Slashers!

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I didn't see it when I dug through 3 Walmart $5 dump bins yesterday. But did find an Echo Bridge 20 film pack for $5. Most of the stuff was Dimension horror films.

I found the HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME/WHEN A STRANGER CALLS double bill BD at WM, they are in a separate display that in my local store is out in the aisle before you get to the BD/DVD section. They also had 5 buck Mill Creek BDs of DEEP RISING/THE PUPPET MASTERS, SHIP OF FOOLS/LILITH, that KEOMA/GRAND DUEL sw disc, and quite a few others...HOLLOWMAN 1 and 2 is all I can recall right now.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

Death Valley (1982): Wow, pretty well made slasher picture with relatively high production values and above par acting. Featuring Wilford Brimley, Catherine Hicks, and the kid from Christmas Story. Pretty well done, decent body count with some gore, and it's overall really well done. 7/10

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Death Valley (1982): Wow, pretty well made slasher picture with relatively high production values and above par acting. Featuring Wilford Brimley, Catherine Hicks, and the kid from Christmas Story. Pretty well done, decent body count with some gore, and it's overall really well done. 7/10

Agreed, I watched the BD this week and it held up really well. Peter Billingsley was such a natural it's surprising he didn't become a huge child star. I dug Paul Le Mat in this too, very underrated actor.

[Body Boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close Body Boy]

Teens are killed off one by one by a chainsaw/mallet/hook wielding killer in a mask, leading to 4 victims. It's just that the chase scene is prolonged after. You can think what you want, but watching it, I simply am in awe that TCM can be slogged off as not being a slasher. I didn't know the definition of slasher films was that you had to be ineffective and stick to a certain mood.

[Robert W Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robert W]

Teens are killed off one by one by a chainsaw/mallet/hook wielding killer in a mask, leading to 4 victims. It's just that the chase scene is prolonged after. You can think what you want, but watching it, I simply am in awe that TCM can be slogged off as not being a slasher. I didn't know the definition of slasher films was that you had to be ineffective and stick to a certain mood.

I think one of the reasons TCM isn't more often discussed when the topic of slashers come up is that, unlike almost every film made in this genre, TCM simply rises, in terms of sustained atmosphere, far above what most genre enthusiasts have come to expect out of films like these.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

Teens are killed off one by one by a chainsaw/mallet/hook wielding killer in a mask, leading to 4 victims. It's just that the chase scene is prolonged after. You can think what you want, but watching it, I simply am in awe that TCM can be slogged off as not being a slasher. I didn't know the definition of slasher films was that you had to be ineffective and stick to a certain mood.

The tone and execution is very different. Slashers don't have that documentary quality.

But you could think of it like this; it's kinda' like Maniac. It has elements of a Slasher but could also be considered a serial killer film. And I'm sure some critics considered Henry to be a Slasher.

[Body Boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close Body Boy]

I think one of the reasons TCM isn't more often discussed when the topic of slashers come up is that, unlike almost every film made in this genre, TCM simply rises, in terms of sustained atmosphere, far above what most genre enthusiasts have come to expect out of films like these.

But that's not logical. :( And I think that the case for strong atmosphere can be made for other films too that are very much slashers. But yeah, it could be that people have certain expectations. Like with Silence of the Lambs. Horror had a bad rap in 1991, so they called it a thriller for the awards shows.

The tone and execution is very different. Slashers don't have that documentary quality.

But you could think of it like this; it's kinda' like Maniac. It has elements of a Slasher but could also be considered a serial killer film. And I'm sure some critics considered Henry to be a Slasher.

Henry is sort-of a slasher, but yeah, it's definitely more of a serial killer film and I wouldn't put it in a list with Graduation Day or Bloody Moon.
Maniac though, while a character study, kills people off one-by-one in a stalking manner where Frank Zito is now perceived as an 'other', though we usually see him as the main character.

However, I don't think that TCM '74 has a documentary feel at all. It's very obviously a movie. The tone is gritty, but so is Nightmare in a Damaged Brain. It's shot from the point-of-view as Friday the 13th or Halloween is, aka, standard movie procedure, and we see a final girl's friends killed off one-by-one by a killer. I don't really see how tone affects the events happening. The term 'slasher' is very much a plot-based identity, with some details differentiating from closely related subgenre.

[Terry C Tiger Fists Find all posts View Profile Close Terry C]

But that's not logical. :( And I think that the case for strong atmosphere can be made for other films too that are very much slashers. But yeah, it could be that people have certain expectations. Like with Silence of the Lambs. Horror had a bad rap in 1991, so they called it a thriller for the awards shows.

This.

Just because most Slashers are not high quality doesn't mean that they can't be. I'd also say that A Nightmare on Elm Street has a different feel than most other Slashers (The whole surreal quality throughout the film) and I would say that it's still a Slasher Film, though NOT JUST a Slasher if you catch my drift. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the matter here. :)

[Body Boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close Body Boy]

Plus, who defines what's high quality anyways? Unless it's something like a SOV slasher compared to a $5,000,000 slasher. But usually, there isn't a distinct signifier of what is superior quality.

[Robert W Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robert W]

Plus, who defines what's high quality anyways? Unless it's something like a SOV slasher compared to a $5,000,000 slasher. But usually, there isn't a distinct signifier of what is superior quality.

Me.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

I couldn't find a Friday the 13th thread so I thought I'd post this here:

Good little song. Great video. About a guy losing his innocence watching Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning.

[Bogart Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bogart]

I just saw on Blu-ray.com Scream Factory are releasing HELL NIGHT on Blu in October. A long awaited favourite from me.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

Hell Night is superb. Great semi-classy slasher.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

A few nights ago, I rewatched PRANKS (aka THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD/DEATH DORM) for the first time since the days of VHS. (I bought the Synapse Blu-ray release when it came out but hadn't bothered watching it till this week.) This meant that I had forgotten most of the narrative and was going into the picture almost 'cold' (though could vividly remember fragments of the kill scenes). The pacing's a little screwy and the dialogue scenes are shot in a very 'fat' manner, but I found Joanne immensely likeable, and it's a shame that this seems to be the only credit for Laurie Lapinski. I was pleased with the extra grue. (This was 'new' to the Synapse presentation and worked very effectively - especially the drill murder.)

Slight Spoilers

But, boy, that ending is a potent one, and utterly bleak with it. A lot of classic-era slasher pictures had ambiguous endings or endings which were somewhat open-ended, but the final scene of this picture is brutal. I think this has to be the most utterly downbeat ending of a classic-era slasher picture, or would anyone care to remind me of any others?

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

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But, boy, that ending is a potent one, and utterly bleak with it. A lot of classic-era slasher pictures had ambiguous endings or endings which were somewhat open-ended, but the final scene of this picture is brutal. I think this has to be the most utterly downbeat ending of a classic-era slasher picture, or would anyone care to remind me of any others?

Sleepaway Camp, maybe? Lest not forget Pieces.