Slasher Fans Unite: The Top 10 Slashers of All Time

Slasher Studios*Great Horror

Best Slashers

Earlier this month we asked YOU the slasher fan to decide what slasher flicks would make the top 20 slashers of all time. Last Friday we revealed numbers 11 through 20 on the list and now we are back with the ultimate top 10. Any surprises? Any films that should be on this list but aren’t or films that you believe are on this list but shouldn’t be? We want to know what YOU think! Now, we have the top 10 slashers of all time. The gore, the merrier.

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#10-PSYCHO (1960)
The granddaddy of all slasher films. Fifty years after thrilling audiences around the world, the film holds just as much of a punch as ever. An absolute classic that genre fans will still be talking about fifty years from now.

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#9-TERROR TRAIN (1980)
I’ve loved this slasher since I first saw it as a young child but I am honestly shocked it ranked this high. It appears that slasher fans prefer this one to the more often cited PROM NIGHT. Love the villain, love the revenge, love the setting. Also, the new HD remaster from Scream Factory is beautiful.

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#8-SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)
The slasher with the best twist ending in the history of umm..ever?! Campy, over-the-top, and lots of fun with a nice little mean streak.

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#7-THE BURNING (1981)
Why is it one of my favorite slashers of the 1980′s? Simple. The deaths. And I do mean the deaths. The deaths in this splatter film have to be seen to be believed. Everything that you would want to see with garden sheers to nubile teens are done to extraordinary effect.

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#6-BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
Black Christmas’ power is impossible to deny; its characters are compelling, the imagery poignant, and the acting top-notch. If you haven’t seen it yet, you are in for one scary “Christmas” treat.

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#5-THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
From the weird & creepy music to the seriously frightening screams of Leatherface, Massacre is one of the scariest films you could ever see.

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#4-SCREAM (1996)
As Brian C. Tyler says in his review of the film for Slasher Studios, “Everything from the opening title with the sound of a phone ringing to the quick scare at the very end is full of great storytelling, lovable characters (and actors), lots of tension, great dialog, clever film references and most importantly… lots of blood.”

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#3-FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
This little film was the perfect storm story, setting, characters and score. When these main aspects of a film are working together, there is not much that can go wrong. Slasher fans always hav a great time with Friday The 13th and many films owe much to the one.

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#2-A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an unbelievably original, terrifyingly realistic, and overall terrifying that, despite a weak ending, is one of the best horror flicks of the quarter of a century.

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#1-HALLOWEEN (1978)
As Joshua Dean states in his review for Halloween at Slasher Studios, “While Black Christmas may have done the “young people stalked by a killer” concept first, Halloween takes it into a different direction. It’s not really a slasher film. It’s very much a one-on-one stalker movie until the final third of the film. These girls just happened to catch the psychotic killer’s eye… and now he is fixed on them. And while directly inspired by Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” Halloween inspired scores of slasher films itself, starting with the more straight-forward “Friday the 13th” (a legend in its own right).”

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Slasher Studios Triple Feature With Live Q&A This Friday at Indiehorror.tv

Slasher Studios*Blood Brothers

This Friday join Slasher Studios as we watch our three short films, Blood Brothers, Teddy, and Popularity Killer, with you online live with a live Q&A after. The slasher fun doesn’t end there as our good friend Lucas Masson will be showing his slasher short Baby-Sitting (short film) and having a live Q&A as well. It’s going to be a night to dismember!

The complete schedule:
7:00pm EST – Living Dead Paranormal: Waverly Hills Sanitarium – The Return Investigation
7:30pm EST – Confessions of a Horror Baby: Deadly Games
8:00pm EST – Bumbloods: Three’s Company
8:10pm EST – The Housewife Slasher
9:40pm EST – OTHER
9:55pm EST (SHORT 5 MINUTE INTERMISSION)
10:00pm EST – Slasher Studios Presents Blood Brothers
10:10pm EST – Popularity Killer
10:30pm EST – Teddy
10:42pm EST – DIRECTOR’S CHAT WITH STEVE GOLTZ & KEVIN SOMMERFIELD FROM Slasher Studios
11:25pm EST (SHORT 5 MINUTE INTERMISSION)
11:30pm EST РLa Chąne
11:45pm EST – Baby-Sitting (short film)
12:05am EST – DIRECTOR’S CHAT WITH XAVIER CAZAUX-ZAGO of LA CHAINE & LUCAS MASSON OF BABY-SITTING
12:50am EST – Bloodlines
1:20am EST – DEER HEAD VALLEY

To join in on the slasher fun Friday night, simply click on the link below:
http://www.indiehorror.tv/

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The Best of the Horror Best: The FRIGHT METER AWARD Nominations Are In

Slasher Studios*Horror

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Come awards time, most horror movies (read: ALL horror movies) are shut out from the major awards circuit. What do horror fans have to look forward to? The Fright Meter Awards of course! Straight from the Fright Meter Awards site, “The Fright Meter Awards are presented annually by the Fright Meter Awards Organization, an organization dedicated solely to honoring and recognizing excellence within the horror genre. The nominations and winners are determined by members of the Fright Meter Awards Organization. Members will consist of horror fans, bloggers, actors, producers, directors, and others, making the Fright Meter Awards truly the most prestigious horror award given. The Fright Meter Awards aim to select and nominate worthy films regardless of budget, means of release, or popularity.” If that doesn’t excite the major horror fan in all of us, you need to have your pulse check. This year is extra special to Slasher Studios because WE are part of the awards committee and some of our selections for the very best in the year of horror are displayed below. Here are the nominees for the best of the best in the horror genre for the year 2012. What are your picks?

Best Cinematography
The Cabin in the Woods (Peter Deming)
Prometheus (Dariusz Wolski)
The Raven (Danny Ruhlmann)
Sinister (Chris Norr)
The Woman in Black (Tim Maurice-Jones)

Best Editing
The Bay (Aaron Yanes)
The Cabin In The Woods (Lisa Lassek)
Excision (Steve Ansell & Yvonne Valdez)
Sinister (Frederic Thoraval)
V/H/S (Joe Gressis)

Best Score
The Cabin in the Woods (David Julyan)
Excision (Steve Damstra II & Mads Heldtberg)
Silent Hill: Revelation (Jeff Danna & Akira Yamaoka)
Sinister (Christopher Young)
The Woman in Black (Marco Beltrami)

Best Make Up/Special Effects
The Cabin In The Woods
Excision
Prometheus
Silent Hill: Revelation
Sinister

Best Screenplay
Absentia written by Mike Flanagan
The Cabin in the Woods written by Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Detention written by Joseph Kahn & Mark Palermo
Excision written by Richard Bates Jr.
The Loved Ones written by Sean Byrne

Best Ensemble
The Cabin In The Woods (Amy Acker, Kristen Connolly, Tim De Zarn, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Richard Jenkins, Fran Kranz, Sigourney Weaver, Bradley Whitford)
Chained (Vincent D’Onofrio, Eamon Farren, Conor Leslie)
Excision (Roger Bart, Traci Lords, AnnaLynne McCord, Ariel Winter)
The Loved Ones (John Brumpton, Robin McLeavy, Jessica McNamee, Xavier Samuel, Victoria Thaine)
Lovely Molly (Ken Arnold, Alexandra Holden, Johnny Lewis, Gretchen Lodge)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
MyAnna Buring, Kill List (as Shel)
Suzan Crowley, The Devil Inside (as Maria Rossi)
Jodelle Ferland, The Tall Man (as Jenny)
Alexandra Holden, Lovely Molly (as Hannah)
Traci Lords, Excision (as Phyllis)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role
John Brumpton, The Loved Ones (as Daddy)
Michael Fassbender, Prometheus (as David)
Richard Jenkins, The Cabin In The Woods (as Sitterson)
Matthew Kennedy, Father’s Day (as Father John Sullivan)
Fran Kranz, The Cabin In The Woods (as Marty)

Best Actor In A Leading Role
John Cusack, The Raven (as Edgar Allen Poe)
Vincent D’Onofrio, Chained (as Bob)
Ethan Hawke, Sinister (as Ellison Oswalt)
Neil Maskell, Kill List (as Jay)
Daniel Radcliffe, The Woman In Black (as Arthur Kipps)

Best Director
Richard Bates Jr., Excision
Sean Byrne, The Loved Ones
Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods
Joseph Kahn, Detention
Ti West, The Innkeepers

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Gretchen Lodge, Lovely Molly (as Molly)
AnnaLynne McCord, Excision (as Pauline)
Robin McLeavy, The Loved Ones (as Lola)
Elizabeth Olsen, Silent House (as Sarah)
Sara Paxton, The Innkeepers (as Claire)

Best Horror Movie
The Cabin in the Woods
Detention
Excision
The Loved Ones
Sinister

Make sure to like the Fright Meter Awards on Facebook for the all the horror award updates.

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Unsettling “My Name is A by Anonymous” Not For Casual Viewers

Slasher StudiosMy Name is A by Anonymous

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Written and directed by Shane Ryan, My Name Is A explores the lives of a few average young and teenage girls. Ryan dives into their problems that my not be seen from the surface. This is a dark film that includes rape, violence, and even eating disorders. The characters in this film all come from differing backgrounds and social statuses, but as each of their stories are told individually, they all converge sooner or later.

The story has the ability to drag as it starts out slow and maintains that lingering speed for the most part. This kind of pacing is not for everyone and is difficult to harness for many filmmakers, but in a film with such depressing topics, a BAM-BAM-BAM editing pace would just not work. Apart from the actual content of the film, Ryan choose some very unique options regarding film style. If you are into the classic film style of masters and medium shots followed by close-ups, then My Name Is A will not be your cup of tea. The film cuts from a number of different cameras including the use of a cheap flip cam style camera. The girls in the film use these small handheld cameras, so it was a interesting and fun choice to see their actual point of view on life. So, from the full frame footage, we may cut to the DP’s widescreen camera that could be either a very ascetically pleasing shot or even a jerky, all over the place shot.

It camera work used in this film is what sets it apart from others. It is unique and ever-changing and helps keep the attention of the audience. With the slow pacing and long scenes, this film benefits greatly from the simple, yet odd filming style. Many times when I see an indy film that uses the handheld way of filming, it’s obvious that the creators were looking for the easy way out. Trying to copy ways of Blair Witch and others alike, many filmmakers feel that if they own a camera, then they can make a cheap and quick movie. I do not however believe this is the case with Shane Ryan. It is plain to see that this project was well thought out and meticulously designed.

This film is not going to be embraced by the general public. The topics at hand are not easy to view and the and film style can be argued about. But, is you think you can swallow this pill, then by all means check out this indy flick. Support of independent films is needed now, more than ever.

2.5

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Slasher Fans Unite: Top 20 Slashers of All Time (Part One)

Slasher Studios*Great Horror

The results are in everyone! We have for you today the top 20 slashers of all time as decided by YOU, the slasher fans. We will be looking at numbers 20 through 11 and next Friday we will count down the top 10 best slashers of all time! Are you ready for a blood red Christmas?

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#20–HELL NIGHT (1980)
A very underrated Linda Blair slasher that is heavy on atmosphere and light on gore. Lots of fun with a great final chase scene.

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#19–HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1983)
A “classy” slasher that has aged far better than most of the horror films from the same era. Great characters and a wonderful setting help make this a slasher to die for.

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#18–HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981)
Great ad campaign, likable characters, and some pretty kick-ass deaths make this “Birthday” one to remember.

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#17–SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982)
You bring the pizza, I’ll bring a drill. The first slasher on our list not to take itself completely seriously, “Massacre” is tongue-in-cheek but delivers the bloody goods.

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#16–FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (!986)
Quite possibly the strangest slasher on this top 20 list, I love JASON LIVES as much as the next slasher fan but didn’t know there was so much love for this comedy-horror sequel. Maybe it’s Megan?

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#15–THE PROWLER (1981)
A grisly and mean spirited slasher with a lot of punch and a lot of blood. Great final girl and amazing Tom Savini fx make this slasher flick a must see.

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#14–SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT (1984)
The controversial Christmas slasher that was pulled from theatrical release by TriStar after two weeks when an angry mob of parents protested at the theater. One of the more sympathetic killers of all time and it is now available again on DVD to purchase for the first time in years.

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#13–MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981)
Another mean spirited slasher, “Valentine” was raped by the MPAA upon release and the uncut version is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Highly recommended stuff for those that love holiday horror.

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#12–FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II (1981)
My favorite of the “Friday” sequels and it looks like you slasher fans agree. A scary potato sack Jason, a wonderful final girl in for the form of Ginny (played by the uber-underrated Amy Steel), and a jump-out-of-your-seat ending make this a near perfect slasher sequel.

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#11–PROM NIGHT (1980)
One of the better revenge slashers from the early 80’s with a great disco prom and killer theme song. Jamie Lee Curtis’ best horror performance outside of Laurie Strode and the ending is chilling.

There you have it slasher fans, numbers 11-20 on the top 20 slashers of all time. Make sure to check us out next Friday for the Top 10 slashers of all time. Until then, have a weekend filled with slashers!

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Support Our First Slasher Feature: “Don’t Go to the Reunion” Now on Kickstarter

Slasher Studios*Don't Go to the Reunion

Don'tGototheReunion(HappyBdayposter)

We need your help slasher fans!! Are you ready for our first ever Slasher Studios feature film?!? Get ready for DON’T GO TO THE REUNION. DON’T GO TO THE REUNION is an homage to some of our favorite revenge slashers of the 1980′s. Do you love “Slaughter High”, “Terror Train”, “Happy Birthday to Me”, and “Prom Night”? Good, because we do too and we plan to play homage to all of them. Our story centers around a misfit named Scott who is teased by the popular students in school. When the popular kids play a prank on him, he feels as though his life is ruined. Flash forward ten years and the gang is back for the class reunion. Little do they know that someone is waiting for them. Is Scott back for revenge? Will they survive the night to find out?

After making three successful short films including TEDDY, POPULARITY KILLER, and BLOOD BROTHERS, Slasher Studios is ready to brand out into their very first slasher feature. This is our cinematic love letter to anything and everything that we love in 80’s slashers. Ready for a return to likable characters, practical effects (NO CGI to be found here), and an all around fun attitude? Excellent, because so are we!

We are looking to raise $10,000 to make our 90 page script which will pay for lodging for our actors, location rental, practical effects, equipment rental, and transportation and food. We will start filming late April-early May to have the film released in theaters and on dvd in October 2013. YOU will be the first ones to see our love letter to the horror genre. We can’t do this without you and we owe our previous films to YOU. Get ready for some carnage candy.

To become a Don’t Go to the Reunion backer and receive some amazing rewards check out the officially kickstarter page:
Don’t Go to the Reunion Kickstarter

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Horribly Entertaining Holiday Horror Movies: “Elves” (1989) Review

Slasher Studios*Holiday Horror

Elves is about an elaborate plot cooked up by the Nazis to breed a superhuman by having a teenage virgin who is the product of incest mate with a weird-looking, killer elf. Which there is only one of; there are no elves in Elves. Just one shitty elf puppet in a Santa hat who can barely open and close its mouth. It’s kind of a bad plan on the Nazis’ part, and takes forever. One of the soldiers has to have a daughter, wait until she’s breeding age, then rape her and get her pregnant, to produce the child of incest. Which, if they’re trying to create superhumans, I’m fairly certain incestuous reproduction is not the secret to stronger, more evolutionarily developed stock.

So then, the Nazi has to wait for the incest baby to be born, wait for her to become a teenager, and then just hope that she and her friends accidentally summon the elf during a witchy anti-Christmas forest ritual. Which they do, obviously, but regardless, it’s already 1989. The war is long over, and this killer elf is no match for an aspiring department store Santa (he can’t seem to actually get the job) played by Dan Haggerty, who helps the teenage incest daughter fight the elf and her Nazi grandfather/father. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but those Nazi folk had some terrible ideas. And I am absolutely blaming the fictional Nazis in the movie for such bad plotting, and not the filmmakers, who made an amazingly entertaining film. I fucking love this movie. Please, have yourself a Nazi little Christmas, and treat yourself to this classic tale of Christmas delight!

–Austin Wolf-Sothern

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Slasher Studios 2012 Horror Year in Review

Slasher Studios*Year in Review

It has been quite the year in horror, hasn’t it? I was going to wait until the end of the month to post my Horror Year in Review. Then I got to thinking, there is not a single horror movie coming out from now until the end of the month receiving any buzz, so why wait? NOTE: If an awesomely great and insanely bad horror movie does find its release in the next two weeks, I will update this list. This isn’t just an ordinary year in review list. I am posting my best of and worst of picks but I also have a slew of various categories up for debate. Not all of you are going to agree on these choices. I have a few some of you out there are going to HATE my pick for Best of 2012 and there are some of you out there that are going to cringe at my pick for Biggest Letdown. Hate my picks and want to share your own? I want to hear your picks for the Horror Year in Review. Bring on the hate…

Best Horror Movie of the Year: DETENTION

The phrase “love it or hate it” is overused when it comes to describing films in general. The term is too often applied without much care and is a way to separate oneself from the masses. Nonetheless, I WILL use the “love it or hate it” phrase because nothing else can possibly describe it. The mind fuck movie of the year. “Love it or hate it”, you’ve never seen anything like this before. A guy with the tv for a hand, a time traveling bear, a mother and daughter that switch bodies, UFOs, meteors, parallel time lines? It’s all here in one of the strangest movies that you will see all year. A test to see if you will like this film, when a confrontation gets ugly a reply to the bully is, “Sorry, I gotta go. Hotel for Dogs is on cable.” Make you laugh or smile a little? Well then, “Detention” is the movie for you. Loaded with gore, strong performances by a more than capable cast, one kicking soundtrack, and more pop cultural references than you can shake a stick at…”Detention” is “Scream” meets “Scott Pilgram” with a dash or two of “Kaboom?” It makes for one wild cocktail. Want a drink? I certainly took in this delicious beverage and haven’t stopped thinking about it 6 months after watching it.

Other Amazing Horror Movies: Dead Weight, Found, The Innkeepers, Mother’s Day, Paranorman, The Sleeper, Silent House, Silent Night

Best Horror Short of the Year: BABY-SITTING

“Baby-Sitting” just might be the best short film I have ever seen and this is coming from someone who has seen hundreds of short films. Loved the opening Grindhouse style credits, the score is playful yet very sinister and creepy, and the children were deliciously evil without being over-the-top. The use of practical gore effects had me with my mouth agasp for the last half of the film. As if that wasn’t great enough, the use of dark humor had me smiling throughout (there is a scene involving a boy scout that is especially deliciously deranged). I seriously loved every moment of the film and my only criticism is I wish it were longer. I am extremely impressed and cannot wait to see what director/writer Lucas Masson has in store for slasher fans. He has one sick and twisted mind and hopefully that never changes. After “High Tension,” “Inside,” “Martyrs,” and now this, can we all agree that French know where it is at when it comes to horror today?

Other Kick-Ass Horror Shorts: Doll-Boy, Dummy, Familiar, The Keeper, Other

Worst Horror Movie of the Year: ATM

A film so bad that I didn’t even care to do a full review for it. Three friends are trapped at an ATM while a killer waits outside for them to make a fatal move. An intriguing premise is wasted with some illogical plot turns and some abysmal acting. The production values are solid and there is some solid suspense in the first act but none of that matters when the characters act as stupidly as these three. Special bonus points to Josh Peck as the asshole Corey who takes far too long to die. Avoid like the plague.

Other Awful Horror Movies: Area 407, The Devil Inside, The Moth Diaries, Paranormal Activity 4, Rosewood Lane

Biggest Horror Letdown of the Year: CABIN IN THE WOODS

I can understand and appreciate why people love this horror movie. It’s something different. It isn’t PG-13 and it isn’t a remake. Nonetheless, I was left quite cold. This film attempts to be a clever horror-comedy packed with meta self awareness. Clever it is. Funny or scary? Not so much. This film is being billed as “Scream” for the next generation. That it is not. “Scream”, for all its meta self awareness was both scary and funny as hell. Everything and everyone associated with this picture appear to either be trying far too hard or not enough, I’m not exactly sure which. I know I am in the minority here so if you have a desire to see this film by all means go out there and enjoy the hell out of it. I wanted to and didn’t. I appreciate it when any horror movie gets recognition and acclaim. I love to see horror movies that make people fall in love with genre again. If I didn’t fall in love with this one, that shouldn’t stop you. That said, I will probably never watch this film again.

Another Bummer Horror: V/H/S

Biggest Horror Surprise: PIRANHA 3DD

After months of bad press, I was expecting this one to be quite the stinker. While 90% of the horror community hated this sequel with a passion, I actually found a lot to enjoy. “Piranha 3DD” not “Schindler’s List.” You want big breasted girls being torn apart by piranhas? You want David Hasselholff running in slow motion to the Baywatch theme to save a drowning ginger boy? You want the death of not one but TWO annoying kids played up for two of the biggest laughs in the movie? Well, you get all of this and a hell of a lot more. Rating a movie like “Piranha 3DD” is a different proposition. The film itself is not nearly as good as the original remake (how’s that for an oxymoron?) but I would argue that this sequel is a hell of a lot more fun. Take out the 13 minute credits (stay for them, there are some funny bloopers and behind the scenes video) and you are left with a 70 minute nonstop rollercoaster ride that is over before you can even begin to think of the bad acting and nonsensical plot developments. “Piranha 3DD” left me craving another sequel and isn’t that the best thing you can say about a cheesy horror flick?

Other Horror Surprises: The Gremlin, Girls Gone Dead, Silent House, Silent Night

Best Horror Trend: KILLING KIDS

Just when I thought horror films were becoming a bit too politically correct, 2012 came along to show me that killing kids in horror movies is not only okay but also hilarious if done right. Films like “Baby-Sitting,” “Piranha 3DD,” and “Silent Night” all played up the death of children for cheap laughs. In every single one of the these movies, the scenes were delciously over-the-top and in the most bad taste possible. Horror should be about pushing the envelope and I’m glad these films didn’t shy away from that. Here is hoping we see more kids dying on screen in horror in 2013.

There you go, some of my random thoughts on the 2012 horror year. Now let’s bring on the gory goodness in 2013 with some more slashers. Please?! Movies like “Silent Night” deserve to have a nationwide release. Make it happen studios!

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