Due to overwhelming demand from horror fans, Code Red has acquired the 1981 Canadian slasher film Ghostkeeper.
A trio of friends on a snowmobile trip in the Canadian Rockies become lost after venturing up a trail during a bad snowstorm. They stumble upon a seemingly abandoned hotel lodge and decide to spend the night, unaware of the grave danger that they have put themselves in.
Internet columnist Amanda By Night says, “this Canadian horror film is slasher and monster lite, but has oodles of snow and deep synthesizer sounds to keep you going. Like ‘Madman’, or more appropriately, ‘The Prey’.”
Director Jim Makichuk is on hand to create extras for this lost slasher.
The Legend: A beautiful, young wife has an affair then taunts her impotent husband with details. The husband becomes enraged, grabs a pair of scissors, and mutilates his wife. After slitting his wife’s mouth from ear to ear, the husband asks “Who will find you beautiful now?” Now, the woman roams Japan, a surgical mask over her face to hide her horrific visage. If you meet her, the Split-Mouth woman will remove the mask and ask “Watashi kirei?” (Am I pretty?) If you answer no, then she stabs you to death with a large pair of scissors. If you say yes, then the Slit-Mouth Woman will let you live. But before she lets you go she’ll carve your face up so you will have to go through life with similar mutilations.
The Slit-Mouth Woman, or Kucki Sake Onna, isthe most famous urban legend in Japan. During the late 1970s, school children picked up on the legend and the story slowly evolved so that children were the main target of the Slit-Mouth Woman. Eventually, the legend grew so great that a national panic erupted in Japan. Fearful parents and teachers walked terrified children to and from school everyday. News outlets ran stories about the mysterious woman stalking the innocent. Since “no” meant death and “yes” meant an end to your good looks, children were urged to reply “so-so” to the Slit-Mouth Woman’s question. The reasoning was a neutral answer would protect them from harm. After a while, the urban legend died down only to resurface in 2000. Around 2004 the story jumped over to the Korean peninsula. Apparently, the Slit-Mouth Woman prefers to chase Korean kids these days.
The film: Carved (a.k.a. Kuchisake-Onna). Director, writer Shiraishi Koji changes the Slit-Mouth Woman’s back story which waters down the impact of the original urban legend. Instead of an adulteress punished for her transgression by a jealous husband, the Slit-Mouth Woman is depicted as an abusive mother who receives the injuries from her son as the boy protects himself from his crazy mother. The whole “Am I pretty?” seems out of place since the context of the question is missing from the film. Shiraishi sees Slit-Mouth Woman as a supernatural child killer, sort of a female Nippon version of Freddy Krueger. Despite screwing with the story, Shiraishi does a nice job of capturing the community’s escalating panic as Slit-Mouth Woman kidnaps more and more children.
Mizuno Miki, who plays the legend in Carved, is pretty damn brutal in this film. When she isn’t hacking kids with her scissors, Mizuno is usually punching the snot out of the little booger eaters. After eating knuckle sandwiches, the kids receive stomps and kicks for dessert. All of this child abuse is hard to watch because the ten-year-olds are played by real ten-year-olds. It’s not like watching twenty-somethings playing young kids in a US production. Personally, I would’ve preferred seeing Mizuno slash away at more twenty-something couples and fewer scenes involving children in danger.
It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write about the passing of Juan Piquer Simon. His classic over the top slasher masterpiece Pieces (masterPieces?) is a one of a kind sort of film. The straight faced cast delivers a film that makes the audience both cringe and laugh at Piquer’s antics.
Rick Roessler’s Slaughterhouse (1987) told the tender tale of the Bacon family; the two man team of elderly father Lester, facing the loss of the land both his home and old slaughterhouse reside on, and his big, brainless son Buddy who is directed to kill those who cause them upset and opposition.
The terrific 1980 slasher flick Bloody Birthday is coming to DVD from Severin Films.
Directed by Ed (Starship Invasions, The Brain) Hunt, Bloody Birthday follows three murderous, creepy kiddies (Elizabeth Hoy, Billy Jacoby and Steven Seton) who were all born during an eclipse. Lori Lethin and K.C. Martel star as siblings who know what the Bad Seed Trio is up to, and José Ferrer, Susan Strasberg and Joe Penny appear in smaller roles. A likeable pre-MTV Julie Brown is also onboard, performing an 80’s-style topless dance among other duties.
The kids are great, the script has its share of surprises, and the concept of a slasher film featuring pre-teen killers is an interesting one. Bottom line, Bloody Birthday is a welcome, disturbing and entertaining addition to the Slasher canon. Release date is TBA, so keep your beady little eyes peeled for it.
There’s a story circulating among slasher fans that goes a little something like this: Bob Clark took this young guy named John Carpenter under his wing to help show him how to direct feature films. While serving as an apprentice, Carpenter learned Clark was working on sequel to Black Christmas called Halloween. A few years later, Carpenter stole Clark’s Halloween concept and created the modern slasher film. At least some parts of this slasher urban legend are true. Carpenter was associated with Clark at one time and Clark had an idea for a film called Halloween that would’ve featured the return of the killer from Black Christmas. But when asked about the connections between his holiday slasher and Carpenter’s classic, Clark claimed Carpenter never stole anything from him. Whether the story is true or not, it sheds light on how Bob Clark is seen by some as a major influence on the slasher genre.
Another contribution to the slasher genre can be found in Clark’s ultra creepy Deathdream (AKA Dead of Night). This underrated fright flick shot in Florida just happens to be Tom Savini’s first film. Clark liked Savini’s work so much that he kept him around for Deranged, a film Clark produced for his friend Alan Ormsby. Savini went on to become the sultan of slash and splatter after working with George Romero and Sean Cunningham. But Bob Clark gave Savini his start in horror films. Blue Underground’s Deathdream dvd contains a brief interview with Savini who shares his memories about working with Clark.
Popcorn is a favorite here at Retro Slashers, but the production was so troubled that it destroyed the friendship between Clark and Alan Ormsby. Bob Clark produced the film and was forced to fire Ormsby three weeks into filming after the financial backers got nervous. Mark Herrier, who’d acted for Clark in Porky’s, was brought in to finish the film because Clark thought the actor could handle the responsibility. Despite some flaws, Popcorn is still an entertaining entry in the genre Clark influenced with Black Christmas.
If you would like to see some of Bob Clark’s non-genre films, then check out Fox Movie Channel. FMC usually plays Porky’s, Porky’s II, Turk 182, or Rhinestone several times a year. Hell, it seems like Porky’s is shown several times every month. A Christmas Story airs for 24 straight hours on TBS every Christmas. If you’re in the mood for high camp, hippies, and re-animated corpses, then check out Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. But if your in the mood for a double dose of goosebumps, then I suggest you watch Deathdream and Black Christmas back to back.
As for Bob Clark’s version of Halloween, onecan only wonderat what horrors might’ve been unleashed on the silver screen if Clark had completed the project. Clark’s notes might be lost, but I like to think a rough draft or an outline for a script is sitting in a draw or an old box just waiting to be discovered. Right now Clark’s Halloween has to be considered a really lost slasher. In a few years, who knows. Maybe one day Clark’s story will see the light of day.
It’s that time of year again. The weather outside is frightful and… well… you get the drill. It’s all chilly out there and since I just moved across the country, I am having my very first white Christmas. What can I say, it makes me all wistful and full of rage! Those horrible drivers only get worse the second the weather even threatens them. Ack! All I want to do is sit inside my semi-warm house with the cats at my feet and a good slasher on the tube. Every year, just like the snow fall, we get lists of the best killer Santa or Christmas themed horror films. I’ve even written a couple myself. Although I love them just as much as the next horror fanatic, I think we can all recite a Top Ten list which will surely have Silent Night, Deadly Night and Christmas Evil somewhere on there. Killer Santas are great, Christmas-y slashers are also, like, totally cool, but I think these lists indicate one very important thing – horror hounds love atmosphere. And what is more atmospheric than a snowbound or chilly slasher? If you said, “Well nothing could be more creepy and awesome,” you would be correct! The outdoors has always been a favorite slasher setting and since we are often saddled with a desolate forest, I find that the snow setting offers something unique, and sometimes undeniably moody. As the holiday approaches, and all of you are getting your Scrooge-on (any visit to a shopping mall will do this), why not heat up your spiked eggnog and enjoy some super creepy winter slashers? Here’s a list I pulled together:
Blood Tracks (1985) – Wow. Just wow. This awesome little piece of WTF gets points because it has no idea what it is and doesn’t seem to care one bit. It’s really a party film, I just cannot watch this on my own. But once you get the drinks flowing, this is a damn good movie. It’s sort of like The Hills Have Eyes But No Brains, and the band Easy Action is something to behold!
Curtains (1983) – Yikes! This little underrated horror film has one of the fah-reek-iest scenes ever… and we all know what it is. Old lady masks are friggin’ terrifying! Piece o trivia: I actually went to Tori Spelling’s estate sale, and this movie, amongst some other great little horror films, was in the stack! Say what you want, but she’s got good taste!
Disconnected (1983) – This is another underrated chiller that does just that… chill. Some of the outdoor scenery really puts you in that winter mood. Frances Raines (The Mutilator) puts in a great performance as the girl getting some really nasty phone calls.
The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982) – Here’s one that isn’t really snow set, but also chills to the bone. I am a new-ish fan of this movie, but love to watch it on super gray days. I think I might just get the old trusty copy out this week! (and read another review here)
Ghostkeeper (1981) – Another rarity, Ghostkeeper works simply because of the atmosphere (and excellent Paul Zaza score). There’s not much going on except three stranded people dealing with a creepy woman, her son and their Wendigo (which is really just a big guy with a beard). The utter desolation makes this slasher-lite horror film taut and interesting, and almost makes up for the ambiguous ending.
Grotesque (1987) – Snow and punk rock hoodlums! What more could one ask for? I love this movie. It’s less of a slasher and more of a neat little allegory on who the real monsters in this world are. There are some effective moments and the great cast, featuring Linda Blair, Donna Wilkes and Tab Hunter, up the bar of what should be a totally ludicrous flick.
He Knows You’re Alone (1980) – OK, not so much in the snowscape territory, but check out Caitlin O’Heany working those tight cords and puffy ski jacket. Love her! (and read another review here)
Home for the Holidays (1972) – This early TV movie proto-slasher has a lot going for it. It’s got a solid cast led by Julie Harris and Sally Field, it keeps the action almost exclusively inside one palatial house, it’s got a great twist at the end, and I haven’t even gotten to the oodles of atmosphere filtering through this snow set horror film.
Iced (1989) – This late entry slasher isn’t very scary at all. Nope, not one bit. However, it’s something to behold. From the big hair to coke induced nightmares, this movie just screams late 80s and proudly! I love the setting, some of the acting is pretty damn good (or at least competent) and even though the twist and silly shock ending don’t make a lick of sense, this is one fun flick! And there’s a snowman! (and read another review here)
Moonstalker (1989) – Here’s another gem I discovered kind of late. I’ve had the DVD for forever, but thought it would be as silly as the title… I was right, but it’s totally that good kind of silly! Moonstalker works because you can tell everyone involved did their best. Sometimes it wasn’t good enough, but just trying makes it all seem worth it! Blake Gibbons who has found fame on General Hospital, is the semi-sexy killer and there’s lots of snow. Lots and lots of it. This is such a fun film when you need to brighten up your gray days.
Terror Train (1980) – One of the slickest early 80s slashers going, Terror Train doesn’t deal too much with the outdoors, but the shots of the train shooting through the snow-filled darkness and the scene where everyone has to wait outside until the place is inspected for devious killers, are fantastic. Overall, this is probably the best film on the list. It’s got a great premise, a fantastic setting, a creepy killer and Hart Bochner. (and read another review here)
I have been informed by a close friend of Future Kill composer and true Texan Robert Renfrow that he passed away on December 9th 2010 after a short illness. He was only 49. It feels like a major blow to me – in 2006 I interviewed Renfrow and it was one of my favorite interview experiences ever, having seen the movie an innumerable amount of times and knowing every synth tune in the back of my mind. I know he enjoyed recollecting his experiences from the movie, too.
The sound quality in the video here doesn’t do Renfrow’s score justice (one reason the film score really needs to be released), it’s a fitting track to include here, with the title ‘Splatter’s Requiem’.
In August it was announced that Chester Turner’s mid-80’s blaxploitation killer puppet pic Black Devil Doll From Hell was coming to DVD with extensive extras, like Turner’s whole other film, Tales From The Quandead Zone. The plan was for an October release, but due to distributor issues and extra time needed to record audio commentaries, that was changed to December 15th. That too was jettisoned when a snowpile of special features opportunities presented themselves.
Project head Shawn Lewis, director of the recent unrelated but inspired Black Devil Doll, explained the delays as follows:
“Chester Turner fans are in for a treat. After speaking more with, Chester’s brother, Keefe Turner, we learned that he as the original doll from Black Devil Doll From Hell, as well as some other props from the film! As most of you know, Keefe did the voice of the doll…
The release is looking better and better everyday. But I am afraid that we may need to post pone it again, we had not originally planned on having as much involvement from Keefe, so we are going to need a bit more time to produce the audio commentary with him and some interviews.
You have waited this long to have an official Chester Turner dvd, a few more months for a killer release featuring interviews/audio commentary with Keefe and the original doll from the film won’t be too bad, no? We are doing everything in our power to make sure this dvd is everything it needs to be.”
Rick Roessler’s Slaughterhouse (1987) told the tender tale of the Bacon family; the two man team of elderly father Lester, facing the loss of the land both his home and old slaughterhouse reside on, and his big, brainless son Buddy who is directed to kill those who cause them upset and opposition.
In August it was announced that Chester Turner’s mid-80’s blaxploitation killer puppet pic Black Devil Doll From Hell was coming to DVD with