Slaughter Daughter is a 2012 horror film co-written and directed by Travis Campbell (Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical). Lauren Miler was the co-writer and producer for Slaughtered Heart Productions. It stars Nicola Fiore, Leesa Rowland, Tim Dax and Ruby Larocca. Troma producer/director Lloyd Kaufman makes a cameo appearance as a minister.

Plot:

A former beauty queen plots the death of her overbearing mother with the help of her pen-pal, a serial killer on death row.

“Face it, any film entitled “Slaughter Daughter” isn’t out to delight you with creative narrative.  It’s Campbell’s execution of this escalating descent into madness that keeps the piece above water when the sometimes questionable performances and generic quality of the screenplay threaten to sink it.  He weaves fantasy sequences and hallucinations seamlessly into the story’s flimsy fabric, creating another world out of the New Jersey location on a mere $15,000 budget. That’s no small feat.” Robert Getz, HorrorNews.net

Buy Slaughter Daughter on Instant Video | DVD from Amazon.com

“The film hinges on the decision as to whether Farrah decides to go through with her master plan to annihilate her family or not. The decision is as dark as the rest of Farrah’s fantasies and maintains the darkly comic tone which takes place from the start. The use of old Italian giallo music makes this film utterly unique, making everything seem overly operatic and serious, yet typical for a young schoolgirl’s idealistic viewpoint of the world. If you’re a John Waters and Greg Araki fan, SLAUIGHTER DAUGHTER is going to be right up your alley. Like the films of those directors, it shines a light on alternative and deviant cultures that rarely get the spotlight in bigger budgeted movies.” Ambush Bug, Ain’t It Cool News

“The special effects are not something I would call phenomenal or truly amazing but they do fit the film and the kills we get on camera.  Overall, Slaughter Daughter is a film with a great story but fell apart during production.  I recommend it to watch at least once but it has no replay value.” Blacktooth, Horror Society

IMDb | Official Facebook

Open Windows is an upcoming Spanish horror thriller directed and written by Nacho Vigalondo.The film stars Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey and Neil Maskell. The film is set for an April 2014 release.

Elijah Wood stars as a fanboy of actress Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey), and as the winner of an online contest he gets the rare chance to have a dinner date with her. However, when dinner plans are cancelled someone named Chord says he can make up for it. Chord gives Nick (Elijah Wood) the tools to spy on Jill from his computer, in a way that no fan could ever dream of. After each demand Chord gives Nick, it becomes apparent that Chord set the whole thing up and Nick is a part of a much bigger, more sinister plan…

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Projected Man is a 1966 British science fiction horror film starring  Bryant Haliday, Norman Wooland, Mary Peach, and Ronald Allen. It was released in the United States by Universal, on a double bill with Island of Terror.

Discovered by Alex Gordon as an unproduced screenplay by Hollywood writer Frank Quattrocchi, The Projected Man was directed by Ian Curteis; it would be the first theatrical film that he would direct. However, due to his lack of experience, he ran into several problems during filming. As the film fell behind schedule and the budget kept increasing, he was fired during the film’s final stages. Producer John Croydon replaced him; however, Croydon remained uncredited as the producers did not wish to publicise the problems which had occurred on set.

Plot:

Dr. Paul Steiner (Bryant Haliday) and Dr. Christopher Mitchell (Ronald Allen) work on a projection device that enables them to transmit any object within a few miles of the machine. While they find the device works with inanimate objects, the living creatures they use it on always seem to die. When Dr. Patricia Hill (Mary Peach) arrives, she helps them fix the error, making Steiner think the problem has been solved. Meanwhile, Dr. Blanchard (Norman Wooland), Steiner’s boss and head of the institute he works for, is being blackmailed by Mr. Latham (Derrick De Marney), who wants credit for Steiner’s discovery. He forces Blanchard to demand Steiner to give a premature presentation to Professor Lembach (Gerard Heinz).

Steiner, Mitchell, and Hill feel they are ready to present, but at the event, Blanchard sneakily places acid on the machine, causing an explosion. The funding for Steiner’s project is ended instantly, however, Mitchell later discovers that the device has been tampered with. Steiner goes to Blanchard’s house. He presents the men with the evidence that his machine was deliberately tampered with, and Lembach allows him to have another chance…

Topless scene included at the insistence of Tony Tenser’s Compton Films

Reviews:

” … certain aspects of its story never quite get around to making much sense, but it’s much faster- paced and more tautly directed than most of the 50’s monster-rampage movies from which it takes its cues. The acting is well above the average for movies of this type, and the special effects are excellent, considering the constraints of The Projected Man’s obviously low budget. You could easily find a hundred worse Saturday matinee time-wasters than this one.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“British horror thriller with scientific overtones would have been more watchable with faster pacing and less superfluous material.” John Stanley, Creature Features Movie Guide

“The title monster is sufficiently different in appearance to anything I had seen before, the laboratory actually looks like a proper laboratory and equipment rather than the contents of someone’s garage. There’s some explosions at the end , a brief view of some bare breasts and more than a few unintentional laughs.” Tim Rogerson,

Publicity shots emphasized actress Tracey Crisp in her underwear

“Nearly the whole first half is spent on annoying arguments at the research center. The second half commences with a decent lab scene and then turns into a monster-on-the-loose story, like First Man into Space. But even this second half wastes itself with annoying people meandering around, trying to figure out what’s happening. The action quotient is tiny.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film

Buy The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon book by Tom Weaver from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb

Monsterz is a 2014 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata (Ring). It is a remake of Min-suk Kim’s 2010 film Haunters. It stars Tatsuya Fujiwara, Takayuki Yamada, Satomi Ishihara, Tomorowo Taguchi, and Motoki Ochiai. The film is due for release across Japan on the 30th May, 2014.

Synopsis:

A man (Tatsuya Fujiwara) possesses a special ability to manipulate others with just his eyes. Because of this special ability, he killed his abusive father and was abandoned by his mother. He now lives a lonely life in the dark side of a city. Meanwhile, Shuichi Tanaka (Takayuki Yamada) doesn’t have a family and lives with his friends. Even though he is poor, he has a bright outlook on life. One day, these two men meet. The man becomes confused, because he can’t manipulate Shuichi with his eyes.

Thanks to Far East Films for this information.

Mummy Dance! is a 2014 song by the mysterious American self-proclaimed “horror rock goddess” Characula whose musical influences apparently include Motley Crue and Gregorian chants. She and her henchmen will be touring the UK soon…

Mummy Dance! promo video:

Ready for Love promo video:

Official Facebook

Scream Inn is a horror themed board game, first produced in the UK by Strawberry Fayre from 1974.

Scream Inn was a a comic strip that ran in British weekly Shiver and Shake during 1973-74, and this game – only vaguely related – appeared in the second year of its run. Oddly, the game didn’t feature any of the original characters (apart from a generic white-sheet ghost) and it is uncertain if there is any official connection between the two (the game makes no mention of the strip).

The game was aimed at players aged six years-old to adult, and could be played by 2 – 4 players. Each players starts with five figures and four ghosts, and you hide your ghosts under the rotating board, placing them under beds of floorboards, concealed from other players. If you land on a bed of a floorboard, you have to look underneath – if you encounter a ghost, you lose that piece and must start again. The aim of the game is to escape Scream Inn without being frightened by ghosts.It had the slogan “We’re only here for the fear!”.

The board had a semi-3D format and the game was full of small parts that would inevitably get broken or lost, and was needlessly complicated. Nevertheless, the packaging and the name ensured that it was popular amongst horror-loving kids.

DF

Fear Clinic is an upcoming 2014 feature film by Robert Green Hall, based upon the web series of the same name. The movie, which was partially funded through crowdsourcing, stars Robert Englund as a psychiatrist that tries to cure phobias by using extreme methods. The film’s release date is tentatively slated for October 2014 as a theatrical film, VOD, and DVD.

After a tragedy shatters their lives and leaves them with crippling phobias, five people decide to seek treatment through Dr. Anover (Robert Englund) and his “Fear Chamber”. In this device the patients are put into complete isolation and must face their worst fears in various nightmarish hallucinations. The patients eventually leave Andover’s care, only to return a year later when they find that their phobias are still present. However even as the patients ready themselves to re-enter Anderson’s machine, the doctor begins to wonder if there isn’t something more sinister working through his creation…

Splatterhouse (スプラッターハウス Supurattāhausu) is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is also the title of the entire series of subsequent games released in home console and personal computer formats.

Due to its violent nature as well as some questionable enemies, the TurboGrafx-16 port of Splatterhouse had a parental advisory warning of sorts printed on the front of the box that read “The horrifying theme of this game may be inappropriate for young children… and cowards.”

Splatterhouse is a sidescrolling beat ‘em up video game in which the player controls Rick, a parapsychology student who is trapped inside West Mansion. After his resurrection by the Terror Mask, Rick makes his way through the mansion, fighting off hordes of creatures in a vain attempt to save his girlfriend Jennifer from a grisly fate. Players of the game will also recognize a number of western horror film influences, such as Friday the 13th and Evil Dead 2.

Similar to many sidescrolling beat ‘em up games, Rick can only move in a two-dimensional environment. The playing field does not feature a three-dimensional area, a feature that was added later in the series with Splatterhouse 3. He has the ability to jump and can punch and kick. Rick also has a Special Attack, where he will perform a drop kick that sends him skidding along the ground, damaging any enemies he hits. Rick can also perform a low kick, low punch, and jumping attacks, as well as pick up and use various weapons placed in the levels.

Two college students, Rick Taylor and Jennifer Willis, take refuge from a storm in West Mansion, a local landmark known as “Splatterhouse” for the rumors of hideous experiments purportedly conducted there by Dr. West, a renowned and missing parapsychologist. Rick awakens in the dungeon of the mansion to discover that he is still alive thanks to the influence of the “Terror Mask”, or in some versions, the “Hell Mask”, a Mayan sacrificial artifact from West’s house which is capable of sentient thought. The mask attaches itself to Rick, fusing with his body and transforming him into a monster with superhuman strength. With the mask’s encouragement, Rick goes on a rampage through the dungeon and the mansion grounds, killing hordes of monsters…

Wikipedia

A new advert for Mars Snickers chocolate bars, suggests that when Godzilla isn’t hungry, he’s a friendly and a fun creature to be around. The ad shows Godzilla waterskiing, playing ping-pong, and engaging in other good-natured revelry, right up until he starts getting hungry… and then angry and destructive! Obviously, digesting a Snickers bar is all it takes to calm him down. The advert also includes a plug for the new Godzilla film which opens this summer. Except this product tie-in to be one of many to come in the next few months…

Dark House (original title: Haunted) is a 2014 horror film co-written and directed by Victor Salva (Clownhouse, Jeepers Creepers and sequels). Charles Agron provided the story and co-scripted. It stars Tobin Bell (Saw and sequels), Luke Kleintank (Bones), Alex McKenna (Campfire Tales), Anthony Rey Perez, Zack Ward (Freddy vs. Jason, The Devil’s Tomb), Lacey Anzelc, Ethan S. Smith and Lesley-Anne Down (Assault, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Nomads). It should not be confused with the 2009 film Dark House which stars Jeffrey Combs.

Dark House will be released in New York and Los Angeles on March 14th (with additional markets to follow), and will be available on cable, VOD, Blu-ray Disc and DVD March 11th.

Official synopsis:

“Dark House is a thrilling and horrifying road trip, full of twists and brutal surprises; a suspenseful thriller about a young man and a chilling old house that has survived decades, awaiting the return of its prodigal son… a house that can escalate Nick’s gift to see death before it happens, but holds within its walls the origins of a dark family legacy so horrible it may have already reached out to Nick’s unborn child.”

IMDb

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio is a 1971 horror film directed by Eric Jeffrey Haims from a screenplay by Donn Greer (assistant director of Satan’s Cheerleaders), based on a story by Bonnie Jean, very loosely adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It stars Sebastian Brook (Rosemary’s Baby), Mady Maguire (A Scream in the Streets), Donn Greer, Gray Daniels (Gallery of Horror, Gremlins 2, The Rain Killer), John Terry, Rene Bond (Necromania, Please Don’t Eat My Mother, Invasion of the Bee Girls), Casey Larrain (The Toy Box), Terri Bond, Hump Hardy, Nora Wieternik, Cathie Demille, Ric Lutze, Melissa Ruiz, Duane Paulsen and Jane Tsentas.

In the US, the film was issued an ‘X’ rating by the MPAA but by 1973 it received limited theatrical showings in North America. It was not released domestically on VHS. In late 1982, British video label Intervision announced plans to issue it on Beta and VHS. However, with the ‘video nasty’ controversy raging and their sleazy box cover (see above) already publicised, Intervision cancelled the release, making it mail order outside of the UK. It seems to have had a very limited Australian release, however. In early 2014, Vinegar Syndrome announced a limited edition Blu-ray Disc release of just 1000 copies on a double-bill with A Clock Work Blue.

Plot:

The Florence Nightingale Institute has a reputation for training highly respected nurses. Unfortunately, director Dr. Dorian Cabala (Sebastian Brook) has peculiar and perverted rules. To make matters worse, a killer begins preying on the students, leaving their abdomens with three star-shaped punctures. As the trainee nurses prepare to stage their own version of ‘Dr. jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ two cops (Donn Greer and Gray Daniels) keep an eye on Dr. Cabala and his charges…

Reviews:

“Eric J. Haims’s film is weird and gory and worth the time a viewer spends with it. Pants optional. I’m going out of my way to not give too much away. Because it’s the kind of film I love discovering from a decade that is chock full of wonder and odd: the 70s. A completely idosyncratic, individual oddball of a film seen by almost no one.” Bleeding Skull

“If you happened to miss the opening credits of this 1971 effort, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were watching an Andy Milligan movie. It’s all here: penny-pinching period sex/horror with elaborate but oddly shabby costumes, grainy 16mm blow-up cinematography, crudely recorded and mixed sound, elderly library music cues, a mix of affordable practical locations and flimsy sets, and amateur thesping that is all over the map, sprinkled with some vintage horror iconography.” By John Charles

“Filled with headache-inducing Milliganesque bad camerawork, bad editing, bad lighting, bad acting, bad plot, bad effects, bad sex scenes. And no, none of this is in the ‘so bad it’s good category’” Chelle’s Inferno

IMDb | Thanks to By John Charles for some of the info for this posting.

Skinless is a 2014 micro $2000 budget American horror film co-written and directed by Dustin Mills (The Puppet Monster Massacre, Bath Salt Zombies, Night of the Tentacles). It stars co-writer Brandon Salkil, Erin R. Ryan (Babysitter Massacre), Allison Egan and Dave Parker.

Skinless will receive an initial theatrical premiere in Cleveland at midnight in the US by Phantom Pain Films on March 8 with other venues to follow.

Official synopsis:

“Brilliant oncologist Peter Peel discovers a possible cure for skin cancer in the belly of an exotic parasite. When he tests the cure on himself, his world is shattered and a monster is born. Skinless is a sad tale of madness, murder, monsters, and love.”

Night of the Tentacles trailer:

Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for some of the info above.

WH

Scream Park is a 2012 American horror film written and directed by Cary Hill. It stars Doug Bradley (Hellraiser and sequels), Nicole Beattie, Kailey Marie Harris, Dean Jacobs, Tyler Kale, Ian Lemmon, Alicia Marie Marcucci, Carrie Lee Martz, Nivek Ogre [Kevin Ogilvie from industrial band Skinny Puppy], Kyle Riordan, Steve Rudzinski, Wendy Wygant

Wild Eye Releasing have announced that Scream Park will be available in the US on DVD and VOD on April 22, 2014. The DVD release will include a commentary by director Cary Hill, bloopers and trailers.

Official synopsis:

“The Fright Land amusement park is on the verge of closing its doors forever. But the park’s owner, Hyde (Doug Bradley), has one last plan to sell more tickets… murder. Hiring two backwoods maniacs to break into the park and hack and slash all his employees, Hyde thinks these killings will create a media sensation, but he has just unleashed a horror that no one can survive.“

Reviews:

“Scream Park is worth a watch if you are into 80s slasher films.  It has an authentic look and feel to it, and stars a creepy old amusement park to boot.  You also get a horror movie great, an influential musician, and gore.  What more could you ask for?” Scaretissue

“If you’re a huge old school slasher fan there is definitely something here for you to sink your teeth into. You have to wait a while for the gore and the cool kill sequences to come around, but when they do, you won’t be disappointed. Nothing new or overly original is on offer with this one, so just take the film for exactly what it is, 80 minutes of entertainment.” Adam the Movie God

“Once the bloodbath begins everything remains incredibly predictable but nonetheless entertaining. The small twist at the end I had suspicions about throughout the film but was never wholly sold on the idea so kudos for not giving it away entirely.” Robert Beksinski, Letterboxd.com

Watch trailer on Vimeo:

IMDb | Official site | Official Facebook

The Cosmic Man is a 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Herbert S. Greene from a screenplay by Arthur C. Pierce (Terror in the Midnight Sun, The Astral Factor). It stars John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow, Lyn Osborn, Walter Maslow, Herbert Lytton. Herbert S. Greene was assistant director on Invisible Invaders, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (both 1959) and Strait-Jacket (1963).

“A virtual re-write ofThe Day The Earth Stood Still, with the great John Carradine as the alien … No match for Earth Stood Still, of course, but how many movies are? Not-So-Memorable Dialog: “Here… Colonel, have a mint.” The man-hungry blonde is a hoot. Includes some nifty electronic sound effects.” Willard’s Wormholes

“Director Herbert Greene and scripter Arthur C. Pierce create almost zero suspense in their scenario, attempting at the eleventh hour to duplicate the Christ-motif of Day by having the Cosmic Man sacrifice his life for the young boy but then “rise again” — or at least, it’s implied that he may live again after his dead body gets teleported away.” Naturalistic! Uncanny! Marvelous!

“… engaging low-budget oddity … The film’s optimistic ending has a certain naive power.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction

Buy The Cosmic Man on Image Entertainment DVD from Amazon.com

Buy The Cosmic Man + The Flying Saucer + Stranger from Venus on DVD from Amazon.com

IMDb | We are grateful to Wrong Side of the Art! for some of the images above.

Video Nasty is a six part British comic book series, which began publication in March 2014.

The story takes place in 1983, and is a mix of police mystery and horror, set against the back drop of the Video Nasty hysteria that was sweeping the UK at the time. When a man is murdered with a Nazi dagger, the press, politicians and police Chief Constable are keen to place the blame for the killing on fans of ‘video nasties’. However, the man in charge of the investigation is not so sure…

The story weaves fact and fiction together, with characters based on real life people (including infamous Manchester Chief Constable James Anderton) and events, and presents the often hysterical claims made about violent video while upholding them to ridicule.

The book is written by Mario Covone and illustrated by Vasilis Logios. Each issue has cover art by Graham Humphreys, the artist responsible for the original Palace Video artwork for The Evil Dead.

The six editions are available individually or as a complete set, both in print and as e-books. There is also a hardback version, and special edition available in VHS-style clamshell box.

“This is good stuff so far – I ploughed through both issues quickly and was left wanting more, which is always a good sign” David Flint, Strange Things Are Happening

www.mariocovone.com

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The Tyburn Tree are a duo comprised of Soft Cell singer Marc Almond and saxophonist John Harle. On February 24, 2014 the pair released ‘Dark London’ on Sospiro Noir Records. Promotional shots for the album were taken in Highgate Cemetery.

The album features songs about the more frightening aspects of the British capital city’s history. Spring-Heeled Jack, The Highgate Vampire, Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper (in cinema and TV) are represented alongside lesser known grim character such as the Ratcliffe Highway murderer. The title of the album relates to the infamous Tyburn Tree gallows on which over 60,000 common criminals were hung in huge spectacles of brutal justice. Seventies production company Tyburn Films (The Ghoul, Legend of the Werewolf) also took their name from the ghastly gallows.

“Ex-Soft Cell frontman Almond channels his fascination for cabaret into theatrical songs about the city’s lore. Meanwhile composer Harle creates a moody score flickering with echoes of Gypsy folk, late-night jazz and, for “Spring Heeled Jack”, about the supernatural London villain, neurotic prog rock.” FT.com

“We all know that Marc Almond can sing but it still comes as a shock to hear his thrillingly drawn-out climax to Harle’s “The Arrival of Spring”, emoting words adapted from William Blake with operatic oomph” The Independent

“Harle gallops across his musical terrain with the attitude of Axl Rose. Terrifyingly extreme and magnificently audacious, Harle is a powerful force in British jazz and pop, and has the integrity, passion and vision to challenge listeners” Esquire USA

Buy Dark London on CD | vinyl | MP3 album from Amazon.co.uk

Official site

Afflicted is a 2013 Canadian action horror film written and directed by Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, both of whom star. The rest of the cast are Baya Rehaz, Edo Van Breemen, Zachary Gray.

Plot:

Two best friends set out on the trip of a lifetime around the world. Their journey, documented every step of the way, soon takes a dark and unexpected turn after an encounter with a beautiful woman in Paris leaves one of them mysteriously afflicted.

Reviews:

” … the film works so well is that you really care about these men and you feel the pain and fear Derek is dealing with both directly with him, and through Clif’s eyes. It is because these men matter, that they are important that the dire, scary situation they find themselves in resonates as well as it does. Often scary and with a real emotional core, Afflicted is an unexpected gem that I hope gets some serious support when released.” Flay Otters, Horror-Movies.ca

“Afflicted is a small concept thriller that attempted to fake its way into becoming a feature film, but there just isn’t enough story to sustain 45 minutes let alone this movie’s miniscule 85 minute running time. About a third of the way through the film should have ended, it had run its course and could have come to a close with a satisfying, creepy and freakishly humorous conclusion as Derek proves killing himself is not the answer to his newfound vampire affliction.” Brad Brevet, Rope of Silicon

“Afflicted is also really fucking scary. Lee and Prowse do not waste a shot, do not waste a moment, in telling their story. Through sound, the careful use of effects, and through great character work, Prowse and Lee take an intimate story and turn it into something larger than itself.  It explores the genre with true grace, intelligence, and terror; for a monster to truly work onscreen, you have to love it a little. Afflicted loves its monster, and so do we.” Ain’t It Cool News

“Afflicted is the perfect film through which one can cast off the negativity associated with found footage and simply call it what it is: a unique and engaging way to present the narrative. It doesn’t need to be a found footage movie, but the perspectives Derek and Clif give to his physical changes and the subsequent mess they find themselves in allows for some incredibly effective and creepy horror filmmaking.” Brad McHargue, Dread Central

IMDb

Prom Night is a 1980 American/Canadian slasher film directed by Paul Lynch and starring Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis. The original music score was composed by Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer. The film was given a limited release in the United States on July 18, 1980 (eventually going wide on August 15), and was considerably popular, especially within the drive-in theater circuit. It was released in Canada in September that year, and went on to become the country’s highest-grossing horror film of 1980.

During the video rental boom years, it spawned three unconnected-except-by-title sequels: Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou (1987), Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1990) and Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1992). A remake, Prom Night, was released in 2008.

For six long years, Hamilton High School seniors Kelly, Jude, Wendy, and Nick have been hiding the truth of what happened to ten-year-old Robin Hammond the day her broken body was discovered near an old abandoned convent. The foursome kept secret how they taunted Robin – backed her into a corner until, frightened, she stood on a window ledge… and fell to her death. Though an accident, the then-twelve-year-olds feared they’d be held responsible and vowed never to tell. But someone else was there that day… watching. And now, that someone is ready to exact murderous revenge-on prom night…

According to director Paul Lynch in the documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006), he was having difficulty securing financing until Jamie Lee Curtis signed on. Once the film was shot, Paramount expressed interest in distributing the movie. However, they only wanted to open it in 300 theaters whereas Avco Embassy Pictures offered to release it in 1200 theaters. As a result Avco released Prom Night. and Paramount released another independent slasher film… Friday the 13th.

Buy Prom Night on DVD from Amazon.com 

“A lot of people don’t like Prom Night because it’s slow and not very wet with grue, and I’d like to say they’re WRONG! But my inner-Buddha democratic self will not allow it. For Vegan Voorhees, it doesn’t get better than disco NRG, an axe-wielding killer and Jamie Lee fucking Curtis – what more could there be!?” Vegan Voorhees

“Prom Night may be cheesy and it may seem terribly dated today, but it is the crowning example of the slasher film in its classical stage. Before disco cynicism or post-modern reflexivity, Prom Night is a simple and entertaining piece of 1980 nostalgia. Black Christmas may be more artistic, My Bloody Valentine more frightening and Happy Birthday to Me more surprising, but when it comes to Canadian slashers, no film is more fun Prom Night, because as even the theme song knows, ” At the prom night? everything is alright!”" Canuxploitation

“The most terrifying thing about Prom Night is the ruthless children at the beginning yelling KILL! KILL! KILL!. Little bastards. Other than that, it’s not scary and is ultimately pretty forgettable. Maybe that’s why I’ve seen it so many times. I’ll probably watch it again in a few months, then ask myself why I keep watching it. Well, there’s always Jamie Lee on the light-up dance floor.” Final Girl

Buy the Prom Night Collection Box Set from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb

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Lake of the Dead (In Norwegian: De dødes tjern, also known as Lake of the Damned) is a 1958 Norwegian horror film directed by Kåre Bergstrøm, based on the 1942 novel by the same name, written by André Bjerke. The film stars Henki Kolstad, Henny Moan and Georg Richter.

A DVD was released October 14, 2009, with English subtitles. Before that, the movie was hardly known outside of Norway.

Plot:

20th to 23rd August, 1958: Crime author Bernhard Borge and his wife Sonja, psychoanalyst Kai Bugge, magazine editor Gabriel Mørk, lawyer Harald Gran and his fiancée Liljan Werner are six Oslo people who are visiting Bjørn Werner (Liljan brother) in his cabin deep in the Østerdal forests. However, when the guests arrive, Werner is missing and his dog is found dead. It’s not long before they begin to ponder the old legend that is associated with the place: a man is said to have killed his sister and her lover and then drowned himself in the lake. There is a legend that everyone who stays in the house – the murderer’s cabin – would be possessed by a strange morbid attraction: forced to drown themselves in a watery grave. The company decide to solve the mystery, but soon, it appears that they are exposed to the mysterious, fascinating powers that are tied to the lake…

Reviews:

“Lake of the Dead is a hugely enjoyable film. It combines all the fun of a well constructed potboiler with a haunting lyricism that points toward far more murky depths beneath its polished surface. Viewed in the wee hours, and in an appropriately receptive state, it could definitely give you a deliciously good scare. As such, it’s easy to see why it holds such a hallowed place in the cinematic history of its country of origin. All the more impressive is how, in a manner sadly atypical of its genre, it manages to accomplish its humble aims with such subtlety and nuance.” Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill!

“From a visual standpoint, it’s often breathtaking. The sense of complete isolation in the forest is effectively eerie and the lake itself, dotted with lily pads and often shot glimmering in the moonlight, begins to take on an almost ominous personality of its own as the film progresses. In some ways it is reminiscent of Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, which also contrasts the beauty in nature to more sinister goings-on beyond. In summary, Lake of the Dead is a cinematic experience not to be missed, even if your horror tastes have never before stretched to Scandinavian classics.” VisualCrack

Wikipedia | IMDb

Final Exam is a 1981 American slasher horror film. Director and screenwriter Jimmy Huston apparently wanted to go against the norm and decided to feature little on-screen graphic violence. Still, like most slasher films of the 1980s, it was battered by critics and received only a brief theatrical run. Following VHS releases, it was finally released on DVD in 2008 and is available on Blu-ray in May 2014 via Shout! Factory.

Final Exam is referenced in Scream 2 along with other college themed slasher films such as: The House on Sorority Row, Graduation Day, The Dorm That Dripped Blood and Splatter University.

Plot:

Late at night, two college students (Carol Capka and Shannon Norfleet) are busy making out in a parked convertible. Ignoring the girl’s frequent objections, her boyfriend pushes on. Outside, a shadowy man jumps on top of the car, slicing his way through the fabric roof. Reaching inside, the lunatic grabs the young man and pulls him up and out onto the car’s hood. Brandishing a blade, the killer stabs the young man to death.

Sleepy Lanier College is nearing the end of Final Exam week: a frenzied semester cap time of grades, goodbyes, and pranks. As the students prepare for their tests as well as the coming vacation break, little do they suspect a murderer is stalking them one by one. Plain but amiable Courtney (Cecile Bagdadi) is completing her exams and studying hard. Averse to hitting the books, her roommate Lisa (DeAnna Robbins) is busy packing and getting back to the city.

Meanwhile, Gamma Delta fraternity pledge Gary (Terry W. Farren) has pinned his girlfriend Janet (Sherry Willis-Burch)… and paid for it by being treed by his brothers, stripped to his briefs, awash in shaving cream and ice cubes shoved down his underwear. As night falls on Lanier, a freezing Gary hopes his beloved Janet will free him from his humiliation. Untied from the tree by an unknown figure, Gary is relieved, but is stabbed to death by the man that killed the couple in the convertible…

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Reviews:

“Whereas so many slashers spend a great deal of time setting up an elaborate and sometimes ridiculous backstory for the killer, Final Exam seems uninterested in the killer as a living human being and instead uses him as a tragic, mysterious force that moves into the lives of those at Lanier College and changes them forever. He’s a perfect storm whose only motivation is carnage and the kind of random maniac that is all too prevalent in real life. The killer actually manages to generate a few decent scares, thanks in part to Huston’s clever direction and Raynor’s minimalistic, yet menacing performance. ” Oh, the Horror!

“In the annals of early 80s slashers, it’s both one of the worst (worst killer ever, for certain) and one of the best (due to its unparalleled levels of unintentional comedy).” Horror Movie a Day

“A few problems keep Final Exam from being a really good slasher. The first half is more of a college drama. The only soap opera elements missing are a pregnancy scare and an outbreak of venereal disease on campus. Killer (Timothy L. Raynor) has no name, background, or motivation. He’s just a big guy with a knife. This lack of character development really robs the film of suspense and tension. The viewer is waiting for a payoff that never comes. Final Exam may not be the most terrifying campus slasher ever filmed but it still manages to be funny and entertaining. Fans of gallows humor will find plenty to chuckle over.” Retro Slashers