Slasher Movies Resurrection! Good or Bad?

[Yellow Jacket]

All I've been hearing and reading about the current slasher flicks is that there not worth the time anymore or shit like that. For example, I was reading a review of the 2001 flick Valentine on a site called HorrorWatch or somethin' like that, and the person said "this would've worked back in the 80's but not now." My question is, Why not now?! I mean, I love all the genres that horror has to offer us (thriller, hauntings, demon, etc.) but if I had to pick, my all-time favorite horror genre have been the slashers. It's just something that the slasher flicks has in for me that gets me all excited. It could be the gore, the killer (silent or talkative), the kick ass killings, etc. Yet, it seems that people only liked the slashers when they came out in the 80's (sequels set aside.) But why not now? Is there something wrong with them now? Or is it that we've adapted to horrors such as The Ring, Grudge, Saw, etc. I just wanna know you're guys' thought on this subject.

[kung-fu-jesus]

i dont really mind the slasher films. as for reading reviews i think you should see the film for your self. i only read reviews to see what other think, but no matter what i form my own opinion.

[Yellow Jacket]

originally posted by kung-fu-jesus
i dont really mind the slasher films. as for reading reviews i think you should see the film for your self. i only read reviews to see what other think, but no matter what i form my own opinion.

I usually only read reviews either after I've seen the movie or am just bored. But that's not that the point! I have to say, u have a good point of view, kung-fu (hey I rhymed!)

[Creighton Duke]

thats a tough question about the slasher flicks of today. its usually me who is the first to bad mouth any remakes or todays "orginal" slashers and i do it because of their own individual weaknesess. Slashers are my favourite too.
To put in one sentance there is are no scary mainstream horror films anymore, none that really have that grip and grit that came from films late 60s to 80s. I dunno why though, directors of films that try are always caught saying "oh i loved movies like halloween or nightmare on elmstreet cuz i grew up on them" Yeah and? But u dont have to remake them or use the same techniques. An argument against that is in the extras of The fOG, Carpenter says he uses techiniques from a fond director Hitchcock.
It takes alot more to scare this generation what with all the violence in the world and media and the films that do over step the mark and try and push the boundry are banned, shown in small private cinemas or usually staright to DVD. These mainstream amytiville or texas chainsaw remakes are just not cuttin the mustard and i think its sad that generations to come will look upon these as scary good quality horror.

now i wait for the backlash

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by Yellow Jacket
All I've been hearing and reading about the current slasher flicks is that there not worth the time anymore or shit like that. For example, I was reading a review of the 2001 flick Valentine on a site called HorrorWatch or somethin' like that, and the person said "this would've worked back in the 80's but not now." My question is, Why not now?! I mean, I love all the genres that horror has to offer us (thriller, hauntings, demon, etc.) but if I had to pick, my all-time favorite horror genre have been the slashers. It's just something that the slasher flicks has in for me that gets me all excited. It could be the gore, the killer (silent or talkative), the kick ass killings, etc. Yet, it seems that people only liked the slashers when they came out in the 80's (sequels set aside.) But why not now? Is there something wrong with them now? Or is it that we've adapted to horrors such as The Ring, Grudge, Saw, etc. I just wanna know you're guys' thought on this subject.


Slashers were original in the 80's, today's slashers are just copies which is why people are fed up with 'em.

[MichaelMyers]

Good and bad.

[slasherman]

Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
Slashers were original in the 80's, today's slashers are just copies which is why people are fed up with 'em.
cant see why everything have to be innovative all the time....when you are eating your breakfast its pretty much the same every day ....and that ok...so why expect so much from the movies ? ...Slashers are based on a simple formula and that whats great about it....:o

[Elvis_Christ]

I fucking love slasher films I've enjoyed just about everyone I've watched includeing a bunch everyone seems to hate (Scream, Valentine and Slash). Slashers have always been panned by critics and horror fans alike. There probably my favorite subgenre of horror (closely followed by zombie flicks) and I always look foward to them comming out.

[lee challenger]

SEE SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE FOR AN EXAMPLE OF A RECENT SLASHER MOVIE THAT IS UP THERE WITH THE CLASSICS OF THE GENRE.THIS FILM DOES NOT MESS AROUND.
HARD HITTING VIOLENCE,EXPLICIT GORE,NO STUPID TEENAGERS.
NO PATHETIC HUMOUR.
JUST A DIRTY ,GRITTY HORROR MOVIE THAT IS BRILLIANTLY MADE.:cool:

[Elvis_Christ]

^^ Yeh that movie sounds real cool, it hasn't had a release over here yet. I'm hoping it'll be at the next film festivial here. New Zealand is shocking for not giving horror/exploitation/fringe cinema a decent run at the cinema.... which is stupid because this is the best way to experience the genre - big, loud and in your face making you feel uneasy.

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by slasherman
cant see why everything have to be innovative all the time....when you are eating your breakfast its pretty much the same every day ....and that ok...so why expect so much from the movies ? ...Slashers are based on a simple formula and that whats great about it....:o


I don't compare my eating habits with my choices of entertainment. Life is boring for the most part and full of routine movies are supposed to get you away from all that for a couple hours.

With that being said, I personally don't have a problem with slashers they aren't my favorite but I enjoy them. I was referring to the people who don't like them.

[urgeok]

i cant watch the same thing over and over again..
there has to be a point where i say - thats enough ..
sooner or later i'll crave some origionality.

although there are always going to be some examples of a really good slasher film because it it is fresh enough to revive the genre, here is why i dont like them in general anymore :

1) the acting almost always sucks. it's all teenegers fresh from bad TV shows (usually soap operas)

2) the premise is always the same ... kill all the bad kids untill there is just the plain jane left. who 'kills' the bad guy. (until the sequel)

3) the exact same things happen in each one ... car wont start till the last second, fumbling with keys till the last second, etc.
(you cant build suspense if the audience knows exactly what to expect)

4) all manner of space and time is bent to the point of science fiction. The most time worn cliche is the one that absolutely drives me insane - where a girl can run pell mell through a forest and the killer shambles along at the speed of a snail ... yet will step out from behind a tree the first time she stops to catch her breath.

5) the things that should be fun about a slasher movie arent anymore :

- inventive kills ... they've all been done .. they arent inventive anymore
- when there is some gratuitous nudity - its allways fake grotesque hollywood boobs..


6) if the killer isnt the well known fiend from a series (jason, michael) then its the person you'd least suspect. So we always suspect them.


if a slasher comes along that works outside the things mentioned above - i'd probably enjoy it .. otherwise ... i'd rather watch something else ...

[slasherman]

:rolleyes: hmm many good points...
but you know the formula for slashers...so dont expect too much...now and then there gonna be innovation...but not all the time....

[Yellow Jacket]

I really like all you're guys' points of views on this topic. You all have your good points, the good and the bad. You've all made very good points. But here's one that I don't remember viewing.

Most slashers that turn into a series turn out to be a comedy than a horror after awhile. Examples: NOES, Child's Play, Friday the 13th, Scream (wait, that's always been a comedy/horror. Never mind then, sorry.) But you've got my point. Hell, even series with silent killers turn to comedy (even the killer who doesn't talk makes something look funny. Just watch Jason Takes Manhattan and u should know wat I mean.)

I hope to read more points of views about the so-called "resurection" of slasher flicks.

[slasherman]

:rolleyes: Yeah thats bad even for slashers...no horror movie needs much comedy...:mad:
Even though I'm not a "Scream" hater ....I would say that it has the "Independent day" syndrome : Putting many genre into one movie (Action, Lovestory, disaster, sc.fi, war)..it often becomes a bad soup....
.....maybe "Scream" is a splatter parody or something :confused:

[urgeok]

a small bit of comedy relief is good in a horror movie .. it gives the audience a small sense of relief .. but also a false sense of security.. setting them up for some big scares later.
If a horror relies of one mood of doom and terror throughout the film you can become desensitized by the end ..

with a bit of carefully placed levity you can keep the suspense rolling..

unfortunately filmmakers with limited vision see the humor in films as effective so they end up concentrating on it - not understanding what the true purpose was. Then it overpowers the film and leaves you with a mess you cant take seriously at all.

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by urgeok
a small bit of comedy relief is good in a horror movie .. it gives the audience a small sense of relief .. but also a false sense of security.. setting them up for some big scares later.
If a horror relies of one mood of doom and terror throughout the film you can become desensitized by the end ..

with a bit of carefully placed levity you can keep the suspense rolling..

unfortunately filmmakers with limited vision see the humor in films as effective so they end up concentrating on it - not understanding what the true purpose was. Then it overpowers the film and leaves you with a mess you cant take seriously at all.

After studying film for the last three years I really enjoy trashy, shitty movies I don't have to take seriously. A lot of serious, critically aclaimed movies just give me a headache now. I'd still rather see a tired "has been done before" slasher than any shitty Ritchie Cunningham movie or anything with Tom Hanks in it. Cinema in general has been done before.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
I'd still rather see a tired "has been done before" slasher than any shitty Ritchie Cunningham movie or anything with Tom Hanks in it. Cinema in general has been done before.


i'm the same way ... i'm not a fan of smug formulatic hollywood blockbusters either ...the only thing they may have over the b movies is a really good performance by someone - and i can enjoy that in a 'big movie' and ignore the rest ..

but in any genre i still look for the cream... its a real challenge as you get older and see everything you can get your hands on ... which is why i have a real thing for foreign film ..

[Vodstok]

I have to agree with austihn's point of view:

i liked the breakfast analogy, but as austin said, entertainment and sustenance are very different beasts. I try to be creative in all areas of life (food included), and i have very little patience for lazy writers and directors making the same bullshit over and over.

Modern slashers have also completely done away with all unearthly and supernatural elements (for better or worse). now it is always a disgruntled some or another, a pissed off fisherman, a couple of twisted high-school boys, a college girl who went crazy when her boyfreind died, blah blah blah.

Michael Meyers is my favorite, he is just evil. But i dont even like Halloween past the second one.

I dont like slashers in general, for the most part. I cant believe how often the villains in slashers are referred to as serial killers, they arent, they are spree killers. 5 murders in 1 day is a spree, not a series.

I prefer serial killers in my movies, they are more complex. John Doe from Seven beats any slasher, any day, he is infinitely more interesting.

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by Vodstok
i liked the breakfast analogy


I didn't think it was that clever, I don't eat breakfast and when I do it's not the ordinary bowl of cereal or plate of pancakes.

[Vodstok]

It was a good attempt at comparison, though.

I agree with you on breakfats, too, however. That is a hall mark of a good writer, in my humble opinion. You should get bored easily and NEED for things to be different. That is what drives creativity, and that need is sorely lacking in the "mainstream"

[slasherman]

Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
I didn't think it was that clever, I don't eat breakfast and when I do it's not the ordinary bowl of cereal or plate of pancakes.
I eat guys like you for breakfast....:p

and Vodstok you have some good points in the slasher and serial killer dialog....the reason for slashers and serial killer movies being mixed up :
They both use elements from each others....many killing scenes in serial killer movies are inspired by the effective killings in a slasher.....

[Yellow Jacket]

originally posted by slasherman
I eat guys like you for breakfast....:p

CANNIBAL!!! Quick, get someone crazy enough to stop this cannibal. Get Hannibal Lecter or even Michael Jackson if u need to. Get someone quick!:p

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by urgeok
i'm the same way ... i'm not a fan of smug formulatic hollywood blockbusters either ...the only thing they may have over the b movies is a really good performance by someone - and i can enjoy that in a 'big movie' and ignore the rest ..

but in any genre i still look for the cream... its a real challenge as you get older and see everything you can get your hands on ... which is why i have a real thing for foreign film ..

You're right in that respect there are some great preformances in the bigger hollywood films.... people like Sean Penn and Jennifer Connely come to mind but I hate when actors get a break in hollywood then just give shit preformances in lame movies. Russel Crowe is an actor that is a good example of this he gave an amazing preformance in Romper Stomper then went to hollywood and has basically turned to shit. Maybe I'm just being anal but hollywood lacks honesty and gutsy prefermances whereas b-movies just seem more raw and gutsy. Foreign films are excellent I love each country's spin on generic formulas. I really enjoy a lot of the films of the French New Wave period. I'll have to find some copies of a lot of those movies. I've been meaning to watch Man Bites Dog again too.... I was reading a article about it in an old Gorezone mag and thought it was about time I dusted off my old copy of it and rewatch it.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
You're right in that respect there are some great preformances in the bigger hollywood films.... people like Sean Penn and Jennifer Connely come to mind but I hate when actors get a break in hollywood then just give shit preformances in lame movies. Russel Crowe is an actor that is a good example of this he gave an amazing preformance in Romper Stomper then went to hollywood and has basically turned to shit. Maybe I'm just being anal but hollywood lacks honesty and gutsy prefermances whereas b-movies just seem more raw and gutsy. Foreign films are excellent I love each country's spin on generic formulas. I really enjoy a lot of the films of the French New Wave period. I'll have to find some copies of a lot of those movies. I've been meaning to watch Man Bites Dog again too.... I was reading a article about it in an old Gorezone mag and thought it was about time I dusted off my old copy of it and rewatch it.


Kevin Spacey is another one sinking into the shithole ...

The French New Wave is my all time favorite period of film ...
I also love the italian movies of the same period ...
These are the ones i've been collecting like mad on laserdisc ..

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by urgeok
Kevin Spacey is another one sinking into the shithole ...

The French New Wave is my all time favorite period of film ...
I also love the italian movies of the same period ...
These are the ones i've been collecting like mad on laserdisc ..

The French New Wave certainly had a lot of really wonderful offbeat movies.

I like the Italian neo-realist period those films had a lot of heart and emotion. I got a chance to see the Bicycle Theif on the big screen at a film festival a couple of years ago.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
The French New Wave certainly had a lot of really wonderful offbeat movies.

I like the Italian neo-realist period those films had a lot of heart and emotion. I got a chance to see the Bicycle Theif on the big screen at a film festival a couple of years ago.


thats one i still dont have .. i think i have a dub of it on beta - but god knows where it is ...
We had a station here that played uncut foreign movies all the time and i used to tape every one (on high quality beta tapes)

some day i'll dig them out and rip them all to DVD.

I even got a completely uncut 'Devil in the Flesh'
you cant even rent it uncut over here !

i miss that station :(

[Elvis_Christ]

Yeh we've got a station like that on pay TV that's started playing really trashy b-grade sci-fi and horror movies on Fridays. They've played some really great stuff that you just can't get you hands on these days. A store over here had stuff like the Bicycle Theif and Shoeshine on DVD for really cheap but I missed out on them. I don't know what the quality of the transfer would have been like. I've got to start buying som more stuff like that that tho I've been soley watching an buying horror movies for the last year or so. I think I've just about dubbed most of the video stores I go to's entire horror collections........ damn I'm getting geeky :eek:

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
Yeh we've got a station like that on pay TV that's started playing really trashy b-grade sci-fi and horror movies on Fridays. They've played some really great stuff that you just can't get you hands on these days. A store over here had stuff like the Bicycle Theif and Shoeshine on DVD for really cheap but I missed out on them. I don't know what the quality of the transfer would have been like. I've got to start buying som more stuff like that that tho I've been soley watching an buying horror movies for the last year or so. I think I've just about dubbed most of the video stores I go to's entire horror collections........ damn I'm getting geeky :eek:

when video first hit i was dubbing everything i could get my hands on .. one store i went to got the most obscure junk ever .. they rotated their stock every few months and continuously got in stuff i've never seen anywhere since..

you know i'd probably make a ton of $$$ if i converted them to DVD and sold them on ebay because a lot of it is way out of print .. but i'd never bother with all that.

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by urgeok
when video first hit i was dubbing everything i could get my hands on .. one store i went to got the most obscure junk ever .. they rotated their stock every few months and continuously got in stuff i've never seen anywhere since..

you know i'd probably make a ton of $$$ if i converted them to DVD and sold them on ebay because a lot of it is way out of print .. but i'd never bother with all that.

Converting all that stuff might just pay for the holiday you were saving for :p but I guess it'd take you for fucking ever to do.

There's a pretty good shop where my parents live that has one of the better selections of films I have seen so I've been dubbing shitloads whenever I'd stay there before they sell it on because no one rents it. Its getting pretty crazy tho spacewise on day all that shit will fall of my shelves and squash me :eek:

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
Converting all that stuff might just pay for the holiday you were saving for :p but I guess it'd take you for fucking ever to do.

There's a pretty good shop where my parents live that has one of the better selections of films I have seen so I've been dubbing shitloads whenever I'd stay there before they sell it on because no one rents it. Its getting pretty crazy tho spacewise on day all that shit will fall of my shelves and squash me :eek:

i'm lucky that way as far as where i live...
there is a used DVD place that gets gems in that will sit on the shelf for months .. waiting for me to get there.

I wasnt in for 3 weeks and an anchor bay 4 movie gialo boxset
just sat there .. no one bought it. I snapped it up immediately.
anywhere else it would have been gone before it hit the shelf.

[Elvis_Christ]

Yeh there's a couple of stores like that here in Dunedin. One of them had a whole ex-rental horror section for sale that I was slowly picking away at.... until some fucker came in and brought everything and cleaned it out :mad:

I've found I've been able to get real gems on VHS for really cheap ($1 - $5) because no one's really buying it anymore. Its good because I can get a shitload of films for $10 - stuff that'll never see the light of day on DVD over here.

[Creighton Duke]

5) the things that should be fun about a slasher movie arent anymore :

-- when there is some gratuitous nudity - its allways fake grotesque hollywood boobs..

Yes great point. bring back the non shaven small perfectly formed bodies of the seventies slasher films.
u gotta love em lads. i swear they use to be able to run faster to with all that less weight.

stay cool

[Yellow Jacket]

originally posted by Creighton Duke
Yes great point. bring back the non shaven small perfectly formed bodies of the seventies slasher films.

Hell yeah! Those fake titties are getting on my damn nerves. I mean, who wants to suck on some damn plastic anyway? Honestly!

[crazy raplh]

yea.