Nov '19
Well I have been on a Slasher Marathon lately. It's rather silly since it's not really a favorite subgenre for me but I tried out usenet for a month half a year ago (I forgot to unsubscribe in time) and I didn't know what I could download at the time so I went for the slashers found in the grindhouse database.
I have been viewing them more or less chronologically. I'm noticing a few things. Contrary to popular belief gore & blood seem to be the exception rather than the rule, many kills not shown on screen or just quick and/or dark. The gratuitous nudity is in most cases rather brief too if there actually is any.
Another thing I noticed and rather bugs me that there is movies with a fantastic first kill shown in detail, really unsettling and makes you hope for more of that only to find out that all the other kills are hardly to be seen or not shown at all. Don't Go in the House (1979) was such a movie, great first kill made me hope for more of that but the rest it played out to be rather lame focusing on psychology and still mananging to keep the killer rather superficial. Pretty much the same with Don't Answer the Phone (1980) also had a reasonably good first murder, the others are poor again superficial psychology and 2 incompetent police men and a psychologist making Chief Wiggum look good.
Is this done deliberately I wonder to make sure you keep watching and hoping for more of this? It almost makes me wonder maybe it's better to watch it in reverse when the best parts are often in the first half hour.
The worst (1 or 2/10):
Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)
The Final Terror (1983)
The Single Girls (1974)
Sugar Hill (1974)
Blood Thirst (1971)
Savage Weekend (1979)
Had potential but not a pass (3 to 4/10):
Don't open the Door (1975)
Drive-in Massacre (1976)
Exposé (1976)
Terror Train (1980)
Don't Go in the House (1979)
Don't Answer the Phone (1980)
Pass to almost good (5 to 6/10)
Criminally Insane (1975): my favorite so far, simple lunatic killer
Tower of Evil (1972): insane first good half, utterly bad second half
Don't go in the Woods (1971): low budget but fast paced and kills are pretty graphic, never boring
Prom Night (1980): It's rather slow after a great opening, picks up nicely in the last half hour
I have been viewing them more or less chronologically. I'm noticing a few things. Contrary to popular belief gore & blood seem to be the exception rather than the rule, many kills not shown on screen or just quick and/or dark. The gratuitous nudity is in most cases rather brief too if there actually is any.
Another thing I noticed and rather bugs me that there is movies with a fantastic first kill shown in detail, really unsettling and makes you hope for more of that only to find out that all the other kills are hardly to be seen or not shown at all. Don't Go in the House (1979) was such a movie, great first kill made me hope for more of that but the rest it played out to be rather lame focusing on psychology and still mananging to keep the killer rather superficial. Pretty much the same with Don't Answer the Phone (1980) also had a reasonably good first murder, the others are poor again superficial psychology and 2 incompetent police men and a psychologist making Chief Wiggum look good.
Is this done deliberately I wonder to make sure you keep watching and hoping for more of this? It almost makes me wonder maybe it's better to watch it in reverse when the best parts are often in the first half hour.
The worst (1 or 2/10):
Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)
The Final Terror (1983)
The Single Girls (1974)
Sugar Hill (1974)
Blood Thirst (1971)
Savage Weekend (1979)
Had potential but not a pass (3 to 4/10):
Don't open the Door (1975)
Drive-in Massacre (1976)
Exposé (1976)
Terror Train (1980)
Don't Go in the House (1979)
Don't Answer the Phone (1980)
Pass to almost good (5 to 6/10)
Criminally Insane (1975): my favorite so far, simple lunatic killer
Tower of Evil (1972): insane first good half, utterly bad second half
Don't go in the Woods (1971): low budget but fast paced and kills are pretty graphic, never boring
Prom Night (1980): It's rather slow after a great opening, picks up nicely in the last half hour
Slashers are usually a pretty fun romp though. It's almost the most simple type of horror movie in the sense that you have some nutjob killing people and it's only about surviving in an isolated setting. Somehow, they tend to be a lot of fun either way because they never try to be overly complicated. They just are, and that's what makes them highly watchable. I much prefer them to paranormal shit.