Unfortunately, the slasher is probably the one sub-genre of horror most likely to fall prey to derivative plots and stupid self-awareness. I really do like giallo films, and some of the early American slashers, but there's far more bad slasher films than good ones, in my opinion.

Scream and Halloween are IMO the best slashers.

I wouldnt go so far as to say that I hate slashers perse, but Im not really much of a fan. Sure, many of them are somewhat entertaining, but that can only last for so long. Im not a Friday the 13th fan in the leat, Ive seen the first 2 and I dont really plan on watching the rest...the first one was stupid, and the second was worse. Though I cant say it was a bad film, Halloween is very overrated in my opinion. So what if it was what made the genre popular/one of the first? Sure, it had some creepy moments, such as the bedroom scene, and Loomis was a great character, but otherwise it was just your typical slasher flick that's been cloned 50 million times. Though many will say it's not a slasher, I did really like the first Nightmare on Elm Street. I havent bothered with the sequels yet, but the first one had such an original, scary plot plus it introduced one of the all-time great horror icons while he was still in his glory...I loved it.

I think NOES is more just plain horror, than slasher IMO.

Thats what alot of people think, but it's a slasher by my definition.

It was sorta 50/50 I guess.. Great gore for 1984

The Prowler, The Burning (raft sequence is a pure classic), The New York Ripper and Nightmares in a Damaged Brain are all top horror movies.

But there is and always has been a lot of dross in the slasher category, by nature of repetition and contempt - so many different kinds of bogeymen can only creep around so many different settings (and the victims are of course always irrelevant).

I haven't been able to track down Nightmares in a Damaged Brain over here. One of the flicks that dissappeared during the whole Video Nastiness era. The Prowler, The Burning and The New York Ripper are up there in my favorites.

Cheers guys this is helping me a lot I'm chugging away at this article and this has jogged my memory on a couple of thing. Keep it comming :)

It's been released in the UK several times now, but each one cut by the BBFC (even the old pre-VRA).

My full version is Dutch, and has to be said is one of the first truly ugly films I had ever seen.

From the grim scene in the peep show, through the pick-in-the-back to the disturbing (and oft repeated) dream sequence, NDB is true horror and if there ever was a "video nasty"... this is it.

Damn that sounds really cool. I dare you to make me a copy :)