I think a lot about how the Horror genre is vast and expansive. And one of the things that I think gets overlooked, is the Slasher genre. Many of them are sloppy and lack tact, but what makes them click so well for me is the level of effort. It takes a lot to craft an engaging villain and an expendable cast for the audience to grasp onto. Today, I just kind of want to talk about Slasher movies in general, might even slip some Giallo in because of how similar Italian movies can be with their American peers.
First, I would like to mention Psycho (1960) [Directed by Alfred Hitchcock] a bit. It's a film that predates our modern rendition, but it is important to note. Psycho delivers us some staples that still permeate today. You have Janet Leigh's Marion Crane isolated at this Motel run by Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates. And unbeknownst to Marion, Norman is watching her. Awaiting the perfect moment to strike. So, Psycho is this really well crafted film that has laid the foundation for future Horror projects.
The elements that I think are most present in the Slasher genre specifically are the Stalker vision or "Killer Cam", the protagonist(s) in distress that are typically young blonde women, and the utilization of score during the killings or attempts in some cases.
While the Stalker vision is not used a lot, I always remember the peephole in Norman Bates's office. It adds a lot to his character that makes you feel uneasy. And when he looks through it, the audience becomes him in that moment. And the protagonist portion is pretty self explanatory. It makes you think how many casting directors pick blonde women for leads out of conformity or other nefarious reasons. Then, you finally have the score aspect that I think is essential to every Horror movie or show. Like, too many things neglect a properly unsettling score.
So, I could talk about the main players like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Scream. However, I want to focus on some lesser known Slashers that go above expectations for me.
The first one is The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) [Directed by Charles B. Pierce]. A movie that is based around the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders, but is more associated with the infamous Zodiac Killer. This is because of the design behind the Phantom Killer. He wears a bag on his head, a motif attributed to the Zodiac Killer, as well as Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th fame. But Jason wouldn't don the bag until five years after the Phantom Killer in The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976).
What I love about this movie is the simplicity. We follow Deputy Norman Ramsey. Something that is uncommon in Horror. Rarely do we get to see how the authority figures handle a killer on the loose. It's just as one would expect. Norman Ramsey and company are on the trail, but they're always too late. Like in real life, the Phantom Killer gets away with it.
So, TTTDS (1976) excels not through the senseless killings, but through allowing the tragedies to progress. Whether that be due to incompetence from the authority or the people that are not heeding the warnings. This film made me really appreciate the pacing of movies from the 1970s. Like, I'm not too into The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a whole, yet I got it more after watching TTTDS (1976). I recommend that you check this out if you're a fan of Slashers. Just don't watch the 2014 remake, it's a modernized version of the original that just shits on it.
The next movie that I want to talk about is April Fool's Day [Directed by Fred Walton]. Fred Walton is better known for A Stranger Calls, another great film, but I am such a big fan of what April Fool's Day accomplishes. This movie is the product of the Friday the 13th boom in the 1980s. It has Frank Mancuso Jr. producing, Bruce Green editing, and Amy Steel as Kit. For added context, Frank Mancuso Jr. produced many Friday the 13th films, Bruce Green worked on a few as well, and Amy Steel played Ginny Field in Friday the 13th Part II.
This film epitomizes this era so well. It takes the formula and follows it to a tee up until it reveals its hand. So, it's hard to talk about this film without revealing too much. But what I can say, is that the Whodunnit aspect of April Fool's Day sits a top many in the genre. Out of the movies that I have seen, I think Scream 2 might be one of the only contenders for Killer reveals. This is funny to me because I also would put the original Friday the 13th in the same category. You think you know, but you really don't. That's the best way I can describe April Fool's Day. A film that gets creative in an oversaturated genre.
And for my final film, I select Popcorn [Directed by Mark Herrier, Alan Ormsby directed the films within the film]. Popcorn is interesting for a multitude of reasons. And one of the big ones was that Bob Clark [Director of Black Christmas, A Christmas Story] had a large hand in on the film, but he went uncredited. This is noted in the special features of the DVD release from Synapse Films.
But Popcorn is much more than that. You follow a college class that is putting on a film festival. The films they showcase are supposed to be like old Horror films that would have interactive elements occur to theatregoers while the film plays. The modern version of this would be 4DX showings of movies. So, this concept goes a long way for me. But there is another production element that I find funny about Popcorn.
The movie is supposed to take place in California. However, they filmed it in Kingston, Jamaica. So, you have a majority of extras being Black along with the inclusion of Reggae as a major part of the music in the film. This was definitely one of the funniest things to come out of Popcorn because the crew and producers were certainly not expecting it. Not to mention they had to actually clean up the movie theatre they were using as it was actually abandoned, much like in the film. So, the behind the scenes stuff is not the sole reason for Popcorn being here, however I think that it needs to be said because of how wild it is.
Popcorn is another Whodunnit type of slasher that largely gets forgotten for some of the same reasons that April Fool's Day does. Except that Popcorn came out in 1991. A time when the Slasher was dying. But that matters little now because Popcorn excels in being sneaky. The pieces fall little by little, and the theatrics of the showings play well into the movie audience's perception of what is an act and what is the real danger.
Popcorn would also be one of the main films that influence the iconic Jada Pinkett Smith death scene from Scream 2. A phenomenal performance that takes after an intriguing film. I strongly recommend that you take the time to check out Popcorn. It's fun and different enough from the usual players.
That's all for today. Three amazing Slashers that do more than the genre expects of them. This genre has so many of these little gems sprinkled throughout. And it also begs the question of how some things are done because the effects work never ceases to amaze in the Horror genre. So, watch The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), April Fool's Day, and Popcorn. You should not be disappointed, but if you are, then it wasn't my fault.
And remember to Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Venezuela and to Free Lebanon from the onslaught of their oppressors. Never stop talking about them. They think that we don't care, but we see everything. Never forget that. They are trying to suppress our voices because they matter, remember that. There may have been a ceasefire in Gaza, but Palestine still needs to be completely free.
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