FINAL GIRL explores the slasher flicks of the '70s and '80s...and all the other horror movies I feel like talking about, too. This is life on the EDGE, so beware yon spoilers!

Oct 5, 2006

Day 5- Freddy Shmeddy

Wow! I can finally stop wringing my hands and lamenting that I’ve seen all the good slasher flicks that have ever been made! A little-known gem from the magical era known as the "early" "eighties", The Slayer (1982, from The Amanda Collection) made its way into my DVD player and then straight into my heart. It's renewed my faith that there are good movies I’ve yet to see…there are! There are, I tells ya, and I’m comin’ for ya, Elizabeth good movies, I’m comin’!

Sarah Kendall stars as Kay, one of those moody, fruity “artist types” who’s been plagued by a maniac stalking her dreams since childhood. Kay is convinced that the man from her nightmares will begin manifesting himself in reality, and the thought is sending her rapidly down a spiral into depression. Her husband David (Alan McRae) decides that Kay needs a vacation before she goes off the deep end…and so along with Kay’s brother and sister-in-law, the couple heads to a barren island. Kay has seen the island and its few remaining buildings in her dreams- she’s painted pictures of them even- does this mean her ghastly nightmares will become to pass? Well, this is a horror movie, so one can assume that yes…yes they will.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA. Did I just type out “plagued by a maniac stalking her dreams” and “the man from her nightmares will begin manifesting himself in reality”? What, you’re thinking, is this dude’s name Freddy Krueger by any chance?

The Slayer absolutely bears some resemblance in premise to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which would come down the pike 2 years later. The execution and tone differ between the two films enough, however, that we can all put down the pitchforks and douse the flaming effigy of Wes Craven. There’s no need to cry "ripoff", but you can totally feel like the coolest kid in the room when some yo-yo at a big fancy dinner party is going off on how bitchin’ Freddy Krueger is and how genius Wes Craven’s “don’t fall asleep” idea is and you bust out the “Pfft. JS Cardone and William Ewing totally came up with that idea YEARS before Craven ever did. What? You’ve never seen The Slayer? Don’t talk to me ever again!”. Then you can throw your drink in their face and walk away in a huff.

For a flick made on the cheap, The Slayer has plenty of atmosphere to spare. I was genuinely creeped out during every single kill sequence in the movie. The spooky sets are kept dark- just dark enough so you never know exactly what is making that tapping sound in the basement…

The gore is plentiful (but not turn-your-face-away over the top) and unsettlingly realistic. Composer Robert Folk’s score, recorded by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, is understated and helps add on the chills.

My biggest gripe with The Slayer is that I simply wish there were more of it; it clocks in at a quick 75 minutes. This is partly due to the fact that the cast is so small- Kay runs with a very tiny crowd. How long can it take to kill off four people? Overall, the acting was better than average, and it’s always refreshing to watch a horror movie that doesn’t rely on the stupidity of teenagers to provide tension- the characters, though mostly grating, are all adults.

As I stated earlier, there are definitely some similarities between The Slayer and the Nightmare series. Craven’s creation, however, has Freddy Krueger- a villain who forced his way, for better or for worse, into the consciousness of horror audiences and went on to become an icon of the genre. The villain of The Slayer is never clearly defined- just who is this guy? Is it even a guy? Does Kay really dream him into reality? Is Kay just a cuckoo nutso artist? Is this all her imagination? The film asks far more questions than it answers, and at the movie’s end we’re left wondering what’s what and who’s who. As for the nightmare man himself, that’s simply another question left unanswered. When we finally get a look at his gooey face (he’s wisely kept completely obscured throughout the proceedings), things become even more surreal…and yeah, he's kinda silly, but I just know that if I saw this dude when I was 10 I wouldn’t have slept for weeks. He is a nightmare come to life, after all.

The Slayer actually gave me the willies several times while watching it, and reminded me just how scary those things that go bump in the night can be. What more can I ask from a horror movie? I give it 8 out of 10 put that in your fedora and smoke it, Freddy- you chump!s.

8 comments:

Des said...

I actually haven't seen this. I now will.

Amanda By Night said...

I am so thrilled you like this. It's a favorite and a great unknown gem. JS Cardone has my heart! But Kay, that bitch needs to eat!;)

Anonymous said...

worth scouting out for on dvd?
seems like it would take some effort, i'm not good at
"effort."
it's too hard.
but a good slasher is hard to find.
even a good "bad" slasher.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the Slayer kinda looks like one of those old, cheap Don Post Studios masks, covered in goo...which is pretty cool if you think about it.

Anonymous said...

I will have to check it out. I almost had to bust a rant out here, when I thought you were about to go after Freddy, but you relented.

Josh DeSlasher said...

I think I may have heard of this before. *takes out notebook* I'll put it on my to-do list!

-bodyhorror.blogspot

Anonymous said...

It's well worth a look, a kind of slow burning and subtly gothic flick.

John @ retroslashers.net

Stacie Ponder said...

Yeah, I dug it. There's always room for improvement, but I was surprised by how much I liked this little movie. I thought it was pretty creepy, especially for a slasher.

Hee hee...Don Post masks. Man, I used to pine for those things, poring over the ads in Fango...