A Slasher Tag (AKA How Long Has It Been Since I Last Answered A Tag?)

Slasher review site and Youtube channel The Slasher Spotlight was tagged by another youtuber TheHORRORman to do a "Slasher Tag"not too long ago, answering some pretty basic yet fun questions involving this fair and gruesome horror sub-genre. Seeing it's been a while since I did one of these tags, why the hell not?

Here are the questions:

1. What is your favorite standalone slasher film?

I actually made a list of 101 slasher titles that I considered the best (plus a few honorable mentions) and at least half of those are standalones. So instead of recycling my answers from that list, here are some other standalones that are bonafide personal faves (Read. Some!) :

Bodom (or Lake Bodom) (2016) - Four modern Finnish teens visit the location of a real life grisly multiple murders from the 60s, only to realize that there's a killer stalking them in the woods. Best described as being one part crime thriller and one part backwoods slasher, with some clever twists here and there.

Los Inocentes (2013)- A fast-paced, oddly edited yet stylishly slick back-to-basic slasher movie from Spain about teens being killed off one-by-one inside an abandoned building. Loving this one for the creative murders and just for the straightforwardness of what it is trying to be!

Girlhouse (2014)- One of the best modern slashers to be released in the 2010s, mixing old school slasher mayhem with a fairly decent teen drama, sleaze and modern tech. A bit of a boiler as it completely embraces its bodycounting nature right about the half mark or so, but oh so worth the wait.

Scare Campaign (2016) - Think April Fools Day (1986) in Australia, with more than one twist and with actual (on-screen) murders, packed with hardcore looking villains and some of the sickest weaponized cameras this side of horror!

The Final Girls (2014)- I love horror movies with a message and this one just tugged the right heart strings to get my attention and become an instant fave among my collection. Cheesy and sappy, but with bloody good murders and a silly looking villain.

Corpse Mania (1981) - A Hong Kong import about a necrophiliac running amok a small village, killing people associated with a brothel possibly out of revenge. Effectively mixes Italian giallo-esque snooping with unnervingly gruesome visuals and bloody murders, which includes disgusting close-ups on maggot-littered bodies and one guy's face being caved in after dropping from a building.

Flashback (2000) - This gooey German stab at an early 2000s teen slasher surprised me with it's neat character building, interesting mystery, blood-soaked kills and one of the best unexpected twists this sub-genre has to offer! One of the few titles that really took some work to finally get to but it was so worth it in the end!

2. What is your favorite slasher mask/look?

I'm a big fan of killer clowns, though I have a tendency to be a tad "picky" on my killer harlequin looks. For far the best killer minstrels I've seen are the trio from Clownhouse (1989), Stitches from, well, Stitches (2009) and Art from the Terrifier franchise.

Then there are the realistic animal masks/costumes. You're Next (2011), Stagefright (1987) and The Director's Cut (2006) pulled this off the best in my opinion.

3. What is your favorite slasher movie kill?

Oh God, where do I begin? Most of my most favorite kills are by Jason Voorhees, including a head-stander's bisection at Friday the 13th Part 3-D, the face imprint at Jason Lives, the ole "Faceless Sally" kill at Jason X, and the "Bed Bender" at Freddy VS Jason.

Others include the "Saturday Morning Shootout" from The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014), the "Sewage Pit" from Slaughter High (1986), the "Bloody Bed Wetting" from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the "Dildo Deep Throat" from Girlhouse (2014), and "Biker Meat Slab" from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2005). I know there are more but this'll be one long tag if I went on...

4. What is your favorite slasher film setting?

Apart from the classic backwoods, I always find the idea of a having a slasher in a mall quite fun, which is a shame that the only good title that ever utilized this setting is Chopping Mall (1986).

5. Who is your favorite final girl in a slasher movie?

Katrina Bowden  as Allison from Tucker and Dale VS Evil (2010). Not only was she smoking hot, but she's actually quite fun and adorable as she hangs around with our two equally lovable bumpkin buddies! Honorable mentions include Jill Schoelen from Popcorn (1991) and Jennifer Rubin from Bad Dreams (1988) for her interesting backdrop.

6. What, in your opinion, is the most overrated slasher film?

Hands down Halloween H20 (1999). I dunno why people keep clamoring over that boring talk-a-thon. The murders aren't even that good. Well, save for the opening, one of the only two good things to come out of this movie. (The others is the fact someone was smart enough to kill Micheal with an axe. I mean seriously, Mickey's blessed with high durability, not immortality! Stop with the wimpy guns and decapitate the wanker!) Thank goodness Halloween Resurrection saved the day...


7. What, in your opinion, is an underrated slasher film?

Welp, I do happen to like a lot of slashers not a lot seems to care about (e.g. Redeemer: Son of Satan (1979) and the aforementioned Halloween Ressurection), but a few titles that I really think should be shared and appreciated more often would be Skinner (1993), Wrestlemaniac (2006), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Midnight Ride (1990) and A Knife for the Ladies (1974).

8. What is your favorite gratuitous scene in a slasher movie?

Remember that very graphic sex scene from Jason Goes To Hell that's a tad longer and messier in the uncut version? My hormones went up back at grade school thanks to that scene!

And there you have it! What are your fave standalone slashers? Or those you think should get some more exposure among the horror community? Fave Kills, get-ups, and settings? Fell free to steal this tag and tell us your opinions! Until then, keep those machetes sharp and stay safe!