STACK #144 Oct 2016

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DVD&BD FEATURE

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 BEGINNER’S GUIDE

[Note: Not all titles discussed are available on DVD and Blu-ray. Check the JB website.]

#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.

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

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.

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 .

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

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.

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

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,

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

OCTOBER 2016

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