The Slasher Decade: 1980

Between the years of 1980 through 1989, there were nearly 290 slasher films released. Averaged out, that equals two releases a month for the entire decade - an extremely impressive figure. There's a reason why the 1980's will always be famous for having slasher films galore.

Looking back on the decade that now seems like a foreign time, these slasher films help capture a certain nostalgia that certain moviegoers (such as myself) crave. While slasher fans definitely love a good villain, some scary stalking sequences, and creative kills, they also undoubtedly yearn for the 1980's culture - from the big hair to the heavy metal music.

Here is a list of the complete 1980's slasher movie guide (and I might even be leaving some out! Please let me know if I have). Enjoy!

Let's begin with 1980...

This year brought 29 slashers, most of which were quickly made over the previous year to cash-in on the mega success of HALLOWEEN. 1980's most famous entry is undoubtedly Friday the 13th, a number of hit slashers made an impact at the box office - most notably hits like The Fog, Prom Night, Funeral Home, and The Silent Scream.

Most 1980 slasher movies stuck with a basic, realistic formula of a stalking killer - such as He Knows You're Alone, Terror Train, The Unseen, and Fade to Black. Other's tried to get more creative, like the creature-features Night of the Demon and Blood Beach, the supernatural The Children, The Ghost Dance, and The Boogeyman, the comedic Motel Hell, and the rock 'n roller Terror on Tour.

An increase in violent exploitation also grew, with movies like Maniac and Anthropophagus pushing the boundaries in terms of carnal violence and gore. This trend of viciousness was more common in low-budget slashers, with films like The Exterminator, To All a Good Night, Christmas Evil, Don't Answer the Phone!, Don't Go in the House, The House at the Edge of the Park, Vengeance, and Mother's Day driving a nastier, misogynistic tone that often included rape and torture.

The whodunit factor also became huge, as movies looked to the "giallo" films of the 70's for inspiration; Nightmare, Effects, Schizoid, and Phobia all have obvious influence from Italian thrillers. Some giallos themselves, such as the gruesome Macabre, continued to find an audience in the 80's.

While 1978 is credited as being the start of the Golden Age of Slasher Movies, 1980 certainly hit it's booming stride, and many fans will argue that it is the best year for the genre. See what you think - here are the 29 slasher of 1980.

Anthropophagus - Set in the Greek islands, an American student and her friends encounter a disfigured man who practices cannibalism. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Blood Beach - A man and his ex-fiancé go searching for a creature that is killing people on the beach by mutilating them and sucking them into the sand. View Trailer. 

The Boogeyman - A young boy kills his mother’s abusive boyfriend while his sister Lacey watches in the mirror. Years later, Lacey finds that same mirror, now shattered. Everywhere a shard of glass appears a grisly murder takes place. Available on DVD. View Trailer.  

The Children - A school bus filled with young children drives through toxic nuclear waste, transforming its passengers into bloodthirsty, adult-killing zombies. Available on DVD. View TV Spot. 

Christmas Evil - Ever since he learned the 'truth' about Santa, Harry's met with naysayers who mock him for his yuletide beliefs. But he wants people to get the presents they deserve, even if that means giving the gift of murder! Available on DVD. 

Don’t Answer the Phone! - A Vietnam veteran/ Los Angeles photographer goes around strangling young women while taunting psychologist Lindsay Gale by calling her radio show to describe his misogynistic ways. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Don’t Go in the House - Donald's sadistic mother burned him as a child as a means of punishment. Now he seeks out women like her to bring home and burn alive with a flame thrower. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Effects - Cinematographer Dominic travels to a remote mountain location to work on a low-budget horror film and, along with beautiful crew member Celeste, begins to suspect that behind the scenes the director is making a snuff film. Available on DVD. 

The Exterminator - Vietnam vet John Eastland launches a bloody vendetta against the New York underworld when his best friend is brutally beaten by a vicious street gang. Available on Blu-ray & DVD. View Trailer. 

Fade to Black - A shy, lonely, film geek goes on a killing spree against those who bully him, while at the same time he stalks his favorite actress. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

The Fog - On the night of Antonio Bay's 100th anniversary, a fogbank rolls in carrying dark figures and the masts of an ancient schooner, and soon the specters of long-murdered sailors descend upon the town. Available on Blu-ray and also on DVD. View Trailer. 

Friday the 13^th  - Many years after a rash of unsolved and unexplained deaths, scenic Camp Crystal Lake reopens, complete with young, naive, sex-hungry counselors... and a maniacal killer. Available on Blu-Ray and also on DVD. View Trailer. 

Funeral Home - An easily frightened 16-year old girl is called to stay with her grandmother in the hopes of helping her turn an old funeral home into a bed-and-breakfast. But unexplained murders around the home quickly make this vacation spot a nightmare. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

The Ghost Dance - An Indian medicine man is possessed by the spirit of a long-deceased tribal warrior, turning him into a homicidal maniac. View Trailer. 

He Knows You’re Alone - A reluctant bride-to-be is stalked by a serial killer bent on killing her and her friends as a cop whose own bride had been killed years before tries to stop him. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

House on the Edge of the Park - A psychotic rapist, along with his mentally challenged sidekick, works his way into a party of bored socialites and turns it into a night of torture. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Macabre - A middle-aged woman moves into a room at a New Orleans house where her blind landlord becomes suspicious that she is having an affair... with her dead adulterous lover! Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Maniac - Haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse, Frank Zito is driven to stalk the seedy streets of New York City and slaughter young women. As he begins a relationship with a beautiful photographer, his his vile compulsions remain. Available on Blu-Ray and also on DVD. View Trailer. 

Motel Hell - A deranged farmer and his equally twisted sister kidnap unsuspecting travelers and use them as part of their smoked meat recipe! Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Mother’s Day - When three college roommates decide to rekindle their comraderie with a camping trip, they become the unwitting prey of a very dysfunctional family. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

New Year’s Evil - A punk-rock singer hosting a New Year's Eve celebration gets a phone call from a madman claiming that when New Year's strikes in each time zone, someone will be murdered. View Trailer. 

Night of the Demon - A professor and his students investigate a series of disappearances that they believe may lead them to the legendary Bigfoot! Available on DVD. 

Nightmares - A frigid young actress traumatized by her mother s horrific death years earlier becomes a prime suspect when a series of brutal stabbings rocks her latest production. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Phobia - A psychiatrist involved in a radical new therapy comes under suspicion when his patients are murdered, each according to their individual phobias.

Prom Night - Four high school seniors hiding the truth of what happened to a ten-year-old girl for years are targeted by someone preparing revenge - a prom night killing spree! Available on DVD.  View Trailer. 

Schizoid - Julia, an advice columnist for the city newspaper is receiving anonymous notes threatening murder, while members of her group therapy session are being stabbed by an unknown assailant. View Trailer. 

The Silent Scream - A young co-ed finds a vacancy at a mansion suspects that something is not right at her new residence. When her fellow borders begin dying she must solve the mystery of the boarding house before she's next! Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Terror on Tour - "The Clowns", a successful rock group, has an incredible stage performance that centers around mutilating theatrics and eventually real murder begins! View Trailer. 

Terror Train - A New Year's Eve fraternity masquerade party aboard a chartered train turns deadly when a psychotic classmate sets out for murderous revenge, taking on his victim's costumes as disguise. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

To All a Good Night - After drugging their housemother and smuggled in their boyfriends, a christmas vacation frolic awaits five girl boarders at an exclusive finishing school... that is until people start to disappear... 

The Unseen - A reporter and her two friends accept the invitation of a friendly museum owner to board at his house. But unknown to the women, something unseen is living in the basement of the house. Available on DVD. View Trailer. 

Vengeance - After raping and murdering a family, four hoodlums kidnap and politician's daughter and her boyfriend, hoping to continue their horrifying rampage, but the victims have something in mind for the criminals as well.

Review: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (1989)

It's hard to defend FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN. The film is the worst of the original 80's series, but oddly Jason Takes Manhattan has a certain charm and nostalgia that can't be ignored. Really, it is the last film with the feel and structure of the Friday the 13th  series. It is the last Friday made in the 1980s, a decade synonymous with the series. It is also the last one made by Paramount Pictures, as the following year New Line would acquire the rights of the series. What would follow would be some of the all-time worst (JASON GOES TO HELL and JASON X), movies that in retrospect make Jason Takes Manhattan a not-so-bad slasher film.

Usually the biggest complaint against Jason Takes Manhattan is that Jason doesn't actually takes Manhattan. If you're expecting a rampage across the Big Apple, you're in for a huge let-down. Only the third act takes place in New York, as the rest is set on a cruise ship. Realistically, only the first act of the movie should have shown how the characters came to arrive in New York City, with the second and third acts inducing carnage in Manhattan. But due to budget issues, certain substitutes needed to be made.

Few people acknowledge the film's heroine as the main problems with Jason Takes Manhattan, but she is: Rennie (Jensen Daggett) is an uninteresting and unlikable character. She is without a doubt the worst "final girl" of the first eight movies, largely due to her passive nature. Her character is terribly selfish: she is single-handedly responsible for the death of her beloved teacher Colleen (Barbara Bingham), yet sheds no guilt or remorse for her mistake. Minutes after Colleen's death, Rennie is self-indulgent and feels the need to recall to her boyfriend Sean (Scott Reeves) about the day her parents died when she was a little girl. At that moment, her story inconsequential because everyone she and Sean knew - including Sean's father (Warren Munson) - have just been slaughtered. Immediately, Rennie becomes selfish and unlikable, not the type of final girl we're used to rooting on.

The fact that everyone is always coddling her, giving her gifts, and feeling bad for her doesn't help, either.  She is spoiled and bland, as even her dog Toby (Ace) has more charisma. Rennie is not tough and independent like a Friday girl should be.

Rennie's history with Jason does not work, either. After her parents died, Rennie lived her cruel Uncle Charles (Peter Mark Richman) who tried to teach her how to swim by pushing her in to Crystal Lake, where she encounters a young Jason Voorhees (Tim Mirkovich), who looks very different than when we saw him in the original FRIDAY THE 13TH. While the idea of giving ther a history with Jason could work (look at FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III), it is implausible here, considering the timeline: The last time Jason was a child was in the original movie; PART II-PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER take place five years after the events of the first movie; PART V: A NEW BEGINNING and PART VI: JASON LIVES take place ten years after Part IV; then PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD takes place several years after those movies, meaning that even if Jason Takes Manhattan took place the day after The New Blood, there would still be at least twenty years between the original film where Jason was young and Jason Takes Manhattan. Rennie can't be any older than eighteen in this film, so she would not have even been alive yet when Jason was still young looking in the original movie.

Aside from Rennie, the characters aren't that horrible, but most of the real fun ones are the first to die. Take the wicked bitch Tamara (Sharlene Martin) and heavy-metal goddess JJ (Saffron Henderson) - two of the most memorable characters are barely given any chance to have fun before they are offed. They would have been great fun in the New York City scenes. The movie does suffer from having characters that are copies of those in The New Blood; Uncle Charles is a carbon-copy of Dr. Crews; Tamara is scheming like Melissa; Colleen shares many qualities with Mrs. Shepherd; and of course, Sean and Rennie are weaker versions of Nick and Tina.

But the star of the show is Jason, once again played by Kane Hodder (only with less enthusiasm than in The New Blood). Jason has become a full antihero here, killing off all those who pose as some kind of threat to our heroes, such as two gang-bangers in Manhattan that drug Rennie and try to rape her. Unlike the earlier films, there are instances where the audience wants Jason to show up, because he will save the day. But there are also questions raised by his character, such as why doesn't he kill any New Yorkers unless they directly get in his way of reaching Rennie and Sean? This goes against his normal killing-machine character, as in the previous films he just hacked anyone for no reason.

There also has to be a better way to move the story from Crystal Lake to Manhattan without taking the kids on a cruise ship. The geographical logic behind this just doesn't add up. Crystal Lake was confirmed in earlier films to be in northern New Jersey, so why wouldn't the group take a bus to New York? Plus, even if for some reason they wanted to take a ship, they would have to go on the Delaware River. But the Delaware does not turn into the high seas during a storm...

The movie begins with a cool montage of the New York City locations that will be revisited in the third act of the movie. But then it dives into the worst opening of the franchise: two teens, Jim (Todd Shaffer) and Suzy (Tiffany Paulsen) are making love and Jim tells Suzy about the "legend" of Jason. Really? Jason is once again a "legend" to these kids? An urban legend? These people have to be the dumbest, most clueless kids in history. Also Tiffany Paulsen might be the worst actress ever. Literally. It's painful watching her. To make this opening segment more of a headache, Jason's "resurrection" is lame and uncreative. After the first scene it feels like there has been no heart put into this production.

The movie gets good once it reaches the mean streets of New York. The film's climax features the final two survivors running from Jason through back alleys, subways, diners, and finally into the maze-like sewer system. The sewer chase is the best and most creative part of the entire movie, and the only scene that features any remote suspense. Overall the New York scenes are pretty cool. It's just a shame more of the movie couldn't have taken place here.

Jason Takes Manhattan does have its positives, and there is a reason why it has obtained a cult following over the years. You see, Jason Takes Manhattan is not nearly as bad as some of the stuff to follow, and at the end of the day its a pretty fun slasher flick. It also features one of the best songs to ever grace a slasher film: Metropolis' "The Darkest Side of the Night". The song is pure-80s gold and sets the tone for a cool atmosphere. Like A New Beginning, this movie has seedy settings that fit in well with the franchise's tone. This seediness would eventually become lost by the 2000's.

Even though it's not a very scary flick, Jason Takes Manhattan has some very dark moments and deals with subject matter that the previous films avoided. For starters, cocaine and heroin are both drugs used. Sure, most Friday films have a pot-smoking hippie, but only A New Beginning featured cocaine and heroin was never featured before. There is also an attempted rape, which is definitely a first for the series. On top of that, there are some real nasty death scenes with lots of gore and brutality. And did all those kids left behind on the cruise ship die?

It's easy to rip Jason Takes Manhattan apart because it really is a poorly made movie with a lot of inconsistencies and a plethora of plot holes. But it also is the last "true" Friday the 13th movie, as the films following lost the gritty 80's fun. They were either too serious or too self-aware, but the Friday films of the 1990's and 2000's just were never the same. This movie also marks a good ending to the original series, as Jason has been brought out of Crystal Lake and is presumably less powerful because of it. And then, to bring his character full circle, he drowns and reverts back to child form. Jason Takes Manhattan is nonsense from start to finish, but it's also an incredibly fun adventure, and a great piece of 80's nostalgia.

Recommendations:
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
Madman (1982)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Review: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1988)

Those that have watched the series up to FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD are probably no longer watching for quality and continuity but rather for neat death scenes, cool atmosphere, and of course lots of Jason Voorhees. Looking at the key ingredients for a good FRIDAY THE 13TH sequel, The New Blood delivers a tasty treat. Those looking for a substantial and well-thought horror thriller should probably skip The New Blood, as it is a re-hash of what has been done before, only with flying objects and a telepathic heroine.

The The New Blood presents a darker than the previous episode, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES. Whereas Jason Lives was unique for its comedic tone, The New Blood chooses to be a straight-up slasher movie that ignores any parody. Jason Lives tried to take the series in a different direction with its comedic edge, but The New Blood returns to the series darker roots with more sadistic kills, including the now infamous "sleeping bag death." The film's hardcore, badass soundtrack theme trades in Harry Manfredini's iconic high-string score for a deeper, more intimidating tune by Fred Moller. It's heavier, but it works with the movie.

While the entire series has always been known for its gory death sequences, the kills of The New Blood stand out as having some of the all-around best moments in the entire series. It's a shame that most of these scenes have been so heavily trimmed by the MPAA, as the film's impact would most definitely have been higher with more gore. The film takes a similar approach to the death scenes that Jason Lives did, zeroing on the gory creativity of a kill rather than the suspense leading up to it. The movie prides itself on being dark, gothic, and gruesome in the same manner as FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER; both these movies are known for being relentless and merciless.

The plot of The New Blood is paper-thin, veiled by it's teenage protagonist Tina Shepherd (Lar Park Lincoln), a telepathic societal outcast in the vein of Stephen King's CARRIE. Tina's powers accidentally release Jason from his imprisonment that Tommy Jarvis left him in at the end of Jason Lives. After that, the events carry out the same as any other Friday film.

Tina is a likable protagonist, and Lincoln does an excellent job portraying the confused and frightened teen with strange powers. She has a certain vulnerability that masks her strengths, and as the movie's only character with a complete character arc she definitely carries the film. Her fellow-hero is the hunky Nick (Kevin Blair), whom is a genuine guy and a good romantic interest for Tina. The two work well together, and stand out as being the only characters in the entire picture with any commonsense. Blair gives Nick a boy-next-door heroic edge, and even though he's no Tommy Jarvis, he's still a suitable hero.

The rest of the characters are expendable and forgettable, save the two antagonists: Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) and Melissa (Susan Jennifer Sullivan). Dr. Crews is Tina's psychiatrist that claims to be helping her control her powers, when in reality he is building up evidence to exploit her. Melissa is the typical spoiled bitch that acts as Tina's romantic competition to win Nick. Both Dr. Crews and Melissa are hateful, horrible characters, and because of them The New Blood marks the first installment where Jason truly becomes an anti-hero of sorts. In a sense he's killing off other antagonists in the movie that stand in the way of Nick and Tina's own personal success.

Of course, the real start of the film is Jason Voorhees, played for the first time by Kane Hodder, who would secure the role of the hockey masked maniac until 2003. Hodder makes Jason mean and menacing, unlike the Jason of Jason Lives that was more of a mindless zombie killing machine than a killer with an agenda. The Jason that Hodder creates is not a guy you want to be messing around with - he's smart, quick, and purely evil, being the most reminiscent of Ted White's Jason from The Final Chapter. And the make-up effects of this Jason are great, having never looked better. Showing all his battle wounds and decay, the Jason of The New Blood is arguably the coolest looking in the entire franchise.

The movie starts with a cool opening montage that recaps the entire series by using clips from only FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II, The Final Chapter, and Jason Lives. Walt Gorney, who played Crazy Ralph in the original movie and Part II, narrates it. The montage works better than the one in The Final Chapter because it uses original dialogue that leads to a pretty cool (although campy) monologue.

The film's ending is what the entire movie and its marketing campaign lead up to. The point of the movie is to show Jason fighting his first supernatural foe, Tina, and the two wage a pretty epic battle. The ending has become famously chalked at for its numerous implausibilities, such as an exploding house (how does the house explode like that!?) and Tina's long deceased father (John Otrin) miraculously coming back to life to help his daughter (a twist that doesn't work as well as filmmakers probably had planned).

A funny trivia note is that originally this film was supposed to be FREDDY VS. JASON, but when Paramount (owner of the Friday the 13th films at the time) and New Line (owner of the A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise) couldn't come to an agreement, the idea was scrapped and Jason instead was given a telepathic teen to do battle with while Freddy took on the his own extra-powerful foe in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER.

The story does the most with the telepathic arc, and while it's cheesy and corny it's also fun. By this point, the series had completely lost any sense of realism, and the decision to make a hero that is almost as supernaturally powerful as Jason gives the series a much needed edge. Out of all the "supernatural" Jason movies, Jason Lives and The New Blood stand out as the best of the bunch. The others deviate too far from the original movies (JASON GOES TO HELL, JASON X, and Freddy vs. Jason).

The New Blood is not a great movie but its hard to knock because for what the movie sets out to achieve, it accomplishes. There are many points in the film where the audience has to really suspend disbelief, and there are numerous cases where lazy storytelling is present. For instance, why is Jason's body still at the bottom of Crystal Lake? Police surely would have combed the lake for it after the events of Jason Lives. Also, if the Shepherd house is close enough to Camp Crystal Lake for Tina to resurrect Jason with her powers, how come this house was never seen earlier in the series?

For the most part the film is forgettable, having the same exact set-up as Jason Lives. Both films begin with a troubled youth (Tommy in Jason Lives, Tina in The New Blood) that accidentally resurrects Jason. Jason then kills a couple random campers and townsfolk in the woods to kill filler before the big finale. Meanwhile the troubled youth tries to convince any authority figures that Jason has returned. No one believes the troubled youth except for a love interest with a crush (Megan in Jason Lives, Nick in The New Blood). The troubled youth is an outcast from the "normal teens" and only connected to them through the love interest. Eventually Jason attacks and kills all the normal teens, all except the troubled youth and the love interest, who have to use their own knowledge and skills to finally defeat him and send him back to Crystal Lake's depths. At the end of The New Blood, the series is in the same exact place that it started.

Another interesting side-note is that in both Jason Lives and The New Blood, the adults refuse to accept the teens warnings that Jason has returned, hocking it up to some kind of insanity. This is an interesting flip from the original couple of movies, where the adults warned the teens about Crystal Lake's bloody curse and the teens chose to ignore them. Strange how things change over a few movies.

Is The New Blood a bad movie? Yes, it's a B-movie on all accounts. But the more important question is whether The New Blood is a bad horror movie? That answer is no, as The New Blood succeeds in its goals; lots of gory death scenes, a really cool and iconic villain, and a protagonist that kicks ass. The film is locked into late-80s cheese, but stands as one of the last true Friday the 13th movies (the series would become unrecognizable in the 90's when New Line took over). Once again, if you're a casual moviegoer you should probably skip The New Blood. But if you like horror movies and especially enjoyed the first six Friday the 13th flicks, than The New Blood is probably a safe bet.

Recommendations:
Child's Play (1988)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)