And the seasonal movie programming keeps chugging and chainsawing along… Halloween film #3 this year is the 2006 documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film.
For genre aficionados, it’s not going to illuminate or really expand upon what’s already been written and discussed about the slasher subgenre — but for the horror novice… perhaps a great starting place. Twist endings and gore shots for some masterpieces are spoiled so… if that’s of concern… be like the 90s toy and skip it.
Based on Adam Rockoff’s 2002 book Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986.
Comprehensive? Absolutely not.
Primarily talking heads with film clips interspersed…
Director John Carpenter is a treat.
Wes Craven, Tom Savini, and Bob Shaye are always reliable for anecdotes about the good old days.
Rob Zombie shows up, of course.
But the real stand-out is Amy Holden Jones.
By my estimation the truly overlooked genius of the slasher era. Before Scream, before Scary Movie — Amy Holden Jones directed the feminist masterpiece slasher/send-up… The Slumber Party Massacre.
If you skip this movie, watch The Slumber Party Massacre instead.
While not a traditional scary movie… a fun, not super comprehensive, semi-forgettable documentary about the perils and pleasures of working in the Reagan-era horror scene.
Breezy and totally okay, not particularly illuminating… just like this recap.
Recommendations for further viewing: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
Just watch that.
This movie isn’t great.
25 cents.