Amy Holden Jones’ original 1982 “The Slumber Party Massacre” is considered one of the great trashy slasher classics of the 1980’s. It’s a movie that’s so irredeemably stupid but is still celebrated by many fans. I personally think the sequels are better, if infinitely stupider, but that’s neither here nor there. 2021’s “Slumber Party Massacre” is both a meta-satire and re-imagining that follows up on the original events of the premise of the original movie and turns it on its head.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Syfy’s “Day of the Dead” Continues The Trampling of Romero’s Legacy
When the trailer for “Day of the Dead” arrived, it looked interesting but stumped me. The trailer for the Syfy series was a fast paced dark comedy with zombies, goofy one liners, and a bunch of action. It felt more like “Return of Z Nation” rather than a throwback to Romero. This could have been given any generic title like “Zombie Warz” or “Country Zombie Jammie Jam” and never really miss a beat. There’s no reason at all to call this “Day of the Dead” and pretend it’s honoring Romero’s original movie, and it’s sad Syfy has resorted to this.
It’s all brand recognition. It’s an easy sell, an easy pitch, and has a built in audience.
Halloween Kills (2021)
Director David Gordon Green simultaneously delivers a sequel that does something completely new with “Halloween” and also promises to divide horror fans down the middle. There is no horror movie in 2021 that promises to polarize horror fans more than “Halloween Kills.” Rather than a movie that features Michael Myers killing, killing, and killing some more, David Gordon Green goes a different route and explores the fall out from his murder spree in 1978 and 2018.
Ranking Michael Myers’ Masks from Best to Worst
Yes, I know, I’m not the first to rank all of Michael Myers’ masks from the “Halloween” movie series, and I won’t be the last. But I figure since the highly anticipated “Halloween Kills” premieres on Friday and it features another alteration on “The Shape” and his guise, that it would be a good time to explore which of Michael’s many masks I loved and which I despised. The ranking just might surprise you. I know it surprised me. Michael has had so many different masks over the course of his film series due to various production issues and creative turns, so what better way to celebrate the impending release of the David Gordon Green sequel?
Legend (1985): 2-Disc Limited Edition [Blu-Ray]
I haven’t been the biggest fan of Ridley Scott’s output over the years, but there’s no denying his one two punch of “Alien” and “Legend” is immense. Often times modern audiences forget to cite “Legend” as one of the benchmarks of the fantasy genre. It’s probably the quintessential dark fantasy film and the one film I think of when I refer to fantasy films. There’s everything here from goblins, and trolls, to unicorns, and a valiant warrior, in the form of Tom Cruise. There’s also the unparalleled performance by Tim Curry whose delivers a stunning turn as the Lord of Darkness.
“Chucky” is a Return to Form for the Series
The original Don Mancini 1988 horror film “Child’s Play” was both a slasher movie and a psychological thriller. We’re given an immense amount of exploration in to the mind of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, and we see him transfer his body in to the Good Guy doll. But when Andy is given the cursed doll, every time someone dies and the body count rises, there is the suspicion that perhaps Andy is committing the murders and Chucky is an outlet for his feelings of alienation. “Chucky” reaches back in to the original narrative and brilliantly adjusts it for a modern setting.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” Is a Failure on Every Level [Digital]
After whatever that MTV reboot of “Scream” was, networks and companies seem to be learning all the wrong lessons from it. Rather than breathe new life in to a once solid slasher series, Amazon has botched it from out the gates. Instead of a tense, white knuckle slasher/murder mystery, Lois Duncan’s novel is adapted in to an erotic teen drama thriller. Think less “Slasher” and more “Riverdale.” It’s a glacially paced glorified drama with a horror tint that downplays the horror and slasher aspects of the aforementioned movie series in favor of gratuitous sex, pointless nudity, and droning dialogue.