Slasher Flicks Discussion Thread

Guessing by your picture you're a fan of Scream. I personally really liked the original Scream movie a lot, as well as part 2, but couldn't stand the 3rd one. As far as a franchise goes it's probably one of the weaker slasher series since they weren't able to have a villain that spanned the entire series, since the masked killer is different every time. I have always really enjoyed the Halloween franchise, although without Donald Pleasance the sequels wouldn't have even been worth watching. 

The best slasher film has to be Halloween (1978) for me. No other slasher film - at least none of the ones I've seen so far - has managed to scare me as that film did. I think that's thanks to Carpenter's direction, but also Dean Cundey's excellent cinematography. 

Not sure what the best slasher franchise is though, as I haven't seen that many slasher films. The funny thing is that A Nightmare on Elm Street is (from what I've seen so far) the most consistently 'good' franchise, yet of the 'big three' slasher series (Halloween, Friday the 13th, ANoES), it's the one I care the least for. That probably has to do with the fact that I'm not a fan of Freddy.

I also love Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives, by far the best directed, written and possibly acted entry in that series. I really like that the filmmakers abandoned the boobs and blood for a moment to actually try to make a great film. How would you guys rank the Friday the 13th films? My ranking looks something like this:

1. Part 6

2. Part 2

3. Part 4

4. Friday the 13th (1980)

5. Freddy vs. Jason

6. Jason goes to Hell

7. Part 5

8. Jason X

9. Part 3

10. Part 7

11. Friday the 13th (2009)

12. Part 8

Thankskilling... lmao.  Watch it, you'll love it.  Horrible on purpose.  It's about a murderous turkey, but there's plenty of gore.  I am aware that this thread is about serious slasher movies, but still, it's worth watching for the humor alone.

Deny this poster... I DARE YOU.  Look it in the eye, and tell it you don't love it.

Okay question, if a there was a movie that fit all of the stereotypes of a slasher film but instead of girls the villain stalked cars and slashed their tires, would you count it as a slasher film?

Look at that engine oil flying everywhere... fuck yeah

^^^Yes.

Anyway, as for slasher films I like/dislike/whichever ...

As a kid, I really got off on the Friday the 13th movies; I liked the atmosphere -- well, the atmosphere in the first five entries, anyway -- I liked the whole hockey mask aesthetic with Jason, and I thought Jason was the most complex/sympathetic killer I'd seen in these kinds of films. As I grew older, though, the plotholes, gaping continuity errors, lacklustre writing, and flat characterization became evermore apparent to me.

Now, as an adult, while I still like the basic look of Jason -- Human Jason, that is; Zombie Jason looks like a walking pile of shit in a hockey mask -- I find the character himself a big fat cypher and the entire F13 franchise a mediocre waste of time.

Here's how I'd rate the series now:

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - 7/10

Friday the 13th (1980) - 6/10

Friday the 13th, Part II - 6/10

Friday the 13th, Part III - 6/10

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday - 6/10

Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives - 6/10

Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood - 6/10

Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - 5.5/10

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - 5/10

Jason X - 4/10 

With the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, while I was more-or-less indifferent to the series as a kid, these films -- depending on which entries in the series we're talking about -- have both improved and soured for me with time. Basically, I now only like the films Heather Langenkamp and Wes Craven were involved in; the rest -- excluding A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 -- are atrocious pieces of filth which only serve to piss me off for ruining the perfect ending of Part 3. 

Here's how I rate the ANOES films:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - 9/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - 9/10

New Nightmare - 8/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge - 6/10

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare - 5.5/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child - 4.5/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master - 4/10

As for Freddy vs.  Jason, I give it 3/10. It's garbage, pure and simple; Robert Englund should set himself afire for having agreed to participate in it.

As for other slasher films/series...

I'm pretty much indifferent to the Halloween franchise; I only really enjoyed Halloween III -- which doesn't really count as a slasher -- was unimpressed by the original Halloween, barely remember any of the sequels and wasn't particularily taken with any of them regardless, and utterly hated the Rob Zombie remake.

I've seen the original Black Christmas twice. I liked it both times, but it only really impressed me the first time; I guess watching it in the middle of summer as opposed to the dead of winter had some bearing on that.

I've seen the first Child's Play, liked it moderately, but haven't watched any of the sequels and don't plan to.

Watched the first two Candyman films. I think I liked Tony Todd's performance more than the actual films themselves.

I've also seen the first three entries in the Hellraiser franchise. Suffice it to say, each entry was less impressive than the one before it, and I'm not going to bother watching any of the others.

The Scream films are overrated pieces of mediocre humbug.

And that's basically my history with slasher films.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - 7/10

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - 5/10 

 ...I think you posted your list backwards.

In all seriousness, I don't think Part 5 is that bad either. Well, it's bad, but not the worst of the series by a long shot. That mystery aspect made no sense whatsoever though; the killer (who isn't Jason) has clear motivations, yet kills anyone in his path. Melanie Kinnaman is a looker though...too bad she looks hideous nowadays.

I can't really say why I like A New Beginning over the other entries. Storywise, it's pretty stupid.

I guess I just liked the psychological and whodunnit aspects of the story, even if neither were executed very well.

I'm trying to think of a slasher film I had any interest in.  I guess Scream was okay, but beyond that...

I'm not sure that qualifies.

Sure it qualifies, as this deleted scene attests.

I lost one-third of my brain cells just looking at the poster.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

^^ Hilarious.  I laughed out loud when the kid dove head first into the wood chipper by accident.

I write erotica about the relationship between Michael Meyers and Jason Vorhees.

It's Slash Flick Slash Fic