Retro Slashers

You are browsing the archives of 2009 May.

Fangoria magazine reached a major milestone this month when issue 284 hit stands. It’s been thirty years since Fango’s first issue, sporting Godzilla as cover monster of the month, was unleashed on horror fans. Fangoria is officially the longest running horror magazine in history. This is quite a feat considering the numerous [...]

Sequels by their very nature are comprised of recycled elements of a previous success, but there have been occasions when they have surpassed fan’s expectations  by matching the original in both style and popularity

With the huge success of Halloween and Prom Night, Jamie Lee Curtis had slowly become one of the biggest stars of the genre, with her appearances in a variety of popular horror flicks earning her the moniker ’scream queen.’ Her most underrated of films during this period was Terror Train

If Friday the 13th borrowed extensively from Halloween then The Exterminator stole excessively from Death Wish, Michael Winner’s 1974 vigilante thriller that made a star out of Charles Bronson

Despite winning major acclaim for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, director Tobe Hooper had followed the success with a string of inferior and disappointing flops, most notably 1976’s Eaten Alive which starred future Freddy Krueger Robert Englund

Within months of Friday the 13th’s conquering of the box office filmmakers were exploiting every possible holiday and anniversary in the hope of capitalising on its success. By the end of the year audiences had also been subjected to Prom Night, New Year’s Evil, Mother’s Day and Christmas Evil

In much the same way that He Knows You’re Alone will always be associated with the first screen appearance of Tom Hanks, it is impossible to discuss the 1989 straight-to-video slasher Cutting Class without referencing the involvement of a young Brad Pitt

These Code Red titles flew so low they even missed my “Red Radar” - this past week saw the release of two EXPLOITATION DOUBLE FEATURES. And while the special features have been paired-down to accommodate two films on one disc, each collection has something new/exclusive to make a purchase worthwhile.

SOUTH TEXAS BLUES was a long-mentioned film project recreating in a fictional fashion the making of Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. I guess that’s still hoped to happen at some point, but not content to let it become a “Someday Project” like many wannabe filmmakers out there, writer Christopher P. Garetano has teamed up [...]

Several new shots in this video, which show that Hobo Myers also walks like a Hobo. I feel sorry for him and want to point him to the nearest soup kitchen. HALLOWEEN 2: Anticipated Horror Sequel, or Modern-Day Parable For Social Injustice?

Whilst a constant criticism levelled at the slasher genre is its repetition and recycled ideas, it seems that those that attempt to divert away from the standard formula are often greeted with hostility.

Whilst the early eighties saw a glut of summer camp (Friday the 13th, Madman, Sleepaway Camp) and event-themed slashers (Prom Night, Graduation Day, Happy Birthday to Me), sororities and fraternities had yet to play a prominent role in the genre.

For those torn between the classic and the remake, modernized trailers bridge both worlds. Sure, in the fantasy world of purists, it’d be the original getting a big theatrical re-release, but these edited trailers at least cater to that “What If?” Compare it to the Remake’s Trailer.