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Interesting show - very biased and sensationalist reviewing (ironic that sensationalism is part of what they are criticising these movies for).
I think they are off the mark when they describe viewers of these movies primarily identifying with the killer and revelling in the killer's actions. After all, these films are primarily effective for the scares and discomfort they produce. Most people describe them as "horror" movies, not as "excitement", "pornography", or "pleasure" films. They are watched for a few reasons, including to he scared, to be "grossed out" etc - at least that is what I believe the majority of people who watch these films would expect. And when you look at the predominant demographic for these films - teenagers and young adults - you can imagine that these would be likely primary motives for viewing.
Not to say that there aren't some people who view for vicarious/pornographic reasons - who want to identify with the killer and have no empathy for the victims - but I don't think this is the majority.
I do agree with a few points that they make. There is a pretty obvious subtext in the slasher genre of the dangers of sexual promiscuity for women (and to a lesser extent, men - remember young men also get killed after having sex in some of these films e.g. Friday the 13th). The reviewers link this to a backlash against women's liberation. I don't think this is the whole answer.
I think there are aspects of a remonstration against the sexual liberation movement of the late 60's and 70's. Young people who have sex (mainly women) are often the victim of the slasher. This can be viewed as a metaphor for a number of things - the dangers of sexual promiscuity including teenage pregnancy, the rise in STI rates in the late 60's and 70's; the loss of innocence and the premature cessation of childhood - "murdered" by early sexual activity.
The "winners" in the slasher films are often the women who remain pure and wholesome. By resisting the lures of sexual temptation, the boogeyman is powerless against them and they ultimately destroy him by resisting the temptations that he embodies.
Of the movies mentioned on this program, most were low budget films that were quickly forgotten by all but the most ardent fans anyway. Halloween and Friday the 13th are the exceptions, and to a lesser extent When A Stranger Calls. I Spit On Your Grave is known amongst horror fans mainly because of its extreme content but I can't imagine many of the general public would have any recollection of it. The other films mentioned would now only be remembered by the die-hard fans. This is simply because they were not great films - and there are films from all genres that are soon forgotten by the general populace for exactly the same reason. So the episode was making a big deal about films that would soon be forgotten anyway (and probably weren't all that successful at the time with the exceptions above noted). So the films that told a story and handled their subtexts well lived on, and those that were merely exploitative were soon forgotten. This would have happened without the doomsday warnings.
It is interesting to note though, that nothing that gets widespread cinema release these days is any scarier/nastier than the films portrayed here. I Spit On Your Grave is every bit as cruel as any of the so called "torture-porn" films that get cinema release these days. And Halloween and When A Stranger Calls are as scary and suspenseful as anything else since.
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