Category Archives: Reviews

Halloween (1978) Review

With only student films to his name, USC graduate John Carpenter had achieved minor acclaim with his exploitation thriller Assault on Precinct 13. For his next project, a producer had approached him about writing and directing a movie about ‘a … Continue reading

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Friday the 13th (1980) Review

It could be argued that before Friday the 13th there was no slasher genre. The concept had been explored in everything from Black Christmas to Halloween, but the explosion of the low budget slice ‘n’ dice flicks that flooded the … Continue reading

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Proto-Slashers #8: Repulsion (1965)

Proto-Slashers: Looking at the flicks that paved the way for Halloween and the heyday of slasher movies. REPULSION (1965) Roman Polanski’s first English-language film, Repulsion is a bonafide, certified Retro Slashers classic, and one of the greatest horror movies ever … Continue reading

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Nightmare in a Damaged Brain (1981) Review

Romano Scavolini’s Nightmare was one of the most notorious of all the slasher films to emerge in the eighties. Distributed in the United Kingdom under the more infamous moniker Nightmare in a Damaged Brain

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My Bloody Valentine (1981) Review

Outside the obvious franchises (Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.), perhaps the most beloved slasher of the early eighties was the Canadian thriller My Bloody Valentine

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Sleepaway Camp (1983) Review

By 1983 there had been so many slasher films – both independent and studio financed – that the best way for a movie to stand out amongst the pack was by adding a ‘money shot.’

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Just Before Dawn (1981) Review

Of all the lost-in-the-wilderness slashers to appear in the early eighties (which would include The Final Terror and The Forest), Jeff Lieberman’s backwards thriller Just Before Dawn was arguable the most beautifully shot and well crafted, perfectly capturing the deadly … Continue reading

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Final Exam (1981) Review

With so many slashers being released between 1980 and 1982, there were countless films that fail to receive the recognition they deserved

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A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) Review

After the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street in November 1984, it seemed inevitable that a sequel would soon follow. The final moments of the first movie had been manufactured by the producer in an effort to allow for … Continue reading

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The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) Review

One of the biggest criticisms levelled at the slasher is its supposed misogynistic tendencies. Many have stated that its need to cater for the teenage male market who would make up the majority of its audience would force filmmakers – … Continue reading

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