ivanyi Scott Bankston Red Mitchell |
| Music by | Bruce Miller Joel Rosenbaum |
| Cinematography | Herbert Raditschnig |
| Editing by | Claudio M. Cutry |
| Distributed by | Moviestore Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | September 11, 1987 |
| Running time | 87 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,700,000 |
| Box office | $34,000,000 |
The Outing is a 1987 horror film that is an edited and shortend version of the original motion picture, titled The Lamp (Film). The picture was written and produced by Warren Chaney, directed by Tom Daley, and stars Deborah Winters and James Huston. The movie was filmed in Houston, TX, Galveston, TX and Los Angeles, CA.[1][2][3]
The film as edited, concerns local teenagers who decide to spend the night in a museum. During this, an evil genie, or djinn, is released. The spirit possesses the body of the museum curator's daughter and hunts down the teenagers, who have now split up for various reasons. Other people are caught up in the murderous escapades as well.
The Movie has gained a substantial cult following over the years.[4][5]
Contents |
A group of rednecks break into a house owned by an elderly woman of Arabic origins. They stumble upon a magic lamp, release the genii and are killed. Police investigators send the lamp to a museum along with an unusual bracelet found at the scene. The teenage daughter of the Museum's curator finds the bracelet, puts it on and is unable to remove it. Afterwards, the bracelet seems to exert a strange power over her.
The daughter and her high school history class take a field trip to the museum. Her teacher who dates the father after her mother's death, accompanies the group. Once at the museum, the daughter stumbles across the lamp and inadvertently releases the Genii. Under the influence of the creature, the girl convinces six of her close friends to slip away from the group and hide in the museum until closing time, after which they will spend the night. Once the museum closes and night falls, the Genii initiates a path of murder, killing off the teenagers, museum guards and a scientist who is studying the lamp.
The girl's father and teacher are alerted by parents of the missing teens and return to the museum. They find the girl in panic after the death of her friends. Unfortunately, there are in immediate danger as well as the Genii stalks them, eventually killing the father. Before his death, the museum curator discovers a translations the earlier scientist has made which contains the words, "Destroy the lama and destroy the Jinn!" The daughter manages to secure the lamp and at the close of the film, throws it into the museum's incinerator.
Only the daughter and teacher survive the night and the picture closes as they are being led away from the museum.
The Outing's early reviews were unfavorable. Richard Harrington of the Washington Post said it was "stupid and senseless, and the special effects look as if they were shot on a family's weekly shopping budget."[6] The Boston Globe called it "a hokey loser".[7] However, in recent years The Outing has received more favorable reviews as the original picture, The Lamp (Film), was discovered by American movie goers.[8][9]
The original, The Lamp (Film) had a long distribution period in Europe Asia and other overseas' markets. As of the first decade of the 21st Century, The Lamp (Film) remains in distribution. The edited and shorted version, The Outing, was distributed in the United States by The Movie Store (TMS).[10]The USA Network played the move on a regular basis for several years after its release to television.
After the film's fall 1987 theatrical run, the movie was released on videocassette in the United States in 1988 by International Video Entertainment and in Canada by Cineplex Odeon. A DVD has been released in the United Kingdom, under its original title "The Lamp", but as of April 30, 2010, Lions Gate Home Entertainment has yet to announce any plans to release the film onto a region 1 DVD. The pre-certification British VHS version, released as "The Lamp" by Braveworld & IVS Video UK features a three minute pre-titles sequence with back story trimmed from the North American home video release.[11]