Features

Murder on Film? The Story of Snuff

Although they had courted controversy throughout the latter half of the 1960s with a string of sexploitation pictures that became regular attractions around Times Square, little did Michael and Roberta Findlay know that their legacy would be that of a supposed snuff film. Despite the revelation at the end of the movie that fooled audiences [...]

Stan Winston and the Slasher Film

In the otherwise excellent book The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio, aside from a brief mention of the Friday the 13th sequels Stan Winston’s early work in the slasher genre was strangely omitted. This dismissal was not only reserved for the slice ‘n’ dice cycle, however, as both the overlooked [...]

A Retro Slasher Salute to USA Network 1985-1995

These days USA Network is known for wrasslin’, Law & Order marathons, and hip original shows like Burn Notice.  Back in the 1980s and early 1990s USA featured some really wild and crazy shows, the kind of shows that stay with impressionable young children long after they’ve turned old and gray.  So here’s a fond look back at [...]

The Slasher Expeditions Part 2: The Attic of Terror

There once was a local Pic-A-Flick-Video store that was home to the greatest collection of horror movies I’ve ever seen.  What made this store so special was its location,  a two story building.  Downstairs was pretty much like every other video store, but the upstairs was Shangri-La for horror fans.  The shelves held hundreds of beautifully [...]

Human Blood Required: The Making of Evilspeak

You could be forgiven for spending the first hour of Eric Weston’s horror drama Evilspeak wondering why on Earth it would have been included amongst the ‘video nasties’ during the mid-1980s. After all, it was relatively blood-free, inoffensive and the two brief moments of nudity were far less graphic than scenes that were included uncut [...]

The Burning Man: The Making of Don’t Go in the House

Michael Myers had an axe, Leatherface had a chainsaw and Jason Voorhees had whatever was lying around – yet one of the most grizzly murder weapons used in the vintage days of exploitation was the flamethrower, the weapon of choice for Donny Kohler, the disturbed antagonist from Don’t Go in the House. Released amid the [...]

David Schow’s Leatherface

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 had proven to be the third financial failure in a row for both director Tobe Hooper and Cannon Films, who had entered into a rather dubious three-picture deal following his exit from The Return of the Living Dead. With the rights available once again, New Line Cinema optioned to produce [...]

My Bloody Valentine Theatrical Night (Video)

As we say farewell to My Bloody Valentine Week and Valentine’s Day (don’t know about you, but we’re feeling bloated from all the heart-shaped candy), here’s an all-encompassing video short covering Blood Thirsty Thursday‘s theatrical screening of the uncut version that Retro Slashers co-sponsored during the week.

My Bloody Valentine: Further Viewing For The Lovelorn

My Bloody Valentine Week here at Retro Slashers has provided in-depth exploration of the 1981 classic: second-guessing the villain’s identity, filling your head with trivia, waxing nostalgic, contrasting the remake, and going brokeback with the boys of Valentine Bluffs. That’s a lot of love. If you’ve watched the movie for the umpteenth time and realized [...]

My Bloody Valentine’s Blue Collar Machismo

Blue Collar is hot. It’s also so 70s and 80s. Let’s face it, when was the last time you saw men who looked like men working jobs that people really had? Yeah, it’s sad, ain’t it? My Bloody Valentine would be a good film by any standards of filmmaking, but the fact that it truly [...]