Last September I began a tradition called Slasher September, in which I planned to watch as many slashers as possible during the month. To make it challenging, I came up with a bunch of tasks that the movies would have to satisfy; some examples of these tasks include: watch a movie from the classical era (1974-1993) of slashers, watch a slasher that was SOV (shot on video), watch a movie that begins with a letter from the word SLASHER, etc.
I did the challenge again this past month. A Letterboxd buddy of mine who joined me last year also joined me in the challenge this year too. We were the only participants, but that’s okay! I hope next September we get more people joining us, but I’m grateful to have anyone participate at all!
Slasher September is a good opportunity to catch up on movies that have been on my watch list for a while. Generally, I enjoy challenges because there are always a couple of surprises along the way. By the end of the month, I watched 13 films, which is a bit low. But I forgive myself because I’ve been very busy with work (I work around 50 hours or more a week), and I’m also watching Bachelor in Paradise (don’t judge!).
The Highlights
I won’t discuss all 13 movies here, but choose a few to highlight that I enjoyed – and a couple that I thought weren’t so great.
One of the films on my watchlist was Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness. It’s one of the strangest slashers I’ve seen. It’s a shot-on-video, gritty look at a man who goes on a killing spree after he catches his wife having an affair. The killings are bizarre and unrelenting. There’s an element of unreliability to the story, and I wasn’t quite sure what was actually happening or what was in the character’s mind. Our killer doesn’t say much and wore a creepy mask that I won’t forget any time soon. The movie itself isn’t scary at all, but it was definitely unique.
On Shudder I found Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, which I don’t think I’d ever heard of before the challenge. It has a good overall rating on Letterboxd and I was intrigued by the fact that it managed to slip by me all these years. Like Truth or Dare?, BBNM is not a typical slasher, although there is a body count. The performances are good, particularly the Aunt, who is convincing in her role.
Tourist Trap was one of my favorite films from the challenge. I found it weird and creepy, much more so than I expected. The story was a bit predictable, but the mannequins and masks worn by the killer got under my skin.
Hack-O-Lantern was one of the most enjoyable films that I watched all month. I hadn’t even heard of it before, but I happened to be scrolling through Tubi when I found it. I enjoy a good Satanic Panic storyline! Plus it’s seasonal, and I love getting in the Halloween mood a bit early as autumn sets in. The movie is silly, absolutely, but it has some gory kills. Definitely a fun one!
The Lows
Luckily, there weren’t many duds in what I watched. I was, however, disappointed by Disconnected. I really like the poster for the movie, which is what caught my attention in the first place, and I thought the premise held promise. Unfortunately, I don’t think the story was executed in a compelling way. By the end of the movie, I was left confused by the story. It wasn’t outright terrible, so this is a cautious recommendation; if you’re going to give this one a chance, don’t expect a coherent narrative. The story fell apart as it moves toward its conclusion. In its defense though, at least the filmmaker tried to be creative?
The one film I didn’t enjoy at all was Savage Weekend. There was one aspect I liked about it – the cast was aged up, so it wasn’t your typical college (or younger) slasher cast. However, I found the film too horny for my tastes – all the characters did was have sex! And the sex scenes were terrible. There was one point at which I almost shut off the film because it involved two characters becoming aroused while milking a cow. There’s nothing sexy about milking a cow, and no one needs to see anyone sensually stroking an udder. Unfortunately, the “slasher” aspect of the film didn’t make up for its drawbacks, as the body count was incredibly low, and to be quite honest, I don’t even remember the killings from the film. A huge disappointment for me.
For all the films I watched in this year’s Slasher September, check out my Letterboxd list here. If you’re on Letterboxd, feel free to add me – I log every film I watch.
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