I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that I love slasher flicks. Growing up in the 80’s, they were constantly hitting theater screens, playing on cable, and video store shelves were full of them. They were a break from reality, whether or not film critics or parents believed it. (They were also a good way to see some rambunctious teen nakedness in a pre-Internet world.)
The first slasher movie I saw was 1980’s Terror Train. We watched it with my mom on HBO on a small little color television situated on the hearth of our neighbor’s fireplace. This would have been, maybe, 1981. I would have been eleven. My mom kept us away from horror films- well, anything with graphic violence- for a while, and I think this was her peace offering. She knew I loved scary stuff and read comics and was getting interested in the new flicks. So, we watched Terror Train. (I also think she doubted it would be too graphic with magician David Copperfield in the cast. We regularly watched his TV specials so I’m sure that had a lot to do with her saying, “Ok, but if it scares you, you’re just going to have to be scared.”)
It was like a sweet drug, and as soon as it was over, I wanted more. I loved everything about it, and still do. Being my first slasher, there were no cliches (to me), no pattern to the story, no realizing when a jump-scare was coming. It was pure, unadulterated viewing, and I was hooked.
In 1984 I went to see my first slasher film in the theater, Friday the Thirteenth: The Final Chapter. I’ve written quite a bit about this experience. It was the most perfect night at the movies ever, and I’ve been chasing the thrills of April 13, 1984, ever since.
At some point in 1984, the family bought our first VCR and the rest, as they say, was history. I’ve never stopped watching (slashers or otherwise).
Slashers are still around. I considered 2023 a banner year, especially after the double weekends of knife thrills of Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving followed by It’s a Wonderful Knife. (Both are available on home video and streaming.)
2024 started with Founders Day hitting theaters on January 19th. I found it to be an enjoyable stabber with the killer dressing as a demonic judge and killing with a switchblade gavel during a small town’s mayoral election. I saw it as a good way to start the new year off, but I think many fans were expecting bigger “Thanksgiving” sized thrills and more or less dismissed it.
Bloodline Killers, with Shawnee Smith and Taryn Manning , hit streaming platforms on April 26 but most of the reviews haven’t been kind. I haven’t caught up with it yet.
The first of a proposed trilogy, all directed by Renny Harlin, The Strangers: Chapter One, found its way into theaters on May 17th. I found it to be a tired retread of the first film, but maybe Harlin will do something different with the next two films.
June 28th saw the release of In a Violent Nature. For anyone asking, “I wonder how Jason Voorhees spends his time between kills?” He pretty much just does an ass-load of cardio, walking from one end of the woods to the other. Despite some fun character moments and outrageously creative kills, I thought this one was a dud.
On July 5th, Mia Goth and Ti West returned with MaXXXine, the concluding chapter of their slasher trilogy. I loved this as much as I did the two previous films. Goth owns the characters and totally owns all three movies.
Stream, about killers hunting a family in a locked down hotel, enjoyed a limited theatrical release in August before hitting streaming platforms. The flick generated some buzz with it’s horror heavy cast (including a cameo by Tim Curry) and that it was from the producers of the Terrifier movies, and starred David Howard Thorton as one of the psychos.
On October 11th, slasher fans were treated to the ultimate unrated-Christmas-gore-slasher extravaganza ever- Terrifier 3. It was a hit with fans and, oddly, mainstream audiences too, and raked in close to ninety million dollars against a two-million-dollar budget. It was re-released for Christmas, and while I’ve not seen the numbers, I suspect it did well enough to pass the ninety million-dollar mark. Not all fans loved it, but I think all of them appreciated that a dirty little unrated horror/slasher flick was released and proved to be wildly successful. That’s just good for the entire horror genre. (I do wonder what late chunk-blower gore critic Chas. Balun would have thought of it. I think he would have enjoyed it. )
The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge became available on streaming platforms in December, just in time for the holiday. A Scrooged-masked killer preys on imbecilic jackasses. Classic slasher vibes throughout. I enjoyed it.
I ended my slasher year with a holiday retro double feature at the Sparta Drive-in in Sparta, Tennessee. They showed the original Black Christmas (50th Anniversary) as well as the original Silent Night, Deadly Night (40th Anniversary). It was a magical night for this little slasher fan. (Shout out to Logan Winton who put it together, with more retro screenings planned for Halloween and Christmas 2025.)
Home Video also continued the stab-and-slash party. Scream Factory kicked off the year with a beautifully remastered Blu-ray of Funeral Home. For more than 40 years, this film has been burdened with the worst home video releases ever, but now it can proudly take its place in the pantheon of slashers. The flick looks amazing, and the remastering makes it look like a brand-new movie. (You can now see all those previously grainy and pitch-black scenes for the first time and keep up with what’s going on!)
Other notable new releases include Arrow Video’s release of 1999’s Lover’s Lane, Umbrella’s release of the 1989’s braindead, shot-on-video shock-fest Houseboat Horror, Degausser Video’s Blu-ray and VHS release of the 1986 groaner The Ripper (which makes Houseboat Horror not seem all that bad), Lunchmeat VHS’s VHS re-release of 1984’s Splatter University, and a trio from Vinegar Syndrome- 1981’s The House Where Death Lives, 1982’s Ghost Dance and 1985’s Blood Tracks.
I’ve also been able to catch up with some Home Vids that have been out for a while, but I’ve missed. The Canadian slasher-thrillers American Nightmare (1982- Scorpion Releasing) and Evil Judgment (1984- Vinegar Syndrome), and the early 70s ax-drama Dear Dead Delilah (1972- Vinegar Syndrome).
I also caught up with some forgotten slashers on YouTube (not my preferred method for streaming, but it was the only place I could find them): 1981’s Home Sweet Home (Thanksgiving slasher shenanigans), 1980’s Terror on Tour (Heavy Metal Mayhem) and 1987’s Open House (Adrienne Barbeau- why?!).
Streaming services offer even more new slasher delights. Carnage for Christmas (2024), The Mouse Trap (2024), Here for Blood (2022/2024 release), Horny Teenagers Must Die! (2024), Silent Night, Bloody Night 3: The Descent (2024), Killer Influence (2024), Amp House Massacre (2024), Problematic Intentions (2024), Cinderella’s Revenge (2024), #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead (2024), Hayride to Hell (2022/2024 release), Departing Seniors (2023/2024 release), and Camp Blood: Clown Shark (2024- because it was only a matter of time before the slasher and shark genres would collide), to name a few.
There was a tsunami of retro novelizations over the year, and our friend Armando Munoz delivered hardback adaptations of Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case, and the slasher classics Happy Birthday to Me and Bob Clark’s Black Christmas in 2024. (All for publisher Stop the Killer.)
You can read my review of Happy Birthday to Me here. (Spoiler Alert:I loved it!) I haven’t finished Black Christmas, but I will tell you this. Munoz has done the near impossible and has crafted a novel as disturbing as the original movie. He’s captured something with the character of the killer that compliments what we know of him from the movie. I’m excited to finish this one and suspect it might edge out his Silent Night, Deadly Night novelization as my favorite. (And yes, Black Christmas joins that small fraternity of movies that had a novelization released during its films original release, and then a retro novelization later. In this instance, the original Black Christmas novelization, by Lee Hayes, was published in 1976 by Popular Library. Although it is lightweight on additional character info, it is a highly sought after collector’s item. Ebook copies are available, but I do wonder if they are officially licensed.)
Matt Serafini wrote the excellent novelization to Madman for Vinegar Syndrome Publishing. You can read my review here. (Spoiler Alert: I loved this one too.)
Tim Waggoner wrote the official novelization to Terrifier 2 for Titan Books. No word yet if he’ll be adapting the other two entries. Waggoner has also adapted X and Pearl for A24 Books, with MaXXXine due in 2025.
Encyclopocalypse is the leader in retro novelizations, as well as bringing out of print novelizations back into print. Among the retro (including Jeff Strand’s hilarious adaptation of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Bret Nelson’s deadly serious Plan 9 From Outer Space) and reissues (Richard Curtis’s Squirm and Ken Johnson’s Blue Sunshine), came Joshua Miller’s slasher-centric retro tie-ins for Chopping Mall and the Santa slayer All Through the House.
I also added a slasher podcast to my routine, The Hysteria Continues Podcast. These hour- long podcasts are addictive. Contributor JA Kerswell also wrote one of the best books on slasher movies, Teenage Wasteland: The Slasher Movie Uncut, so they know what they’re talking about. (Follow their site for regular slasher movie reviews besides those covered on their podcast at The Hysteria Lives.)
And if you didn’t know, It Came From Hollywood now has a PODCAST! Join Paul and Rob in their exploration of cinema at the Internet Archive.
Looking forward, It Came From Hollywood has a Slasher Double Feature of Delight headed your way in Spring. We have a treat for you. It’s the first in a new series of review books, The All-Night Video Guide, and our first edition will cover 70’s & 80’s Slashers! Over a hundred titles from the Silver Age into the Golden Age are explored, with detailed synopsis, background info and a complete listing of the film’s life on home video, from Betamax to 4K. In addition, we offer soundtrack and novelization releases where available. It is the ultimate guide for both slasher fans, new and old, and collectors to know what formats these movies were released on.
Accompanying that is our Colossal!: 70’s & 80’s Slashers. Another full color assault of all the magnificent movie marketing that was used to spread the word when a new slasher came to town. Alternate artwork, foreign materials, and trade ads fill this look back at an era long gone, but certainly not forgotten.
It Came From Hollywood has a ton of new books coming your way in the new year! To keep up with all our releases, please visit Makeflix frequently, and support independent film makers and book publishers.
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