Underrated Horror Flicks: “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988)

Slasher Studios*Underrated Slasher

My underrated movie choice has to be Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The film does get pretty decent reviews from horror fans but I just feel as if it doesn’t really get the credit it deserves.

One of my favorite things about it would have to be the special effects. There’s no CGI or computer effects in the film at all, adding to the raw feel of it. The klowns? Real costumes. The sets? Real locations. The finale scene? A miniature set. In my eyes, this is horror done right. Fun yet creepy. Weird yet laughable. Low budget yet good. This is one of those movies made by horror fans, for horror fans.

The overall atmosphere of the film makes you feel like you’re at a drive-in movie theater, and brings back that long dead feeling of movies that were fun. In recent years, films like Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun are reviving this feeling, and I personally think it’s the best thing that could ever happen in a world filled with movies about kings with speech impediments and iron ladies. So, before watching this film, remember that this isn’t like The Sixth Sense or Let Me In. The only emotion that should be felt by the viewers is happiness and enjoyment.

Now I know some Roger Ebert-loving movie snob will say it’s a terrible movie because the dialogue isn’t well written and the acting isn’t top notch and plot really doesn’t make sense. And do you know what I think about people like this and their opinions? If you don’t want to have fun watching a movie then go to a funeral or watch paint dry, because horror fans like to enjoy their movies, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one of the most entertaining movies ever made. I mean, how could it not be? It’s got clowns!

–Blake A Corrao

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Tim’s Slasher Tweet Review: “The Fog” (1980)

Slasher Studios*Slasher Tweet Review

Today our guest Twitter film critic Tim Schilling takes on one of John Carpenter’s most beloved movies outside of “Halloween”, the ghost chiller “The Fog.” Carpenter fans have been praising this film for years with some fans arguing that it is even better than “Halloween.” How does it stack up 30 years later? Is it an underrated classic or does it deserve to be forgotten? Let’s sift through the mist to find out…

Thoughts before the film:
Original version of #TheFog, not the remake. Though unlike 99% of the population, I did like the remake.

Thoughts while watching:
0:06 How does a rock just randomly fall out of the wall..?
0:08 One minute of sweeping a grocery store…
0:10 Geez why can’t our gas prices be that low?
0:12 When is the witching hour, anyways?
0:13 “Are you weird? Yes, yes I am!”
0:22 Jamie Lee Curtis you little whore!
0:26 The music is really similar to Halloween.
0:42 That is a crap load of stairs.
0:45 Watch out, the piece of wood is crying.
0:46 And then decides to blow up and act like nothing happened.
0:52 How can you feel so safe with him? You met him a day ago, while you were hitchhiking!
1:01 Just don’t open doors, and they won’t kill ya. That’s what happened the first time.
1:07 My theory is right, these things are like vampires! Don’t let them in and they’ll peace.
1:08 Oh wait I lied. This one really wants to get in.
1:10 Women can’t drive anyways, why would you make her try to drive stick in a hurry?!
1:13 What, can this girl see every street, house, person, everything from that lighthouse?

Overall:
I’m not sure if people will agree with me on this, but….I love the idea behind #TheFog, but the movie didn’t serve it well. Very slow pace and bad character development. On the plus side, ok music.

To follow Tim on twitter: https://twitter.com/schillingt
To follow Slasher Studios on twitter: https://twitter.com/slasherstudios

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Underrated 90’s Thriller: “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (1992)

Slasher Studios*Underrated Slasher

This has been one of my fav movies since I first saw it after coming home from a night of partying late one night in March of 2004. I’m not going to lie, my partying days were excessive back then and I was trashed when I slapped it on for the first time. Little did I know how much of a great time I would have, and still have with it to this day.

Not sure how familiar people are with the Twin Peaks phenomena but I was only 5 when that hypnotic pilot episode aired and was 7 when this, the prequel, was released, with it’s head down in shame apparently. I was too young to understand it back then and I missed out on all craziness with the fans and the tv show. I didn’t even know that there was the a prequel until the late 90s. I did know that it was in pop culture references everywhere throughout the 90s[The Simpsons, SNL, etc hell even Bob Saget was making Twin Peaks jokes if my memory serves me right], so I do know that it was warmly embraced at the time which led to my dismay after watching the prequel and reading up on it that it gets nothing but hate, with the occasional love letter. So it’s very apparent that this movie is loathed by many, which is sad, but not surprising. Personally I think it’s a masterpiece.

The story is rather simple, The Last 7 Days Of The Life Of Laura Palmer. And a prelude of the murder of Teresa Banks. There’s an ongoing debate about this prequel that if you haven’t seen the tv show the movie will be incompreshinble and basically a pretentious waste of time. Now I had only seen the pilot episode by 2004, and didn’t know anything else about the show or it’s brilliant mythology, not even who killed her. Luckily the pilot was directed by David Lynch and so was this prequel and I think that made things familar enough. I did know that by the end of the movie Laura would be dead, and that’s that on that. The way the symbolism is done is that you don’t have to see the show to still understand what is being implied. I think people can’t handle that, if it’s not spelled out clearly it pisses people off and they will flat out refuse to watch, I’ve seen it happen a many times. I stand by this opinion, you don’t need to see the TV show first to understand this movie! I still was fully engrossed by the story, amused by the quirky writing and characters, and totally intoxicated with David Lynch’s visual flair, I had all ready seen EraserHead, Mulholland Drive, and Lost Highway by 2004 so his approach to storytelling by that point was fully embraced by me so I was not deterred by the abstract, LSD-dipped approach to the visuals and narrative, I’m a huge style whore at heart and this has to be the 2nd most visually appealing film I’ve ever seen!

Everything about this movie is so detailed, layered, inventive, scary, sad, beautfiful, and nightmarish. The lighting and sound design go hand and hand masterfully, I’ve never seen sound used so well! So many scenes in here are terrifying, like when Laura Palmer walks up to her room under the fan…WOW! The Pink Room party? Laura’s nightmare? Every set piece is so memorable. There’s a real sense of mystery and tragedy here. A heartbreaking stroy about a young girl sexually abused by her own father while trying to project a image of High School Homecoming Queen. I’m reminded of a glamour girl balancing 8 or 9 piles of 110 dishes while having to smile and look perfect but going crazy inside and all at once it’s an explosion of porcelain! This girl is busy! Cheerleading, heay cocaine abuse, homework, prostitution to pay for the coke, late night S & M partes, 3 or 5 boyfriends, crazy nightmares/hallucinations, sexual abuse, Meals on Wheels, meeting mom for breakfast!. It’s a huge work load and very taxing, done by a very brave actress.

The music is brilliant, a work of art. I love everything about this movie, the opening credits of blue haze followed by a TV getting smashed is a great way to start this movie I think, a in your face heads up that this isn’t restrained by tv, it’s TWIN PEAKS THE MOVIE, and anything can go!

I read an extensive book on David Lynch’s career a couple months ago and the chapter on this movie was amazing, and very telling. While David Lynch won the Palme d’or at Cannes for Wild at Heart to many cheers and praise and then put his heart and soul on the line two years later and got booed, having David Lynch resort to his hotel suite depressed and in need of sedatives. I would have been there cheering. It’s funny that Quentin Tarantino would trash talk David Lycnh for this movie stating “David Lynch’s head was so far up his ass with this movie that I will not watch another David Lynch movie until it’s something new, and I LOVED David Lynch”. I said the EXACT same thing with Death Proof!

A very underrated horror movie!

– Vince Fontaine

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Underrated 80’s Slashers: “Silent Scream” (1980)

Slasher StudiosSilent Scream (1980)

Released in 1980 as the slasher film boom was still finding its feet, here we have Silent Scream, a criminally underrated horror film, in this reviewer’s opinion. The film tells the story of four college students that take up residence for room and board with the mysterious Mrs. Engles and her son Mason in their foreboding hillside mansion. It soon becomes clear that all is not well and something or someone lurks within the bowels of the house…

This film is often compared to The Unseen, a film that follows a similar plot line released in 1981 and often not favourably with reviewers world web wide proclaiming The Unseen to be far superior. I am here to disagree, I believe Silent Scream is a brilliant horror tale in it’s own right and never seems to get the credit it deserves due to these unfair comparisons with an entirely unrelated film.

The first thing I’ll say about this film is that it is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. The film fashions itself in the same vain as the classic 1950s gothic horror which often featured a house high on a hill where evil lurked, and it pulls it off perfectly. From the moment the house is first glimpsed it seems foreboding and the darkened corridors and rooms littered with cobwebs strike a kind of dread into the viewer that is rare amongst films of the time and ever rarer today.

Unlike other cheese laden horror films of the time, Silent Scream has some top notch performances. You will find no cheese or over the top acting here, everything is played straight and it makes the film all the more terrifying as the madness and terror that later engulfs the plot is made all the more believable due to these performances. Here we also have two veterans of the genre joining the cast, Cameron Mitchell and Barbara Steele, giving the film a leg up on it competitors. Given the chilling atmosphere, incredibly strong performances and a gloss which so rarely seen in films of this period, it baffles me why Silent Scream is as overlooked as it is. I implore you, seek it out if you haven’t already seen it! You won’t be disappointed!

–Reece Glen Donnell

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Underrated Horror Sequel: “Psycho 3” (1986)

Slasher Studios*Underrated Slasher

Another very underrated sequel. I see so many praising part 2 and trash talking 3. I don’t get it, I think it’s a great companion piece and has a faster pace than part 2. It’s all in the details folks, and part 3 is all about fine details. I love the creativity in this one. It follows part 2 closely and ties up all the loose ends making the Psycho trilogy come full circle. I love the continuity from part 2. Anyone else catch the odes to part 2 with the finger smears on window and the book Meg Tilly was reading laying in the dirt? I actually really like those shots, they inspire melancholy feelings in me of time passing…sigh…ahhh.

The kills are bloody and well staged, loved the build ups and shocks that came with the kills. I found the mood and characters very lurid with splashes of black humour through out. We also get a scene stealing Juliette Cummings [from Friday the 13th 5 a New Beginning and Slumber Party Massacre 2]as “Red” steaming up the house, her scenes with Duke are hilarious and she gets a kick ass death scene in one memorable phone booth scene, channelling the original Psycho and even The Birds!. The Duke played by Jeff Fahey is rock solid inspired casting and acting! “Mother” is much more vocal this time around, no one can deliver “She’s a slut” like mother can.

The directing is stylish and very Argento and yes, Hitchcock. Perkins knew what he was doing and took chances. Did you not foam at the mouth over that amazing door crack to knife blade transition? Wow. Or how Norman moves the lamp and suddenly the film noir parlour is Argento and Suspiria green-lit! . Neat little details make all the difference in the world. Or how about the epic scene where Norman thinks “mother” left him a note that she is in cabin 12 so he walks from the house to the motel looking for her? Chilling and beautiful, so bleak

The soundtrack is far superior to Jerry Goldsmiths from part 2, Carter Burwell makes something special here, I loved it. I found so many absurd moments as well, many times I just had to laugh, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s sadder or scarier moments, it does.

A awesome sequel that doesn’t deserve the hate!

—Vince Fontaine

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Underrated Horror Remake: “When a Stranger Calls” (2005)

Slasher StudiosWhen a Stranger Calls (2005)

My choice for underrated film is the remake of When a Stranger Calls. The film tells the story of Jill Johnson, a young teenage girl who is being forced to babysit as a way to pay back her parents for her high cell phone bill. When Jill’s father drops her off, they are both in awe at the sight of the house she’d be babysitting in. Very large, with very large windows. Before the parents leave, Jill is told that the children are asleep upstairs. As the night wears on, Jill starts to receive really freaky phone calls. Eventually Jill has the calls traced, and it’s revealed the calls are coming from inside the house. Can Jill safely get herself and the sleeping children out of the house? Or will all three become victims of this murderous psychopath?

I can understand the hate to an extent, Camilla Belle’s acting is definitely not the greatest, and yes it does have an overload of “cheap scares”. However, I very much love this movie more than the original, mostly for the fact that this actually sticks to the original legend for mostly the whole film after all the introductions. The original sticks to it for a whole fifteen minutes or so before straying off to a boring as hell plot about the detective trying to catch The Stranger. What I also loved about this film is that is has an excellent setting and atmosphere. As well as some great suspense and build up to the final sequence. As I watched the movie the first time I felt just as trapped as Jill, despite it being a huge house. I was really with Jill the whole time, even to the point of when she has to decide whether to get out of the house right away, or go upstairs and get the children. The final 20 minutes kept me on edge the whole time when I first saw this in theaters. Yes, I even admit I jumped a couple of times during the time period. So despite many cheap jump scares, and the not-so-solid acting by Ms. Belle, I extremely enjoyed this little thriller of a film.

–Cody Landman

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Underrated 90’s Slashers: “Popcorn” (1991)

Slasher Studios*Underrated Slasher

Popcorn-1991

Popcorn is one of the last movies of the slasher era and to me, one of the most under rated and unknown too. This movie starts out with Maggie (Jill Schoelen) having a nightmare of a man trying to kill her, but before any damage could happen, she wakes up. Her mother receives prank calls, having someone call but no one on the other end type of deal. Maggie proceeds to go to her class, Cinema to be exact, where they decide to have a fund raiser at the old, and local rundown movie theater. They then go to the theater where they get it ready for the B-rated 50’s horror movies they’re going to feature in 3 weeks.

They find a film in a case that is extremely bizarre and continually says “I am the possessor”. Maggie passes out at a scene in the film that she has saw in her dream. She then finds out the history of the movie, the man who made it, killed his family and himself on stage as it played in the background. Her mother gets another phone call, this time saying “I am the possessor, I want her! I want her!, knowing where the voice is from, she goes to the movie theater to investigate, where she ends up being murdered. Not knowing of what the previous night entailed, Maggie gets ready for the big night at the theater. A strange man who recites the possessor movie buys a ticket off of Maggie, she tells Toby (a boy from her cinema class she likes), he tells her that she should call the police. Making fun of him, saying that they wouldn’t believe her about a man who was supposedly dead. One by one, each member of her class is killed off, but not knowing who the killer is because whoever it is, is replacing the dead bodies with themselves and making it seem like they’re alive. The power ends up going out because one of the deaths involved electricity.

Maggie is behind the stage, in the dark when a man grabs her and is taken to the basement, then the power comes back on and the movies continue to play. Being tied up to some sort of device that holds her head in place, she discovers the killer is Toby, stealing people’s faces and making Maggie believe he is everyone. She finds out the reason for his killer is when the possessor was first shown in the theater that Toby was in the first row and has been burned because Maggie’s aunt set the theater on fire, leaving him not only burned but also extremely disfigured too. She then finds out that the man who made the possessor was actually her father. Her aunt is actually still alive and Toby has her right behind the screen, to get ready to finish what Maggie’s father was unable to do. He sedates Maggie and puts her in a cast with a dress over it, getting ready for their final scene. Now on stage, everyone believes it to be a joke laughing at Maggie because they think it’s all an act. The only person to discover the truth, Mark, then crashes onto the stage using the fly prop from one of the films they were showing. Mark knowing who Toby is, then frees Maggie and kills Toby with the fly. The police and ambulance end up showing up and BAM! Movie is over!

This film is considered to be the predecessor to the Scream franchise, which is clearly seen, is parts of the film. It’s one of the most underrated films I can think of, but it’s one of my favorites. There’s something fun about it and it didn’t lose the seriousness either, keeping true to what they wanted to execute. With next to no gore and no skin showing, There’s just nothing to hate about this film, period.

—-Riley Lender

This review is courtesy of the Slasher Studios Horror Film Club.

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Guilty Pleasures: “The Last Slumber Party” (1988)

Slasher StudiosLast Slumber Party

Three glamorous high school girls end up being stalked by a psychotic mental patient during an all night slumber party.

This is a very underrated film. The film has two storylines that intersect at perfect times. We begin by seeing the killer menacing a girl at her home before being scared away when she screams for help. After that terrifying sequence we are taken to the school where we meet the students in the gifted class. As they are learning about anatomy, they are also looking forward to the end of school. Three girls in the class, Linda, Tracy, and Chris decide to have a slumber party at Linda’s house. They also have the three jocks who want to crash the party for their own brand of “fun”.

The second storyline involves Linda’s father who has a very violent patient who once tried to make out with him in the hospital room before they were separated. The patient obviously doesn’t take too well to rejection and heads out to the doctor’s home to murder him and his family. This seems to work out perfectly for him as he has a house full of victims at the slumber party.

The slumber party itself doesn’t turn out to be much fun. How can it be when Linda’s mother is home? She pops up occasionally in case we as the audience forget that she is there. The jocks show up from time to time to scare the girls but the party really gets going when the mental patient shows up. And if that isn’t good enough we also have another killer show up the same night to kill the teens as well. How many movies can say that??

The terror mounts higher and higher until the climactic battle with the final girl and the killer. And our final girl is extremely clever as she investigates the house for her missing friends and even ignores two dying victims just to save her own ass. Hey, this is survival of the fittest! She does what she has to do! She also knows that the worst thing you can do when a killer is the house is to run outside. You must stay indoors and walk around.

I won’t spoil the ending except to say that some of the so called plot holes could be easily explained when you take the ending into consideration. Overall, a marvelous piece of cinema that deserves a wider audience!

Okay, so this review is obviously being done tongue planted firmly in cheek. But this seriously is a really fun movie that should be seen. It is hilarious! Much love from me!

—-Nathan Johnson

This review is courtesy of the Slasher Studios Horror Film Club.

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Underrated 80’s Slashers: “Visiting Hours” (1982) Review

Slasher StudiosVisiting Hours

A fun, serious little chiller that either gets no recognition, or a load of hate. Why, I’ll never know, because I prefer it immensely to Halloween II, another hospital-set thriller. Starring Linda Purl, Lee Grant, Michael Ironside, and William Shatner (for name value only… he serves no purpose in the film), it tells the story of a sadistic, woman-hating psychopath who fixates on two strong-willed women and stalks them in the halls of a hospital.

Lee Grant stars as Deborah Ballin, a television journalist who is getting both a lot of praise and a lot of flack for vehemently defending a battered wife managed to cripple her husband in self-defense. She never expects it to escalate to murder, however. Sadistic psychopath Colt Hawker (an often-chilling Michael Ironside), who suffers from extreme mommy-issues, attacks and leaves her for dead. When it is reported (rather widely, of course) that she is alive and in the halls of County General hospital, Hawker decides to finish the job. When he cannot find her, however, he fixates on her caring, idealistic young nurse, Sheila Munroe (played by Linda Purl), who has struck up a rather strong friendship with Deborah.

Stalking Sheila and her two children at home, Hawker devises a plan to kill both women once and for all. Can anyone- including a teenager with a grudge (Lenore Zann), Deborah’s concerned boss (William Shatner), clueless cops (like the one who tells Sheila he cannot leave his post at the hospital… despite her telling him that the killer is in her home), or, well, obviously, Deborah and Sheila themselves- stop Hawker’s (not-so-)bloody killing spree?

First off, yes, I know the movie has it’s flaws. The villain, while played to perfection by the always-creepy Michael Ironside, does come off as incompetent by the third act… but at this point, of course, he has both Sheila and Deborah right where he wants them, despite all of his other feeble attempts ending in utter fiasco. William Shatner’s character is little more than a hindrance to our two strong heroines, and the point-of-view jumps around quite a bit between it’s four leads- Deborah, Sheila, Hawker, and Zann’s Lisa (who is conveniently forgotten once Sheila and Deborah are in peril), but that, I think works to its strength. At this point in time, two women sharing the role of the heroine was practically unheard of (outside of Psycho, where it was the only option after Janet Leigh’s exit), and I love the fact that Visiting Hours starts with one heroine and then focuses on another for a good portion of the movie. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that Linda Purl, despite appearing twenty minutes later than Grant, has just as much if not more screentime than the latter.

During the final third (the climax begins in Sheila’s home and follows her to the hospital, where Hawker plans to sneak up to Deborah), the movie is pretty evenly split between our two leading ladies.

Michael Ironside, as stated above, is a truly chilling villain, when he isn’t being a complete moron. Linda Purl is cute and plucky as the frantic Sheila, and Lee Grant is effective as Deborah.

This is a very underrated horror film in my opinion, and while it is no classic, it is DEFINITELY worth a watch.

–Joshua Dean

This review is courtesy of the Slasher Studios Horror Film Club.

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Underrated 80’s Slasher: “The Prey” (1984) Review

Slasher StudiosPrey (1984)

“It’s not human, and it’s got an axe!” Well, I suppose it does have an axe at the start, but burns or no burns, it’s still a disfigured gypsy boy! 1984’s The Prey is one that has earned a soft spot with me ever since I first tracked it down 5 years ago. It’s a classic slasher tale of young adults roughing it in the great outdoors around a campfire and relaxing while an unseen killer picks them off one by one during the course of two days. Obviously shot in the years between 1978 and 1980, it took a while for this to find a release, and when it did, was trimmed of a good hunk of backstory originally filled with aggressive nudity and a reason for the murders taking place. Not that it was needed. The cut form that this films most commonly lives in is fine on its own and keeps the runtime at a brisk 80 minutes.

Sadly, this never receives the loving that it truly should. If people commend Halloween for being simplistic, why brain this one on the rocks? Often criticized for its pace and inserts of nature footage, I fail to see the problem that people have with this aspect of the movie. As if the forest being shot in wasn’t gorgeous enough, the extra bits of insects and wildlife going about their nightly duties add a grounding to the film that captures what many are unable to do while in your own home. The shots don’t even last for THAT long, and the overall pacing isn’t an issue with me whatsoever. When you have lovable characters like the mirror-obsessed city gal Gail and the dopey banjo-playing ranger Mark who tells jokes to animal friends, I fail to grasp what detestable being others appear to rag on.

The kills are bloody in variety, the cast is fun to watch interact & the score hits you over the head with its outlandish angry vibe. What’s not to love? The story isn’t convoluted by annoying uninteresting subplots and it ends on a downbeat note that The Dorm That Dripped Blood would be proud of. I have a handful of beloved slashers that simply won’t work over the majority’s hearts, but this one takes the cake with these frequent minor complaints and a rating of just barely over 3 at IMDb (though those should always be taken with a grain of salt). Give it some time and you’ll see how this criminally underrated backwoods slasher is far more deserving of a place with the modest entries from the era.

—Josh Gratton

This review is courtesy of the Slasher Studios Horror Film Club.

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