A classic in the slasher movie cycle but completely dependent on mood and old fashioned suspense instead of blood and gore; “When a Stranger Calls” is in many ways a trend setter but differs from most slashers with it’s emphasis on the killer’s psychological state and the detective who’s hunting him.
“Slaughter High” arrived at the tail end of the slasher craze when most of these flicks were completely devoid of original ideas and creativity. They were having a tougher time getting financing, were cutting corners in all areas and many simply disappeared into oblivion.
“Curtains” is a film of two distinct styles. One is a murder mystery with heavy emphasis on mood, lighting and atmosphere while the other one goes for the jugular in stalk ’n slash mode so popular at the time.
“Bad Moon” is a very smart werewolf flick and they are few and far between. Werewolf films have always been littered with tragic characters who have been doomed to a lowly and lonely existence and this one is no exception.
A trio of students head to school after it closes for the holidays hoping to make a documentary of a horrific event that took place there a year before but, once accidentally locked inside, discover something evil is still lurking about.
Now I have a killer Santa slasher on the list with “To All a Goodnight” (1980); a truly bad little horror film that I simply find truly enjoyable. It fits well within the genre I’ve been covering for the past two weeks of Cult-Christmas classics.
The ultimate Cult-Christmas flick belongs to a movie that’s simply titled “Black Christmas” (1974). A low-budget Canadian effort that didn’t receive much fanfare when initially released; it has gained near immortal status among horror buffs ever since and for many viewers, like myself, it’s required viewing every holiday season.
Continuing with my „Cult-Christmas“ countdown we come to a different kind of beast; „Christmas Evil“ (1980).
Like most film lovers I have a batch of Christmas movies I watch to get me in the mood. These include the classics like; „It‘s a Wonderful Life“ (1946), „A Christmas Story“ (1983), „Christmas Vacation“ (1989) and such. But November has evolved into the month where the dark side of Christmas is explored with a few Cult-Christmas flicks. They‘re not all good but they are pretty much unmissable this time of year in my household.
