Slasher films have solidified their place in the horror genre’s lexicon, driven by nostalgia, timeless themes, and international fan bases that turned their favorite screen killers into celebrities. Gareth Morgan, executive producer of Slasher Trash and founder of an international digital community dedicated to classic slasher films, is poised to release a comprehensive documentary focusing on the rise of slasher films and their impacts on the industry, communities, and longtime fans. Slasher films are often cast aside as superficial and inferior, but a number of titles confronted themes mainstream films ignored. Additionally, slashers featured fiercely independent women leads, creating a new film paradigm called final girl.
“I think the sub-genre has been screaming out for an in-depth documentary that covers the golden era of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The big franchises like Halloween, Friday The 13th, and A Nightmare On Elm Street have been analyzed at length, but what about the hundreds of other titles? It will be the ultimate slasher documentary,” stated Morgan.
Slasher Trash aims to give greater visibility to the once derided slasher sub-genre, which suffered censorship in the UK during the ‘video nasties’ debates that raged within all media outlets. Moral crusaders argued the films contributed to the corruption of minors, which caused several boycotts of films, leading to national theaters pulling the films. 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night was a popular target for U.S. protests, but years later, the film’s stars stated the protests actually had a different effect, as the film earned greater visibility and demand for screenings increased.
“The British government and BBFC did their very best to censor horror films, and the video nasty hysteria was largely detrimental to video shop owners and fans, in the beginning. Hardcore fans became obsessed with tracking down video tapes and all those titles that appeared on the infamous video nasty list became a rite of passage for horror collectors,” recalled Morgan.
In the face of intense scrutiny and critical lambasting, slasher films managed to grow very quickly, as directors learned their films could be made with limited budgets by employing young, new actors, that did not require hefty salaries like their star peers. Reducing some costly effects that were usually the hallmarks of big budget horror titles inspired effects specialists to create unique, innovative and now iconic kill scenes, while maintaining sensible budgets at the behest of the studio executives. Iconic effects masters like Tom Savini transformed The Burning and Friday The 13th as benchmarks for aspiring special effects artists working to design convincing gore scenes.
Much to the chagrin of the censors, slasher films began grossing profits at the box office, with A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors earning $8,880,555 during its 1987 opening and even the small budget, 1981 Canadian slasher My Bloody Valentine earned $5,672,03. Additionally, the best-known and revered slasher films often received the sequel treatment, satiating demanding audiences, however niche they were. Slasher films earned wider support once they mixed Metal and hard rock musicians within their original soundtracks, proving horror fans overlapped with the Metal subculture once directors learned song lyrics often shared the same themes as their films. Dokken charted at number 22 for Dream Warriors, their contribution to 1987’s A Nightmare On Elm Street 3, which earned heavy play on MTV. The cross-cultural influence of slasher films was undeniable as other musicians, such as Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne appeared on horror soundtracks, helping to shape the tone of slasher films and elevating movie marketing strategies.
“I feel Metal and horror have a mutual love of death, darkness, and destruction. The pearl-clutching moral crusaders who felt that watching horror movies and listening to Metal were tantamount to tapping into the soul of Satan incentivized fans to rebel even further. Outsiders ended up thriving in their social roles because they formed a close-knit community,” stated Morgan.
Morgan added, “My biggest memories of Metal crossing into horror would be Alice Cooper on Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Ozzy appearing in Trick Or Treat in a really fun role which mocked mainstream media’s sensitivity to the dark and depraved nature of us outsiders.”
Slasher films continued to be produced in such a steady volume that perhaps the genre’s surprising growth became its downfall as the market became over saturated. Morgan states the genre has evolved but agreed that in today’s social climate, many golden era titles would earn strong rebuke.
“Some of the slashers that venture deeper into misogynistic territory haven’t aged brilliantly, and those with outwardly negative attitudes toward homosexuality come across as quite dated. However, it is worth noting that for all the flack the sub-genre gets from critics, the majority of slasher movie victims are male, and we’ve had generations of strong, intelligent, and resourceful ‘final girls’ who always defeat the villain at the end. I think the sub-genre is empowering for women,” stated Morgan.
Slasher Trash aims to be the authoritative documentary for the sub-genre, with the ambitious goals of viewing golden age slashers with a new, more knowledgeable and contemporary lens. Slasher film characters were always built on the themes of friendship, alienation, disaffection, and of course, carnal desires. Morgan believes the slasher genre has a bright future, despite clear limitations, the once niche audience has seen so much growth, with international directors having risen to prominence, new generations continue discovering the classics, and today’s newest villains are already being embraced.
“I do feel the future is bright for slasher films. Damien Leone has created the biggest slasher icon, Art The Clown, since Ghostface from Scream. I love new slashers like The Last Matinee from Uruguayan director Maximiliano Contenti, the update of The Slumber Party Massacre from Danishka Esterhazy, and Initiation from John Berardo. The sub-genre is in great hands and I’m so excited for the future,” concluded Morgan.
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Artwork by: Dave Merrell
