STACK #144 Oct 2016

ICONIC SLASHERS

MICHAEL MYERS Halloween "What was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil." After killing his sister on Halloween night, aged six, Michael spent 15 years in a sanitarium before escaping and stabbing his way through seven sequels and two Rob Zombie films.

the 13th (1980) delivers some, er, cutting edge makeup effects from Tom Savini, the guy who put the red into Dawn of the Dead (1978). Halloween was the prototype but Sean S.

FURTHER VIEWING You'll no doubt feel tempted (or obliged) to check out the numerous sequels to Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street , but you should first explore further permutations of this prolific sub-genre. Stick with '80s vintage for now. My Bloody Valentine (1981) is a wonderfully atmospheric Canadian slasher that's largely set in a mine,

JASONVORHEES Friday the 13th The boy who supposedly drowned at Camp Crystal Lake while the counsellors were making love and not paying attention. Jason racked up the biggest bodycount in slasher film history over the course of nine sequels, a Freddy crossover, and a remake.

Cunningham's film created the template for the '80s slasher movie, existing as a showcase for gory murder set-pieces and ignoring things like plot, dialogue and character development. Who needs them? It also has the best shock ending of any slasher movie. Halloween and Friday the 13th are the popular progenitors, but the seminal slasher is actually Black Christmas (1974), a cult horror- thriller directed by Bob Clark in which a group of sorority sisters are stalked and murdered after receiving obscene phone calls (1979's When a Stranger Calls blatantly steals its big twist from this film). There's more emphasis on plot and character, not to mention some decent actors (Margot Kidder, Kier Dullea, Olivia Hussey), but its direct influence on the films that followed is obvious. The slasher movie craze began to wane around 1984, leading Wes Craven to add

where partying townsfolk ignore the warnings that killer Harry Warden is out to steal their heart on Feb 14. Highlights include a body in a tumble dryer and death by shower nozzle. The Burning (1981) is another good summer camp screamer, even if it is basically a Friday the 13th clone. The disfigured killer favours a pair of garden shears – cue lots of moist make- up effects by Savini – and you also get Holly Hunter and a pre- Seinfeld Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Other choice cuts include The Prowler (1981), The House on Sorority Row (1983) and the Jamie Lee Curtis double from 1980, Terror Train and Prom Night . Now you're ready to fully appreciate Wes Craven's Scream (1996). Both a cheeky satire of the genre and a

GHOSTFACE Scream The distinctive mask modelled on Edward Munch's famous painting concealed the identity of a number of different serial killers across four films .

FREDDY KRUEGER A Nightmare on Elm Street A child murderer armed with a razored glove, this "bastard son of a hundred maniacs" was incinerated by the vengeful parents of his victims, only to return to stalk the dreams of a new generation of Elm Street youngsters.

a dose of fantasy to the ingredients in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). It's still technically a slasher movie, but the rules have changed. Razor- gloved child-killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) invades the dreams of his teenaged victims and consequently, the death scenes are more surreal and inventive. It's also genuinely scary.

full-blooded entry in its own right, this clever meta-slasher also asks the question, "Do you like scary movies?" If you've made it this far, the answer is undoubtedly "yes". Now proceed directly to all those Michael, Freddy and Jason sequels.

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