Slasher films.
A subgenre of horror both maligned and beloved, it’s high time we took a stab at it.
Along the way we have dedicated episodes to the Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises which is a tipoff that we are fans of the format but we have never focused specifically on the history of the genre and the template upon which they are built. The whole crew got together to talk slashers and in this first instalment we spend time discussing the nostalgia factor of the prime era 1978 through 1986, debate where credit (blame) should be placed for inspiring the subgenre, and attempt to define the characteristics of what makes up the slasher formula. Did Agatha Christie originate the slasher? Why was the subgenre so prevalent in the 80′s? Is Psycho a slasher film? These and many more topics were discussed in our general genre talk. Specific titles to come next week.
Schlock corner was truly frightening this week as we attempted to do math on the podcast cracking the slasher film body count formula (it’s remarkably accurate). Things wrap up with a response to a blog editorial. Moral of the story – if you enjoy the podcast, please tell a friend (and thanks for listening).
And Then There Were None (1945):
As always we welcome your comments:
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when you were talking about Psycho not being a slasher film you gave the reason that there was a twist at the end. I would argue that the first Friday the 13th has a very similar twist, it’s Jason’s mother killing everyone.
Just a comment about that guy saying he won’t listen any more due to Anthony flip flopping or some shit and then saying on their blog not to listen to you anymore…that’s total horse shit and that one sided thinking is such a problem in the horror community. I’ve only recently found your podcast and have been listening to back episodes constantly at work over the past few months. There are several times I haven’t agreed with one opinion or the other. but that’s great to me. Who wants to hear anything where everyone is of the same opinion. If I wanted to listen to that I’d just talk to myself all day.
Keep up the great work guys and I look forward to many more podcasts.
Thanks
Carl
The writer who was responsible for the twist in the first friday is Victor Miller. The roles are reversed as is the twist and the name Jason was suppose to be Josh, but that didn’t sound right so Victor Miller changed it to Jason because of a mean kid in school he knew and the name Jason sounded more menacing. I learned this from the documentary called his name was JASON. Check it out cause it’s cool.
Guys please do not let random naysayers and their negativity diminish what you do in the slightest. The dedication to just sit down together, every week, and do a somewhat formatted show is already something that few seem to achieve, and especially not with the consistent sense of enjoyment and spirit that you guys bring to the show.
To take anyone who provides this sort of entertainment regularly with little or no financial recompense to task for expressing opinions on a show is in my mind much like saying you hate Mother Theresa because you got some rice you didn’t like from her once.
I respected Barry’s opinion because I think he has a point that 7even’s visual style and darkness had a definitive effect on films that followed. I think there are any number of titles we could point to who’s effect was similar. I don’t hate the movie because of it, but I agree with Barry’s opinion on it’s aftereffects.
And as Ted said, opinions change over time. Those that don’t allow this to happen are usually called fanatics, in that their universe is set in stone. I myself often wondered how you could hate on Argento, but then hey one day here’s a whole episode about how good he is!
At any rate, keep up the good work guys. I make you a regular part of my week, and I deeply appreciate the chance to hear you guys shoot the shit, even if I wish most of the time I could jump in and shoot some too.