A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. 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.
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics to have higher aspirations, such as social commentary, than to be simply exploitative for its own sake.
Blood Feast is a 1963 American splatter film. It was composed, shot, and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, written by Allison Louise Downe from an idea by Lewis and David F. Freidman, and stars Mal Arnold, William Kerwin, Connie Mason, and Lyn Bolton. The plot focuses on a psychopathic food caterer named Fuad Ramses (Arnold) who kills women so that he can include their body parts in his meals and perform sacrifices to his "Egyptian goddess" Ishtar.
Urban Legend is a 1998 American slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, and Michael Rosenbaum, and is the first installment in the Urban Legend film series. Its plot focuses on a series of murders on the campus of a private New England university, all of which appear to be modeled after popular urban legends. In addition to its younger cast, the film features supporting performances from Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, John Neville, and Brad Dourif.
Michael John Berryman is an American character actor. Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition characterized by the absence of sweat glands, hair, and fingernails; his unusual physical appearance has allowed Berryman to make a career out of portraying characters in a number of cult films, horror films and B movies. He first came to prominence for his roles in Miloš Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977). He has appeared in a wide range of feature films and television series, including Star Trek and The X-Files and Highway to Heaven, where he portrayed Satin.
David Kushner is an American musician best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, Loaded, Danzig, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro's solo band, Sugartooth, Zilch while he has also recorded with Infectious Grooves, Cyco Miko and more recently collaborated with Scars on Broadway guitarist Franky Perez releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP, a combination of the initials of Perez and Kushner, as well as working with Indian singer and actress Shruti Haasan.
Michael Anthony Beach is an American actor. He has appeared in films Lean on Me (1989), One False Move (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Waiting to Exhale (1995), A Family Thing (1996), Soul Food (1997), and Aquaman (2018). On television, he played Al Boulet on the NBC medical drama ER from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in another NBC drama series, Third Watch, as Monte Parker, and as T.O. Cross in FX's Sons of Anarchy.
Herschell Gordon Lewis was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore", though his film career included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, nudie-cuties, two children's films and at least one rural comedy. On Lewis' career, AllMovie wrote, "With his better-known gore films, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a pioneer, going further than anyone else dared, probing the depths of disgust and discomfort onscreen with more bad taste and imagination than anyone of his era."
The New York City Horror Film Festival is an international film festival based in New York City that screens films from the horror genre. It was founded by Michael J. Hein in 2001. It takes place each year in New York City for a week in November.
Hostel: Part II is a 2007 American horror film written and directed by Eli Roth, serving as a sequel to Hostel (2005). It is the second installment in the Hostel film series. The film stars Lauren German, Roger Bart, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips and Richard Burgi, while Jay Hernandez briefly reprises his role from the first film. It was produced by Mike Fleiss, Roth, and Chris Briggs, with Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel, and Quentin Tarantino serving as executive producers. The plot follows three American female art students in Rome who are directed to a Slovak village where they are eventually kidnapped and taken to a facility in which rich clients pay to torture and kill other people.
Lee Gordon Demarbre is a Canadian cult film maker. As the president and key person in the Ottawa, Ontario based Odessa Filmworks production company, he has led the creation of several internationally shown films such as Harry Knuckles and the Pearl Necklace and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.
Color Me Blood Red is a 1965 American splatter film written and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis about a psychotic painter who murders people and uses their blood as paint. It is the third part of what the director's fans have dubbed "The Blood Trilogy," including Blood Feast (1963) and Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964).
The Sager orphans were the children of Henry and Naomi Sager. In April 1844 the Sager family took part in the great westward migration and started their journey along the Oregon Trail. During it, both Henry and Naomi died and left their seven children orphaned. Later adopted by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, missionaries in what is now Washington, they were orphaned a second time, when both their new parents, as well as brothers John and Francis Sager, were killed during the Whitman massacre in November 1847. About 1860 Catherine, the oldest daughter, wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. Today it is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration.
The Wizard of Gore is a 1970 American splatter film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring Ray Sager, Judy Cler, and Wayne Ratay. The screenplay was written by Allen Kahn.
Odessa Filmworks is a Canadian film production company, based in Ottawa, Ontario founded by film director/producer Lee Demarbre. Odessa produced the internationally distributed feature film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.
The Dead Sleep Easy is a 2007 Canadian drama film, a co-production of Odessa Filmworks and Zed Filmworks produced on location in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Its tagline is "When you're this far south, sometimes it's better to be dead than alive."
The Girlfriend Experience is a 2009 American slice of life drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring then-pornographic actress Sasha Grey. It was shot in New York City, and a rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. The film was also made available on Amazon Video on Demand as a pre-theatrical rental.
Marina Ann Hantzis, known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic film actress. She began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for her work between 2007 and 2010, including the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008. In 2023, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame.
Cut and Run is a 1985 Italian exploitation horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato, written by Cesare Frugoni and Dardano Sacchetti, and starring Lisa Blount, Leonard Mann, Willie Aames, Richard Lynch and Michael Berryman.
Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films". The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore and distribute old X-rated films that were lost or otherwise unavailable. Their catalog has since expanded to include other types of cult and exploitation films, including horror films and action films.
