The Slasher film is easily one of the most popular subgenres in all of cinema. The genre's roots begin with Hitchcock's desire to modernize the horror genre by taking it out of European castles and removing werewolves and vampires. 1960's Psycho and Peeping Tom are true predecessors to 1978's Halloween. That being said, Halloween is seen as the first film to solidify what would become the slasher formula. Just six years later, A Nightmare On Elm Street shows the evolution of the genre featuring a comedic and vocal antagonist which departed from the silent stalkers Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees. It doesn't matter how fast you run, Episode 0034 of Movie Wars will find you.
Film Summaries
In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends' parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it's too late?
A Nightmare On Elm Street(1984)
Rating:
R
Genre:
Horror
Original Language:
English
Director:
Wes Craven
Producer:
Robert Shaye
Writer:
Wes Craven
Release Date (Theaters):
Nov 9, 1984 Original
Release Date (Streaming):
Oct 25, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA):
$57.3M
Runtime:
1h 31m
Distributor:
Media Home Entertainment, Image Entertainment Inc., Anchor Bay Entertainment, New Line Home Video [us], New Line Cinema
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nightmare_on_elm_street
Halloween(1978)
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
Rating:
R
Genre:
Holiday, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language:
English
Director:
John Carpenter
Producer:
Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Writer:
Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Release Date (Theaters):
Oct 25, 1978 Wide
Release Date (Streaming):
Sep 28, 1999
Box Office (Gross USA):
$47.5M
Runtime:
1h 31m
Distributor:
Compass International Pictures
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009113-halloween