Welcome to a brand new Inspiring Scares here at Slasher Studios. Today we have a piece from horror writer Dave Kaye. Name sound familiar? Good! He’s one of the hosts of our podcast (Slasher Studios Horror Webcast) and he has contributed many of the best reviews for the Slasher Studios site. Today is taking a look at one of my all time favorite slasher films. Are you ready to celebrate Christmas a little early this year?

Released in 1974 Black Christmas has gained a massive cult following over the years and is now rightfully seen as a horror classic and while I hold the film in high regard I don’t hold it as high as some fans of the movie do. John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween is often cited as the first slasher film and the one that paved the way for the slasher flicks of the 80s; the latter is fairly accurate, but not the former. There were other slasher flicks prior to Halloween with Black Christmas being one of them and one can even cite the Gialli as an inspiration for many slasher flicks since they two have a lot in common in the basic structure, but it was Halloween even if not the first slasher was the one that made a whole lot of money opening the door for the slasher flick.

Black Christmas and Halloween often get compared with some people calling Halloween a knock off film, which really isn’t true. Both films focus on suspense and tension rather than action and gore, but the truth is both films are actually quite different and any similarities aren’t that close for Halloween to be called a knock off film. Like I said they have a few things in common, but the basic style of the films are quite different. Bob Clark once stated he told John Carpenter about doing a sequel where the killer breaks out of an insane asylum, but it was Irwin Yablans who came up with the Halloween setting not Carpenter or Debra Hill and while I’m not calling Bob Clark a liar and even he’s gone back on what he said, but I don’t think Carpenter stole anything from Bob Clark.

Black Christmas is a style of film that sadly is mostly forgotten in the days of more violence and more gore and less on suspense. As much as I loved the 80s the decade started off great, but soon drifted off into mindless violence, but even with that the 80s was still an excellent era for the horror genre, but nothing can top the 70s. What I loved about 70s horror is not only were these movies horror flicks, but they also had a touch of drama and in the case of Black Christmas also a little bit of comedy.

The screenplay by Roy Moore is very smart and creative; the script has a simple idea, but is very well thought out and relies more on being subtle rather than spelling out everything for the audience. The “Billy” character is a mystery, which really makes things chilling. You can get some info based on the phone calls, but then again how much of this is true and how much are the ramblings of a lunatic? Billy’s motives are never made clear and sometimes that can slightly hinder a movie when nothing is explained, but when too much is explained the mystery is taken away, but Roy Moore gives just enough detail to retain the mystery of the villain.

I personally believe that Roy Moore’s intention with the phone calls is to give the viewer some insight to the character of Billy and what he’s saying as incoherent as it is has something to do with his past and I think the final outcome is highly effective, but you can also simply see it as some lunatic that has such a warped mind and his rants mean nothing, but the script was really intelligent. Even though I think the things Billy says has some kind of meaning he’s still a mystery; where did Billy come from? Does he go from town to town stalking and killing people to recreate a murder from the past? Or does the sorority house have some kind of meaning for him and it’s obvious Billy is insane, but does he have moments where he can maybe sort of function in reality? Did he possibly escape from an asylum? You can let your mind run away with you while watching the movie and that makes things more effective, but Roy Moore also delivers just enough insight that we don’t feel as if it’s a cop out.

The characters each have their own identity and while they may not have the most depth they aren’t however faceless victims, which for me always makes a movie better since if we at least care for the characters a little bit it makes the suspense play out much better. Besides writing a solid horror flick, Roy Moore also is able to add some drama and comedic elements and they all work and never feel out of place.

I would hate for people to judge Bob Clark on his later flicks such as Baby Geniuses as well as The Karate Dog; there is no doubt these movies were horrid, but with Black Christmas and Deathdream, Clark proved himself a worthy filmmaker. Maybe he just got lucky? I don’t have the answer for that, but Black Christmas is prime example on how to make a chilling horror flick and sadly this is something we hardly see anymore. As much as I love the 80s that did start using nudity and gore to make up for weak filmmaking. From the very opening scene Bob Clark sets a tone and is able to deliver some of the best feel of tension in any horror flick I’ve ever seen; some people might see Black Christmas as slow paced, but I disagree. To me a slow paced movie is one where there are scenes in which the movie doesn’t move forward. Every scene in Black Christmas somehow moves the movie forward in either story, characters or suspense.

I’m not sure what happend to Bob Clark with his later movies, but with Black Christmas he hits all the right notes as the movie has this amazing sense of dread that is present through-out the entire movie and even if a scene or two might be a little slow it never gets boring due to the eerie feel. I’ve seen a lot of horror flicks in my life and very few have managed to be as chilling as Black Christmas. That’s why I go back to what I said earlier on how I’d hate for people to judge Bob Clark on some of his later films since at one point he made some classics of the horror genre. Tragically Bob Clark was killed in a car accident with his son in 2007 by a drunk driver, but his legacy will forever live on with Black Christmas, which is prime example on how to make a horror movie. I’d advise any filmmaker to study Black Christmas to learn how to structure a movie.

Unlike most films of its type Black Christmas has solid acting and cult Icon John Saxon delivers an excellent performance, Olivia Hussey makes for an excellent and sympathetic final girl and Keir Dullea is rather creepy in another excellent performance in Black Christmas, but it’s Margot Kidder and Marian Waldman that really stand out with hysterical performances.

Overall Black Christmas is one of the more chilling horror movies you’ll see and what it lacks in violence it more than makes up for with suspense and a chilling feel through-out and Billy makes for one of the most chilling villains in any horror film. Its movies like Black Christmas that reminds me why I love the horror genre as much as I do.

At Slasher Studios we are joined by fellow filmmaker John Miller as he discusses the night that changed his life forever in a brand new Inspiring Scares edition of Slasher Studios.

“I can still vividly recall the final moments of my eleventh birthday party. My father swaggering towards his pickup truck, mullet swaying in the breeze and looking back to announce, “I’m goin to the video store to get some movies.”

Hard telling what I got as gifts that year, probably some dollar store action figures and a bunch of lame t-shirts that I never wore. But what I will never forget is the video store haul my pops unloaded on myself and a couple of unsuspecting friends that evening. In those days video stores were split between the pricier new release sections and the economically friendlier older titles that were broken up between genres. Because the craze was to watch the newest releases, our neighborhood store Westcoast Video ran a 3 for $3 gimmick to push the older videos. My father, the cheapskate that he is took the route of the $3 special. A brilliant move in retrospect. The selection that evening was RoboCop (which in itself is a fucking masterpiece), The Lost Boys and The Monster Squad.

One thing you gotta understand about my pops is that he wasn’t an educated man and he wasn’t a film snob, he was just a blue collar film buff that grasped the effectiveness of keeping tweens entertained with pizza, violence and monsters. We warmed up that evening with Robocop before creeping towards the midnight hour with The Lost Boys.

From the moment I heard Echo and The Bunnymens “People Are Strange” playing over scenes of punks and carnies I was hooked. Although familiar with horror at this point I had never really gravitated towards it, preferring comic books, cartoons and demented Fox Television comedies instead. The Lost Boys could almost be considered my gateway drug into the genre. Moreso, it was the moment I said to myself, “damn I wanna do that!”

Although my taste have matured a bit with age, having discovered the likes of Fulci, Argento, Hooper, Carpenter, Craven, Cronenberg, Romero, etc. I still find myself rediscovering The Lost Boys all these years later. I still wish I had made cool friends like The Frog Brothers and the scene inside of the subterranean hideout with the maggots still gets to me. Hell, despite all of the gory, outrageous shit I’ve seen over the years one of my favorite cinematic moments of all time will always be the initiation scene, which is about as poetically violent as you could ever wish for in a horror film.

I view The Lost Boys as being the type of crossover film that can be enjoyed by a cult movie buff or an average Joe in search of 90 minutes of escapism. That type of appeal isn’t lost on me. As an artist, writer and filmmaker I try to be just artistic enough to get my point across but never push it so far as to overreach or come across as heavy handed. The point is to have fun and entertainment value should always come first.

On a side note. Filmmaking isn’t the only part of my life that this film has influenced. My dream has always been to find the love of my life in similar fashion as Michael and Star. Gazing across a crowd, smiling, chasing, etc. It’s never come to fruition and likely never will, but I did come close once having met stripper in a dive bar called Durty Nellys. Unfortunately had she been a vampire it would have been an upgrade, she even attempted to stab me after a Vodka and Oxycodone binge. But that’s a tale for another day.

In the mean time check out my own vampire film, Hennessy x Red.”

Latest episode of The Sleaze Box Halloween special

Vampire Short Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8F_o5RZwOA

We have for you horror fans a brand new short but very sweet Inspiring Scares story from horror filmmaker Shawn Burkett. Burkett is the director of the “Panty Raid” segment on a brand new “Theatre of the Deranged II” due out next year. He also wrote and directed the thriller “The Sleeping Soul.”

“Ti West’s “The House Of The Devil” is the film that gave me the push I needed to switch from music to film making. Touring in a band was an amazing experience, but after ten years and not feeling like I had accomplished anything, I needed a change. I was completely torn, and couldn’t decide what to do. I came across The House Of The Devil @ a Blockbuster and figure I’d give it a shot “since I had never heard of it before” I went home and watched it, and as the credits rolled I knew what I truly wanted. Every time I watch this film, I appreciate it more and more. It has a strong story line, and an epic 80’s look and sense of cinematography. It’s minimalistic and suspenseful but at the same time, gritty and raw. This was the first Ti West film I had seen but not the last, and I have yet to be disappointed.”

Shawn Burkett on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4624934/

October is now half way over which makes Slasher Studios both excited for Halloween and sad that winter is right around the corner. For our brand new Inspiring Scares edition we are taking a look at filmmaker Gordon Bressack (writer of Pinky & The Brain and Animaniacs) who has a new thriller coming out soon entitled KEEPER. Check out his classic tale before one one of the very first horror movies released.

“The horrors of childhood are the horrors that stay with you for the rest of your life. We remember nightmares we had when we were five years old and though the images no longer frighten us how well we remember the sheer dread of those sleepless nights. I first saw Frankenstein as a young child and I don’t think any subsequent horror in my life could match the sheer terror of that first encounter with unimaginable horror. The scene when the monster appears in the doorway back to camera and slowly turns around to reveal Karloff in that amazing makeup, the half-lidded eyes that could only be the eyes of a dead man, the silence of the moment unembellished by any musical underscoring. sent shivers down my five year old spine.

When you would have your nightmares your mother would comfort you and make you feel safe, but there is no safety for children in Frankenstein. I watched with abject fear and terror as the little girl, Maria, is killed, however innocently, by the monster. No happy comfortable end of the nightmare for that kid!

Finally, the scene when the drugged monster is lying on the slab about to be dissected and he slowly regains consciousness and his hand begins to move toward the throat of the old doctor is nothing short of nailbiting. This same effect was used a year or so later in The Mummy when Karloff comes alive. The slow building of suspense and horror is unmatched by any of today’s forays into the macabre.

I know younger fans poo poo the older films first of all because they’re old, in black and white and the acting is rather arch, but seen through the eyes of a child, these are great films, ultimately creepy and actual scary films and Frankenstein is the very best of them.

If the hallmark of a horror movie is how much it scared you I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared watching any movie since. That may be because I’m older now or it may be that director James Whale captured the perfect horrific image in that 1930 movie.”

Gordon Bressack’s IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107780/