Top 5 Silver Age Slashers

The introduction of Freddy Krueger brought in a new wave of horror films that relied on special effects, almost completely silencing the smaller low-budget Golden Age features. However, fatigue had still hit the slasher genre and its popularity had declined rapidly. The home video market provided a new outlet for low-budget filmmaking but without major studio backing there was a big decline in quality. Therefore, from 1985 to 1995, the slasher genre was dominated by attempts to cash-in on and refresh existing popular franchises, resulting in numerous sequels.

5. INTRUDER (1989)

Evil Dead co-writer Scott Spiegel wrote this gory mayhem set entirely in a small supermarket, whose owner is preparing to go out of business. This doesn’t sit too well with the resident maniac, who busily stalks and butchers the night crew using the tools of the trade – hooks, axes, knives, power tools, meat grinders – you name it! Even Sam Raimi makes an appearance as a buffoonish butcher and Bruce Campbell makes a cameo as a brutal cop. This hidden slasher gem is probably the least known on these lists and yet makes clever use of its single setting story, giving it a unique claustrophobic feel. There are also some creative and very audacious gore effects for the numerous over the top kills that also makes this stand out amongst other slashers. Overall, this is a very enjoyable and simple slasher awith some fun cameo appearance and kills that were outrageous even for the 80’s.

 

4. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986)

The silver age of horror was dominated by sequels to horror phenomenon’s; so over a decade after he had directed the original Tobe Hooper returned to his deranged family of reclusive cannibals for another dose of chainsaw chases and non-stop screaming. Off the back of the success of Poltergeist, Hooper brought a bigger budget this time, as well as the talents of veteran make-up artist Tom Savini.  Hooper completely changes the tone of the film, its bigger, louder and more gorier by far and has a wacky, self-deprecating sense of humour. This is a level of camp unseen before, there are buckets of blood and gore, droll dialogue, a screaming heroine and even chainsaw duels!

The plot itself concerns a small-town disc jockey and embittered vengeful Texas Ranger (played by Dennis Hopper in a brilliantly over the top performance) who team up to put an end to the murderous activities of the Sawyer clan. The latter are now in hiding in a ruinous labyrinthine underground abbatoir, hidden beneath an abandoned amusement park and they are joined there by Nubbin’s twin brother, “Chop Top” freshly returned from the Vietnam War, played brilliantly by Bill Mosely. Unlike the original, you can’t take this one seriously but you can’t help but like it either, it is gratuitously violent, over the top, full of colourful characters and maniacal energy; marking a clear shift from the suspense of the 70’s to the self aware over the top gore and violence of the 80’s slashers.

3. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987)

1985’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was rushed into production and was an awful sequel, but still became the highest grossing horror of that year. But Dream Warriors with its strange dark fantasy vibe is the best of the sequels. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, who wakes up one morning with a slashed wrist that looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. As a result, she is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man….Freddy! As well as bringing back the sinister Freddy, there is an air of grim fatalism running through this whole film and an unexpected depth of sadness running through it that gives this slasher an unusually unsettling edge.

Chuck Russell sensitively directs, placing emphasis on the tragedy and the utter hopelessness in these children, provoking some perceptive turns from the cast. Dream Warriors is arguably superior than the original for attempting to explore deeper and more complex themes, yet also delivering a better and more consistently disquieting horror experience. Moreover, the attention to detail on the set design and practical effects for the dream sequences is quite impressive and there are some particularly inventive and disturbing death sequences. This one was a huge success and the next year came the equally successful A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master, before the franchise faded from public interest following the laughably bad fifth and sixth films coming in 1989 and 91 respectively.

 

2. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986)

After 1985’s fifth instalment of the series, The New Beginning, was rejected by audiences for having a copycat killer instead of Jason, the sixth film brought Jason back from the grave….literally! Jason Lives is the first time Jason is an explicitly supernatural force as he is raised from the dead via a lightning bolt; seemingly giving him superhuman powers. He then goes on an unstoppable rampage back to Camp Crystal Lake killing all in his path, whilst Tommy Jarvis, with his friend Megan, do everything in their power to stop him despite the unhelpful interference of the authorities. Despite having exactly the same premise and setting as past entries, this installment represents a real tonal shift. Jason Lives is possibly the first self-aware slasher spoof; it introduces metahumour to the franchise, contains self-referential jokes and breaking of the fourth wall. Jason Lives also contains some action film elements including shootouts, car chases and the James Bond inspired opening title sequence.

The opening scene is the best scene in the film and is a brilliant homage to the Universal monster films of the 1930’s, there is a real gothic feel as Tommy and his friend creep around a misty graveyard at the dead of night. The death sequences are also top draw and more over the top and comical than other entries. Although the film does tread into similar territory in the final act, this still manages to feel fresh without betraying its slasher routes. Jason Lives, despite being a box office disappointment, was well received by critics and is a lot of fun and accessible to non-horror fans as well as horror loyalists. I would rank this entry alongside The Final Chapter for being the strongest sequel in the franchise that can be watched as a standalone film. The seventh film came out in 1977 amid the Freddy craze and suffered for it, and 1989’s awful Jason Takes Manhattan and the even worse Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday also signalled the dwindling interest in major horror franchises towards the end of the silver age.

1. CHILD’S PLAY (1988)

The personality-driven appeal of the likes of Freddy Krueger, as opposed to the declining interest in the mute Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, was not lost on film-makers. Infamous serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Douiff/ Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings) is finally tracked down and cornered in a toy store; but after being mortally wounded, he invokes a voodoo curse which transfers his soul to one of the dolls. The doll is then unwittingly purchased by a widowed mother for his son, Alex, and people start to get mysteriously murdered…This utterly ridiculous sounding plot works surprisingly well as an effective psychological thriller.

Tom Holland who directed one of the great vampire films, Fright Night, in 1985 expertly builds the suspense and delivers the shocks to give the film a sharp and scary edge. Despite the deliberate pace, there is a fun and energetic feel to the whole film, thanks to the clever and witty script. It is only really right at the end that this film becomes a slasher but, not surprisingly given the strangely unique and demented plot, Child’s Play was a huge success and spawned six sequels; the latest released last year! 1990’s Child’s Play 2 went all-out slasher and was another huge success, but from then on the series failed to inspire until recently and there is going to be a re-make released soon.