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TOP TEN Elm Street Kills

Christian Sellers — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:24:44 +0000

Let’s face it, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake is gonna suck! As fooled as fans are by the imminent return of Freddy Krueger and as much as this movie is guaranteed to sell tickets, Platinum Dunes have no understanding of what makes a ‘proper’ horror film and instead fill their feature length music videos with sleaze, graphic violence and little else. Who needs character or tension when you have Michael Bay?

In honour of a franchise that is now in its twenty-sixth year, here’s the TOP TEN Freddy kills of all time…

‘Debbie;’ THE DREAM MASTER (1988)
Although the fourth entry in the franchise was the one most responsible for the eventually dumbing down of the formula and instead took it into MTV territory there was one set piece that stood out. Unable to get to Alice (Lisa Wilcox), his latest nemesis, Freddy (Robert Englund) instead focuses his attention on her friends. The most gruesome of which was the fate of fitness freak Debbie, who is transformed into a giant cockroach. Stupid but impressive.

‘Chase;’ NEW NIGHTMARE (1994)
With Freddy having escaped fantasy and invaded the real world he tries to destroy Heather Langenkamp, who had starred as the heroine of the original movie. When her husband, special effects artist Chase Porter (David Newsom), tries to rush home to be with his family he is disemboweled by Freddy’s glove whilst driving in his car. Dismissed by the authorities as an automobile accident, Heather visits the morgue to identify the body but discovers gruesome claw marks on his stomach.

‘John Doe;’ FREDDY’S DEAD (1991)
There is no denying that Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare was a terrible movie and its 3D finale looked ridiculous, but once you get over the fact that the franchise was no longer scary there were several sequences that were rather tongue-in-cheek. Although he had been terrorized earlier during a humorous homage to Wizard of Oz, stray teen ‘John Doe’ (Shon Greenblatt) has the straps of his parachute cut, only for Freddy to roll out a giant bed of nails (somewhat reminiscent of old cartoons) for the kid to land on.

‘Mark;’ THE DREAM CHILD (1989)
The Dream Child for a moment looked like it could have saved the franchise, with director Stephen Hopkins (who would helm most of the first season of 24) adding darker and more gothic tone to the movie. Sadly it failed to live up to its promise but one stand-out moment – possibly for all the wrong reasons – was the death of comic nerd Mark, who transforms himself into a super hero to defeat Freddy, only to then come face-to-face with Super Freddy (Michael Bailey Smith). His death comes when he is turned into paper and slashed to pieces, causing the ink to run from the wounds like blood.

‘Coach Schneider;’ FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985)
Over recent years much has been made of the homosexual subtext within Jack Sholder’s Freddy’s Dead, the first sequel that would fall foul of hostility from fans for changing the rules. Although the death of the sadistic Coach Schneider (Marshall Bell) features the actor’s naked buttocks being whipped by a towel, it also includes shots of tormented hero Jesse (Mark Patton) ruthlessly slashing open the coach’s back whilst being ‘possessed’ by Freddy.

‘Lt. Thompson;’ THE DREAM WARRIORS (1987)
Having failed his daughter once before, former Lt. Thompson (John Saxon) heads out to a derelict salvage yard with psychiatrist Dr. Gordon (Craig Wasson) to find the remains of Freddy, who had been burned alive by a lynch mob years earlier. Suddenly, Freddy’s skeleton rises from its grave and begins to fight Thompson in a scene very reminiscent of the classic Ray Harryhausen fantasy flicks (something that would also be featured in Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness several years later). Thompson is eventually impaled by Freddy, who then heads off to take care of his daughter.

‘Glen;’ A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
With most of her friends having been killed by Freddy, Nancy Thompson (Langenkamp) has only her naïve boyfriend, Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), to depend on. Having fallen asleep whilst watching Miss Nude America on television, Glen is dragged down into his bed, with the TV set following soon afterwards then, moments later, gallons of blood sprays out like a geyser. By the time the police arrive on the scene, blood has begun to drip down through the ceiling into the room below.

‘Phillip;’ THE DREAM WARRIORS (1987)
Nancy Thompson arrives as the newest faculty member of Westin Hills and immediately becomes alarmed at the behaviour of its disturbed young residents. One of which is Phillip (Bradley Gregg), an insomniac with a passion for carving dolls out of wood. Later that night, Freddy visits Phillip whilst he is sleeping and slices open his arms and legs, transforming him into a puppet and using his arteries as strings. Leading him up into the tower – which onlookers dismiss as sleepwalking, the strings are cut, causing Phillip to fall to his death.

‘Grady;’ FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985)
Freddy has slowly been taking over the body and mind of Jesse, forcing him to carry out his killings. Whilst hiding out at the house of his new friend, Ron Grady (Robert Rusler), the feeling comes over him and soon Freddy begins to tear his way out of Jesse’s body. Grady attempts to escape from the room but Freddy pins him up against the door and guts him with his blades, whilst his parents desperately try to get inside the room.

‘Tina;’ A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
The first murder of the franchise is still by far the best. Nancy and Glen spend the night at the house of one of their friends, Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss), who has been suffering from bad nightmares and does not want to be the house alone whilst her mother is out of town. Shortly after having sex with her delinquent boyfriend, Rod Lane (Nick Corri), Tina is chased in her dreams by Freddy, whilst in the real world Rod watches in horror when cuts suddenly appear on her stomach, before her body is dragged up the walls and across the ceiling, before being dropped down on the bed, showering Rod with blood.

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TOP TEN Slasher Movies of 1980

Christian Sellers — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:45:43 +0000

2010 marks the thirtieth anniversary since the slasher movie dominated the genre for an all-too brief time. Following on from the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween two years earlier, the likes of Friday the 13th, He Knows You’re Alone and Prom Night scored big at the box office and helped usher in the modern franchise. Each movie attempting to outdo the last, the drive-ins were awash with sleaze, gore and plenty of naked flesh. Some played it safe by sticking to the kids-get-killed formula, whilst others attempted to explore the twisted mind of their antagonist.

The phenomenal success of Friday the 13th during the summer of 1980 soon convinced every major studio in Hollywood to attempt to recreate the winning formula, with the next two years seeing the likes of Paramount (My Bloody Valentine), Columbia (Happy Birthday to Me) and 20th Century Fox (Terror Train) getting in on the action. A certain profit almost guaranteed that a sequel would be produced, with the success of some resulting in never-ending franchises (Friday the 13th produced a staggering seven sequels throughout the decade, whilst A Nightmare on Elm Street would follow close behind with four).

To celebrate thirty years since the cycle broke out into the mainstream, here’s our Top Ten list of slasher flicks released during 1980.

FRIDAY THE 13TH
The sequels eventually milked the concept of all credibility and appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show may have reduced Jason Voorhees to parody, but the original was a low budget and well crafted (if a little predictable) thriller that introduced the world to a young Kevin Bacon, only to drive an arrow through his throat. The groundbreaking special effects from genre veteran Tom Savini were the key ingredient to the movie’s success, whilst the against-type casting of ‘50s star Betsy Palmer as the implausible villain gave the film a nice twist. Despite its meager budget, it still stands as one of the more entertaining of the series (now reaching number twelve if you include the remake and spin-off, Freddy vs. Jason).

PROM NIGHT
Having found success with her starring role in Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis had quickly become the actress of choice for many independent producers, who immediately began throwing more horror scripts her way. The first film to follow suit was Prom Night, Paul Lynch’s dated and disappointing yet ridiculously popular thriller about a childhood prank that results in the accidental death of a young girl, only for the guilty party to become prey to a masked killer several years later. Leslie Neilson, in one of his last serious roles, co-stars as Curtis’ father and principal of the high school, whilst an overlong disco scene quickly becomes monotonous. Several sequels would follow, although the first two would ignore the events of the original and instead focus on a character called Mary Lou.

ANTROPOPHAGUS
Aristide Massaccesi, or Joe D’Amato to his fans, was one of the most controversial filmmakers to have emerged out of the Italian horror scene of the late 1970s. Having previously attempted to mix the genre with hardcore pornography with the likes of Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali/Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals and Buio Omega/Blue Holocaust, D’Amato made his first straight horror with Antropophagus. Written by and starring regular collaborator George Eastman, the movie featured such notorious sequences as the demented killer forcibly removing a fetus from a woman’s womb and devouring it. Unsurprisingly, it soon found its way onto the UK’s ‘video nasty’ list under the alternative title Grim Reaper. Its loose sequel, 1981’s Absurd (also known as Horrible, Monster Hunter and Antropophagus 2), would also suffer the same fate. Antropophagus would prove to be D’Amato’s most successful horror feature.

DRESSED TO KILL
By 1980, Brian De Palma had already become acclaimed for his horror movies, particularly the psychological thriller Sisters and his adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie. His 1980 slasher Dressed to Kill – often re-branded as a psychological thriller by pretentious critics – would prove to be one of his most acclaimed-yet-misunderstood. The movie co-starred Michael Caine and Carrie veteran Nancy Allen and would become a box office hit, despite accusations of misogyny due to the violence leveled at its female victims. Palma would once again explore similar territory with 1984’s Body Double, before mostly turning his back on the genre (with the occasional exception such as the atrocious Raising Cain) in favour of more renowned works such as The Untouchables and Carlito’s Way.

FADE TO BLACK
Fade to Black, Vernon Zimmerman’s complex and unique study of cinematic obsession, failed to find its audience when it was released back in October 1980 and still, thirty years later, has not received the respect it deserves. Dennis Christopher’s portrayal of Eric Binford, a movie fanatic who eventually takes his love of the classics a step too far, is an intense and believeable performance and one worthy of acclaim. The film also made statements on fanboys sixteen years before Scream and, thanks to the protagonist’s love of old movies, the director gets to play around with a variety of genres. The supporting cast includes a young Mickey Rourke and Marilyn Monroe dead-ringer Linda Kerridge.

MOTEL HELL
Not every slasher movie had to be stupid and dumb, horny teenagers were not always the main focus. Kevin Connor’s Motel Hell owed more than a debt to Tobe Hooper’s seminal classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but stood on its own as a unique and effective satire. Rory Calhoun and Nancy Parsons give effective turns as the elderly sibling owners of a motel and farm out in the country, where the famed meat of Farmer Vincent (Calhoun) is sold to his more-than-satisfied customers. But what they don’t know is that most of his stock is taken from strangers and guests of the motel, whose throats are slit and then buried to their necks out in his field. Either as a clever comment on the food industry or an enjoyable slasher flick, Motel Hell is certainly one of a kind.

DON’T ANSWER THE PHONE!
Robert Hammer’s sick and twisted serial killer flick Don’t Answer the Phone! is certainly not for all tastes and gives both William Lustig’s Maniac and Romano Scavolini’s Nightmare in a Damaged Brain a run for their money as the most despicable slasher of all time. Based losely on an unproduced script entitled Nightline and inspired by the then-current killing spree of the Hollywood Stranger, Hammer’s clichéd script was aided by an unnerving central performance from Nicholas Worth as demented sex killer Kirk Smith. The movie is certainly by the numbers and follows the usual generic formula for these types of films, but there is certainly something about Don’t Answer the Phone! that lingers long after viewing.

TERROR TRAIN
With both Halloween and Prom Night having earned her the moniker “Scream Queen,’ Jamie Lee Curtis would make her slasher swan song (with the exception of the Halloween sequels) with Roger Spottiswoode’s Canadian thriller Terror Train. Although the story of vengeful killer Kenny Hampson (Derek MacKinnon) slaughtering the classmates that were responsible for him going insane was more than a little predictable, the location of the action (on board an all-night train) and the fancy dress gimmick gave the filmmakers plenty to toy with. The stand out sequence is the image of MacKinnon prowling the halls dressed as Groucho Marx. It shouldn’t be scary but it works.

THE BOOGEYMAN
Another slasher to make it onto the ‘video nasty’ list was Ulli Lommel’s supernatural thriller The Boogeyman, which would once again see him collaborate with his then-wife Suzanna Love. Taking more than a little inspiration from Halloween, Lummel’s story saw a young boy brutally murder his mother and her lover, later growing into an almost catatonic mute. But when his sister (Love) is forced to come to terms with the event, the evil spirit of the lover is released through a broken mirror and begins to drive people to unspeakable acts of violence, including murder. Whilst the movie is far from a classic, it contains enough interesting ideas and gruesome scenes to hold the viewer’s attention, as well as the obligatory nude scene. A sequel would follow three years later that would recycle much of its footage from this movie (something that 1987’s Silent Night, Deadly Night Part II would be as equally guilty of).

MANIAC
Having gained experience in the softcore sex industry and prowled the grindhouse theatres of Times Square, William Lustig’s first ‘commercial’ feature (following titles such as The Violation of Claudia, shot under the alias Billy Bagg) was 1980’s Maniac. Conceived in collaboration with fellow New Yorker Joe Spinell (who had previously enjoyed minor roles in The Godfather and Rocky), who would take the role of the maniac of the title, the movie would also co-star Hammer beauty Caroline Munro. The role had initially been offered to Italian actress Daria Nicolodi after Lustig had worked with her partner Dario Argento on the classic Inferno, but Nicolodi had allegedly been disgusted by the script and had refused to take part.

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