Indie-Pictures-Blog, for the duration of the quarantine, will review the catalog of the new indie horror/suspense channel, Terror TV. http://www.terrortv.com
The famed slasher film has gone through three levels since Hershel Gordon Lewis created it and the 80s perfected it.
- OMG! The level of blood, gore, sex, and innovation in ways of destruction were not seen on film … ever. We entered the cinema white-knuckled as we did not expect to see such a level of visceral drama.
- “It’s an art film:” Adding unreal color as in Dario Argento or a haze over the breasts and a psychological reason for the death came next – as to legitimize the subgenre. Finally, it’s where we are now
- “It’s a Slasher Film:” the name reflects what it is as simply as the sun begets the morning … or maybe the moon begets the night is more apropos.
Creature Features comes under #3 perfectly.
The premise is part of the pantheon: an anthology of stories told by horny youths at a party to titillate (yup – I went there) a group of eerily erotic girls on Halloween. It salads up all the familiar imagery for such a thing:
- the comic book segues ala Tales from the Crypt;
- the “get naked/get killed” equation;
- the bevy of monsters from hell. And a bevy it is. This Creature Features features creatures of our religion, our mythology, our superstition; our psychosis and neurosis …
- and a killer clown.
What makes with bloodbath a bit clever is the first tale: a clever riff on the monster-under-the-bed tale, it opens our minds to what scared us as children and then added the twist that made the remaining crypt of naked nightmares understandable.
There would have been a time when I might preface by saying “don’t see this.” But today, we have seen it all and enjoy a good one of it. So, if you are a devotee of the 80s slasher/sex/demons flick … This trick will be a treat.
Jay Michaels, an indie theater and film producer, hosts Terror TV’s Terror Talk
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