Of the many horror subgenres, the slasher is one of the most popular and well-loved. Thanks to the golden era of slashers from 1978-1984, there are hundreds of slasher films to satiate your bloodlust. So many that dozens flew under the radar for many, especially in the wake of the VHS boom.
This week’s streaming picks spotlight some hidden ’80s slasher gems that bring the fun while carving up a body count. As always, here’s where you can stream them this week.
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Alone in the Dark – Shudder
This cult slasher changes the formula, as it features four psychopaths who break out of their mental hospital during a blackout and target the family and home of their new doctor, Dr. Dan Potter. Jack Palance and Martin Landau are having a ball as two members of the quirky psychopath quartet. Look for Donald Pleasence as the eccentric head of the asylum, too. Alone in the Dark mixes black humor with some solid tension and atmosphere, particularly in the second half. It’s as entertaining as it is bizarre.
Intruder – AMC+, Arrow Player, Pluto TV, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu
The overnight stock crew of a local grocery store finds themselves falling victim to an unseen killer in this highly infectious late ’80s slasher. The deaths are delightfully gruesome and inventive; look for this killer to make excellent use of grocery store items as weapons. Look for a stacked cast, too, with notable names like Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, and Evil Dead II’s Dan Hicks. One of the better and most underseen slashers of the decade, Intruder also delivers a small cameo by Bruce Campbell. Considering frequent Raimi collaborator Scott Spiegel directed it, the connections to Evil Dead 2 are endless.
Rocktober Blood – AMC+, Shudder
Got the post-October blues? This hard rock slasher should help. Billy “Eye” Harper leaves the recording studio after working on his latest track and getting into a fight with girlfriend/backup singer Lynn Starling, only to return later and slaughter the rest of the band. Two years later, Lynn is now the band’s frontwoman after her testimony sent Billy to the electric chair. They’re preparing for an extensive tour when Billy seems to have risen from the grave with vengeance in mind. The low-budget slasher brings the heart and cheese in equal measure, and it’s guaranteed to get the song “Rainbow Eyes” stuck in your head.
The Slayer – Arrow Player, Fandor, Screambox, Tubi
Two couples head to an island for a vacation getaway, but being off-season, they’re isolated and alone. The peace is interrupted by Kay, an artist plagued by nightmares that insist those nightmares will cause the group’s doom. Her friend Brooke is somewhat sympathetic; Kay’s husband David and brother Eric are convinced her imagination is running wild. Sure enough, they start dying one by one. The body count may be low, but the filmmakers make it count thanks to gnarly effects by special effects makeup creator Robert Short (Chopping Mall, Beetlejuice, Legion TV series). It helps that the movie builds to an insane finale featuring a cool monster, marking a departure from usual slashers with an ambiguous ending.
StageFright – AMC+, Pluto TV, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu
Also known as StageFright: Aquarius or Deliria, this Italian slasher follows a theater troupe that has locked themselves inside the theater to rehearse for a musical about a fictional mass murderer known as the Night Owl. They’re unaware that an escaped mental patient has crashed the party. Directed by Michele Soavi (The Church, Cemetery Man), this slasher features one of the most visually striking masked killers of all time. It’s gorgeous and stylized without sacrificing brutal kills. For those in the mood for a classic ’80s slasher, StageFright scratches that itch and then some.
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