The Advent of Slashers Films. Where To Next?

A little over a week ago I did a thread on Hm.ca entitled, 'Musings: Have Vampire movies lost their edge?', to my surprise it received a good response and in light of the discussion it started I decided to take it a step further into editorial form.

So for all of you on HM I present Musings, a continuous fortnightly editorial that will aim to ask questions of the horror genre, focus on specific movies and just about anything else in between. You can debate, talk, have fun but keep things respectable and I hope you like this new edition. And with further ado I give you the first subject...

It's a genre we all love and one where we have a specific movie that stands out to the others but the more legit question, how has it advanced in recent years? It all began earnestly in the guise of Psycho, Hitchcock's mini masterpiece. Masterfully blending good old tension with oodles of mystery, it worked down to the imagination.  Following this tightly was the impressionable, Peeping Tom, certainly a good solid slasher, it deserves the respect it has rightly earned.

Nonetheless though it was the 70's that shone the brightest torch for this sub genre of horror with two movies battling as the underdog. Black Christmas and Halloween redefined that year and of the two Halloween was to become supreme, yet as much as I love the old fashioned fear of Halloween I still believe the crown should belong to Black Christmas. The strength of the tension, the chillingly manner of the more horrific moments that makes it stand out. The fact it centres around a pivotal holiday is pretty much the icing on the cake. Add a character who kills but with little idea of who he is and it showcases horror without the need for a sane reason.

Undoubtedly the 80's was the highlight of this genre. The Prowler, Happy Birthday to Me all added it's weight to this golden era. But after the 80's what happened? Whilst the 90's contained some gems, it seems like the point that slashers seemed to fall to a distant standstill. That's not to say it was a bad year from the ashes arose some beauties of which was included:

Scream: Whilst not necessarily a major favourite of mine, there is no denying it's impact when it came around. To some extent it reinvented the genre, it had some fantastic witty dialogue and pop culture references. Whilst introducing us to Ghost face it was a nice enjoyable piece of popcorn fodder.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare: No this was not an amazing movie and yes it had some inherent flaws but it's a fun little film that revels in its own cheesiness.

And after this, yes, I struggle. There were fantastic products like Candyman, The Blair Witch, Final Destination, In the Mouth of Madness, Misery... but they were not slashers in my opinion and when you typify it to one genre, this being slashers, it was a year that fell into a slump.

It was up to 2000 through to now that needed to break the mold after the slump we suffered and whilst there have been some set backs, it's rearing it's tender head and showing us that not only can slashers be a fun, entertaining watch but can actually have some real depth to them.

What finally brought slashers back into style can be depicted in the early 2000's when France boldly made it's move and began the 'french wave' of horror we are now familiar with.

Martyrs was not so much a slasher in my opinion but two others that followed in its path, Frontière(s) and High Tension practically kick started the slasher movement all over again and for good reason. Whilst we all love Zombies, Werewolves and Supernatural horror, nobody can deny the impact a good slasher can have.

Frontière(s) firstly was a fun little film, certainly not excellence but enjoyable fare with some truly bloody moments and great characterisation throughout. Then there was High Tension. I do have some problems with the movie overall but fact remains it is stronger than most good days for Hollywood fare. The characters were likeable, the acting was fairly strong and the gore was top notch. It could have done without the ending but take that away and it's a worthy contender in the ongoing slashers battle.

In the three years leading up to 2010, there were tons of slashers that could be given mention. Including Halloween, Halloween 2, My Bloody Valentine 3D, The Strangers, Ils (Them), but I am going to limit my last three movies to some that have not got such high praise and have been vastly overlooked.

Firstly though honourable mention as to go to Inside, not only for it's excessive use of gore but two outstanding performances by the female lead. Add for an unsettling ending and due mention as to go to the viscerally gorgeous nature of this film.

• Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon- this film only became accessible to me recently and I was genuinely surprised. Starting in a documentary fashion, this is where I think some of the strengths lay. Getting into the psyche of the killer is a neat, plausible twist and it defines the movie in that on some basic level we then to begin to care for the killer. When the line is crossed, the documentary element ends and the typical slasher plays out, we still know who this guy was and to simply see him as a two bit killer is a lot harder to do than with older fare like FT13. The final half of the film is not as strong but it's character driven performances that serve this movie well and make it so memorable. One of the best in recent years.
• Laid to Rest- Very little back story but it doesn't matter when you take in the fact that the killer is going to go down in history as one of the most iconic madmen in movies, the gore is excellently done and it's a wild trip of a ride from beginning to end. There are some inventive deaths and it's a great little trip that needs to be watched by every horror fan out there.
• All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, it is a little disheartening that this has not been publicised more and is virtually unknown to even some of the more rounded horror aficionados. Not only is this a beautiful slasher with stunning cinematography but believe it or not there is actually some real depth to the characters and turn out of the plot. With some nice subtle twists and a exciting final scene this is my favourite slasher of the last few years.

In the end Slashers are a fantastic form of entertainment and art, they compel us to feel fear, they manage to take terrors that are deep seated and truly chill us to the bones. It's also managed to make icons of some of the most famous faces in horror that are not only known by horror lovers but even those not wholly into the genre.

What also makes this subject so well received is that it can go anywhere. The limits are unquestionable, the characters that can be molded and created are never ending and the gore can be a thing of beauty or held back to the bare minimum. There is no real ending to this art form in horror and therein lies that beauty.

But what really sets it apart is that it can become more than popcorn fodder. The depth of some in the past year have exceeded expectations we thought were not possible. So the question is:

Beyond Mandy Lane, Laid to Rest and then the older classics: re, Black Christmas and Halloween, how much further can slashers go? What's next in the line up? Where would you like to see it advance? What idea that has not yet been done could be created? What sort of movie do you want to see? And can the depth become even deeper and more disturbing?

Where is next for slashers and what more can be achieved? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you for reading this and I look forward to the feedback.

Editors Note: This is a guest editorial by one of our community members. If you would like to contribute your own editorial please feel free to email it to us for consideration. scoops@horror-movies.ca