A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. 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.
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, The X-Files, and Highway to Heaven, in which he portrayed Satan.
Dave 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 the films Lean on Me (1989), One False Move (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Waiting to Exhale (1995), A Family Thing (1996), Soul Food (1997), Aquaman (2018), and Saw X (2023). 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."
Grindhouse is a 2007 American double feature films/trailers/mock commercials compilation package written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino presenting back-to-back Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. The former stars Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, and Marley Shelton; the latter stars Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Zoë Bell. Grindhouse pays homage to exploitation films of the 1970s, with its title deriving from the now-defunct theaters that would show such films. As part of its theatrical presentation, Grindhouse also features fictitious exploitation trailers directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, and Jason Eisener.
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.
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 Mayfair Theatre is a cinema located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is Ottawa's oldest active movie theatre, operating since 1932. It operates as an independent repertory cinema. The theatre's programming includes independent, second-run and classic films. It is noted for its double features and for frequent screenings of cult films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Room.
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, written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, 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.
The Wizard of Gore is a 2007 splatter/noir horror film directed by Jeremy Kasten and starring Kip Pardue, Bijou Phillips, Crispin Glover, Joshua Miller, Brad Dourif, Jeffrey Combs, and the Suicide Girls. The film is a remake of the 1970 Herschell Gordon Lewis film of the same name.
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 adventure thriller film directed by Ruggero Deodato, co-written by Dardano Sacchetti, and starring Lisa Blount, Leonard Mann, Willie Aames, Richard Lynch, Michael Berryman, and Eriq La Salle in his film debut.
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.
