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Matt Palmer's throwback teen slasher takes heavy inspiration from a number of '80s classics. The clichés and stereotypes are out in full force, and you'd be forgiven for suffering from retro fatigue, but the killer's guise is magnificent and there is a score of juicy kills that doff their caps to the sub-genre's golden era.
Shadyside's Final Girl is a cut above the rest; the head of the 'mean girls' gives the bitchiest bitch a run for her money, and ing characters provide amusement as well as extra guesswork regarding the killer's identity. Energetic, with a stellar soundtrack and a thrilling, twist-filled finale.

A proto-slasher set at a Coney Island carnival that stars a youthful Burt Young as a character called Gimpy! You just can't go wrong. Carnival of Blood is one of those scuzzy, feverish delights that gets under your skin and forces you to comply.
Idiotic patrons are either too antagonistic, drunk, or argumentative to heed the 'prophet of doom' fortune teller's advice to "go home", and they get murdered and mutilated for their sins. The whodunit element is basic, and the subsequent reveal lacks impact, but the carnival backdrop, with its freakish loops of creepy props and nostalgic sounds, is fantastic.

Despite its minor reputation for evoking slasher thrills, Carnage initially appears to be merely the latest in a long line of Amityville-inspired haunted house chillers. Luckily, with Andy Milligan at the helm, these 'things that go bump in the night' prefer to slash.
Yes, the characters are lifeless, the narrative is basic, and it’s tedious in places, but when Carnage kills off a cardboard cutout, it does so with gory gusto. The spectre of an ill-fated bride is creepily amusing, as she becomes a catalyst for the home's less-than-favourable attitude towards unwelcome guests. A silly but enjoyable supernatural slasher, with some cracking death scenes.

Swingers Massacre is yet another case of a film being repackaged and marketed as a slasher in the hope of attracting a wider audience. Originally released under the title Inside Amy, this softcore bore offers a smattering of proto-slasher action, but there's far more going on in the bedroom. T&A presides over stalk-and-slash, and carbon monoxide poisoning and sniper rifles replace knives and axes.
The story of an impotent, jealous husband descending into a murderous rage over his wife's new-found sexual desires is made all the more amusing because it's all his fault. The antagonist becomes the antagonist! No sympathy here, pal.

Frozen Scream is another infamous 'video nasty' with scant on whether it actually qualifies as a proto-slasher. The good news is that it features an opening double kill and a couple of sweet murders later on: one involving a hatchet and the other a jagged shard of glass. But the rest of the film is bad news—really bloody bad.
Boring, uninvolving, and nonsensical to an embarrassing degree, the film also showcases some of the worst 'scream' acting I've ever seen. The narrative is easier to follow than some suggest, but I'd argue that the feverish, hypnotic effect is induced by how truly mundane it is.

I'm not sure who's more disturbed: the creators of Splatter Farm's sick, twisted, incestuous brand of SOV horror, or me for finding the entire demented experience bloody hilarious.
Even though the acting, SFX, and overall absurdity emphasise the amateur nature of the zero-budget flick, the film manages to evoke an atmospheric dread. Amongst the laughable dialogue and questionable plot, things get pretty dark, and there's a bleakness that gives it a Texas Chain Saw Massacre meets The Hills Have Eyes quality. It's vile and filthy. I can no longer close my eyes without seeing Aunt Lacey licking her lips or Jeremy's well-placed fist.

The meta concept of Destroyer makes it a particularly interesting entry in the 'executed serial-killer' wave of slashers that popularised the late '80s. What's surprising is how sluggish the first half is, even though it boasts an awesome abandoned prison location and Psycho legend Anthony Perkins.
Thankfully, the final act delivers on a huge scale, upping the ante with entertaining death scenes, tonnes of action, and fantastic performances. Deborah Foreman is an excellent Final Girl, conveying the perfect level of terrified resilience, while Lyle Alzado is a muscle-bound, foul-mouthed wrecking ball. A truly compelling psychopath. I would have loved to see a sequel.

There is no classic giallo mystery here. Hatchet for the Honeymoon has proto-Patrick Bateman vibes in Mario Bava's character study proto-slasher. Superbly lit with style and flair, the film injects a creepy supernatural element alongside disturbing mannequins in wedding gowns.
Unfortunately, while the meat cleaver is put to use, the payoffs disappoint, with cutaways leaving the blunt impact of the death scenes solely to my imagination. In addition, as the whodunit device is rendered redundant, the only real mystery revolves around the finer details of the trauma that transformed John into a killer. It's not exactly unpredictable, and the climax feels flat as a result.

Knowing that Tim Ritter used this film as a learning curve for his 1986 SOV trash classic 'Truth or Dare', I want to go easy on him. But I just can't. Day of the Reaper is dreadful.
Made for only $1,000, it still looks like there was plenty of change left over. The Super 8 video and audio quality is so poor that I genuinely cannot believe video stores took it on. The narrative is AWOL, the dubbing is hysterical, and the finale is outrageously doofy. However, I begrudgingly applaud the enthusiastic death scenes (with their barely visible gore), and that synth score is badass.

I could have done without the maggots, pubes, and necrophilia, but Corpse Mania ended up being far more lucid and straightforward than I had imagined. A Hong Kong giallo/slasher, Kuei Chih-Hung's film initially dawdles at a similar pedestrian pace to many of its Italian counterparts. Half an hour in, I was fearing a bloodless, morose, morbid affair, but once the stalk-and-slash action ensues, it goes for the jugular and lives up to its title.
The killer is feverishly slash-happy, utilizing a big knife with wicked proficiency. Sharply edited and atmospheric, there are twists, turns, chase scenes, and a fantastic climax.

I had kept this notorious nasty at the bottom of my watch pile for good reason: I'm not a huge fan of splatterfests, especially when there's no plot. In a sense, Violent Shit delivers exactly what it promises: it's violent, and it's shit.
Bizarre ideas notwithstanding, it's nothing but stitched-together scenes of gruesome kills, with a heavy emphasis on blood and guts. Hell, it makes Ogroff look layered. The SFX are commendable for such a cheap flick, and the perennially pissed-off characters do provide some enjoyment, but it's scuzzy bargain-basement trash with total disregard for technical ability. A snuff film could showcase more talent.

When the titular villain of the piece appeared on-screen, The Sadist seemed to be in dire straits; Arch Hall Jr. looked and sounded ridiculous. He resembled Nelson Muntz in human form, only a less threatening version. But somehow, he drew me in with a committed performance that was strengthened by the risk-averse behaviour of his hostages and a slow but steady climb in suspense. Once he demonstrated his psychotic tendencies to shocking effect and proved sharper than anticipated, the tension increased. I felt a huge sense of empathy toward the leads, so a thrilling chase sequence in the final act dramatically raised the stakes.

What struck me first about Tim Ritter's SOV character-study slasher was John Brace's superbly intense performance: OTT in all the right places but seething with anguish and rage.
While it was a bumpy ride to get to the slasher antics, once there, the action didn't let up. The film was already pretty bloodthirsty during its first 45 minutes of exposition, but the second half's masked-maniac mayhem takes it to another level. Explosions, machine guns, drive-by chainsaws, and a hilarious tribute to Death Race 2000 ensure a fun night's entertainment. Embarrassingly enough, I already knew that Backstreet Boy AJ McLean plays the killer's younger self.

One simply cannot complain too much about a proto-slasher that delivers solid kills and goes about its business like a veteran. The death scenes played like golden-era material and came thick and fast in the first third.
Frustratingly, Delirium throws a curveball after initially presenting itself as a straightforward serial-killer police procedural. The ambitious turn does stifle the pace a little and harms what could have been a perfectly sleazy 70s slasher. However, once we move into the finale, there's enough OTT trash to satisfy both horror and action fans alike. The PTSD was so intense for these vets that the war never ended!

The concept for MaXXXine set my expectations unrealistically high. I was thinking Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: 80s Edition, with a slasher edge. That's what I got, but it was sadly undercooked.
Ti West's X trilogy finale looks and sounds fantastic. It's a neon-drenched, nostalgic trip to the seedy underbelly of Tinseltown, with flashes of eye-popping graphic violence. A sinister sleaze oozes out of every frame, and Goth, Bacon, and Debicki are scintillating. However, I needed to spend longer with these intriguing characters to gain a deeper understanding of what drives them. The giallo-esque Argento tribute kill and Psycho references were solid gold, though.

3 minutes into Victims!, I felt slightly foolish for having overlooked it for years. A manic pre-credit sequence that featured a trio of messy kills, culminating in a bonkers riff on Psycho, seemingly cemented its vague slasher reputation.
Alas, my initial apprehension was soon vindicated when the plot gradually morphed into a cocktail of rape/revenge exploitation fare, such as The Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave. With zero redeeming qualities and more rape and nudity than justifiable violent revenge, the real 'victims' here are the cast and audience who had to endure this thoroughly abysmal effort.

I hate politics with every fibre of my being, but my love for slashers conquers all. I hoped that the satirical stylings of Founders Day would appease my cynical nature, and I'm grateful to report that it did.
Wholly unlikable characters are maimed and murdered in a gleefully gruesome fashion, the killer's frenetic energy providing a much-needed element of vicarious catharsis. The film doesn't drag itself down with an emphasis on political specifics, which enabled me to focus on the absorbing twists and turns of the whodunit aspect.
It's completely ludicrous and not particularly funny, but this statement is equally fitting for the world of politics.

Don't Open Till Christmas is the only British slasher of the '80s that truly embraces the trashy sensibilities of its American and Canadian counterparts. Hell, it may be the only outright British slasher of the '80s. It's the antithesis of killer-Santa epic Silent Night, Deadly Night (ironically released the same year): anybody impersonating Santa gets savagely murdered.
Chock-full of video nasty-esque kills, smut, and quintessential British 'charm' (amidst all the tastelessness), the amusing dialogue, combined with the fact that it's mostly played straight, makes the film endlessly entertaining. It's totally absurd and hilarious, but the London Dungeon scene is a genuine exercise in stalk-and-slash suspense.

Imagine The Hills Have Eyes, but replace the wholesome family with a hair metal band and the desert with a mountaintop. Add gratuitous nudity and gloriously gory, creative deaths. Now, you have Blood Tracks.
This 1985 slasher epitomises '80s excess, producing an over the top thrill ride of the classic formula. After a cautious buildup and a few false alarms, I was feeling apprehensive, but once it starts rocking, it does not stop. The body count is bonkers, the kills are deliriously satisfying, and it feels like nobody is safe from a bloodbath. Wild, ruthless, and unpredictable, Blood Tracks is top of the charts.

A slasher-lite Child's Play for Generation Z, M3GAN is the latest creation from the killer doll conveyor belt. It's clever, witty, and cynical, showing no hesitation when it comes to a mean streak. It may be PG-13, but M3GAN is a relentlessly vicious little robot. I laughed out loud at the savage one-liners and chaotic spikes of murderous mayhem.
Sure, the kill scenes are watered down, but I don't always need blood and guts to enhance the experience. What impressed me most was the writing, with its thought-provoking commentary on the pitfalls of raising emotionally dependent children on ever-evolving AI technology. I can't wait for M3GAN 2.0.

I knew that Revenge was a sequel to Blood Cult, but I had no idea that it was a direct follow-up. Now shot on 16mm with a more professional, cinematic aesthetic, I instantly grooved to the upgrade.
Writer/director Christopher Lewis once again shows no hint of ageism, as the co-lead is organically assumed by an elderly landowner who was a peripheral character in the predecessor. With a stronger grip on narrative, pacing, and SFX, Revenge injects energy into laughable action sequences, a couple of sweet kills, and some quotable dialogue for our badass Grandma. The climax frustrates, but it's a marked improvement overall.

Unmasked Part 25 is a British satirical slasher that plays like a deeply disturbing daytime soap opera, bookended by gory, slice-and-dice horror. The opening and final sequences are a true delight, featuring excellent kills and carnage.
To its detriment, the second act bites off more than it can chew, awkwardly changing direction into something starkly different and overambitious from a storytelling perspective. The campy, tongue-in-cheek mocking of our beloved sub-genre initially comes off as refreshing and quirky but soon dwindles into the mundane. I appreciated the effort to study the character of our murderous protagonist, but he is much better with the mask on.

Blood Cult starts off promisingly with a classic setup of a killer breaking into a sorority house to brutally butcher a showering co-ed. Cue unsubtle nods to Psycho and Halloween. I'm invested. However, it didn't take long for me to feel duped.
There's no sorority slasher here. Instead, there is a dull, dumbfoundingly ambitious police procedural led by the oldest detective I've ever seen, and the side characters don't contain anybody remotely resembling a Final Girl. A Final 'middle-aged' Woman, perhaps. There’s hardcore ponderous exposition, a ridiculous reveal, and unintentional humour found in the absurdity of it all. Bless Grandpa for trying, though.

Trapped had the potential to be a sub-genre classic. A Fred Walton slasher set in a high-rise office building is a dream come true on paper. The reality is that it's almost impossible for a film to reach the standards that our vivid imaginations preconceive.
Walton skillfully constructs an eerie, foreboding office block, and the vacant locations within are used to their advantage. I always felt that the killer could be nearby without it feeling unrealistic, which naturally built palpable tension. The final act is exhilarating, but it's just a little too light on slasher action and captivating characters to be better than good.

At the heart of Anguish is an imaginative idea, but it falters in its execution. The reality of this film-within-a-film concept is that I had to flip-flop between the intersecting narratives while maintaining the focus to forge an emotional bond with peripheral protagonists.
Lerner and Rubinstein are so strong in the opening slasher segment that the film struggles to recover when its ulterior motive to bait and switch the audience is revealed. I cared less about the 'real' events than I did about the movie on-screen. Anguish is ambitious enough to be engaging, but Demons remains the gold standard of meta movie theater horror.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love a good rip-off, and Devil Returns is one of the most blatant in borrowing plot devices, themes, scores, and entire scenes from some of horror's most seminal works.
The downside for this slasher fan is that it only plagiarises Halloween for the final act, instead turning its attention towards meandering drama for the main part. But when it enters stalk-and-slash mode, it's ace. There's a fantastic shock supernatural slaying that comes out of left field, and a couple of stylish kills towards the end; the villain is adept at playing the Michael Myers type.

A rare Mexican slasher with barely any online presence, Bloody Vacation is an SOV effort that isn't really worth writing about. If a jolly old sing-song, strip poker sans the stripping, and bone-dry cutaway kills are your cup of tea, you'll love it. Otherwise, you're not missing much.
The killer looks like an old drunk hobo and is about as threatening as one, but that doesn't prevent him from overpowering the innocent and utilising his axe (off-screen). The pacing isn't horrendous, as I never found myself outright bored, but I was rarely thrilled outside of a able chase scene and a mildly captivating climax.

Now I know the real reason why I struggled to track down the obscure Bloody Summer: the slasher Gods did not wish to inflict such pain upon me. My Mexican slasher experience thus far has been great, but this one brought my world crashing down.
Devoid of charm and utterly boring from the get-go, the soap opera antics wear thin at lightning speed, and it was a hardcore slog to reach the hour mark before witnessing anything remotely slasheresque. When the murders finally occur, they're vanilla with zero skill and suspense, barring one amusing chainsaw kill. The reveal is also mind-numbingly lame.

Not to be confused with the 1987 US slasher Killing Spree, this 48-minute short is an SOV French stalk-and-slash scuzzfest that bears more than a ing resemblance to Ogroff.
Once again, the plot is abandoned in favor of a 'murder montage', but each setup here is excessively grimy, leering, and tasteless. There's minimal dialogue, but plenty of screaming, a bleak score, and some fairly fun kills. The DIY SFX is suitably shoddy, but credit is given for providing variety. There is also a pretty cool twist, followed by a shameless tribute to a beloved classic that ties everything together.

A gruelling, weirdly hypnotic encounter, Ogroff is sick, twisted, and demented. Repetitive scenes of the 'Mad Mutilator' butchering his victims are accompanied by a jarring soundtrack and the odd muttering of dialogue. The muted approach enhances the lo-fi, scuzzy credentials of this abstract piece, and there are some creative visuals.
Although I struggle in the absence of engaging protagonists, I found it forcibly intoxicating due to the masked maniac's insistence on dragging me kicking and screaming throughout. A brutal child murder and axe masturbation made him difficult to ignore. Amateurish and experimental, Ogroff is 66% hardcore slasher, 33% zombie flick, 1% vampire, and 100% batshit bonkers.

Ever since watching 2006's Cold Prey, I've been partial to the odd Scandinavian slasher. Blood Runs Cold was apparently produced on a shoestring budget, but its goal to entertain is achieved.
The characters are bog-standard, with patchy performances, but the simple premise and short runtime speed up exposition. The killer is a cannibalistic, axe-wielding psycho with seemingly supernatural powers. His movements and general aura are quirky and distressing, made creepier by the fact that we learn nothing about him.
Brutal and bloody kills are enhanced by sharp editing and haphazard camera movements, and the Final Girl undergoes a serious test in a tense climax.

Blood Shack is a 55-minute proto-slasher that is as barren as the desert we see far too much of. Melancholic narration sets the tone for severe boredom, which is occasionally vanquished in the guise of the overly theatrical villain, The Chooper, thrusting himself onto the stage with audible eagerness.
The kill scenes aren't dreadful, but they're completely devoid of suspense and skill, reducing any impact to nothing more than a welcome change of pace. My 'favourite' element is the resident 'prophet of doom,' stubbornly issuing warnings of the legend, even after subsequent events prove, quite conclusively, that he was unfortunately misguided.

A Canadian TV movie that is ridiculously light on sex and gore, and that's an understatement. You almost wonder why they even bothered with such a premise, being fully aware of the restrictions placed upon them.
Just about scraping through as a slasher curiosity due to its use of a clown mask, opening POV kills (albeit with a handgun), 'menacing' phone calls, and a 'surprise' reveal. There's no slashing, but there is a strangulation, and Britney Spears' father buddying up with a hard-nosed cop. Somehow, they make a likable duo amidst all this tedious PG nonsense. The bath sequence is a real head-scratcher, though.

I purposely didn't delve into the plot of Three on a Meathook, and my experience was all the better for it. It's been a while since a proto-slasher shocked me early on, but this one delivered the goods.
After being blindsided by such a strong, graphic opening act, I expected a midway lull, and sadly, that's just what I got. A nasty grindhouse flick morphs into a clunky romance with questionable dialogue. Even though it grinds momentum to a halt, it does technically serve the narrative. The film eventually returns to slasher town for a part-predictable, part-bonkers climax with a comical post-bloodbath psychoanalysis.

If I only spoke about the opening and closing moments of Phantom Brother, I would have some positive things to say. Lampooning slasher tropes, it hammers home a few respectable points while providing a rather amusing twist. It's quite astute and deserving of (faint) praise.
As for the rest of the film, ouch. The entire second act is obnoxious crap, populated with cringeworthy characters played by actors who smugly think that they're really onto something hilarious. They're not. It's boring, muddled, and altogether aggravating to sit through. Apart from a couple of unsettling slow-motion shots, the kills were also pretty feeble.

Bad Connection is a success for two main reasons: the characters feel real and are genuinely likable, and it's well-paced and engaging due to each act navigating different territories for the killer to hunt.
Our mystery antagonist isn't the greatest or most inspired, but he's persistent, loves a good chase, and racks up a couple of nifty kills. He's a solid opponent for the resilient Final Girl.
Deon Richmond and Tiffany Shepis are strangely underused, but their presence does add extra slasher cachet. The acting is also quite strong. If it weren't for its weak, half-hearted ending, I'd be tempted to highly recommend this.

Clearly trying to capitalize on the success of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Death & Porridge falls short of the mark in every department.
The lack of chemistry between the cast hit me like a sledgehammer, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time any of them had tried acting. To a degree, this played into my hands, as I enjoyed their deaths immensely. The SFX are limited and cheap-looking, but there are a few juicy kills to make up for the total absence of story. Goldilocks was a weird, fiendish villain; twirling, laughing maniacally, and chatting nonsense.

An obscurity that was apparently only released on VHS in the UK and Poland, 'Death Doll' is an intriguing feature. It forgoes the standard trappings of the slasher film, instead focusing on slow-burn aesthetics and mood. It may not hit all the right notes from a narrative perspective, but the Final Girl is sweet-natured and sympathetic enough to make the unraveling of the mystery compelling.
With a terrifying-looking fortune-telling machine and random creepy dolls left lying around, 'Death Doll' was worth my time. It's just a shame that the initial excitement of the finale was dampened by the overexposure of the killer's motive.

Fatal Image's fatal flaw is its failure to capitalize on a fun, intriguing premise by providing entertainment throughout. The death scenes are bags of fun - hokey and hilarious but creatively shot, with the supernatural villain dispatching his victims in a variety of painful ways. Sadly, everything in between is slow and stagnant.
Soap opera dramatics dominate the runtime, led by one of the most irritating and unlikable Final Girls of all time. Yes, there's a reason behind her cynicism, but she is annoying to listen to. A handful of colourful ing characters briefly brighten proceedings; however, this is ultimately spoiled by its dedication to tedium.

The Intruder is a mind-numbingly dull proto-slasher in which the poster art promises more than the film can deliver. It does boast an intriguing setup and follows the body count blueprint, so it deserves a little credit; but ultimately, it's bland, boring, and features off-screen kills with little to no suspense in the buildup.
The best moment features a random, bonkers martial arts fight to the death. It's so bizarrely out of place that it's off-the-wall brilliance! Chris Robinson wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film, which was lost for almost 40 years before being found in 2012. This time, they did not unearth a diamond.

One of the last great slashers of the '80s, Intruder will always have a special place in my heart. Firstly, the grocery store setting is something I can relate to, as my very first job was stacking produce. Secondly, the quirky camera angles, comedic performances, and goofy dialogue merge beautifully with the ominous score, stalk-and-slash shenanigans, and gross-out death scenes.
Hazards of the workplace are smartly utilised with tongue-in-cheek delight, producing one of the sub-genre's all-time greatest kills . Why is Intruder such a joyous success? It was written and directed by Scott Spiegel and features several Evil Dead alumni, including Sam Raimi. No-brainer.

The Hackers opens with a redneck rascal slicing off a hitchhiker's thumb in a hysterical drive-by maneuver. It was then and there that I knew this Texas Chain Saw Massacre rip-off was going to have more in common with the tone of Part 2 than with the original.
The intellectually challenged brothers maim and murder with childlike glee while their morally obtuse father insists that "they're good boys." Never boring, the film hits its peak when the family meets their match in our Final Girl, who fights back and (easily) outsmarts the bumbling buffoons. A silly regional SOV slasher with able amateurish charm.

Lisa, Lisa isn't a slasher, but I felt it was my duty to document the viewing because it's a video nasty curiosity, and later releases attempted to cash in on the success of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre by retitling the film as Axe and The California Axe Massacre.
You can argue that this home-invasion rape-revenge exploitation flick meets proto-slasher criteria. There is one particularly nasty kill that stuck with me long after the credits, and the bleak, scuzzy aesthetic is heightened by the grim actions into which Lisa is forced. Brave in one sense but deeply disturbed in another, this nihilistic Final Girl is not a genre archetype.

After Wes Craven's Scream reshaped and revitalised the slasher film in 1996, a slew of imitations followed. Interestingly enough, Scared takes specific aim at Scream 3 and merges it with Scary Movie to further enhance the parody aspect. As a silly, cheap whodunit with comical overtones, it certainly works. As a slasher, it doesn't fare as well. There's not enough emphasis on the actual slashing, and the film-within-a-film 'Stab' scenes are executed in a similar manner to the 'real' peril.
However, the actors play their parts with contagious exuberance, and the twists and turns that further highlight Scream's influence are preposterously fun.

Knowing that this is the first chapter of a trilogy, I embraced the concept and had a fairly good time, despite the lack of a definitive conclusion.
Is Chapter 1 as intense and suspenseful as the 2008 original? No chance. Is it as gleefully slasherific as the 2018 sequel? Nowhere near. However, the lead couple did convey a convincing sense of desperation that elicited my sympathy. I was encouraged to root for their survival and loathe 'The Strangers.' With a couple of cruel and creepy scenes orchestrated in a cold-blooded fashion by the ruthless antagonists, I'm intrigued by what Chapter 2 will offer.

What is it with 1992 SOV slashers and overstacking characters?! In a similar vein to Ax 'Em, Dark Harvest features too many potential victims to anything significant. After the half-decent opening kills, the second act is mostly spent subjecting us to their terrible, mundane dialogue, with the odd moment of scarecrow shenanigans interspersed.
Fantastically dramatic overacting is probably the highlight, as the budget sadly wouldn't stretch to show shotgun or flare gun wounds. But the gang of slasher scarecrows does provide a nice pitchfork stab here and there, with one amusing 'catchphrase' coined during a halfwit's attempted escape via car. Dreadful ending, though.

A late '90s Hong Kong slasher where the killer coincidentally resembles a pre-hockey mask Jason Voorhees from 2009's Friday the 13th - a whole 10 years before its release.
The Deadly Camp is a serviceable slasher offering a able number of stalk & slash slayings. My main gripe with the film is that the characters are either severely aggravating or not very empathetic, and the main villain is a drab mash-up of beloved icons. It generates a feeling of sheer indifference, and I found myself merely persisting with events rather than actually caring whether it comes to a satisfying conclusion. For interested parties, it actually does.

Helicopters are a rare sight in slasher films. So rare that whenever one appears, I see it as a sign of good intent. Once Escape from Coral Cove moves past the sinister set-up, it becomes a footloose and fancy-free adventure in a superb setting. Cue spirited 80s nostalgia with hijinks and pop-culture references galore. There's a distinct goofiness to the teens' trivial quarrels, but they're cutesy and charming characters regardless.
When it finally sails into stalk & slash waters, it riffs on beloved classics and provides heavy doses of memorable moments. A decent body count, some inventive kills, and a thrilling, explosive finale.

While I'm glad to have watched the once-lost original 79-minute cut, my mind can only speculate what wonders the cobbled-together released version had in store.
'A Night to Dismember' is a distorted, hallucinogenic nightmare. Trying to recall anything resembling logic is a feverish task. The flimsy plot is presented in the form of two stories revolving around family being driven to kill. The acting, photography, editing, and sound design are assembled in a fashion to make you feel sick during the countless death scenes. The clearly fake DIY gore is so scuzzy, it somehow oozes snuff-film aesthetics. It's nauseating but weirdly alluring.

Even with the fantastic David Howard Thornton playing the villain, I knew not to expect 'Terrifier' standards of slasher antics. And yet, I still came out disappointed.
The Mean One is too humdrum and uninspired whenever Thornton isn't on screen. The tone awkwardly jerks back and forth between grave and goofy, and although the lead provides a spark when she kicks into Sarah Connor mode, the ing characters are basic cannon fodder.
There is one fun sequence of carnage and an amusing final battle, but the cheap SFX and CGI blood lessen the impact. However, Thornton's creepy mannerisms and quirky performance deserve credit.

Every slasher, proto-slasher, or horror with slasher elements that I've ed to log.

• Halloween
• Black Christmas
• Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
• Halloween II
• The Burning
• Friday the 13th Part 2
• Friday the 13th Part III
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Scream
• Scream 2

...plus 517 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every giallo that I've ed to log.

• Tenebre
• Deep Red
• Sleepless
• Opera
• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
• Phenomena
• Four Flies on Grey Velvet
• The Cat o' Nine Tails
• The Card Player
• Giallo

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Friday the 13th
2. Halloween II
3. Friday the 13th Part III
4. The House on Sorority Row
5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
6. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
7. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
8. Stage Fright
9. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
10. Intruder

1. Halloween
2. Halloween II
3. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
4. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
5. Halloween
6. Halloween Kills
7. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
8. Halloween Ends
9. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
10. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Halloween
2. The Fog
3. The Thing
4. Assault on Precinct 13
5. Escape from New York
6. Prince of Darkness
7. Vampires
8. Christine
9. Big Trouble in Little China
10. They Live

1. The Burning
2. Hell Night
3. My Bloody Valentine
4. Intruder
5. Stage Fright
6. The House on Sorority Row
7. The Initiation
8. Terror Train
9. The Prowler
10. Curtains

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th Part III
3. Friday the 13th Part 2
4. Friday the 13th
5. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
6. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
7. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
10. Jason X