1980s Slashers
Why Jason Lives is a Near-Perfect Horror Comedy
Audiences were disappointed with Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning. They wanted Jason, doing what he does best. Despite the film’s other merits, they couldn’t get over the absence ...
How ‘Halloween II’ Was Shaped by the Early Slashers (Which Were Shaped by its Predecessor)
While Halloween II is consistent with the first and is overall a very similar film, it was made in a completely different climate and that surely has an effect on the movie itself. This was made the s...
Eight 1980s Horror Gems You May Have Missed
Ah, the 1980s. What a time to be alive! It was a magical era, especially for horror fans. The horror genre in the 1980s experienced a boom and fans were treated to an onslaught of great and (some not ...
Early Slasher Movies That Should Have Become Classics
There are not a lot of slasher movies that have become classics in the horror genre. Psycho is widely thought of as the grand-daddy of the sub-genre and is viewed as one of the best hor...
Happy Birthday to Me is a Clever Giallo-Inspired Slasher [Retrospective]
A deviant in black gloves is eradicating the coolest clique at The Crawford Academy, The Top Ten. The killer’s identity is a mystery. We know only that he or she has a deep-seated resentment fo...
Curtains is a Forgotten Slasher that Should be Rediscovered [Retrospective]
Curtains is very much a lost classic of the ‘80s. It is a bit bizarre and a little unorthodox for a slasher picture but it does still cling to many of the horror film tropes fans have come to k...
Nine Reasons Silent Night Deadly Night Defines ‘80s Horror
Everybody’s got their favorite holiday movies. For some folks, it’s A Christmas Story, for others, It’s A Wonderful Life or Christmas Vacation. But in my household, ther...
Don’t Wanna Dream No More: How A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Empowered the Slasher Genre
The slasher genre has always fallen under a critical eye for showcasing the deaths of teenagers as gratuitous fun. They are generalized as having no characterization and no depth of any kind. The...
How Mario Bava Set the Template for American Slashers
It’s no secret that the early slasher films were heavily influenced by the Italian giallo movies. These were very similar features, albeit slightly more sophisticated—yet gorier—v...