On Friday night I watched The Burning (1981) for the very first time as part of ‪#‎80sHorrorWeek‬ together with the awesome Midnight Society crew. I own this movie on Region 1 DVD since last spring, because it never got a home video release where I live. The Burning is directed by Tony Maylam (Split Second). The Weinstein brothers had written and produced this movie through their production company: Miramax Films. The cast includes: Brian Matthews (The Young and the Restless), Leah Ayres (Bloodsport), Brian Backer (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Larry Joshua (Dances with Wolves), Lou David (Over the Brooklyn Bridge), Ned Eisenberg (Law & Order), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit) and Oscar-winner Holly Hunter (The Piano). A plethora of young actors made their acting debuts with this movie. The Burning has been recommended to me a lot in the past few years. As a devoted lover of 80’s horror/slasher movies, I knew I had to watch this movie as soon as possible. And I’m glad that I did, cause I absolutely LOVED it! The story is interesting enough and doesn’t feel like it tries to rehash or rip-off the concept of the original Friday the 13th. The death scenes are bloody, brutal and shocking. Tom Savini did an outstanding job with the blood and make-up effects and in that department it’s truly a step up from Friday the 13th. His creation of Cropsy is sheer genius.

If you happen to own the MGM DVD, than watch the special feature: “Blood ‘n’ Fire Memories”. You can thank me later! The murder weapon (hedge clippers/scissors) is creative and effective. The camp setting in this movie looks beautiful and I love the “upstate New York” locations. The characters are stereotype and none of them really stand out (this hurts the “final girl” aspect), but you can’t help but love these goofball characters. The camerawork is solid and the cinematography is eye-catching. I feel like the movie loses some steam towards the end, but The Burning is a purely entertaining 80’s slasher none-the-less. I also must note that the soundtrack is wonderfully composed and creates a good atmosphere. It’s truly a shame we never got to see a sequel to this movie, or even a possibility for a franchise as Cropsy is an interesting villian and I wanted to see more of him. The ending definitely left the door for a sequel wide open.

I honestly don’t want this movie to ever get remade. They’ll never manage to dethrone the campy 80’s style. If you’re a fan of horror/slasher movies, than I highly recommend you to give The Burning a chance. It shouldn’t be labeled as a clone to Friday the 13th, as both movies have plenty of redeeming qualities and are equally fun to watch.

–Ferdi Akkulak

Have you ever wanted to be a slasher star? Here’s your chance! Auditions are currently underway for the upcoming 80’s style slasher, Party Night. We here at Slasher Studios have had the chance to read the script and let’s just say…it’s to die for. Check out the requirements below and slash on!

From the official press release:

Have you ever wanted to put your screaming ability to the test? This is your opportunity! We are seeking auditions for our very first feature film, the 80’s throwback slasher Party Night. The film, which promises to be full of scares and blood, will focus on six friends who become prey for a sadistic psychopath when they decide to ditch their school’s after prom party for their own celebration at a secluded house. The film is tentatively scheduled to be filmed in the Houston, TX area June 11th-20th, 2016. Meals, transportation, and lodging will be provided to the cast. Additionally, cast will receive an IMDB credit, a copy of the final film, film material to add to their reel, and the chance to be viewed in a feature that will be viewed via a variety of outlets, including film festivals.

If you are interested in auditioning for a role in Party Night, please contact us at [email protected]. The list of roles and character descriptions are listed below. Let us know what role(s) you are interested in auditioning for, and we will send you the character sides and instructions for completing and submitting your video audition. We will accept auditions until March 1st, 2015, however, casting decisions may be made before that time depending on the submissions we receive. We look forward to hearing from you and having you potential be part of our very first feature production!

For the TEEN roles (the principal cast), we are looking for actors between the ages of 18 and 25 or those who can reasonable pull off resembling and acting like a high school senior.

Make sure to follow the film on Facebook for updates: Party Night on Facebook

Party Night Character Descriptions:

Amy Sanders: High School Senior. Quiet, an introvert who wears her shyness and lack of confidence reluctantly. She wants to break out of her shell, but feels that school work, approaching college, and her boyfriend should be more important focuses for her. Nelson’s girlfriend. (Final girl).

Nelson Hardison: High School Senior. Handsome with boy next door good looks. Slim and athletic, but embraces his intelligent and mature side first and foremost, as evidenced by the manner in which he carries himself and his attire. Amy’s boyfriend.

Andrew Messner: High School Senior. Blond, blue eyed. Verges on being a complete jock, but his jokester side and easy going nature makes him more approachable and instantly likable. Olivia’s boyfriend. (Shirtless scene and mild sex scene required)

Olivia Duncan: High School Senior. Friendly and genuine. Very attractive, but it not “in your face” about it. Has the tendency to be high strung and anxious in certain situations. Andrew’s girlfriend. (mild sex scene required; willing to go topless preferred, but negotiable)

Molly McBryant: High School Senior. Bright and beautiful and quite aware of it. Can be called a “diva,” but not overly obnoxious about it. Used to getting what she wants and can turn quite bitchy when she doesn’t. Travis’s girlfriend.

Travis Bock: High School Senior. Very handsome and mature looking; often mistaken for being quite older than eighteen. Possesses an intense and almost hard exterior, but genuinely cares about those who are close to him. Molly’s boyfriend.

Benson: 40’s-50’s. Rugged, used to a hard day’s work.

There is a forest in Japan where people are said to enter only to commit suicide. The spirits of those who die are left within. When a young woman learns that her twin sister has entered the forest, she quickly flees to Japan in order to save her. Entering the forest with knowledge of its history, she learns the legends are true. 

The Forest tells almost the same story as The Grudge 2. But there’s no real “curse” or anything. In this case, there only lies madness. The film jumps into the story immediately and we get little snippets of the twin sisters’ past. Combining that along with what the locals are telling our protagonist, it’s easy to sense that this will come into play at some point. The first half of the film is our lead Sarah going around looking for answers and hearing the same stuff over and over. It’s around the middle of the film when she’s in the forest when things actually start to happen. Unfortunately there is zero suspense or good build up. The jump scares in this film are well done if you’ve never seen a horror film before.

However, I will give it credit for its fantastic use of the forest setting. I am a HUGE sucker for horror films that take place in the woods/forest. The way they filmed certain scenes made the forest seem extra creepy and leaves you with the thought of isolation like our characters and the concept of being lost. Almost the same way Blair Witch made me feel (but Blair Witch did a much better job of course). The film also made you question what is and isn’t real along with the characters. Some of it was obvious, but then there were times where I was questioning whether it was a hallucination or not. Unfortunately that’s where it’s pros are cut off. Everything else in the remainder of the movie is Sarah running into ghosts and is completely rushed. When the ending rolls around, it ends up pretty predictable, but not entirely how I thought it was going to play out. So in that respect it was a relief. But I will say it does end with the infamous jump scare we all know and love. Yes, that one.

In terms of performances, Natalie Dormer tackles on the role of our lead Sarah, and her twin sister Jess. Quite frankly I was more interested in Jess, whom we obviously don’t get to know very well. And then there is Sarah who is very bland and uninteresting. Dormer does what she can with Sarah, but there really isn’t a lot to do with the role and no real emotional pull. Whereas when she played Jess, it actually seemed clear that Dormer has something to work with that involves acting. The only one who I thought gave the better overall performance was Taylor Kinney as Aidan whom Sarah enlists to help her. What Kinney does is leave us questioning whether or not he’s really reliable and he does a fine job at it. From the get -go he’s comes off as charming but there’s also something sketchy about him. So that at least gives some life to the story in terms of character.

Overall, The Forest has very few moments that grip you, but it’s definitely one that you won’t be missing out on if you choose to not see it. Excellent setting and good mind play were the strengths of this film but it’s not enough to make up for its many weaknesses. 

–Cody Landman

The 2015 Fright Meter Award nominations have been revealed and It Follows, Spring, and We Are Still Here lead the 2015 nominations with seven each, including Best Director and Best Actress.

The Fright Meter Awards have been presented annually since 2007 by the Fright Meter Awards Committee, a registered non profit organization dedicated solely to honoring the best in horror each year. Nominees and winners are determined by the committee, which consists of horror bloggers, actors, directors, producers, and others involved in the industry.

Without further ado, the 2015 Fright Meter Award nominations:

Best Horror Movie
The Final Girls
Goodnight Mommy
It Follows
Spring
What We Do In The Shadows

Best Director
Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead (Spring)
Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak)
Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz (Goodnight Mommy)
Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here)
David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)

Best Actor In A Leading Role
Mark Duplass (Creep)
Lou Taylor Pucci (Spring)
Ryan Reynolds (The Voices)
Kurt Russell (Bone Tomahawk)
Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows)

Best Actress In A Leading Role
Barbara Crampton (We Are Still Here)
Taissa Farmiga (The Final Girls)
Nadia Hilker (Spring)
Maika Monroe (It Follows)
Lin Shaye (Insidious: Chapter 3)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Larry Fessenden (We Are Still Here)
Matthew Fox (Bone Tomahawk)
Richard Jenkins (Bone Tomahawk)
Leigh Whannell (Cooties)
Rainn Wilson (Cooties)

Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Malin Akerman (The Final Girls)
Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak)
Deanna Dunagan (The Visit)
Lisa Marie (We Are Still Here)
Sierra McCormick (Some Kind Of Hate)

Best Screenplay
Bone Tomahawk
The Final Girls
It Follows
Spring
What We Do In The Shadows

Best Makeup
Bone Tomahawk
Crimson Peak
Deathgasm
We Are Still Here
WolfCop

Best Special Effects
Crimson Peak
Deathgasm
Headless
Insidious: Chapter 3
Stung

Best Score
Crimson Peak
Deathgasm
The Editor
The Final Girls
It Follows

Best Editing
The Final Girls
It Follows
Spring
Unfriended
We Are Still Here

Best Cinematography
Bone Tomahawk
Crimson Peak
It Follows
Spring
We Are Still Here

Best Short Horror Film
Chomp (Directed by: Lynne Hansen)
The Confession Of Fred Krueger (Directed by: Nathan Thomas Milliner)
The Package (Directed by: Damon Rickard)
Ronald McDonald Playground Slaughter (Nominees to be determined)
Selfie From Hell (Directed by: Erdal Ceylan)

For more information about the Fright Meter Awards, visit www.frightmeterawards.com or find the awards on Facebook: www.facebook.com/frightmeterawards or Twitter: @Frightmeter.

On Saturday night I watched Kristy (2014) for the very first time. This movie didn’t get a DVD release where I live until last month. I immediately picked up a copy, because I’ve been excited to see it for quite some time. It’s been circulating on my Facebook and Instagram feed for over a year now and for most part received high praises from the horror community. The cast is interesting enough and Haley Bennett is an extremely underrated actress in my opinion. Kristy marks the second feature film of director Oliver Blackburn, who previously directed the British slasher Donkey Punch (2008). Which I haven’t seen yet, but own on DVD.

I have finally come around to see Kristy and it was everything I expected and more! This has to be one of my favorite modern horror/slasher movies. The story doesn’t try to be original and that’s what I mainly liked about this movie. The acting performances are excellent, especially by Haley Bennett and Ashley Greene. Justine (played by Haley Bennett) is hands down one of the strongest final girls in horror movie history, up there with Erin (Sharni Vinson) from You’re Next. Such a likeable and relatable character. Ashley Greene played against type as the stonecold cult leader and the result was nothing short of amazing, even though her character was underdeveloped. The character development isn’t the strongest, as we’re mainly focused on Justine throughout the movie. Lucas Till was also pretty decent in this movie, even though his screentime was limited. The tension and suspense in Kristy was heartpounding with many well executed chase scenes and effective jump scares. Oliver Blackburn did a terrific job in the director’s chair. I also thought that the soundtrack was superb, as we get a chilling score mixed with modern songs like: Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans and NONONO – Pumpin’ Blood. Kristy didn’t bore me for a second and literally kept me on the edge of my seat throughout its short running time, which oddly didn’t felt all that short to me. I really liked the girl power aspect in this movie as we witness our lead girl fight back after literally going to hell and back again.

The final confrontation between our protagonist and antagonist is bad-ass and outstanding. This is one of those movies where you have to pay close attention from the very beginning in order to pick up some clever references and choices that characters make. The cinematography in this movie is rock solid and I loved the campus setting and the beautiful exterior shots. Everything seemed to work for me with this movie, even though I wish it had more character development and a longer running time. There is a scene after the credits that may or may not suggest a possibility for a potential sequel. I would love that idea, but only if Haley Bennett reprises her role of Justine. Kristy is a thrilling and exciting adrenaline ride that I suggest everyone should take. It even takes place on Thanksgiving, so it’s technically a holiday horror/slasher. Definitely a movie I wanna watch at least once a year. For those that are interested in seeing it, Kristy is now streaming on the American Netflix. I highly suggest everyone to give it a watch, as it’s a cult classic in the making. It’s The Strangers meets The Purge meets You’re Next.

–Ferdi Akkulak

Slasher Studios was proud to be a part of this awesome horror anthology. Filmmakers from around Wisconsin were asked to create this loving nod to grindhouse and exploitation, John Waters style. We hope you have a sick, twisted, and most importantly, fun time with it!

DESCRIPTION:
7 nightmarish films from the people that brought you SWAMPHEAD, INCEST DEATH SQUAD, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH THE DEAD, FLESH EATING FOG, and DON’T GO TO THE REUNION.

A brute shows a local boy hell through his haunted ax, the streets of Madison are stalked by a deranged sexual psychopath, Ed Gein is resurrected as a dentist with a penchant for extraction, the flipside of the American family screams itself to life, and an elicit drug transforms a singer into the angel of death!!!

Directed by:
Derrick Carey – Rabid Child FIlms
Cory J Udler – Shalenn Productions
Greg Johnson – Two Horned Unicorn
Rob Michels / Carolyn Baker – Screaming like Banshees
Steve Goltz / Kevin Sommerfield – Slasher Studios

INCLUDED ON DVD:

– 80 minute Uncut version of film
– 30 minute Behind the scenes featurette
– 2 audio commentaries with the directors
– trailer
– Splatreel

Hole in the Wall

DVD $15.00 USD

In the outrageous horror anthology “In the Dark”, two female assassins hiding out in a rundown motel find a bag of unmarked videotapes and enter a twisted world inhabited by an axe wielding maniac, a murderous matchmaker and a sin-slaying creature from hell. Slasher Studios had the chance to check out two of the anthology horror flick segments at Chicago Fear Fest and they easily the standout horror flicks of that weekend. The anthology is written and directed by Chris St. Croix and David Buchert and

Now available to rent or buy on video-on-demand from Amazon: In The Dark (Video on Demand)

On Saturday night I watched Deadly Blessing (1981) for the first time. This was just another random movie that I picked from the collection to watch. I own the Arrow Blu-ray of this movie since earlier this year. Deadly Blessing was directed by the late, great Wes Craven. He will always be my favorite horror director of all-time. The trailer of the movie looked fairly good, but my expectations weren’t that high.

I’ve seen Deadly Blessing and while it’s good, it’s definitely not great. This movie simply doesn’t reach its full potential and I feel that more could’ve been done with the premise. The acting performances are above average. I liked Maren Jensen, Sharon Stone, Susan Buckner, Ernest Borgnine and Michael Berryman in their respective roles. The performances felt very nuanced and every actor had their moment to shine with the material they were given, even though some were shockingly underused. Sharon Stone surprisingly stood out with her role of Lana. Her acting was very stale in the beginning of the film, but as the story progressed she only got better. Wes Craven once again did a bang up job in both the writing and directing department and that results in some beautiful exterior shots and some fantastic camera angles. Deadly Blessing contains both moments of wit and suspense. The soundtrack is nothing short of brilliant and the twist at the end definitely took me by surprise. Highly unnecessary, but effective none-the-less.

I learned that Craven originally created a different ending, but the producers intervened and it got changed. The style of this movie is very poignant and gorgeous. I was constantly entertained throughout and even a bit frightened at certain moments. There were some slow moments that took on forever, but it did make the characters less one dimensional with the added development. For those who pay close attention, there are some clever nods and homages to Craven’s earlier and later work like Summer of Fear and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Deadly Blessing is nowhere near the same level as Scream or ANOES, but it’s an original and unique little horror movie from the early 80’s. Recommended.

–Ferdi Akkulak

College freshman Justine (Lorenza Izzo) decides to join the student activist group to help save the Amazon rainforest. Her roommate Kaycee (Sky Ferriera) disapproves of this and recommends against it, especially when Justine decides to join the group led by Alejandro (Ariel Levy) on a trip to stop the bulldozing. Justine believes she’s doing the right thing and everything will be fine. However, when the group’s plane crashes in the jungle, they soon learn about the tribe that lives there, and they soon find themselves entering into a nightmare.

Directed by Eli Roth, The Green Inferno is the latest cannibalistic horror film to grace the theater screen. When I saw the trailers for this, it looked like it could have had a strong Cannibal Holocaust vibe, and it did a decent job of building tension without really showing anything. Unfortunately, the outcome I received was not what I was expecting from the trailers. For the most part, the film had a really good build up until the main events took place. We got to know the characters and their mission (I can’t stand activists, so I will keep those feelings at bay), and for the most part, all except for two of the characters were likable and it does suck seeing them go. Along the way we have some genuinely funny moments that added even more likability to the characters. However, after the first kill (which was fantastic), that’s when it starts to go downhill. With how brutal and excellent the first kill was (which had fantastic effects by the way), I was expecting everything afterwards to be just as good, if not maybe even better. This was not the case. After the first kill, the deaths become very generic and boring and nothing I would deem very disturbing except for maybe one other kill towards the end, and quite a few missed opportunities to actually add more disturbing moments. To add to this, there ended up being a bunch of humor in it that took away what I was expecting from the film. I admit I did laugh at those moments, but essentially I was expecting a full-blown horror movie that was going to try and disturb its audience to the core. The laughs were effective, but for me it ruined the horror. Even if this was intentional on Eli Roth’s part, I felt it wasn’t necessary. Then there is the ending to tack onto that. The ending had me furious with how it played it out. I don’t know if the ending, along with the comedy was meant to make the film a satire of some sorts involving activism, but regardless it didn’t work for me at all. Though, despite that, and along with the well-done effects of the kills, the portrayal of tribe was genuinely unsettling, but then of course you have the black sheep that shows care towards our main character (bleh). There is also a mid credits bonus scene that I’m assuming was set up for a sequel, but in the end it was completely unnecessary.

The cast as a whole does a great job. Lorenza Izzo provides likability in our leading lady, but there were times when I found her kindness nauseating as well as her hissy fits. She also expresses some great fear in a lot of the scenes that require it. Ariel Levy is excellent as the head activist, and nails his role as the douchebag and easily becomes one of the most despicable characters in a horror film. But most of all, the person that stood out the most to me was Sky Ferreira as Justine’s best friend and roommate. In the limited screen time she had, she was extremely charismatic, funny, and came off as real and almost the voice of reason in the film (at least to me). As much as I wanted to see more of her, I am glad that she didn’t go too far into the story.

The Green Inferno was a film that had such promise to bring some genuine terror to audiences with how well the death effects were and the talent of Eli Roth, a great cast, and well developed characters. However, this is all brought down with missed opportunities, some eye-rolling cliches, the over-abundance of humor (intended or not), and one awful ending.

–Cody Landman

During the night of partying at the Kappa sorority house, the fun is cut short by the death of one of the sisters, leaving behind the child she just birthed. Flash forward to present time when it is time for Kappa to select new pledges. This time Kappa is ruled by the feisty and vicious Chanel (Emma Roberts). She, along with her henchwomen, Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd), and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin). However, Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) is putting her foot down, disgusted by the behavior of the sorority, she enforces Chanel to accept ANY pledge. Enter our main girl Grace (Skyler Samuels), who plans to join the sorority in hopes gaining some closeness to the mother she never met. Grace, along with her roommate Zayday (Keke Palmer), plus other pledges begin their hell week. But someone is bringing a new meaning to the term. A killer dressed as the school mascot the Red Devil has a score to settle with the Kappa sorority, and everyone is a target.

Following the Scream tv series, we get the heavily promoted new show from Ryan Murphy. In its first night, we were treated to a two hour long premiere. And what a hell of a fun two hours it was. Scream Queens has the meta aspects of Scream, the parody of Scary Movie, and the teen flare of Heathers and Mean Girls. Both of the two episodes were very self aware of itself in the situation the characters find themselves in and how it fits into horror scenarios, but it doesn’t beat you over the head with it. The dialogue is extremely witty and entertaining, and features many horror feats that leave it pretty clear that Murphy has done his homework. Along with this we get very creative kills (let me just say we had just about the same amount of kills in this premiere that Scream had in the whole season). This doesn’t ruin things for it though since we are left we plenty of characters who can still bite it. It’s also a show that could easily get away with having an episode or two without a kill because it won’t focus on pointless drama. Let it be known that this is a straight up horror-comedy. Anything you may find “stupid” about it was there for a purpose. While the kills were very solid, it is the dialogue that really sells the show. The dialogue written for the characters fits them so well and the actors portraying them have their characters pegged. Given with how much we received in these first two episodes, it’s very clear we are in for a treat. I’m expecting even more great kills, some pretty good twists, and most of all, the fact that everyone at this point is fair game.

As far as the cast goes, they all do a tremendous job. The biggest shout outs go to Emma Roberts who (as displayed on American Horror Story: Coven), nails the role of the bitch. But this time around it is much more amped up compared to her character Madison on AHS. She encompasses the nastiness and snarkiness of Jessica in Sorority Row, and the over-the-top bitchiness and overreactions of Regina George in Mean Girls. There really isn’t anyone who could have done the part better than Roberts. Everything that comes out of her mouth had me laughing like a maniac. Next there is Niecy Nash as the campus security guard Denise. Nash gets the next amount of laughs following Roberts. While Nash does get her over-the-top moments, she really is the voice of reason of all the characters. She knows when someone is doing something stupid, calls them out on it, and knows when to haul ass. She gets just as many great one-liners as well.

Finally, there is the incredible Jamie Lee Curtis. Every horror fan knows her as the innocent victim Laurie Strode, but on Scream Queens, Curtis is essentially the anti-Laurie Strode. She’s a hard core bitch who smokes pot and sleeps around with students. Overall it’s a side of Jamie Lee we haven’t seen in general. And of course she nails the role to the point where you can hardly believe this was once shy and virginal Laurie, but you can’t wait to see what the character and Curtis has left up her sleeve. Skyler Samuels is also worth noting as our main girl. Essentially she’s the basic heroine we expect. The kind-hearted, innocent, awkward girl. And that’s it. Not really anything special, just your cardboard cut out final girl. I personally didn’t care for her for that reason, if she had more of an edge to her, I’d like her more. But overall, she’s not unlikable either, and Samuel does bring some realism to the role and some likability despite my sentiments about the character overall. Keke Palmer provides some sass as Grace’s roommate. While Palmer does deliver some comical lines, you do get the stereotypical black girl behavior that is eye-roll worthy. We are also treated to Lea Michele as the backbraced Hester. Initially she’s the dork who more or less keeps to herself with occasional mumbling to herself as well. But then we see she knows a thing or two about murder. And how to hide a body. Unlike the annoying character she played on Glee, Michele has more to work with. She can go off on a crazy girl rant, but then switch into this childlike innocence in a flash. The rest of the cast does a good job, but nothing really stand out yet. However there is still time.

Scream Queens is the slasher show that the subgenre needed. It brings a breath of fresh air by trying to relive the days of Scream and classic teen hits. And it succeeds through and through. This is thanks to massively engaging characters and dialogue, an excellent mystery/whodunit, and very clever kills. Ryan Murphy has struck gold more than ever with this in his writing in the perfect blend of horror and comedy. And with the talented cast behind this with their excellent performances thus far, I can only imagine it getting better from here-on-out.

–Cody Landman