Presenting the DVD cover for Code Red’s Nightmare DVD! Forgive the roughness of this post. My PC/laptop access is a little constrictive right now, but this couldn’t wait. Great to see the classic artwork, of course, and click that baby for stunning hi-res! Thoughts?
As Scream‘s token nerd Randy revealed, there are rules to surviving a horror movie. Although he would cover sex and drugs, there is another important point that he would neglect to mention… never, ever play a practical joke! With very few exceptions (Friday the 13th Part 2’s Ted being the most obvious example), this is a sin in the slasher film that is punishable by death. Whether it is a relatively harmless joke or one that results in a serious accident – often the catalyst for the carnage that follows – those who act idiotic or reckless are doomed. Continue reading
For anyone who has ever been pushed around (and haven’t we all at one point), Slaughter High is a revenge seeker’s wet dream. Marty (Simon Scuddamore) is probably the nerdiest nerd this side of Kenny Hampson (Terror Train). But he’s kind of lovable in that totally annoying way most dorks are. In the first scenes of Slaughter High, we get the impression that Marty doesn’t really know how truly geeky he is. He really thinks he can get it on with Carol (Caroline Munro), the oldest high school kid in history. Hey, older women are often temptresses, right (Private Lessons, anyone)? But Carol is only a decoy for what becomes one of the most disturbing prank scenes in slasher history. Not only is Marty given a nasty swirly, he’s also dunked nude. It’s pure degradation and it only gets worse from there. Then, he actually seems to forgive his attackers, and thanks to a big marijuana ciggy, and some unfortunately placed acid, Marty sets himself on fire! All because he dared to try to be cool. Continue reading
Exactly twenty-five April 1sts have passed since the release of Fred Walton’s classic “fun” slasher, April Fool’s Day, and the chances of a 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD are looking increasingly slim. In lieu of a commentary track, then, here’s a time-coded trivia guide to one of the quirkiest horror movies of the 80s… Major spoilers ahead! Continue reading
Holy guacamoley, we really outdid ourselves this year with the April fool’s day prank, which consisted of two co-ordinated efforts for a winning result. Our complete and total rule is best exemplified in the comments on Blood Test, where longtime reader Tuzo wrote “I used to [love] the April Fool’s day jokes on this site, but you guys are slipping a bit in your obviousness. Good try, though.” Dave’s spectacular fake Blood Test was the classic red herring which successfully bait-and-switched you all away from calling out Thomas’ fabricated Honeymoon Killer piece, the more nuanced affair. Once again Retro Slashers wins the pig, the keg, and the paper crown! See you next year. Now for some history and what you can expect this coming week. Continue reading
Slasher fanatics everywhere, rejoice – new boutique DVD company Hoa-X is releasing Deacon Natterling’s unseen 1980 Canadian slasher Blood Test on April 1. It’s final exam time at Hillcrest College, and someone is killing the students one-by-one using the most bizarre methods imaginable. It seems the victims were all part of a treehouse club when they were kiddies, until an initiation mishap left 12-year-old initiates Carl burned beyond recognition, Amelia with total amnesia, and Boner dead – or is he? Seven years later, someone is getting revenge. Continue reading
Charlie Sheen, Alison (Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie) Arngrim, and radio personality Rush Limbaugh star in Sam Kinison’s The Honeymoon Killer now in post-production. The late Sam Kinison’s take on the slasher genre, which was previously covered here, deals with an unhappily married man who targets brides on their wedding day. During a recent interview conducted by email, executive producer Bill Kinison, Sam’s brother, provided Retro Slashers with details about the new production and the long lost promo video Sam shot for THK during the early 1990s. Kinison also sent a rare behind-the-scenes photo (above) taken during the filming of the promo which shows Sam dressed as the killer while holding a glass of liquid inspiration, director “Bill Blackman” offering encouragement, and Robin Williams clutching the script. Continue reading
Code Red received quite a bashing from the genre DVD community for taking their own sweet time assembling a special edition of Nightmare (1981). Romano Scavolini’s film is a virtual camera lens inside the mind of a sweaty, mouth-foaming psychotic, and required special handling to bring this 2-Disc DVD to fruition. July 5th will see the sleazy slasher finally released onto the streets. Take a squiz at the details Code Red exclusively shared with Retro Slashers. Continue reading
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers has long since divided fans of the series, with some feeling that the movie failed to live up to the comeback of The Return of Michael Myers and others appreciating the European feel that Swiss filmmaker Dominique Othenin-Girard brought to the picture. Arguably the movie’s stand-out moment is the sequence in which the young heroine (played by eleven-year old Danielle Harris) is trapped inside a laundry chute, as Michael repeatedly stabs his knife through the side. The scene would be the result of hard work and extensive preparation between Othenin-Girard and his director of photography, Robert Draper, who would later shoot the cult horror flicks Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and Dr. Giggles. Continue reading
Along with Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava, Sergio Martino was one of the most successful Italian filmmakers working in the giallo genre during the 1970s. Among his most acclaimed work were La coda dello scorpione (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail) and l tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), yet perhaps his most overlooked was his 1973 thriller I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (Carnal Violence). More commonly known under its alternative title Torso, the movie is one of Martino’s more explicit features, which included a significant amount of nudity. The film’s climax – in which heroine Suzy Kendall is chased around the house by a masked killer – could be considered an influence on the subsequent slasher cycle. Continue reading
