For some reason or the other, 2015 has three 'Friday the 13th' all through the year, and we are currently on the second one. And before few of us start drawing conclusions about how this is "one of those" evil years, let us tell you that there are other more serious issues around to get scared about (like the Euro crisis).
Nonetheless, most of us here see the day (or rather, night) as an opportunity to clear the dust off our old horror movie DVDs at home and pick up a few of the classics that would really compliment the date. After all, it's not every day that you get to watch intense slasher and horror movies back to back with full volume.
Horror and slasher genres will never be dead, and neither will be the urge to spill pools of blood and decapitated human body parts on screen. Hence, here we take a look at the 13 best horror/slasher movies to celebrate only the second 'Friday the 13th' of the year.
The Burning (1981)
If you haven't heard about gore expert Tom Savini, "The Burning" is the perfect movie to pick up this 'Black Friday' with your friends. The film's sort of cult status is mainly down to the fact that it was quite hard to find, getting banned in UK. This classic camping slasher is set perfectly after a summer camp caretaker is burned brutally as a part of a prank gone horribly wrong. The caretaker then returns several years after for his revenge and picks up his trusted gardening shears to inflict pain. This movie is extreme gore but still deals bits and parts of classic psychological horror elements, borrowed from movies such as "Psycho."
Tumbling Doll of Flesh (1998)
This is where we trudge into the 'disgusting' category. 1998 horro' flick "Tumbling Doll of Flesh" is as savage and brutal as they come. The movie is directed by AV-horror director Tamakichi Anaru, and begins with three guys picking up a woman for a porn shoot. And as you would expect from a regular porn movie, everything in the book, including extreme bondage, is shown in full glory. But the movie picks up after the shoot when the director hits the girl over the head with a baseball bat while she's putting on her clothes. Here on, what follows is extreme mutilation and torture inflicted on the semi-conscious woman, enough to make even the most hardcore horror/slasher fanatic go nauseous. We went numb where the director cuts open the woman's stomach and does some of the most unmentionable things possible.
Reeker (2005)
"Reeker" is a slight combination of horror with slasher. The movie shows five college kids (as usual) hitching a ride to a rave party, only to find that the car has broken down in the middle of the desert at a mysterious diner. The diner is absolutely empty with no sign of anyone anywhere, until a cloaked gas mask-wearing killer starts hacking the teens with an assorted range of weapons made out of everyday power tools. Also, the killer doesn't believe in the concept of a "deodorant" and can be identified by the stench he carries.
Stagefright (1987)
Slasher movies weren't as advanced as today back in the 80s, meaning they were still researching the different ways you can inflict the maximum physical, gut-wrenching pain on another human being. "Stagefright" is the product of one of the researches that documents an escaped mental patient tormenting a group of performers rehearsing at a theatre. There are number of gruesome deaths in the movie to take note of, and the fact that it's combined with 80s synth-pop soundtrack gives it the kind of classic feel that was so evident in the yesteryears. And did we mention? The killer wears a giant owl head.
Murder-Set-Pieces (2004)
There's not much to relate to this one, the name says it all. Director Nick Palumbo's 2004 homicidal piece many of us shattered in the end. The movie features over 30 gruesome killings by the antagonist, who is only known as 'The Photographer,' while his day job being conducting hot photo-shoots with models. Take note that the movie has a lot of rape and torture going on, almost so much that you would slowly start detesting it with every fibre of your being. Some of the people have complained about the boring nature of the scenes, but for others, it leaves quite a mark.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Believe it or not, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" marked Johnny Depp's acting debut. Of all the movies out there, there has to be a place made in the every horror list to fit in the "adventures" of Freddy Krueger. And although most kids these days might relate to Kruger as "that playable character in Mortal Kombat 9," this slasher classic has been one of those sitting high up on charts. The movie's dreamy special effects, combined with iconic scenes (where Tina gets dragged across the ceiling of the bedroom) and the 'tongue-phone' sequence still leaves horror newbies frozen to their seats.
I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013)
If the original 1978 classic (and the remake the followed) wasn't enough for your sick and twisted desires, here's your chance again to re-live the horror with Steven R. Monroe's direction at the helm. While some of the horror experts we know claim the second part of the movie to be a torture flick gone wrong, the movie does have its ways with presenting everything gory you would expect. The movie shows heroine Katie (Jemma Dallender), an aspiring model living in New York, who goes for a photo-shoot. What follows is extreme torture inflicted on the girl by her photographer's brother, before she's shipped off to Bulgaria to be tortured even more. Almost all the ghastly ways of treating a human being has been documented in the movie, and it isn't until an hour before she starts having her own "revenge" against her tormentors.
Final Destination (2000)
There's no point why Final Destination shouldn't be added to a slasher list. After all, it does offer all the traits of the same. The movie doesn't have a human killer (Death is the killer), but that doesn't make the movie less of a gore fest. Although Death holds plans for the high school kids who are supposed die on the plane they board, they somehow manage to bend and break Death's plans. However, Death is very real and each of the members is picked off in the most extravagant ways to die. The concept was here to stay, until its more low-level sequels came around.
Scream (1996)
"Scream" from 1996 is something we end up watching more often than not. And its extreme gore and blood elements do indeed make it one of the grandest slasher flicks of all time. "Scream" borrows bits and parts from its more gruesome predecessors and presents then in a more creative and narrative structure. The movie almost single-handedly was successful in filling minds with fear, and hence bringing back to life the slasher genre that might have been on the verge of fading out at the end of the 80s.
The House on Sorority Row (1983)
If the name sounds more like an R-rated teen movie, you aren't to be blamed – because it does. However, you could call the movie as the forerunner of the very popular "I Know What You Did Last Summer" with a haunting figure stalking some sorority sisters who accidentally killed their house mother the day before. Spoiler Alert: The decapitated head-in-the-toilet scene may be too much for your "movie at dinner" plans.
Seed (2006)
"Seed" is said to be based on a real life event that happened in Seattle, WA, back in 1972 where a mass murderer, who was buried alive after surviving the electric chair, comes back to inflict a bloody revenge. The movie even sets the mood by warning that they have used real life footage of animal cruelty in it. And if you think that's just a stunt, try sitting through the parts where baby seals are being clubbed, foxes being skinned alive and dogs getting their skulls crushed. But that's not all: Wait till you come across the scene where an elderly woman is subjected to prolonged hatchet attacks.
Eyes of a Stranger (1981)
This spiteful, brutal flick is one of the reasons why some of us look at slasher movies with hateful eyes. The movie is a part slasher part crime thriller and shows a news reporter who believes that her neighbour is a serial rapist and killer. However, in order to bring the truth forward, she starts following up on the killer, until he comes back to haunt her, taking his anger out on the reporter's blind and deaf sister. You really need to watch this one, and although we won't reveal much, know that there's again the craftsmanship of Tom Savani involved here.
Toolbox Murders (2003)
Tobe Hooper has a great slasher-oriented mind (a personal envy), and his Texas Chainsaw Massacre was enough to highlight it. However, "Toolbox Murders" is a welcome addition to the list of intense slashers of all time and pays tribute to its other illustrious counterparts in the 80s. The movie documents a couple, who moves into an historic Los Angeles apartment building that also houses a ski masked murderer. The killer makes use of a variety of tools like nail guns and hammer to dispatch his helpless victims. There's a lot of blood that will be spilled on screen with this one – viewer discretion is advised.
