Slasher | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Aaron Martin |
Directed by | Adam MacDonald |
Starring | (see cast) |
Composer | Shawn Pierce |
Country of origin | Canada United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Production locations | Ontario, Canada |
Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 46–53 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Chiller |
Release | March 4 – April 15, 2016 |
Network | Netflix |
Release | October 17, 2017 – May 23, 2019 |
Network | Shudder |
Release | August 12, 2021 – May 11, 2023 |
Slasher is a horror anthology television series created by Aaron Martin. It premiered on Chiller on March 4, 2016, [1] and on Super Channel on April 1, 2016. [2] The licensing rights for the second season were acquired by Netflix in January 2017. [3] The second season was released on October 17, 2017. [4] [5] On August 8, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on May 23, 2019. [6] [7] An eight-episode fourth season was ordered for Shudder, [8] premiering on August 12, 2021. On February 10, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth [ citation needed ] season, which premiered on April 6, 2023.
Each season is centered on a masked killer with an unknown motive for killing their victims. The first season, retroactively subtitled The Executioner, was co-produced by Chiller and Super Channel, and centered on a mysterious figure billed as the Executioner who terrorizes the fictional town of Waterbury, Canada. The second season, subtitled Guilty Party, follows a group of former summer camp counselors who return to their isolated campground in order to retrieve the body of a murder they committed, before being targeted, one by one, by an unknown killer. [9] The third season, Solstice, is centered on a group of neighbors who are targeted during the summer solstice period due to their complicity in not saving a murder victim who was killed one year earlier in front of their apartment complex by the same killer, nicknamed the Druid. [10] [11] The fourth season, Flesh & Blood focuses on the wealthy yet dysfunctional Galloway family, but after the sudden death of the family's patriarch, the remaining family members are forced to compete in a series of twisted games in order to win the family's entire fortune, all the while being hunted by a masked killer called the Gentleman. The fifth season, Ripper takes place in 19th century Toronto, where a group of rich elites are hunted down by a serial killer wearing widow's weeds, coincidentally named the Widow.
Season | Title | Episodes | Originally released | |||
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First released | Last released | Network | ||||
1 | The Executioner | 8 | March 4, 2016 | April 15, 2016 | Chiller | |
2 | Guilty Party | 8 | October 17, 2017 | Netflix | ||
3 | Solstice | 8 | May 23, 2019 | |||
4 | Flesh & Blood | 8 | August 12, 2021 | September 16, 2021 | Shudder | |
5 | Ripper | 8 | April 6, 2023 | May 11, 2023 |
Sarah Bennett and her husband Dylan move back to the town of her birth, fictitious Waterbury, Canada, [12] into her childhood home, where both of her parents were murdered on the Halloween of 1988. Her mother was pregnant with Sarah at the time of the killing before the police arrest the killer who was holding the newborn baby. [13] Sarah's return to Waterbury is greeted with the start of a series of copycat murders, all appearing to be at the hands of "The Executioner." [14]
In the dead of winter, a group of former summer camp counselors return to the resort where they participated in the murder of Talvinder Gill, then hid her body. The body has vanished from its secret hiding spot. They are then trapped in the resort and, one by one, killed by a murderer in a parka. [15]
Kit Jennings, a sex and drug addict, is murdered by someone using a "Druid" costume in front of an apartment complex during the summer solstice and the neighbors don't help him. Exactly one year later, a person using the same costume emerges and starts murdering every person who carries any kind of complicity in Jennings' murder. [16]
Slasher: Flesh & Blood follows a wealthy but dysfunctional family gathering for a reunion on a secluded island. Their old wounds and competitive rivalries flare up when the family realizes a masked killer is on the island, intent on cruelly picking them off one by one. [17]
Slasher: Ripper takes place in the late 19th century – where there is a killer stalking the streets, but instead of targeting the poor and downtrodden like Jack the Ripper, the Widow is meting out justice against the rich and powerful. The only person standing in the way of this killer is a newly promoted detective, Kenneth Rijkers, whose ironclad belief in justice may wind up being yet another victim. [18]
List indicator(s)
A green cell indicates that the actor has appeared in the majority of the season. A light blue cell indicates the actor has appeared in fewer than four episodes. A red cell indicates the actor has a supporting role, appearing in at least four episodes. A light gray cell indicates the actor has a smaller role in the season, before starring as a main cast member. A dark gray cell indicates the actor has not participated in the respective season.
Actor | Capacity and character per season | ||||
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The Executioner | Guilty Party | Solstice | Flesh & Blood | Ripper | |
Katie McGrath | Sarah Bennett | ||||
Brandon Jay McLaren | Dylan Bennett | ||||
Steve Byers | Cam Henry | Andrew May Jr. | |||
Patrick Garrow | Tom Winston | Ray Craft | |||
Dean McDermott | Iain Vaughn | Alan Haight | Dan Olenski | ||
Christopher Jacot | Robin Turner | Antoine | Seamus Galloway | Terrence Crenshaw | |
Mary Walsh | Verna McBride | ||||
Enuka Okuma | Lisa-Ann Follows | ||||
Erin Karpluk | Heather Peterson | Kaili Greenberg | |||
Wendy Crewson | Brenda Merrit | ||||
Leslie Hope | Judith Berry | ||||
Lovell Adams-Gray | Peter Broome | ||||
Jim Watson | Young Alan Henry | Noah Jenkins | Xander Lemmon | ||
Paulino Nunes | Mark Rankin | Frank Dixon | |||
Ty Olsson | Benny Ironside | ||||
Joanne Vannicola | Debbie | Renée | Amber Ciotti | Amber Ciotti | Enid Jenkins |
Sebastian Pigott | Owen Turnbull | ||||
Madison Cheeatow | Keira | ||||
Melinda Shankar | Talvinder Gill | ||||
Kaitlyn Leeb | Susan Lam | ||||
Rebecca Liddiard | Andi Criss | ||||
Paula Brancati | Jana Singer | Dawn Duguin | Violet Lickers | Christy Martin | Viviana Botticelli |
Salvatore Antonio | Angel Lopez | Salomé | |||
Lisa Berry | Det. Roberta Hanson | Dr. Melanda Israel | |||
Gabriel Darku | Connor Rijkers | Det. Kenneth Rijkers | |||
Mercedes Morris | Jen Rijkers | Shanika | |||
Ilan Muallem | Joe Lickers | ||||
Baraka Rahmani | Saadia Jalalzai | ||||
Rosie Simon | Amy Chao | ||||
A.J. Simmons | Vincent Galloway | ||||
Alex Ozerov | Theo Galloway | ||||
Jeananne Goossen | Dr. Persephone Trinh | ||||
Maria del Mar | Annette Galloway | ||||
Rachael Crawford | Grace Galloway | ||||
Sabrina Grdevich | Nancy Vaughn | Florence Galloway | Venetia Botticelli | ||
Sydney Meyer | Liv Vogel | ||||
David Cronenberg | Spencer Galloway | ||||
Thom Allison | Curator | Georges Rondeau | |||
Jefferson Brown | Trent McBride | Gene | Wyatt | Merle | Horatio Dixon |
Daniel Kash | Isaac Kashtinsky | ||||
Sadie Laflamme-Snow | Verdi Botticelli | ||||
Clare McConnell | Regina Simcoe | ||||
Brandon Oakes | Eddie Jacobs | ||||
Eric McCormack | Basil Garvey | ||||
Slasher was created by Aaron Martin, who was inspired after his work on the first season of the medical series Saving Hope , specifically his writing of two episodes in which "people got chopped up." [26] He wrote the first episode of the series as a spec script, aiming to offer it to prospective studios and show a writing style that was different from his previous work (e.g. Saving Hope, Degrassi: The Next Generation , and Being Erica ). Though the script did not receive immediate interest, Shaftesbury Films optioned it in late 2014 with an eight-episode order and started pitching around to networks. [26] Canadian premium network Super Channel ordered the project after showing interest in Slasher's fixed-end format. The now-defunct American network Chiller, which specializes in the horror thriller genre, joined production shortly after; Slasher became Chiller's first and only foray into original scripted series content. [13]
In May 2017, Shaftesbury Films confirmed that the series would not return to Super Channel or Chiller for a second season. However, streaming service Netflix acquired the rights to the second season. The second season was released via Netflix on October 17, 2017. [4]
In August 2018, it was announced that production commenced for the third season of Slasher. [27] On October 23, 2018, Adam MacDonald was announced as the third season's director. [28] On April 24, 2019, it was announced that Aaron Martin had stepped down as the showrunner and Ian Carpenter would serve as the primary showrunner and one of executive producers of the third season. [6]
On November 12, 2020, the series was moved to Shudder for a fourth season. [8] On February 10, 2022, Shudder renewed the series for a fifth season. [18]
Slasher employs a season-long anthology format, with an overarching mystery storyline that will be resolved upon the season's conclusion. [13] Series creator Aaron Martin was inspired by the format of American Horror Story , stating in 2016 that prospective subsequent seasons would retain the American Horror Story style of self-contained storylines; they would be used along with ideally as many actors from previous seasons as possible in new roles. [29]
Martin has aimed to tell "a modern-day monster story" in Slasher, combining three of his favorite genres: the contemporary murder mystery (à la Broadchurch ), [26] the works of Agatha Christie, one of Martin's favorite crime writers, and the classic slasher films which he grew up with. [19] In terms of the latter, Martin has specifically cited the influences of Halloween and It Follows in Slasher's use of a mysterious singular embodiment that is responsible for a series of killings. Not wanting to have the show's killer be "a mythological creature" (as he feels the killers in most slasher films do not have much mystery surrounding them), Martin also uses elements of the traditional whodunit in Slasher: the characters, many of whom have mysterious backgrounds and their own reasons for possibly being the killer are featured, explored, and eliminated from consideration, one by one either through death or the natural deductive process, until the "all too human" killer and their motivations are revealed. [29]
Production on Slasher's 8-episode first season was announced on July 28, 2015, with filming taking place between then and October 2015. Three Northern Ontario municipalities — the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie and the town of Parry Sound — would stand in for the show's fictitious location, the town of Waterbury. [30] Unlike most television series that film their episodes in order, under the direction of Craig David Wallace, the series was shot as if it were a "super-sized" movie. Scenes from multiple episodes were filmed simultaneously, with the availability of locations and cast being factored in. The out-of-order schedule allowed the actors to acknowledge their characters' fates, especially those who had to film their death scenes one day but return later to film earlier scenes if necessary. As an example, Martin cited Mark Ghanimé's first day on set, when his character, Justin Faysal, was laid out in a casket for a scene early in Slasher's third episode. Justin's death, which took place in the second episode, would be filmed later on. [31]
On May 1, 2017, Slasher began filming a second season in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. [32]
A first trailer for the series premiered on November 26, 2015. [33] On May 25, 2016, the entire first season of Slasher became available to stream instantly on Netflix US. [34] On October 17, 2017, the full second season of Slasher became available to stream on Netflix in various countries. [35] The series airs in the United Kingdom on Pick, where the first season premiered on May 10, 2016 and the second season on May 1, 2018. On May 23, 2019, the full third season of Slasher became available to stream in various countries on Netflix. In April 2020, Netflix removed all three seasons of Slasher with no explanation or prior warning. In late June 2020, all three seasons of Slasher were re-added to Netflix. [10] [11]
Slasher has received positive reviews. For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with an average rating of 5/10 based on 5 reviews. [36] Zap2it called the series "a whole lot of fun" and "something for everyone," praising the series' anthology nature, its cast of characters, storyline, plot twists, bloody violence, and even the series-within-the-series Falcon Husbandry (shown as a favorite of Robin and Justin's in Episode 2). [37] Bloody Disgusting awarded the show four skulls out of five, praising Katie McGrath as a great "protagonist and possible final girl" and the series' decision to feature an adult cast, rather than teenagers, with well-developed characters and a "decidedly classic" presentation. [38] On the occasion of Slasher's Super Channel premiere, The Globe and Mail 's John Doyle, while remarking that it "is no masterpiece of horror, nor was it meant to be," called the show "very well-crafted," praising its "exceptional cast" and tight pacing, and noting fans of gory horror will appreciate its bloody scenes. [22]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2016 | UBCP/ACTRA Awards | Best Actor | Brandon Jay McLaren | Nominated | |
2017 | 5th Annual Canadian Screen Awards | Best TV Movie or Limited Series | Slasher | Nominated | |
Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series | Aaron Martin | Nominated | |||
Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series | Craig David Wallace | Nominated | |||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series | Steve Byers | Nominated | |||
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series | Wendy Crewson | Won |
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