The First Slasher Flick? YES!

Maniac (1934)

Director-Dwain Esper

Starring- William Woods, Horace Carpenter, Phyllis Diller

An ex-vaudeville actor, Don Maxwell (Woods) plays assistant to the mad doctor Meirschultz (Carpenter). Dr. Meirschultz asks too much when he wants Maxwell to commit suicide that he may test a reanimation serum on him. Maxwell is resistant to the idea and ends up killing the doctor in the ensuing altercation. Fearing repercussions from the police, he assumes the doctor's identity and goes on for some time in the ruse, coming into contact with a few patients suffering different types of mental illnesses as illustrated by title cards placed on the screen at appropriate times. He's eventually found out by the police whe search his office and discover the real doctor's corpse hidden in a wall (just like Poe's The Black Cat).

Considered one of the earliest "slasher" flicks ever made (mainly because no one can find the 1926 version of Sweeney Todd?), this movie represents the apex of Esper's amateur filmmaking career. The plot isn't very clear at times, copies Poe at other times, but is overall a very entertaining movie.

The acting is stiff, especially from the morgue employees (no pun intended), one of whom reminded me a little of Karl Childers (you know, from Sling Blade?).

The demonic dream sequences/hallucinations mark perhaps one of the most visually effective parts of the movie, as well as the most memorable, though it sometimes felt like I was watching a play within the movie. A very cool film for 1934!

Rating: 4/5 Bonedaddies.

Another Friday the 13th, This One Not So Bad

Friday the 13th (2009)
Director- Marcus Nispel
Starring- Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Derek Mears

Years after the original slayings at Camp Crystal Lak,e, five teens explore the area, looking for a rumored marijuana crop growing wild, hoping to cash in. That night, after some gratuitous sexual play, Jason Voorhees (Mears) stalks them. One by one, they fall prey as he mercilessly (and creatively slaughters all but one.

Fast forward six months later. Clay (Padalecki) is searching for his sister, Jenna (Panabaker), who was one of the five from that night. He has a run in with a group of rich kids, led by Trent (Travis Van Winkle in an utterly convincing role), on their way to his parents' vacation home for a raucous weekend party. Trent's girlfriend feels sorry for Clay, and eventually agrees to help him look for his sister.

This might lead to a love interest. but that darn maniacal slasher is on the loose!
Keep in mind, this is a reimagining of the original. What's the difference? A remake is virtually a scene-for-scene reproduction, updated to a current genre. A reimagining takes an existing origin and throws a new story into it as though it was the first. Jason starts off with only a cloth bandage covering his face. We find out he was into hockey as a kid from little tidbits around his room. When he sees the hockey mask for the first time, we think, of course he gravitates toward that, it stirs up a memory from his childhood, and it hides his "ugliness".

I can't help but compare this a little to Rob Zombie's reimagining of Halloween from 2007. Is this movie good? Yes. But is it rob Zombie good? No. Zombie set the bar pretty high for making a strong horror movie that just sticks with you long after seeing it, and Nispel's reimagining of the Voorhees legend doesn't quiiiiite measure up to that. Regardless, it is still an excellent slasher flick. It's not very difficult to predict who gets killed, but it's harder to figure out how they get killed. Jason proves himself more human in this movie by actually running after his prey, as well as going into a silent rage every once ina while rather than acting stoic. He still never talks, so that has a pretty good effect altogether.

The ending is classic Firday the 13th, but still felt like it belonged more than any other ending that could have been dreamed up.

Rating: 4 Bonedaddies.

The Last Horror Movie (2003)

The Last Horror Movie

Director- Julian Richards

Starring- Kevin Howarth, Mark Stevenson

Warning: Some spoilers.

A serial killer, Max, who works as a wedding videographer by day decides to make a little documentary of his "work". He records it onto a tape from a local video rental and stalks who ever rents it.

The part about the rental is a little bit of a surprise, so I apologize for spilling the beans, but it made sense to add it into the description. Although it's a decent plot device, it feels like it was put in as an afterthought, and to me raises questions of behavioral patterns that would help get the guy caught.

Other than that, the movie was surprisingly excellent. I had my doubts during the intro until I realized it was actually the movie he taped over. Once Max introduces himself, the movie takes a much better road from there. His little soliloquies run on at length and get boring, but it's interesting to see the rising conflict between him the camera man, who seems at first to be a fan but becomes uneasy about killing after having actually seen it.

The disturbing part comes when you see Max disposing of his bodies by cooking them and serving it up to his friends (who obviously have no idea what he does to people). The acting is beyond great, and not because of overemotional interactions or action sequences. The killing scenes become completely human--nothing is overdone, the pain in the victims' faces looks like any documentary or Faces of Death film I've ever seen and at times actually left me speechless due to its realism.

Good concept for a film, maybe not the most original, and even though boring and speechy at times, impresses the feeling of paranoia well and is acted superiorally.

Rating: 4.5/5 Bonedaddies.