TinsHeadline Touches You

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

GL84 Struggling with terrible dreams, a woman is talked into a vacation with her brother and several friends on a small island for a relaxing getaway realize that the nightmares revolve around a demonic entity that now been released into the world and must confront the creature to survive.This is one of the most underrated early-80s slashers out there. One of the best aspects of this one is the central storyline which is quite entertaining and offers up plenty of suspense. As this one concerns a thirty-something artist who has suffered from the same recurring nightmare since childhood where she is stalked and killed which form the basis for her new paintings and becomes increasingly obsessive about putting those images on canvas, the early setup here is quite involved yet still manages to give this a decent set-up. As her nightmares become more vivid, the more in danger they are all in by someone or something from her dreams, which is a clichéd one to be sure, but it makes for a fun time here due to the more adult setup rather than the more youthful approach at the time. That also gives this one some really great elements to play with, as there's a large amount of suspense and atmosphere coming from the film. The film has a storm sweep through the place, causing a really great tension as there was always a raging thunderstorm, and with the really interesting and creepy design for the house, the stalking scenes in here get somewhat chilling at times. From the beginning, the place has a completely suspenseful vibe and lets this one generate some solid moments here from the first one up in the attic when the group first arrives, the later one down in the basement where the killer strikes using a rather unconventional trap finally kill them off and some tense scenes around the house where the killer comes around to pick off the last remaining group-members for some rather fine stalking with the greatness of the chase throughout the house which ends this on a high note. It even has a few fun moments for the gorehounds which all combined make for a great viewing as this here has only a few small problems with it that are what keep it down somewhat. The main problem is that there's a double flaw in the way it's paced. The first one is that the middle segment of the film is remarkably dull and boring. The majority of the time is spent wandering around the house spouting off to whoever who will listen about what the dreams have just been going on, and it really manages to pad out the film with an aggravating, annoying subplot while also doing little to move it forward after what has already been said about it. That also has the factor of throwing up the notion that the film is barely over an hour long and still feels like an eternity, which shouldn't happen. A film of this length with the style of body count means that it should flow quickly and there's none of that in the film. Otherwise, these here are what keep the film down.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene.

gavin6942 Siblings Eric and Kay, her doctor husband David, her sister-in-law Brooke along with pilot Marsh become stranded on a rugged isle face off against a supernatural beast drawn to Kay who dreams of its killings.The story and script were co-written by J. S. Cardone and Bill Ewing; Cardone eventually directed while Ewing produced. Cardone had been, what he called, "the white token of the black film community" writing for folks like Bill Cosby but was working in a liquor store to pay his bills. This was his first credited work on a feature film. Ewing had worked as an actor, and did cast coordination for "Meteor" (1979), but was also new to writing and producing films. Although today classified as a "slasher", the co-writers maintain they were really aiming for a psychological thriller with hints of Lovecraft.The two were able to move from script to screen thanks to production manager Eric Weston (who horror fans may know as the director of 1981's "Evilspeak") and Lloyd Adams' International Picture Show Company (who then went bankrupt within the year). Outside of "Slayer", Adams may be best known as the producer of "Grizzly" (1976). This bankruptcy unfortunately caused any number of distribution problems, but the film did manage to find a life of its own.For the appropriate setting, they chose Tybee Island, the easternmost part of Georgia… known for its hurricanes and for being one of the few places an atomic bomb was dropped on American soil. Though storms do factor into the plot, as well as the island's relative isolation, the atomic bomb part is not mentioned. Perhaps an unfortunate missed opportunity? Not only were Cardone and Ewing new at the movie game, but this was DP Karen Grossman on her first feature film. She followed it up with "Microwave Massacre" (1983), as well as a couple of Cardone's films. The bulk of her credits are with the George Romero TV series "Tales from the Darkside" and its quasi-sequel "Monsters" Robert Short, the special effects man, had come out of Don Post's crew and had previously helped design the mask from "Halloween"; he can claim responsibility for the cool pitchfork scene, which is as good as any trick Tom Savini had pulled. Short went on to many, many huge projects, including "Beetlejuice".Leading the cast is Sarah Kendall, who really sells the film with her wide eyes; she looks like a more terrified version of Sigourney Weaver, making her the perfect lead actress. She had apparently worked with one of the creators (probably Ewing) on a TV show, though this is unclear from her credits. Quite possibly, she had been on a few shows in smaller parts that were not well-documented at the time.Ultimately, "The Slayer" is something of a mixed bag. Kendall is a strong leading lady, some of the gore effects are pretty good. And the concept of blurring the lines between dream and reality is incredibly clever. Although it is not likely this film was an influence, some of the ideas presented do predate similar ideas in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films. What makes "Slayer" just alright rather than great, however, is the pacing. Far too much of the film is a slow burn and even at 86 minutes it feels long.The film's early theatrical release saw it on Broadway with sections cut out and the color uncorrected, due in part to the bankruptcy noted above. Over the years the releases were degraded more and more, and fans who saw it on VHS probably saw it in its worst possible incarnation. This was until 2017, when Arrow Video saved the day. Despite these hiccups, director J. S. Cardone really went on to great things, directing movies with Cannon films, Empire Pictures and beyond.The Arrow Video Blu-ray has an impressive 50-minute making of segment, with just about everyone attached to the film brought in. We also have a 13-minute feature on the locations, and a June 2017 Q&A that took place on the island. Typically I would say the only thing missing is a commentary track, but the making-of does a fine job of replacing it and actually goes above and beyond by breaking down how some effects were done, something that could not be done with just audio. "The Slayer" may not be the greatest of all slasher films, but it does have an important place in history and fans ought to check it out.

Stephen Abell So I thought I would revisit my youth and have a "look see" at the films I couldn't watch then because, for censorship reasons, they were banned.I cannot understand why The Slayer received the "Video Nasty" distinction, yes there are gory scene's though nothing too untoward for a horror movie, especially from the 1980's. I think it might be the necrophilia overtones in one scene, but hey, she doesn't know he's dead!That said, this film ticked all the boxes for what I look for in a horror movie - a spooky atmosphere and location - characters and situations that are believable (excluding the supernatural and paranormal elements) - tension and a feeling of unease - decent to brilliant FX (no unrealistic CGI here).The story concerns two couples who decide to vacation on a remote and, at this time of year, uninhabited island, to get away from the stresses of modern life and take a breather. Kay is an artist who has started to have a reoccurring nightmare, which she used to have as a child. David is her husband and he's on the island to take photographs as well as to fish. Eric is Kay's brother, he arranged the vacation through a colleague at work who told him about the splendid fishing the island provides. Brooke is his wife, who has come along reluctantly; an isolated island is not her idea of fun.Once they've been dropped at the island the pilot warns them of an oncoming storm as storms hit hard there and come at you from all directions. Heeding his warning they choose to stay. Once the storm hits and the rain falls and the lightning tears open the sky, one-by-one the holidayers are killed off in gruesome ways. My favourite of which is the pitchfork.So this appears to be your usual run of the mill slasher film... It Isn't!It's not a slasher film at all. This is why; I make this differentiation: A slasher film to me is Chopping Mall, Visiting Hours, Friday The 13th, the type of movie where the murderer is human, commonly a psychopath, and goes on a killing spree, usually with very sharp weapons. This puts it into the Thriller genre.Therefore I do not classify the Halloween movies, the Friday The 13th Films (the ones with Jason as the killer), or A Nightmare On Elm Street saga as slashers. These are true horror films with elements of the supernatural and paranormal. It's the ending of the film that plants it firmly into the Horror genre. Now you have to watch it to find out why.This is J S Cardone's first directing job and it's a pretty decent endeavour. He creates a nice uneasiness throughout the film which adds to the suspense and tension. The only thing which irked me was the darkness. I know directors use the darkness to try and build tensity in their film, though sometimes like here, it's just too dark. Even when lanterns and torches are lit the light they give off is minimal, to say the least. I don't remember them being that bad back then.The acting is average and, as was the case back then as well as sometimes now, relies too much on screams. I've never screamed and I don't know anybody who has... yelled and jumped in fright... but never screamed and never like they do in horror films. As I said, I liked the FX in the pitchfork death scene, though the screaming from the actress is really annoying. It is almost laughable as she screams continuously while trying to get away and breaking a window... you hardly hear the glass break above her screams... this girl can sure wail...If you're a horror fan, as I am, then you will enjoy this twisted and gory tale of dreams come true. Well worth watching on a dark night with the lights off.

acidburn-10 I remember watching this movie on video many years ago, the title caught my eye seeing the fact that it had a previously banned sticker on it, but to be honest at the time I found it quite boring only saved by a few cool and graphic kills, but then it kind of faded from memory. Many years on I decided to purchase this movie on DVD, to see if my opinion has somewhat changed, and in a way yes and no.Now many years on I do appreciate the tension and the build up of this movie, and the effective POV killer shots, the story line is also quite fresh and original, well at the time anyway, a young woman having nightmares about a monster called "The Slayer". But also on my second viewing this movie still hasn't quite won my affection, the acting for one thing is quite poor and none of them are even memorable which prevents this movie from being scary. But the setting of the island though is very eerie and disturbing, and the cast do make the most of the creepy setting, and the fact that the main heroine is all alone in the head does build on tension and genially does feel unnerving.All in all an okay effort, saved by cool deaths but renders on the tedious side, while waiting for them to come.