Klaus Kinski

"Creature" (Citywide) rips off "Alien" and then compounds the felony by doing it poorly. Ironically, this science-fiction horror picture is no cheap schlocker, but an earnest effort with decent hardware and special effects and a fine, soaring score. But director (and co-writer-producer) William Malone would have been better off having some fun with this pursuit and conquest of a Godzilla-like creature on the rampage on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. (The film was originally titled "Titan Find."

The genre known as spaghetti westerns featured more than just actor Clint Eastwood and director Sergio Leone.  There were numerous directors and actors who appeared in these 1960s-era films. And the American Cinematheque's “Spaghetti Westerns Unchained” series serves up treats from such masters as Sergio Corbucci and Carlo Lizzani. The fun begins Thursday at the Egyptian Theatre with 1966's “The Big Gundown,” directed by Sergio Sollima, with Lee Van Cleef, and Lizzani's 1966 “The Hills Ran Red,” with Henry Silva and film noir icon Dan Duryea.

If you haven't seen "Cool as Ice," the movie starring rapper Vanilla Ice that opened last weekend, you don't have to rush to your local theater. Sometime in December, according to sources close to the film, you'll be able to rent it at your video store, on MCA/Universal Home Video. The movie has one of the shortest theater-to-video timetables ever. Movies usually don't hit video stores until about six months after their theatrical debuts.

When you go to a video store this weekend looking for a scary movie, you may find the old standards in the horror section already rented. That means you'll be confronting shelves full of titles you don't recognize. Here are some movies to avoid : First of all, most sequels are lousy.

Sterling Hayden, who died May 23 at the age of 70 after a long bout with cancer, preferred writing novels and sailing yachts to acting. Even so, Hayden turned in several masterful performances, from the lanky heroes of his early-'50s pictures to the bearded patriarchs and wild-eyed mavericks of his later films. Here are some of his movies available on video. If your local store does not have a certain item, phone numbers may provide information. "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950).

An eclectic batch of golden oldies make their video debuts this week. Anchor Bay is offering Werner Herzog's acclaimed 1979 vampire thriller "Nosferatu the Vampyre" ($15), and Universal Home Video is adding three more musicals ($20 each) to its popular "Deanna Durbin Collection."