Legacy of Blood : A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies
- Book Review,
by Jim Harper
Book Description
The "slasher" movie is the bloodiest incarnation of the modern horror film, tainted by criticisms of misogyny, yet remaining-on and off-a box-office draw for 30 years. Combining in-depth analysis with over 200 film reviews, Legacy of Blood is the most comprehensive examination of the slasher movie and its conventions to date, from Halloween and the notorious I Spit on Your Grave, to Scream-the redefining genre hit of the '90s-and beyond.
From the Publisher
Seventies style gore is back! The only indepth study of the slasher movie phenomenon that is effective as both an academic study and an informal guide Covers 200 films (with cast & credit details) over a thirty year period, combining an extensive encyclopedia of movies with a detailed overview of the genre A strong link to the interest feminist press, courtesy of (i) the mysoginistic tag associated with the slasher movie and (ii) the concept of the ‘Final Girl’ — often the only survivor in the slasher movie
About the Author
Born in 1975, Jim Harper grew up in Birmingham, Portugal, Somerset and the Lake District. He studied Ancient History at St David’s University College in Lampeter, Wales. He now works as a freelance writer and lives in Devon with his wife.
Excerpted from Legacy of Blood : A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies by Jim Harper. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
One of the most common accusations levelled at the slasher genre is that it glorifies the killers and their evil deeds. Although I do not believe the matter to be as serious as some critics have suggested, it is impossible to escape the fact that the ‘bad guys’ are considerably more memorable than their wholesome opponents. It is not an overstatement to say that the Nightmare on Elm Street series continued on as it did for so long because of the relative ‘charms’ of knife wielding child murderer Freddy Krueger. The aspects of the films that stick in the audience’s mind are invariably the weapons and equipment used by the relevant psychopath; Jason and his hockey mask, Michael Myers and his ever-present carving knife. The more popular of these evil protagonists are invariably those with their own trademarks and quirks. The faceless Cropsy from The Burning, who hardly appears in the first three quarters of the film, kills using a variety of weapons and wears no instantly recognisable clothing, has been lost to the mists of time. Despite his lack of publicity over recent years, Freddy, with his finger-knives, his dirty red stripped jumper and his crumpled brown hat, remains a popular horror icon. Obviously the comparative quality of the films is also an issue, but those movies with a strong killer-figure are more likely to succeed commercially. The image of the killer can quickly grow out of proportion. Even though he doesn’t feature at all in the first film, has a totally different appearance in the second one, and spends most of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday looking like other people, the image of Jason Voorhees as the psycho in khaki overalls and a white hockey mask will always be associated with the Friday the 13th series. The presence of this image is often enough to make or break the film. Although Halloween III: Season Of The Witch is generally considered to be a reasonable film, it has not been given the same endless re-releases that the other six instalments have. Any respectable video store could supply you with most of the series, but copies of the third one are relatively scarce, especially in Great Britain. Since the mid eighties it has been known simply as ‘the one that doesn’t have Michael in’. The association of certain killers with certain trappings has caused the personal characteristics of the killer to atrophy and generally disappear. The hockey mask is important, not the person wearing it. In the Friday series the mask (and sometimes the knife) assumes an almost mystical significance, apparently turning the wearer into Jason himself. In Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, Mr Voorhees doesn’t appear, being imitated by a paramedic who’s after vengeance for the death of his son. Obviously this new killer doesn’t limit himself to those responsible for the death, and acts in exactly the same way as Jason does in the rest of the series. Jason Goes to Hell is an unsatisfying movie not least because it attempts to focus on the spirit of Jason, rather than the mask and the knife. Thus most of the killings are carried out by people possessed by Jason, even though mirrors reveal the true identity of the killer. Obviously he’s wearing the mask in the reflection, suggesting that spirit and mask are equally important. The Scream trilogy is a case in point. Even though five separate murderers wear the ghost-mask and the black cloak, the ‘killer’ is often simply called ‘Ghostface’, as if there were only one individual behind the slayings. The actual identity of the five villains is secondary to the masks they wear during the greater part of the film. The cloak and mask serve to hide any individual features, turning them all into the same killer. It is only during the last fifteen minutes of each movie that a human face is given to the evil deeds. Movie tie-ins like action figures also reflect this; the models are not referred to as Billy, Stu or Mrs Loomis, but as ‘Ghostface’...
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