80s Slasher Craze

Allhallowsday · December 06, 2007, 10:41:02 PM

Quote from: RCMerchant on December 02, 2007, 06:52:02 PM
Now KILLING SPREE.(1984)..which I just got from Great White Dope...-Zero budget...yet fun and oddly hilarious! Watch the trailer! This was directed by Tim Ritter...the genuis(?) that brought us TRUTH or DARE!

Watched the trailer... Now I must see that drek! Thanks for the laugh!

As others have pointed out, HALLOWEEN is 1978, and I do think it is the first film that defines that "Slasher" genre, so how about TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) or LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) ? Certainly they both contributed a lot to the Slasher genre.

Mortal Envelope · December 07, 2007, 11:08:04 AM

TCM is a classic, no doubt, and a definite precursor to the slashers. It seems to be the grandfather of the remote cannibalistic family subgenre perhaps more so than the slashers, but I can definitely see its influence all around.

I have yet to see LHOTL but have read about it. Although there was murder (and more), it doesn't seem to follow the slasher formula as much as the others (but I could be wrong). It seems to be one of the precursors to the snuff sub genres if nothing else -seemed to be a lot of those types of films in the 70s. It's interesting how SAW II made a reference to this one btw.

But yeah, overall the horror from the 70s definitely paved the way for the slasher movies; I picked the 80s mainly because that's when the formula seemed to have been ironed out and their popularity increased ten fold.

And I have to agree, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter seemed to be the pinnacle of the Jason slashers!

Andrew · December 07, 2007, 12:17:28 PM

The recently reviewed (on another site) "Spider Baby" is another I would call a precursor to the "remote cannibalistic family subgenre." It also covers a lot more of the story from the point of view of the killers.

Quote from: Mortal Envelope on December 07, 2007, 11:08:04 AM
It seems to be the grandfather of the remote cannibalistic family subgenre

And I have to quote this line, because it made me laugh. Only on a bad movie forum do I run into things like it. "You know, the creature was cool, but I think they misplaced the fourth eye. If it was a little to the left, the effect would have been much more frightening."

RapscallionJones · December 07, 2007, 12:58:02 PM

Quote from: Mortal Envelope on December 07, 2007, 11:08:04 AM
And I have to agree, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter seemed to be the pinnacle of the Jason slashers!

It's definitely the absolute peak of the series. Probably my favorite of them all. 5-8 were ridiculous, moreso than the rest and maybe even worse than part 3 but I think they definitely picked up the pace with Jason Goes To Hell, which I haven't seen in a long time and I also really liked Jason X in spite of how foolish it is. The setup is fantastic and Kane Hodder has never been so intimidating as Jason in chains.

Mortal Envelope · December 07, 2007, 05:25:16 PM

Quote from: Andrew on December 07, 2007, 12:17:28 PM
The recently reviewed (on another site) "Spider Baby" is another I would call a precursor to the "remote cannibalistic family subgenre." It also covers a lot more of the story from the point of view of the killers.

Quote from: Mortal Envelope on December 07, 2007, 11:08:04 AM
It seems to be the grandfather of the remote cannibalistic family subgenre

And I have to quote this line, because it made me laugh. Only on a bad movie forum do I run into things like it. "You know, the creature was cool, but I think they misplaced the fourth eye. If it was a little to the left, the effect would have been much more frightening."

Hehehe glad I could make you laugh. It is a kinda funny line now that I reread it. Yeah only on a forum like this :)

RCMerchant · December 07, 2007, 08:31:40 PM

This is a little off topic as well,but the SADIST with Arch Hall Jr.,seems to have forged a path for LAST HOUSE on the LEFT for sadist killers torturing people in the boonies...

Bonehead-XL · December 09, 2007, 02:14:48 AM

Quote from: Torgo on December 06, 2007, 09:53:48 PM
Quote from: Bonehead-XL on December 06, 2007, 09:27:35 PM
"The Mutilator" is pretty good, too, if just for the gore.

that's a great over-the-top gore flick from what my memory serves me. I had this one on VHS but the tape broke and I haven't gotten around to getting it on DVD yet. The version I had on VHS was the uncut Vestron Video version.

It hasn't been released on DVD yet. Though one is in the works from the great people at Code Red.

Sister Grace · December 09, 2007, 09:26:14 AM

There have a been alot of great slasher movies mentioned on here, but i guess my favorite would probably be Intruder also known as Night Crew the final Checkout. Its hilarious and over the top, even has a bruce campbell, who was billed as one of the main stars even if his only line is "Hands up". Its interesting also to see all the old displays and products you would find in a grocery store back in the early eighties. But the scariest thing about this slasher flick are the hairstyles....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QWvobMx4x_s&feature=related