STACK October 2016 Issue 144

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Halloween is upon us this month, which means it's time to meet some iconic movie
maniacs and discover why you should never say "I'll be right back" in a horror film.
Words Scott Hocking
WHAT TO EXPECT
Jamie Kennedy's character astutely notes
in Scream (1996) that "there are certain rules
that one must abide by in order to successfully
survive a horror movie."
These rules are the basic formula followed
by a majority of slasher movies, and they
apply equally to the victims, killers and plots.
After only a couple of films, you'll recognise
the clichés and tropes that define the genre.
Expect death, not depth. Adhering
to a set formula is the reason why
slasher films have spawned so
many sequels – and just as many
remakes.
The setting is usually confined
to a college campus ( Final Exam),
sorority house (The House on
Sorority Row) or summer camp
(Friday the 13th, The Burning)
where nubile young women and
their boyfriends comprise the
bodycount. Having sex is a good
indicator of who's not going to
make it to the end credits – it's always the
virginal good girl who survives to bury an
axe or machete into the maniac, following an
extended chase sequence during which she
discovers the mutilated bodies of her friends.
The victims are almost always teen film
stereotypes – the jock, the prom queen, the
prankster, the stoner, the loner, and the rich
arsehole (who's usually named Trent).
The killers often wear a mask to conceal
their identity for a climactic reveal, or to add
a 'whodunit?' element to the plot. They are
usually motivated by revenge for some kind
of past trauma – facial disfigurement from a
prank gone wrong, witnessing the death of a
parent, or the college hazing of an unstable
individual. Sometimes the maniac is simply evil
incarnate, like Michael Myers in Halloween.
The anniversary of the traumatic
incident frequently serves as the
trigger for the killing spree, which
is why you'll notice many slasher
films take their titles from specific
dates on the calendar: Friday the
13th, My Bloody Valentine, Black
Christmas, April Fool's Day, Happy
Birthday to Me.
Setting the scene is also
important: if the slaughter unfolds
at a summer camp, a campfire
story involving a local legend
who's "still out there" is a must.
Another essential is the old codger that runs a
gas station/local store, who delivers a warning
to stay away from an intended destination –
which is always ignored.
The maniacs tend to favour sharp objects
and tools as murder weapons. Firearms are
rarely used (although there is the odd shotgun
blast to the head) because machetes, knives,
axes, chainsaws and
garden shears create
greater opportunity for
graphic bloodletting and
prosthetic gore, which is
the genre's raison d'être.
And the more creative the
death scenes, the more
memorable the movie.
The real stars of a slasher
movie aren't the no-name
youngsters who meet a
grisly end; they're the
special effects makeup
designers (like the legendary Tom Savini)
who ensure that every kill is depicted with
gruesome authenticity. However, be on the
lookout for some Hollywood A-listers before
they were famous, like Kevin Bacon (Friday
the 13th), Johnny Depp (A Nightmare on Elm
Street), Tom Hanks (He Knows You're Alone)
and Holly Hunter ( The Burning), who all got
their big break in a slasher movie.
WHERE TO START
Start with the best: John Carpenter's
Halloween (1978). It's a masterpiece of
widescreen terror and suspense and features
a maniac who is the screen's definitive
boogeyman. Few horror films have had the
indelible impact and influence on the horror
genre – without it, the slasher film cycle of
the 1980s probably wouldn't have existed.
Halloween also launched the career of Jamie
Lee Curtis, who you'll become very familiar
with on your slasher sojourn. For a film of this
type it's surprisingly bloodless, which works
in its favour; Carpenter trades gore and cheap
shocks for carefully composed cinematography,
an eerie synthesizer score, and a palpable
sense of dread.
If it's the splatter that matters, then Friday
BEGINNER’S
GUIDE
#7 - SLASHER MOVIES
A masked, knife-wielding killer stalks a college campus or summer camp.
The bodycount escalates, the 'final girl' unmasks and dispatches the maniac,
who inevitably isn't dead and returns for a sequel. The box office success of
Halloween and Friday the 13th resulted in a boom period for slasher movies
during the 1980s, and this gory and formulaic horror sub-genre still remains
popular today thanks to a neverending stream of reboots and remakes.
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38 OCTOBER 2016
DVD&BD
FEATURE
[Note: Not all titles discussed are available on DVD and Blu-ray. Check the JB website.]