Slashers & Psychos

A decade of wisecracking sequels have not diminished the power of this striking horror film from the director of Scream. Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter (Heather Langenkamp) traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger (Robert Englund), who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. The teenaged leads are sympathetic and intelligent, unlike the dumb victims presented in most films of the period, and they are ably backed up by veterans like John Saxon and Ronee Blakley. Director Wes Craven creates moments of real dread by examining the line between nightmares and reality, as well as the "sins of the parents" theme, and although the film is quite gory, it never resorts to cheap bloodletting for its effect. A unique and disturbing experience, this film is highly recommended for horror buffs. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

When three females are brought together as part of a malevolent plan, their worst fears soon become a terrifying reality in a dark thriller from writer Jake Wade Wall and director John Simpson. A traumatized woman being questioned by a cop and a psychiatrist realizes that a clown, a hotel, and a convoy could hold the secret of stopping a relentless serial killer before he strikes again. As children they were best friends; as adults Tabitha, Shelby, and Lisa have wandered separate life paths. Now, inside a chilly prison chamber, three women and a group of other potential victims must fight for their lives, or lie down and die for another's amusement. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The beautiful people prove just as susceptible to death as their lower class counterparts in this Butcher Brothers shocker about an upper crust prank gone horribly awry. It's been a full year since Milan Hastings was killed in an elaborate prank organized by elitist heiress Desiree Carter and her scheming brother Blaine, and now the most popular kids in their social set are dropping like flies. No one is safe from the unseen killer who stalks their ranks, not aspiring actress Torrance, gay gossip columnist Charles, self-absorbed beauty queen Barbie, or her Republican fiancée Peter - a promising political hopeful. As the body count begins to rise, Desiree suspects that aspiring filmmaker Ryan may be to blame given that he still carries a torch for his beloved Milan. But the reality is much more complicated than that. It would seem that someone out there knows the truth about Desiree's nasty little prank on Milan, and they're willing to go to extraordinary lengths in order to elicit a confession from the scheming heiress. Desiree has been harboring a dark secret ever since that fateful night when Milan died, and this April Fools Day the folks who have since suffered for her greed will finally get to watch as the girl who had it all gets her just desserts. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Four twenty-somethings on an innocent GeoHunt inadvertently become the star players in a deadly reality show when a sadistic killer targets them for their notoriety on popular video and social networking sites. The latest craze in high tech adventure, GeoHunt allows travelers to play hide-and-seek using GPS devices. A leisurely treasure hunt turns into a bloody battle for survival, however, when a young group of treasure hunters fall into a trap set by a tech-savvy psycho. Now, as the treasure-hunters become the hunted, the murderous predator broadcasts his killing spree online for the entire world to see. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Veteran Boogey Man and Zodiac Killer director Ulli Lommel continues his long tradition of delivering tense thrills with this relentless look at the life of the elusive, Kansas-based serial killer known to authorities only as "B.T.K." before his arrest in February of 2005. A sadistic madman who left no clues at the scene of his crimes except for the ominous calling card of "Bind. Torture. Kill.," the man who eluded authorities for over three decades was finally captured by authorities after once again giving in to his bloodlust and embarking on a vicious killing spree. Though his murderous exploits had finally come to a close and the residents of Wichita could comfortably breathe a sigh of relief, the horrors that Dennis Rader (aka the B.T.K. killer) inflicted upon the frightened community offer a chilling reminder that even the most upstanding of citizens can harbor dark and frightening secrets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A few innocent women experience a nightmare before Christmas in this bloody thriller. Billy Lenz, a severely maladjusted child, finally snaps under years of brutal treatment by his family, killing and eating them in an explosion of violence on Christmas Eve. For years, the Lenz house stands vacant, but in time it's purchased and renovated as the new home for a college sorority. A few days before Christmas, a handful of sorority sisters -- Dana (Lacey Chabert), Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg), Kelli (Katie Cassidy), and Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) -- are enjoying a quiet evening with their house mother, Barbara MacHenry (Andrea Martin), exchanging gifts and swapping stories before heading home for holiday break. While Barbara remembers the story of Billy's crimes, the atmosphere is peaceful until the young women receive the first in a series of disturbing telephone calls. Before long, they learn that Billy has escaped after years in a mental institution, and has come back to the house where he grew up to once again spill blood for the Christmas season. Black Christmas is a remake of the 1974 horror film of the same name by director Bob Clark, who later made a less-threatening film about the Yuletide season, A Christmas Story; Andrea Martin, who plays the house mother, also appeared in the 1974 film as one of the sorority girls. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Someone in a black minstrel suit is killing all of the flunky students at a university in Salamanca, Spain, and it's up to a new student, Alex (Silke), to piece the puzzle together before the next post-exam death. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A child being brought up in a brothel shoots his mother and her john to death in the prologue to this silly slasher film from director Roberta Findlay (The Oracle). Thirteen years later, the Edmonson College chapter of Kappa Gamma Tau is preparing to initiate their new sorority sisters. Linda (Amy Brentano) gets her boyfriend Russ (Dan Erickson) to rig up the old brothel with spooky gags for a treasure hunt. That night, Linda takes a group of pledges to the house, which is actually haunted by the hookers' ghosts and a transvestite slasher who turns out to be the now-grown murderous kid from the prologue. There are no deaths for an hour, then viewers are treated to a strangulation by garter, a co-ed nailed into a coffin, a double-shooting, a hanging, a tumble down some stairs and a fairly brutal stabbing. Most will figure out who the killer is within five minutes and wait an hour more to see him do his thing in a puffy white dress and high-heels. Needless to say, Findlay has learned nothing from her two decades behind a camera and delivers one of the most tedious, nonsensical slasher films made during the 1980s glut. There are visible microphones, bad editing, horrid acting, and pathetically weak dialogue. Findlay is largely to blame for all of these flaws, as she photographed, co-edited, directed and wrote this awful mess which is strictly for completists only. Pam La Testa and Ruth Collins appear briefly. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Upon learning that their wheelchair-bound former teacher is on the verge of death, a group of former students decide to stage an impromptu class reunion at her country cottage, only to find their gathering taking a decidedly dark turn. Sixteen-years have passed since Ms. Park's students graduated, and now they have learned that the woman who formed the foundation of their education is about to perish. Upon arriving at the remote cottage the group is overwhelmed by emotion, but happiness soon turns to anger as the dangerous alcoholics, insecure bulimics, and self-absorbed plastic-surgery addicts begin to realize that it was Ms. Park's peculiar teaching style that set them all down a deeply dysfunctional path. As old grudges come flaming back to life and long-buried secrets gradually begin to surface, the once-happy gathering turns into a nightmare rampage of death driven by deep-rooted childhood rage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A traveling entertainer falls prey to a disturbed recluse in director Fabrice Du Welz's twisted, slow-burn riff on Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Having finished his latest performance at a remote retirement home, wandering singer Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) packs his gear into his van and sets out towards his next gig. Unfortunately for Marc, the fog-shrouded roads of rural France are more treacherous than he ever anticipated. When his van breaks down in the middle of the night and a skittish local promises to lead him to a nearby inn owned by the eccentric recluse Paul Bartel (Jackie Berroyer), it appears that luck may be on Marc's side and he will be back on the road with the light of the morning sun. This isn't your average bed and breakfast, though, and Bartel certainly isn't the kindly innkeeper he initially appears to be. When Marc's van is set aflame and his increasingly menacing host makes a most disturbing claim, the soft-spoken singer will be forced to fight for his life against not only Bartel, but an entire village of deeply disturbed woodsmen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This cheap, direct-to-video gorefest owes what little inspiration it can muster to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The plot involves a cluster of bad actors on a weekend camping trip who are set upon by a band of cannibalistic crackers hoping to stock up on fresh human carcasses in preparation for a long winter. To this end, the deformed yokels (one of whom sports a jet pilot's headgear for some unexplained reason) begin hacking, sawing and bludgeoning away at the youths with a variety of farm implements. Surprisingly, chainsaws do not come into play, although the omission was more likely a budgetary constraint than an attempt to avoid outright plagiarism. Little more than a prolonged excuse to sling blood and entrails across the screen, this amateurish effort is enlivened only slightly by a deranged performance by redneck comic Richard Marcus, whose hideously incoherent babbling should give viewers some indication of the filmmakers' general state of mind. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, and it's best not to get on his bad side in this quirky thriller that's gained a loyal cult following. Harry Straddling (Brandon Maggart) was traumatized as a child, when late at night on Christmas Eve, he walked into the family living room and saw his father, dressed as Santa Claus, having sex with his mother. Now grown to adulthood, Harry is malignly obsessed with the holiday season, particularly the myths of Santa Claus; he works for a toy company, he sleeps in a Santa suit, his apartment is stuffed with Christmas memorabilia, and he spies on the neighborhood children, keeping track of who has been good and bad. Harry's insistence that the toy company maintain high manufacturing standards does little to endear him to his co-workers, and his brother Phillip (Jeffrey DeMunn) thinks Harry has started to go off the deep end. One day, Harry snaps, and after dressing up as Santa, he steals a truckload of toys and delivers them to a mental hospital as presents for the young patients -- all well and good. But when Harry is then confronted by a group of people who don't believe he's Father Christmas, Harry reacts with violence, setting off a murder spree. Terror in Toyland (which was first released as You Better Watch Out and is now available on video as Christmas Evil) also features Patricia Richardson, who makes her film debut in a small role more than a decade before she gained fame on the TV series Home Improvement. Danny Federici of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band also has a cameo, as an accordion player at a community center dance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An average camping trip turns into a nature-bound nightmare when three young women arrive at a remote cabin in the woods and discover that the woods can harbor some frightening secrets. It was supposed to be a "girl's weekend" at grandpa's cabin, but when rumors of a crazy old hermit start swirling, the situation quickly turns deadly. Now, as the body count continues to multiply, the girls realize that their only hope is to flee the forest and never look back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide