A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies , splatter films , supernatural and psychological horror films.
132-510: Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem . The group currently consists of vocalist, founder and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, guitarist Ian Jekelis, guitarist Dan Konráðsson and drummer Ken Bedene. Although the band originally had an entire lineup of members living in Belgium, Aborted's current lineup now features members from Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland and
264-521: A 2006 documentary, the movie "became the flashpoint, igniting protests across the nation". Protesters picketed theaters playing the film with placards reading, "Deck the hall with holly – not bodies!" Released in November 1984 by TriStar Pictures , persistent carol -singers forced one Bronx cinema to pull Silent Night, Deadly Night a week into its run. The widespread outrage led to the film's removal, with only 741,500 tickets sold. As interest in
396-571: A DVD. Aborted are currently signed to Century Media Records . According to Allmusic , Aborted "had grown into the role of key contributors to the death-grind genres". The band released the Coronary Reconstruction EP on 14 January 2010. On 28 March 2011, de Caluwé announced that recording for Aborted's seventh studio album, Global Flatline would begin in June. The album is reported to contain fifteen tracks. Global Flatline
528-538: A brief period. Jamie Lee Curtis , daughter of Janet Leigh , was cast as the heroine Laurie Strode while veteran actor Donald Pleasence was cast as Dr. Sam Loomis , an homage to John Gavin 's character in Psycho . Halloween 's opening tracks a six-year-old's point-of-view as he kills his older sister, a scene emulated in numerous films such as Blow Out (1981) and The Funhouse (1981). Carpenter and Hill deny writing sexually active teens to be victims in favor of
660-496: A budget of just $ 1.8 million, the film was a commercial success, grossing more than $ 25.5 million (7.6 million admissions) in North America and launched one of the most successful film series in history. A Nightmare on Elm Street provided the success that New Line Cinema needed to become a major Hollywood company. To this day, New Line is referred to as "The House That Freddy Built". The final slasher film released during
792-439: A connection between "how acquainted one is with their own mortality" and "how much they crave images of death and violence" via the media. Additionally, contributing artists to the genre often defend death metal as little more than an extreme form of art and entertainment, similar to horror films in the motion picture industry. This explanation has brought such musicians under fire from activists internationally, who claim that this
924-510: A device used in subsequent films Prom Night (1980) and Graduation Day (1981). Early examples include a maniac seeking revenge in The Terror (1928), based on the play by Edgar Wallace . B-movie mogul Val Lewton produced The Leopard Man (1943), about a murderer framing his crimes against women on an escaped show leopard . Basil Rathbone 's The Scarlet Claw (1944) sees Sherlock Holmes investigate murders committed with
1056-415: A family death but are murdered one by one. William Castle 's Homicidal (1961) features gore in its murder scenes, something both Psycho and Peeping Tom had edited out. Richard Hillard's Violent Midnight (1963) showed a black-gloved killer's point of view as they pull down a branch to watch a victim and also featured a skinny-dipping scene. Crown International 's Terrified (1963) features
1188-414: A few years earlier, had been very profitable. Many 1984 slasher films with brief theatrical runs found varying degrees of success on home video, such as Splatter University , Satan's Blade , Blood Theatre , Rocktober Blood and Fatal Games . Movies like The Prey and Evil Judgement were filmed years prior and finally were given small theatrical releases. Silent Madness used 3D to ride
1320-583: A five-pronged garden weeder that the killer would raise in the air and bring down on the victim repeatedly, an editing technique that became familiar in the genre. Robert Siodmak 's The Spiral Staircase (1946), based on Ethel White 's novel Some Must Watch , stars Ethel Barrymore as a sympathetic woman trying to survive black-gloved killers. The Spiral Staircase also features an early use of jump scares . British writer Agatha Christie 's particularly influential 1939 novel Ten Little Indians (adapted in 1945 as And Then There Were None ), centers on
1452-598: A group of people with secret pasts who are killed one-by-one on an isolated island. Each of the murders mirrors a verse from a nursery rhyme , merging the themes of childhood innocence and vengeful murder. House of Wax (1953), The Bad Seed (1956), Screaming Mimi (1958), Jack the Ripper (1959), and Cover Girl Killer (1959) all incorporated Christie's literary themes. Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho (1960) used visuals that had been deemed unacceptable by movie studios, including scenes of violence, sexuality, and
SECTION 10
#17327869515211584-664: A home on VHS. Paul Lynch 's Humongous was released through AVCO Embassy Pictures , but a change in management severely limited the film's theatrical release. Films such as Hospital Massacre and Night Warning enjoyed strong home rentals from video stores, though Dark Sanity , The Forest , Unhinged , Trick or Treats , and Island of Blood fell into obscurity with little theatrical releases and only sub-par video transfers. Supernatural slasher films continued to build in popularity with The Slayer , The Incubus , Blood Song , Don't Go to Sleep and Superstition (the supernatural-themed Halloween III: Season of
1716-415: A large "underground" following at the present. In the 2000s, a number of bands in the hardcore punk scene, including Black Breath and Trap Them began to incorporate elements of death metal into their sound. This was followed by a wave of bands expanding upon the death-doom style of Incantation while incorporating elements of ambient music , including Dead Congregation and Necros Christos . In
1848-861: A masked killer. Spain's The House That Screamed (1969) features violent murders and preempted later campus-based slashers. Subgenres that influenced slasher films include splatter films , Krimi films, and giallo films. Splatter films focus on gratuitous gore. Herschell Gordon Lewis 's Blood Feast (1963) was a hit at drive-in theaters and is often considered the first splatter film. Lewis followed with gory films Two-Thousand Maniacs! (1964), Color Me Blood Red (1965), The Gruesome Twosome (1967) and The Wizard of Gore (1970). This grotesque style translated to Andy Milligan 's The Ghastly Ones (1969), Twisted Nerve (1968), Night After Night After Night (1969) as well as The Haunted House of Horror (1969). Post-World War II Germany adapted British writer Edgar Wallace 's crime novels into
1980-475: A movie on home video, resulting in shot-on-video slashers Blood Cult (1985), The Ripper (1985), Spine (1986), Truth or Dare? (1986), Killer Workout (1987), and Death Spa (1989). Lesser-known horror properties Sleepaway Camp , The Slumber Party Massacre and Silent Night, Deadly Night became series on home video. The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (1985) and Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) were theatrically released but neither film
2112-402: A much healthier life on home video. The Dorm That Dripped Blood and Honeymoon Horror , each made for between $ 50–90,000, became successful in the early days of VHS . Because of this change, independent productions began having difficulties finding theatrical distribution. Girls Nite Out had a very limited release in 1982 but was re-released in 1983 in more theaters until finally finding
2244-462: A new bar for acceptable levels of on-screen violence. The criticisms that began with Friday the 13th would lead to the genre's eventual decline in subsequent years. The small-budget thrillers Silent Scream and Prom Night were box office hits with 3.2 and 5.5 million admissions, respectively. Jamie Lee Curtis starred in the independent Prom Night , as well studio films Terror Train and The Fog to earn her "scream queen" title. MGM 's
2376-467: A nursing academy. Hands of the Ripper (1971) depicts the psychological trauma suffered by Jack the Ripper 's daughter, who continues the murderous reign of her father. Fright (1971) is based on the " babysitter and the man upstairs " urban legend while Tower of Evil (1972) features careless partying teens murdered in a remote island lighthouse. Pete Walker broke taboos by advertising his films' negative reviews to attract viewers looking for
2508-456: A popular genre. Niche record labels like Combat , Earache , and Roadrunner began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate. Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning several subgenres. Melodic death metal combines death metal elements with those of the new wave of British heavy metal . Technical death metal is a complex style, with uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms, and unusual harmonies and melodies. Death-doom combines
2640-445: A recurring theme in later horror films. Along with the "madman on the loose" plotline, these films employed several influences upon the slasher genre, such as lengthy point of view shots and a "sins of the father" catalyst to propel the plot's mayhem. George Archainbaud 's Thirteen Women (1932) tells the story of a sorority whose former members are set against one another by a vengeful peer who crosses out their yearbook photos,
2772-497: A saturation point in 1981, as heavily promoted movies like My Bloody Valentine and The Burning were box office failures. After the success of Friday the 13th , Paramount Pictures picked up My Bloody Valentine with hopes to achieve similar success. The film became the subject of intense scrutiny in the wake of John Lennon's murder , and was released heavily edited; lacking the draw of gore, My Bloody Valentine barely sold 2 million tickets in North America, much less than
SECTION 20
#17327869515212904-489: A sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background. Funeral doom was pioneered by Mournful Congregation (Australia), Esoteric (United Kingdom), Evoken (United States), Funeral (Norway), Thergothon (Finland), and Skepticism (Finland). Death 'n' roll
3036-921: A series. Three other spoofs , Evil Laugh (1986), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), were box office disappointments; Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 sold just 2 million tickets while Jason Lives sold 5.2 million, both significantly down from their predecessors. The home video market saw the output of low-budget, tongue-in-cheek slashers like Stripped to Kill (1987), Return to Horror High (1987), and Killer Workout (1987), and previous franchises foregoing theaters for direct-to-video self-parody sequels in Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987), Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987), Slumber Party Massacre II (1987), Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989). Trying to cater
3168-559: A similar route with a cameo in Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and no participation in Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993). The Nightmare on Elm Street series dominated the late 1980s horror wave, with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) selling 11.5 million tickets in North America, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) following another 12 million tickets. By comparison, Friday
3300-525: A style that would catch on in tape trading circles. Schuldiner has been credited by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia for being widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal". Death's 1987 debut release, Scream Bloody Gore , has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death metal", and "the first true death metal record" by the San Francisco Chronicle . In an Interview Jeff Becerra talked about
3432-919: A subgenre of their own called Krimi films. The Krimi films were released in the late 1950s through the early 1970s and featured villains in bold costumes accompanied by jazz scores from composers such as Martin Böttcher and Peter Thomas . Fellowship of the Frog (1959), about a murderer terrorizing London, was successful in America, leading to similar adaptations like The Green Archer (1961) and Dead Eyes of London (1961). The Rialto Studio produced 32 Krimi films between 1959 and 1970. Italy's giallo thrillers are crime procedurals or murder mysteries interlaced with eroticism and psychological horror. Giallo films feature unidentified killers murdering in grand fashions. Unlike most American slasher films
3564-698: A surprising 3.9 million admissions, making a hit erotic slasher-thriller that predates blockbusters Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992) by several years. Internationally, Australia released Next of Kin while Puerto Rico's Pieces was filmed in Boston and Madrid by an Italian-American producer with a Spanish director. Italian gialli saw slasher film influences in their releases for Sergio Martino 's The Scorpion with Two Tails , Lucio Fulci 's The New York Ripper and Dario Argento 's Tenebrae . Traditional slasher films saw less frequent output. The House on Sorority Row followed
3696-534: A tour date to perform in Europe along with Kataklysm and Septicflesh . On 12 February 2016, the band announced to release their latest full-length album Retrogore on 22 April 2016. On 26 March 2018, the band announced the release of their tenth album, TerrorVision , produced by Kristian "Kohle" Kohlmannslehner, which released on 21 September 2018. In September 2021, Aborted released their eleventh album ManiaCult . Death metal Death metal
3828-846: A variance of metalcore elements. Characteristics of death metal, such as fast drumming (including blast beats ), down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking , growled vocals , and high-pitched shrieks are combined with the breakdowns of metalcore. Decibel magazine stated that "one of Suffocation 's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore." Goregrind, deathgrind and pornogrind are styles that mix grindcore with death metal, with goregrind focused on themes like gore and forensic pathology , and pornogrind dealing with sexual and pornographic themes. Some notable examples of these genres are Brujeria , Cattle Decapitation , Cephalic Carnage , Pig Destroyer , Circle of Dead Children , Rotten Sound , Gut , and Cock and Ball Torture . Deathrash, also known as death-thrash,
3960-452: A violent exploitation film, with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert famously despising the film. Siskel, in his Chicago Tribune review, revealed the identity and fate of the film's killer in an attempt to hurt its box office, and provided the address of the chairman of Paramount Pictures for viewers to complain. The MPAA was criticized for allowing Friday the 13th an R rating, but its violence would inspire gorier films to follow, as it set
4092-532: A virginal " final girl " survivor, though subsequent filmmakers copied what appeared to be a "sex-equals-death" mantra. When shown an early cut of Halloween without a musical score, all major American studios declined to distribute it, one executive even remarking that it was not scary. Carpenter added music himself, and the film was distributed locally in four Kansas City theaters through Akkad's Compass International Pictures in October 1978. Word-of-mouth made
Aborted - Misplaced Pages Continue
4224-416: A wave of "dream" slashers that included Dreamaniac (1986), Bad Dreams (1988), Deadly Dreams (1988), and Dream Demon (1988). Of those films, Bad Dreams was a minor hit with 2.4 million admissions. Paramount Pictures released the parody April Fool's Day (1986) with hopes to start a sister series to its Friday the 13th property, though the film's modest 3.5 million admissions never led to
4356-609: A wave of protest from the National Organization for Women (NOW), who picketed the film's screening on the University of Iowa campus. The year's most controversial slasher was William Lustig 's Maniac , about a schizophrenic serial killer in New York. Maniac was maligned by critics. Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that watching the film was like "watching someone else throw up." Lustig released
4488-427: Is a whodunit featuring a subplot depicting creative death sequences on a secluded lakeside setting, which greatly inspired Friday the 13th (1980), its 1981 sequel and subsequent slashers. Sergio Martino 's Torso (1973) featured a masked killer preying upon beautiful and promiscuous young women in retribution for a past misdeed. Torso 's edge-of-your-seat climax finds a sensible "final girl" facing off with
4620-480: Is a brutal death metal microgenre that evolved from the 1990s New York death metal scene, incorporating elements of hardcore punk . In contrast to other death metal styles, it is not generally focused on guitar solos and blast beats; instead, it employs mid-tempo rhythms, breakdowns, and palm-muted riffing, as well as hip hop -inspired vocal and drum beat rhythms. The breakdown riff of Suffocation 's " Liege of Inveracity " has been credited by Rolling Stone as
4752-456: Is a genre of death metal that adds elements of classical music . Bands described as symphonic death metal include Fleshgod Apocalypse , Septicflesh , Necronomicon , and Children of Bodom . Haggard 's 2000 album, Awaking the Centuries , has been described as death metal-styled symphonic metal. Technical death metal (also known as tech-death, progressive death metal, or prog-death)
4884-412: Is a genre of death metal that adds elements of industrial music . Some notable bands include Fear Factory , Anaal Nathrakh , Autokrator , and Meathook Seed . Swedish death metal could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal." Melodic death metal, occasionally shortened to "melodeath", is a fusion of heavy metal with elements of death metal. The subgenre is heavily influenced by
5016-512: Is a shorthand term to describe bands who play a fusion of death metal and thrash metal . The genre gained notoriety in Bali , Indonesia, where it attracted criticism of being related to the accelerated tourism development on the island and the superseding of its local culture, particularly by Jakartan one. Notable bands include Grave , Mortification , The Crown , Incapacity, Darkane , Deathchain , and Sepultura . Industrial death metal
5148-480: Is a style that combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffs along with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal . Notable examples include Entombed , Gorefest , and Six Feet Under . With the rise in popularity of metalcore , some of its traits have been combined with death metal. Bands such as Suicide Silence , Carnifex and Salt the Wound combine death metal with
5280-452: Is a subgenre of death metal that employs dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse common death metal aesthetics with elements of progressive rock , jazz or classical music . While the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and extremity as well as complexity,
5412-590: Is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music . It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking ; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality ; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film -style violence, political conflict , religion , nature , philosophy , true crime and science fiction . Building from
Aborted - Misplaced Pages Continue
5544-479: Is commonly death metal that incorporates musical, lyrical or ideological elements of black metal , such as an increased use of tremolo picking , anti- Christian or Satanic lyrical themes and chord progressions similar to those used in black metal. Blackened death metal bands are also more likely to wear corpse paint and suits of armour, than bands from other styles of death metal. Lower range guitar tunings, death growls and abrupt tempo changes are common in
5676-556: Is discussed in film studies as being a young woman (occasionally a young man) left alone to face the killer's advances in the movie's end. Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis ), the heroine in Halloween , is an example of a typical final girl. Final girls are often, like Laurie Strode, virgins among sexually active teens. Others have called the trope "self-mythologising" based on a handful of especially high-profile examples, asserting that its prominence has been overstated – particularly
5808-513: Is envisioned and embedded into the public psyche as the main and most marketable/recognisable character, even if his screentime is dwarfed in any specific film by the nominal protagonists. The Scream film series is a rarity that follows its heroine Sidney Prescott ( Neve Campbell ) rather than masked killer Ghostface , whose identity changes from film to film, and is only revealed in each entry's finale. Another alleged trope frequently associated with slasher discourse - and horror more broadly -
5940-422: Is mistakenly thought to be a form of screaming using the lowest vocal register known as vocal fry , however vocal fry is actually a form of overtone screaming, and while growling can be performed this way by experienced vocalists who use the fry screaming technique, "true" death growling is in fact created by an altogether different technique. Growling has been called Cookie Monster vocals, tongue-in-cheek, due to
6072-441: Is often lost on a large number of adolescents, who are left with the glamorisation of such violence without social context or awareness of why such imagery is stimulating. According to Alex Webster , bassist of Cannibal Corpse, "The gory lyrics are probably not, as much as people say, [what's keeping us] from being mainstream. Like, 'death metal would never go into the mainstream because the lyrics are too gory?' I think it's really
6204-674: Is that of the "black character(s) dying first" (often formulated as " always dying first"). Actual analyses of the films, such as a 2013 investigative piece in Complex , have found that the trope is largely self-mythologising as opposed to being a statistical reality (per Complex, in only 10% of the fifty analysed movies, all containing one or more speaking black characters, did any of them die first). The appeal of watching people inflict violence upon each other dates back thousands of years to Ancient Rome , though fictionalized accounts became marketable with late 19th century horror plays produced at
6336-429: Is visually and thematically a precursor to John Carpenter 's Halloween (1978), as young women are terrorized in a previously safe environment during an iconic holiday. Like Halloween , Clark's film opens with a lengthy point-of-view , but it differs in the treatment of the killer's identity. Despite making $ 4,053,000 on a $ 620,000 budget, Black Christmas was initially criticized, with Variety complaining that it
6468-621: The 1937 British film ) and Peter Cushing starred in Corruption (1968). Hammer Studios , a London-based company, followed Psycho 's success with Taste of Fear (1961), Maniac (1963), Paranoiac (1963), Nightmare (1964), Fanatic (1965), The Nanny (1965), and Hysteria (1965). Hammer's rival Amicus had Robert Bloch , author of 1959 Psycho novel , write the script for Psychopath (1968). Francis Ford Coppola 's debut, Dementia 13 (1963), takes place in an Irish castle where relatives gather to commemorate
6600-555: The AIDS crisis , the film's portrayal of the gay community fueled subsequent backlash once the virus became an epidemic. Low budget exploitative films New Year's Evil , Don't Go in the House and Don't Answer the Phone! were called-out for misogyny that dwelled on the suffering of females exclusively. Acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma 's Psycho -homage Dressed to Kill drew
6732-544: The Brandon, Florida act Nasty Savage , they took the sound of Nasty Savage and deepened it. In 1984, they released their first demo entitled Death by Metal , followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact in the emerging Florida death metal scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating
SECTION 50
#17327869515216864-631: The COVID-19 pandemic amplifying the amount of attention drawn to the movement, through Cryptic Shift , Slimelord and Vaticinal Rites. In a 2022 article by MetalSucks writer Christopher Krovatin stated "Right now, as a music journalist, all I hear about is death metal." In the UK, this movement became the "New Wave of British Death Metal", fronted by Mortuary Spawn, Vacuous and Celestial Sanctuary, this name being coined by Tom Cronin, of Celestial Sanctuary, in order to separate these hardcore-indebted bands from
6996-744: The Grand Guignol . Maurice Tourneur 's The Lunatics (1912) used visceral violence to attract the Guignol's audience. In the United States, public outcry over films like this eventually led to the passage of the Hays Code in 1930. The Hays Code is one of the entertainment industry's earliest set of guidelines restricting sexuality and violence deemed unacceptable. Crime writer Mary Roberts Rinehart influenced horror literature with her novel The Circular Staircase (1908), adapted into
7128-432: The Halloween -clone He Knows You're Alone sold nearly 2 million tickets, though Paramount Pictures John Huston -directed Phobia only sold an estimated 22,000 tickets. Two high-profile slasher-thrillers were met with protest, William Friedkin 's Cruising and Gordon Willis ' Windows , both of which equate homosexuality with psychosis . Cruising drew protests from gay rights groups, and though it pre-dates
7260-661: The Son of Sam slayings, cashed-in on headlines and public fascination. Wes Craven modernized the Sawney Bean legend in The Hills Have Eyes (1977) by building upon themes presented in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre . The Hills Have Eyes was another huge financial success, relaunching Craven's career after it had been damaged by controversy surrounding his previous film, The Last House on
7392-573: The counter-culture and traditional conservative values, with the film's squealing antagonist Leatherface carrying a chainsaw and wearing the faces of victims he and his family eat. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre spawned imitators and its false "based on a true story" advertisements gave way to reenactments of true crime . The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), based on the Phantom Killer case, and Another Son of Sam (1977), based on
7524-570: The drive-in success of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Toolbox Murders was quickly and cheaply shot but did not generate the interest of the former films. Exploitative Killer's Delight is a San Francisco-set serial killer story claiming to take inspiration from Ted Bundy and the Zodiac Killer . Leading up to Halloween 's October release were August's gialli -inspired Eyes of Laura Mars (written by John Carpenter) and September's " babysitter in peril " TV Movie Are You in
7656-478: The new wave of British heavy metal . Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features screams instead of growls, slower tempos, and much stronger emphasis on melody. Clean vocals may be used on occasion. Carcass is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1993's Heartwork , although Swedish bands In Flames , Dark Tranquillity , and At the Gates are usually mentioned as
7788-403: The telekinesis -themed slasher Tourist Trap was initially unsuccessful, it has undergone a reappraisal by fans. 1979's most successful slasher was Fred Walton 's When a Stranger Calls , which sold 8.5 million tickets in North America. Its success has largely been credited to its opening scene, in which a babysitter ( Carol Kane ) is taunted by a caller who repeatedly asks, "Have you checked
7920-444: The "Golden Age" of slasher films. Notable slasher films include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Black Christmas (1974), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Child's Play (1988), Scream (1996), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). Many slasher films released decades ago continue to attract cult followings . The slasher canon can be divided into three eras:
8052-457: The 13th Part III , the first slasher trilogy, was an enormous success, selling 12 million tickets and dethroning E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial from the top of the box office. The film's iconic hockey mask has grown to pop-culture iconography . Universal Pictures had a tiny release for Death Valley , while Columbia Pictures found modest success with Silent Rage . Independent distributor Embassy Pictures released The Seduction to
SECTION 60
#17327869515218184-651: The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) sold approximately 4.5 million tickets each, less than half of the Elm Street films. The personality-driven appeal of Freddy Krueger was not lost on filmmakers, as characters like Chucky and Candyman were given ample dialogue and placed in urban settings that had largely been ignored by the Golden Age. Chucky's Child's Play (1988) and its 1990 sequel sold over 14.7 million tickets combined, while Candyman (1992) sold
8316-404: The 15 million sold by Friday the 13th the year beforehand. Thematically similar to My Bloody Valentine , The Prowler hoped to lure an audience with gore effects by Friday the 13th 's Tom Savini but large MPAA edits contributed to its failure to find a nationwide distributor. Suffering similar censorship was The Burning , which also employed Savini's special effects, though it does mark
8448-545: The 1990s. In September 1990, Death's manager Eric Greif held one of the first North American death metal festivals, Day of Death , in Milwaukee suburb Waukesha, Wisconsin , and featured 26 bands including Autopsy, Broken Hope , Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation, Atheist , and Cynic . Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992–1993, with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success. However,
8580-401: The 2010s, a movement of bands reviving the sound of original 1980s death metal emerged, termed the "New Wave of Old School Death Metal". One of the earliest groups in this wave was Horrendous , who formed in 2009, who along with Tomb Mold took a progressive take the genre. Tomb Mold, Necrot, Undergang and Blood Incantation were some of the earliest bands to gain traction in the 2010s, with
8712-642: The Black Cat (1972) paying homage to Hitchcock's film. Gialli were popular in American cinemas and drive-in theaters . Thriller Assault (1971) and Spanish mystery A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (1974) share many traits with Italian gialli . Death Steps in the Dark (1977) spoofed the familiar conventions found in giallo films. Despite successes from Deep Red (1975) and The Blood-Stained Shadow (1978), giallo films gradually fell out of fashion by
8844-683: The German band Atrocity and Death's Human (1991). This style has significantly influenced many bands, creating a stream that in Europe was carried out at first by bands such as Gory Blister and Electrocution. The Polish band Decapitated gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical death metal acts. Slasher film Critics cite the Italian giallo films and psychological horror films such as Peeping Tom (1960) and Psycho (1960) as early influences. The genre hit its peak between 1978 and 1984 in an era referred to as
8976-585: The Golden Age of slasher films is 1978–1984, with some scholars citing over 100 similar films released over the six-year period. Despite most films receiving negative reviews, many Golden Age slasher films were extremely profitable and have established cult followings . Many films reused Halloween 's template of a murderous figure stalking teens, though they escalated the gore and nudity from Carpenter's restrained film. Golden Age slasher films exploited dangers lurking in American institutions such as high schools, colleges, summer camps, and hospitals. Cashing in on
9108-861: The Golden Age slasher waned, Wes Craven 's A Nightmare on Elm Street revitalized the genre by mixing fantasy and the supernatural in a cost-effective way. Craven had toyed with slasher films before in Deadly Blessing (1981), though he was frustrated that the genre he had helped create with The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) had not benefited him financially. Developing A Nightmare on Elm Street since 1981, Craven recognized time running out due to declining revenues from theatrical slasher film releases. A Nightmare on Elm Street and especially its villain Freddy Krueger ( Robert Englund ) became cultural phenomenons. On
9240-417: The Golden Age such as Too Scared to Scream (filmed in 1981, released in 1985), The Mutilator (filmed in 1984, released in 1985), Blood Rage (filmed in 1983, released in 1987), Killer Party (filmed in 1984, released in 1986) and Mountaintop Motel Massacre (filmed in 1983, released in 1986) found video distribution. Mirroring the punk rock movement, novice filmmakers proved anyone could make
9372-432: The Golden Age, The Initiation , was greatly overshadowed by A Nightmare on Elm Street (though both films feature dreams as plot points and a horribly burned "nightmare man"). The success of A Nightmare on Elm Street welcomed in a new wave of horror films that relied on special effects, almost completely silencing the smaller low-budget Golden Age features. Despite A Nightmare on Elm Street 's success, fatigue hit
9504-643: The House Alone? Of them, The Eyes of Laura Mars grossed $ 20 million against a $ 7 million budget. Influenced by the French New Wave 's Eyes Without a Face (1960), science fiction thriller Westworld (1973) and Black Christmas (1974), Halloween was directed, composed and co-written by Carpenter, and produced and co-written by Debra Hill on a budget of $ 300,000 provided by Syrian-American producer Moustapha Akkad . To minimize costs, locations were reduced and time took place over
9636-469: The Left (1972). Following holiday-themed exploitation films Home for the Holidays (1972), All Through the House (1972) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1973), Christmas horror film Black Christmas (1974) uses horror as a board to debate social topics of its time, including feminism , abortion, and alcoholism. Using the "killer calling from inside the house " gimmick , Black Christmas
9768-554: The Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary Seven Churches recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's." During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Mantas, Death was formed in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner , Kam Lee , and Rick Rozz . Inspired by
9900-474: The Scarecrow brought the genre to the small screen. Two sequels had bigger body counts and more gore than their predecessors, but not higher box office intakes. Friday the 13th Part 2 sold 7.8 million tickets and Halloween II sold 9.2 million. Both sequels sold under half of their original film's tickets, though they were still very popular ( Halloween II was the second highest-grossing horror film of
10032-507: The United States. The band has released twelve studio albums, six EPs and one live DVD. AllMusic has described the band's style as "unrestrained grindcore savagery and meticulously crafted death metal technicality". Aborted was founded by vocalist Sven de Caluwé in 1995 in the city Waregem . The band initially featured an all-Belgian lineup, which consisted of de Caluwé, bassist Koen Verstraete, drummer Steven Logie and guitarists Niek Verstraete and Christophe Herreman. According to de Caluwé,
10164-738: The Witch , though part of the Halloween franchise , does not adhere to the slasher film formula). Alone in the Dark was New Line Cinema 's first feature film, released to little revenue and initially dismissed by critics, though the film has gained critical reappraisal. Director Amy Holden Jones and writer Rita Mae Brown gender-swapped to showcase exploitative violence against men in The Slumber Party Massacre , while Visiting Hours pitted liberal feminism against macho right-wing bigotry with exploitative results. Friday
10296-515: The band had actually cited Venom and Motörhead , as well as early work by Exodus , as the main influences on their sound. Although the group had released only two studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style, or as being the first death metal band. Earache Records noted that "the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in their formative years on
10428-553: The band was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries Metallica , Megadeth , and Anthrax . Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, and Satanism won Slayer a cult following. According to Mike McPadden, Hell Awaits , Slayer's second album, "largely invent[ed] much of the sound and fury that would evolve into death metal." According to AllMusic , their third album Reign in Blood inspired
10560-506: The band was named "Aborted" in hopes that the band's CDs could be found on the racks in music stores as the very first selections in the "A" section. Short years after forming, the band released a demotape titled The Necrotorous Chronicles. Following early recordings and some live shows, the band were eventually signed to Uxicon Records. Since then the band has released three splits (on Soulreaper Records, Bones Brigade, and Listenable Records , respectively), eight full-length albums, five EPs, and
10692-503: The children?" Less successful were Ray Dennis Steckler 's burlesque slasher The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher and Abel Ferrara 's The Driller Killer , both of which featured gratuitous on-screen violence against vagrant people. The election of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States drew in a new age of conservatism that ushered concern of rising violence on film. The slasher film, at
10824-722: The classical (1974–1993), the self-referential (1994–2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000–2013). Slasher films typically adhere to a specific formula: a past wrongful action causes severe trauma that is reinforced by a commemoration or anniversary that reactivates or re-inspires the killer. Built around stalk-and-murder sequences, the films draw upon the audience's feelings of catharsis , recreation , and displacement , as related to sexual pleasure. Paste magazine 's definition notes that, "slasher villains are human beings, or were human beings at some point ... Slasher villains are human killers whose actions are objectively evil, because they’re meant to be bound by human morality. That’s part of
10956-745: The country's prior movements. The earliest bands in this wave were Cruciamentum and Grave Miasma. A large part of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal was death metal bands who originated from the hardcore scene, some of which merge elements of hardcore into their style. Xibalba and Fuming Mouth were two of the earliest groups, with the wave being solidified by Gatecreeper , 200 Stab Wounds, Creeping Death, Sanguisugabogg and Kruelty. Venom Prison came from this scene and gained particular attention for their confrontation of what Kerrang! called death metal's "misogyny problem", by instead writing "rape-revenge narrative[s]". Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar
11088-547: The deep growled vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal with the slow tempos and melancholic atmosphere of doom metal . Deathgrind , goregrind , and pornogrind mix the complexity of death metal with the intensity, speed, and brevity of grindcore . Deathcore combines death metal with metalcore traits. Death 'n' roll combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted , detuned guitar riffs with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal . English extreme metal band Venom , from Newcastle , crystallized
11220-402: The depraved, using a "no press is bad press" mantra with The Flesh and Blood Show (1972), Frightmare (1974), House of Mortal Sin (1976), Schizo (1976) and The Comeback (1978). Other filmmakers followed Walker's lead, as posters dubbed Blood and Lace (1971) as "sickest PG-rated movie ever made!", while Scream Bloody Murder (1973) called itself "gore-nography." By 1974
11352-537: The details of extreme acts, including blood and gore , psychopathy , delirium , mutilation , mutation , dissection , exorcism , torture , rape , cannibalism , and necrophilia . Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris commented this apparent glamorisation of violence may be attributed to a "fascination" with the human body that all people share to some degree, a fascination that mixes desire and disgust. Heavy metal author Gavin Baddeley also stated there does seem to be
11484-443: The discussions of being the creator of the genre, saying that Schuldiner cited Possessed as a massive influence, and Death were even called "Possessed clones" early on. Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include Macabre , Master , Massacre , Immolation , Cannibal Corpse , Obituary , and Post Mortem . By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on
11616-442: The early work of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost , the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s. Death-doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter , Disembowelment , Paradise Lost , Autopsy , Anathema , and My Dying Bride . Funeral doom is a genre that crosses death-doom with funeral dirge music . It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking
11748-410: The elements of what later became known as thrash metal , death metal and black metal , with their first two albums Welcome to Hell and Black Metal , released in late 1981 and 1982, respectively. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre , proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands. Another highly influential band, Slayer , formed in 1981. Although
11880-485: The entire death metal genre. It had a big impact on genre leaders such as Death , Obituary , and Morbid Angel . Possessed , a band that formed in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1983, is described by AllMusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, Seven Churches . While attributed as having a Slayer influence, current and former members of
12012-435: The exploitation film battled political correctness and their popularity waned, and while films like The Love Butcher (1975) and The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1976) were accused of promoting bigotry, the low-budget independent film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) became a major hit and the most commercially successful horror film since The Exorcist . The story concerns a violent clash of cultures and ideals between
12144-457: The fear that the genre is meant to prey upon, the idea that killers walk among us." Films with similar structures that have non-human antagonists lacking a conscience, such as Alien or The Terminator , are not traditionally considered slasher films (though many slasher antagonists are superhuman, have supernatural traits, or possess slightly warped or abstract anthropomorphic forms both physically and metaphysically). The final girl trope
12276-559: The feature film debuts of Brad Grey , Holly Hunter , Jason Alexander , Fisher Stevens , Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein . Profits of Halloween and Friday the 13th drew studio interest, to varying success. Warner Bros. 's Eyes of a Stranger (402,386 admissions) and Night School (420,818 admission), Paramount Pictures ' The Fan (1.1 million admissions), Universal Pictures The Funhouse (2.8 million admissions), and Columbia Pictures Happy Birthday to Me (3.8 million admissions). CBS ' TV movie, Dark Night of
12408-627: The film unrated on American screens, sidestepping the MPAA to still sell 2.2 million tickets at the box office. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho 's influence was felt two decades later in Cries in the Night and The Unseen . Joe D'Amato 's gruesome Italian horror film Antropophagus and the Australian slasher Nightmares showed that the genre was spreading internationally. Slasher films reached
12540-400: The first slam riff in death metal. The first wave of bands in the genre were New York bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia, with notable subsequent acts including Devourment and Cephalotripsy . Death-doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal. Influenced mostly by
12672-558: The first two Sepultura releases. War metal bands include Blasphemy , Archgoat , Impiety , In Battle , Beherit , Crimson Thorn , Bestial Warlust , and Zyklon-B . Brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal that privileges heaviness, speed, and complex rhythms over other aspects, such as melody and timbres. Brutal death metal bands employ high-speed, palm-muted power chording and single-note riffage. Notable bands include Cannibal Corpse , Dying Fetus , Suffocation , Cryptopsy , and Skinless . Slam death metal
12804-628: The following categories, and a band's specific categorization is often a source of contention due to personal opinion and interpretation. The musical genres in this list are sorted alphabetically. Blackened death-doom is a microgenre that combines the slow tempos and monolithic drumming of doom metal , the complex and loud riffage of death metal and the shrieking vocals of black metal . Examples of blackened death-doom bands include Morast, Faustcoven, The Ruins of Beverast , Bölzer , Necros Christos, Harvest Gulgaltha, Dragged into Sunlight , Hands of Thieves, and Soulburn . Blackened death metal
12936-428: The genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes. Fenriz of Darkthrone has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" at the time. Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have
13068-733: The genre would incorporate an increased sense of melody and narrative. Some bands who have played this style include Dissection , Sacramentum , Naglfar , God Dethroned , Dawn , Unanimated , Thulcandra , Skeletonwitch and Cardinal Sin . War metal (also known as war black metal or bestial black metal) is an aggressive, cacophonous and chaotic subgenre of blackened death metal, described by Rock Hard journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid" and "hammering". Important influences include first wave black metal band Sodom , first wave black metal/death metal band Possessed as well as old grindcore , black and death metal bands like Repulsion , Autopsy , Sarcófago and
13200-519: The genre's most important labels, with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner releasing albums by Obituary, and Pestilence . Although these labels had not been death metal labels, they initially became the genre's flagship labels at the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as Nuclear Blast , Century Media , and Peaceville . Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout
13332-432: The genre. Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor , Behemoth , Akercocke , and Sacramentum . Melodic black-death (also known as blackened melodic death metal or melodic blackened death metal) is a genre of extreme metal that describes the style created when melodic death metal bands began being inspired by black metal and European romanticism . However, unlike most other black metal, this take on
13464-410: The height of its commercial power, also became the center of a political and cultural maelstrom. Sean S. Cunningham 's sleeper hit Friday the 13th was the year's most commercially successful slasher film, grossing more than $ 59.7 million and selling nearly 15 million tickets in North America. Despite a financial success, distributor Paramount Pictures was criticized for "lowering" itself to release
13596-432: The innocent, virginal qualities ascribed to putative final girls - and that, in the 21st century, the trope has been filtered through the lens of parody, subversion, and self-aware humour (e.g. Final Girl ) rather than deployed sincerely. When slasher films become franchises, they typically take on villain protagonist characteristics, with the series following the continued efforts of their antagonists, rather than any of
13728-479: The killer in an isolated villa. Umberto Lenzi 's Eyeball (1975), which unfolds in an Agatha Christie manner, is noted by some as a slasher precursor, as American tourists are targeted by a killer wearing a red raincoat. The influence of Hitchcock's Psycho extended also to gialli , with films such as The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971) and The Crimes of
13860-444: The killer's disposable victims, including any individual entry's heroes or final survivor(s) (who, in so far as they continue to appear within the series, are often killed off immediately after their next on-screen appearance, which has become its own trope). Examples of antiheroes around whom the respective series have become centered include Michael Myers , Freddy Krueger , Jason Voorhees , Chucky and Leatherface . The antagonist
13992-462: The line between progressive and technical death metal is thin. Tech death and prog death , for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands as Nile , Edge of Sanity , and Opeth . Necrophagist and Spawn of Possession are known for a classical music-influenced death metal style. Death metal pioneers Death also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years. Some albums for this subgenre are Hallucinations (1990) by
14124-495: The main pioneers of the genre and of the Gothenburg metal sound. Old school death metal is a style of death metal characterized by its slower and simpler song structures, less focused on the technical aspects of its composition and employing less usage of blast beats. It gained notoriety in the late 1990s, with bands like Repugnant , Thanatos , Necrophagia , Abscess , Bloodbath and Mortem . Symphonic death metal
14256-636: The mid-1970s as diminishing returns forced budget cuts. Films such as Play Motel (1979) and Giallo a Venezia (1979) exploited their low-budgets with shocking hardcore pornography . The early 1970s saw an increase in exploitation films that lured audiences to grindhouses and drive-ins by advertising of sex and violence. Robert Fuest 's And Soon the Darkness (1970) set off the '70s exploitation wave by maximizing its small budget and taking place in daylight. The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio (1971) follows an insane killer who stalks and murders victims at
14388-407: The movie a sleeper hit that was selected to screen at the November 1978 Chicago Film Festival, where the country's major critics acclaimed it. Halloween grew into a major box office success, grossing over $ 70 million worldwide and selling over 20 million tickets in North America, becoming the most profitable independent film until being surpassed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). Though
14520-420: The music, because violent entertainment is totally mainstream." The most popular theory of the subgenre's christening is Possessed 's 1984 demo, Death Metal ; the song from the eponymous demo would also be featured on the band's 1985 debut album, Seven Churches . Possessed vocalist/bassist Jeff Becerra said he coined the term in early 1983 for a high school English class assignment. Another possible origin
14652-432: The musical structure of thrash metal and early black metal , death metal emerged during the mid-1980s. Bands such as Venom , Celtic Frost , Slayer , and Kreator were important influences on the genre's creation. Possessed , Death , Necrophagia , Obituary , Autopsy , and Morbid Angel are often considered pioneers of the genre. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as
14784-511: The original death metal innovators, new subgenres began to develop the end of the decade, such as melodic death metal . Death released their fourth album Human in 1991, which has become a hallmark in technical death metal . Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of the genre with uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, combining intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos. Earache Records, Relativity Records and Roadrunner Records became
14916-477: The protagonists of gialli are frequently (but not always) jet-setting adults sporting the most stylish Milan fashions . These protagonists are often outsiders reluctantly brought into the mystery through extenuating circumstances, like witnessing a murder or being suspected of the crimes themselves. Much like Krimi films, gialli plots tended to be outlandish and improbable, occasionally employing supernatural elements. Mario Bava 's A Bay of Blood (1971)
15048-685: The public of adult action thrillers that were popular in the 1980s, Sylvester Stallone 's cop-thriller Cobra (1986) is a thinly-veiled slasher film advertised as an action movie, and sold 13.2 million tickets. The home video market made stars out of character actors such as Terry O'Quinn and Bruce Campbell , whose respective independent horror-thrillers The Stepfather (1987) and Maniac Cop (1988) found more support on home video than in theaters. Quinn returned for Stepfather II (1989) but chose not to reprise his role in Stepfather III (1992), Destroyer (1988), while Campbell followed
15180-603: The real-life crimes of Richard Speck , promoted star Charles Bronson 's justice-for-all character above its horror themes. Robert Hiltzik 's Sleepaway Camp was a home video hit, being unique for its pubescent victims and themes of paedophilia and transvestism . Sleepaway Camp featured homosexual scenes, which were taboo at the time. In Canada, whodunit Curtains had a brief theatrical life before finding new life on VHS, while criticism toward American Nightmare ' s portrayal of prostitutes, drug addicts, and pornography addicts hurt its video rentals. Sledgehammer
15312-505: The same general plot as Prom Night (1980) with guilty teens stalked and punished for a terrible secret. The Final Terror borrows visual and thematic elements from Just Before Dawn (1981), as Sweet Sixteen borrows from Happy Birthday to Me (1981). The most successful slasher of the year was Psycho II , which sold over 11 million theatrical admissions. The film also reunited original Psycho (1960) cast members Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles . 10 to Midnight , inspired by
15444-907: The shot of a toilet flushing. The film featured an iconic score by Bernard Herrmann that has been frequently imitated in slasher and horror films. That same year, Michael Powell released Peeping Tom , showing the killer's perspective as he murders women to photograph their dying expressions. Psycho was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins garnering universal acclaim for his role as Norman Bates . This notice drew bankable movie stars to horror films. Joan Crawford starred in William Castle 's Strait-Jacket (1964) and in Jim O'Connolly 's Berserk! (1967), while Albert Finney starred in MGM 's Night Must Fall (1964) (a remake of
15576-479: The silent film The Bat (1926), about guests in a remote mansion menaced by a killer in a grotesque mask. Its success led to a series of "old dark house" films including The Cat and the Canary (1927), based on John Willard 's 1922 stage play , and Universal Pictures ' The Old Dark House (1932), based on the novel by J.B. Priestley . In both films, the town dwellers are pitted against strange country folk,
15708-434: The slasher genre, and its popularity had declined substantially. The home video revolution, fueled by the popularity of VHS , provided a new outlet for low-budget filmmaking . Without major studio backing for theatrical release, slasher films became second only to pornography in the home video market. The drop in budgets to accommodate a more economic approach was usually met with a decline in quality. Holdovers filmed during
15840-436: The subgenre, including Florida's Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide . This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as " Florida death metal ". Morbid Angel pushed the genre's limits both musically and lyrically, with the release of their debut album Altars of Madness in 1989. The album "redefined what it meant to be heavy while influencing an upcoming class of brutal death metal." Following
15972-469: The success of Friday the 13th Part III (1982), though the effect did not translate to the VHS format. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter brought the saga of Jason Voorhees to a close, with his demise the main marketing tool. It worked, with The Final Chapter selling 10 million tickets in North America, hinting the series would continue even if Jason's demise marked a shift in the genre. This shift
16104-408: The undead have nothing to do with the film. Distributors were aware of fading box office profits, and they were attempting to hoodwink audiences into thinking long-shelved releases like Mortuary were different. The public had largely lost interest in theatrically released slashers, drawing a close to the Golden Age. Production rates plummeted and major studios all but abandoned the genre that, only
16236-598: The vocal similarity to the voice of the popular Sesame Street character of the same name. Although often criticized, death growls serve the aesthetic purpose of matching death metal's aggressive lyrical content. The lyrical themes of death metal may invoke slasher film-stylised violence, but may also extend to topics like religion (sometimes including Satanism ), occultism , Lovecraftian horror , nature, mysticism , mythology , theology , philosophy, science fiction, and politics. Although violence may be explored in various other genres as well, death metal may elaborate on
16368-908: The year behind An American Werewolf in London ). Independent companies churned out slasher films Final Exam , Bloody Birthday , Hell Night , Don't Go in the Woods... Alone! , Wes Craven 's Deadly Blessing and Graduation Day . Fantasy and sci-fi genres continued to blend with the slasher film in Strange Behavior , Ghostkeeper and Evilspeak . The international market found Italy's Absurd and Madhouse and Germany's Bloody Moon . Straight-to-video productions cut costs to maximize profit. The independent horror film Madman opened in New York City's top 10, according to Variety , but soon fell out of theaters for
16500-400: Was a "bloody, senseless kill-for-kicks" flick that exploited unnecessary violence. Despite its modest initial box office run, the film has garnered critical reappraisal, with film historians noting its importance in the horror film genre and some even citing it as the original slasher film. Jumpstarted by the massive success of John Carpenter 's Halloween (1978), the era commonly cited as
16632-514: Was a magazine called Death Metal , started by Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost . The name was later given to the 1984 compilation Death Metal released by Noise Records . The term might also have originated from other recordings, such as the demo released by Death in 1984, called Death by Metal . Cited examples are not necessarily exclusive to one particular style. Many bands can easily be placed in two or more of
16764-504: Was described by the publication as "metal's most important - and uncompromising - voice". The setup most frequently used within the death metal genre is two guitarists, a bass player, a vocalist, and a drummer often using "hyper double-bass blast beats ". Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to occasionally incorporate other instruments such as electronic keyboards . Death metal vocals are referred to as death growls ; which are coarse roars/snarls. Death growling
16896-431: Was embraced by fans or critics and took steep box office declines from their predecessors; still, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was a modest hit opening at the top of the box office and finishing its run with 6.2 million admissions. Rushed into production, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) became the highest grossing horror film of 1985. The success of the first two Elm Street films inspired
17028-465: Was emphasized by the controversy from Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984): Unlike the recent appearance of other Christmas horror films, including the same year's Don't Open till Christmas , promotional material for Silent Night, Deadly Night pictured a killer Santa with the tagline: "He knows when you've been naughty!" According to Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film ,
17160-632: Was produced by Jacob Hansen, who previously worked with Aborted on 2003's Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done and 2004's The Haematobic EP . On 20 June 2011, the band entered Hansen Studios in Denmark with Hansen to record Global Flatline . On 9 July 2011, it was confirmed that recording for Global Flatline has been completed. Confirmed guest vocalists on the album include Julien Truchan of Benighted , Keijo Niinimaa of Rotten Sound and Jason Netherton of Misery Index . Global Flatline
17292-510: Was released in January 2012. A digital single of the title track was released on 25 October 2011. On 29 April 2014, The Necrotic Manifesto was released through Century Media and charted in the USA (Heatseeker charts spot 4), The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. On 9 November 2015, Aborted has announced their new 20th anniversary EP Termination Redux to release on 8 January 2016 and
17424-414: Was shot-on-video for just $ 40,000, with a gender-reversal climax showing Playgirl model Ted Prior as a "final guy." Other home video slashers from the year include Blood Beat , Double Exposure , and Scalps , the latter claiming to be one of the most censored films in history. Releases began to distance from the genre. The poster for Mortuary features a hand bursting from the grave, though
#520479