As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Struggling artist Kay (Sarah Kendall), her husband (Frederick Flynn) and another couple (Carol Kottenbrook and Alan McRae), take an impromptu vacation to a remote island to get away from it all. Unfortunately for them, the terrible dreams that have haunted Kay since girlhood have followed her to the island. While Kay slumbers, one by one, her beloved and her friends are slowly and gruesomely picked off. Is it Kay's subconscious or is it... "The Slayer"?Released in 1982, a time where you couldn't throw a cat (or a hammer?) without hitting a slasher film, "The Slayer" is in good company, but also stands out from the pack in a few ways. First off, unlike your "Prom Night" or "My Bloody Valentine," this film isn't about teens getting cut up. This is a movie about adults, and despite some dodgy acting here and there, these characters feel like a real, tight-knit group of people who care about each other, which makes their grisly fates even more effective. Also, this isn't exactly a body count flick. With only four characters (well, there's also the pilot who pops in and out of the plot), that pretty much goes without saying. As a result, "The Slayer" is slow and steady, and focuses on the surreal more than it does in grossing you out. On the technical side of things, the haunting, desolated beach-side setting and the gorgeous cinematography help to keep things interesting during the movie's slower parts. Also of note are the special effects which, while few and far between, are pretty well accomplished for such a small-budget affair. They couldn't get Tom Savini, but Robert Babb does his best to keep you (ahem) hooked. Likewise, the score that serves as the backdrop to the horror adds a touch of class rarely associated with the genre.There's a lot going on in this deceptively simple little film. Much like, say, "Phantasm," it plays with your expectations and makes you question that what you've seen was real (or at least real in the context of the film). If you watch it late at night, it will beg another viewing in the morning just to make sure you got everything. It's that kind of movie. For its modest intentions and humble origins, "The Slayer" pretty much slays. Fans of the genre who have patience for the more deliberately paced side of things won't want to sleep on this.

So I thought I would revisit my youth and have a "look see" at the films I couldn't watch then because, for censorship reasons, they were banned.I cannot understand why The Slayer received the "Video Nasty" distinction, yes there are gory scene's though nothing too untoward for a horror movie, especially from the 1980's. I think it might be the necrophilia overtones in one scene, but hey, she doesn't know he's dead!That said, this film ticked all the boxes for what I look for in a horror movie - a spooky atmosphere and location - characters and situations that are believable (excluding the supernatural and paranormal elements) - tension and a feeling of unease - decent to brilliant FX (no unrealistic CGI here).The story concerns two couples who decide to vacation on a remote and, at this time of year, uninhabited island, to get away from the stresses of modern life and take a breather. Kay is an artist who has started to have a reoccurring nightmare, which she used to have as a child. David is her husband and he's on the island to take photographs as well as to fish. Eric is Kay's brother, he arranged the vacation through a colleague at work who told him about the splendid fishing the island provides. Brooke is his wife, who has come along reluctantly; an isolated island is not her idea of fun.Once they've been dropped at the island the pilot warns them of an oncoming storm as storms hit hard there and come at you from all directions. Heeding his warning they choose to stay. Once the storm hits and the rain falls and the lightning tears open the sky, one-by-one the holidayers are killed off in gruesome ways. My favourite of which is the pitchfork.So this appears to be your usual run of the mill slasher film... It Isn't!It's not a slasher film at all. This is why; I make this differentiation: A slasher film to me is Chopping Mall, Visiting Hours, Friday The 13th, the type of movie where the murderer is human, commonly a psychopath, and goes on a killing spree, usually with very sharp weapons. This puts it into the Thriller genre.Therefore I do not classify the Halloween movies, the Friday The 13th Films (the ones with Jason as the killer), or A Nightmare On Elm Street saga as slashers. These are true horror films with elements of the supernatural and paranormal. It's the ending of the film that plants it firmly into the Horror genre. Now you have to watch it to find out why.This is J S Cardone's first directing job and it's a pretty decent endeavour. He creates a nice uneasiness throughout the film which adds to the suspense and tension. The only thing which irked me was the darkness. I know directors use the darkness to try and build tensity in their film, though sometimes like here, it's just too dark. Even when lanterns and torches are lit the light they give off is minimal, to say the least. I don't remember them being that bad back then.The acting is average and, as was the case back then as well as sometimes now, relies too much on screams. I've never screamed and I don't know anybody who has... yelled and jumped in fright... but never screamed and never like they do in horror films. As I said, I liked the FX in the pitchfork death scene, though the screaming from the actress is really annoying. It is almost laughable as she screams continuously while trying to get away and breaking a window... you hardly hear the glass break above her screams... this girl can sure wail...If you're a horror fan, as I am, then you will enjoy this twisted and gory tale of dreams come true. Well worth watching on a dark night with the lights off.

I remember watching this movie on video many years ago, the title caught my eye seeing the fact that it had a previously banned sticker on it, but to be honest at the time I found it quite boring only saved by a few cool and graphic kills, but then it kind of faded from memory. Many years on I decided to purchase this movie on DVD, to see if my opinion has somewhat changed, and in a way yes and no.Now many years on I do appreciate the tension and the build up of this movie, and the effective POV killer shots, the story line is also quite fresh and original, well at the time anyway, a young woman having nightmares about a monster called "The Slayer". But also on my second viewing this movie still hasn't quite won my affection, the acting for one thing is quite poor and none of them are even memorable which prevents this movie from being scary. But the setting of the island though is very eerie and disturbing, and the cast do make the most of the creepy setting, and the fact that the main heroine is all alone in the head does build on tension and genially does feel unnerving.All in all an okay effort, saved by cool deaths but renders on the tedious side, while waiting for them to come.

An artist, Kay(Sarah Kendal)is haunted by surreal nightmares which have affected her work, hindering her success. Husband Doctor David(Alan McRae)and brother commercial director Eric(Frederick Flynn)are concerned for her well being and put together a trip to an uninhabited(..or so they believe)island to get away from it all for a vacation. Brooke(Carol Kottenbrook), Eric's wife, comes along on the trip. The nightmares, which contain a creature, could be premonitions because after landing on the island, Kay feels as if she has been there before, realizing that an abandoned, dilapidated building(..an old theater house) located near an old fort in ruins, was painted by her to canvas.Well one thing we understand is a big no-no in movies such as this and that's investigating noises in a large, dark unfamiliar house alone. There's this great nightmare gag with a severed head. JS Cardone(..who directed and co-wrote the screenplay)fashioned an interesting film many might feel echoes Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street, the idea of a "dream monster" given life "while victims are asleep." We see how Kay attempts, by whatever means necessary(..such as burning her arm with a lit cigarette), to stay awake, and the psychological/physical damage that doing so causes. When given a sedative, against her wishes by her Eric, as a means for her to get some much needed sleep, it very well could, once and for all, release the creature from it's dreamworld prison. Cardone and company get a lot of mileage out of the island setting, but limit themselves to the detriment of slasher fans demanding a high body count and bloody carnage, because "The Slayer" has a small cast of characters, with little in the department of violence or gore. Being part of the notorious video nasty list does this movie little favor, either, as gorehounds will watch with bated breath hoping for grue. The film has several lengthly sequences where characters conduct searches, many built as suspense set-pieces with flashlights and lanterns peering into the darkness. I think the greatest sin which will contribute to many slasher fans' disappointment will be the misleading title..I imagine one would venture in expecting a movie featuring a psychopath stalking and destroying countless victims. Probably the most effective murder is the use of a pitchfork to impale a victim attempting to escape through a window. Much debated ending(..most considering it terrible) probably would've been better left out..it's a method towards establishing where the monster came from, and I, for one, think it was unnecessary.