Stunts

Teenagers' pranks are overshadowed by supernatural mayhem in this effective horror/thriller. In England after being fired from his New Jersey teaching job, Evan Kendal is troubled by inexplicable moments of chilling cold and darkness. At the same time, his friend Paul Burwin disappears, leading Paul's physician wife Addie to wonder if he's seeking treatment for a fatal disease. The truth is far worse. Paul appears at the scene of an auto accident which he later tells Evan he caused. He asks if Evan is sexually involved with Addie and speculates aloud about killing him. Escaping Paul and another accident, Evan fails to make sense of a series of calamitous mishaps. He and Addie flee to Evan's hometown, where his former students have planned fiendish Halloween ``stunts'' and where Evan's uncle, having fallen under ``the shadow of the wolf,'' has been feeding off live animals found in the woods. Evan and Addie are greeted by fur and blood all over his uncle's apartment; the town's reaction is sheer terror. Grant ( The Pet ) doesn't explain how or why the wolfish powers are assumed, but he sustains suspense so well that there's hardly a moment to disbelieve. (Nov.)