Retro Slashers

I’m the kind of horror fan who goes the extra mile to find something I haven’t seen yet. I love the obscure, the rare and the unreleased. To say I collect horror films would be putting it lightly. More accurately speaking, I stop at NOTHING to get what I’m after. Money, travel and uncertainty can’t [...]

Last time we presented a retrospective celebrating 30 years of Scalps, a shocking slasher that would differentiate itself from the pack with its Native-American supernatural elements. This time around, we speak to the director himself. Read on as Fred Olen Ray peels away the layers of the 1983 production.

In 1983 a sleazy little slasher film hit screens titled Scalps. It’s the story of a group of college students who set out for the desert in (illegal) search of Indian artifacts. However, they awaken a vengeful Indian spirit who possesses and attacks them one-by-one causing a supernatural, gruesome bloodbath.

With a remake now in pre-production it became necessary to review the original for those not yet acquainted with this elegant masterpiece. Originally intended for late night television, this little gem found wider success at midnight showings, double features and various budget VHS and DVD releases.

In the mid 80′s when the VHS boom was taking off, several SOV (shot-on-vhs) horror titles started popping up on the shelves. With the cheaper accessibility to VCR’s came cheaper home camcorders. Nearly anyone who “shot” a feature length horror film in the 80′s could have it pieced together and distributed.

Let’s face it, every slasher freak knows that the 1980′s was the decade of the Slasher film. However, a decade is ten years, and ten years is a long time. Taking a look back over those years, a steady progression of evolving (perhaps for the worst) plot lines and stories can be seen.