Is Halloween (2018) the pinnacle of slasher success that its box office totals suggest?
Continuing our list of the Top 6 2018 slashers better than Halloween.
Primal Rage
there is still room for creativity and originality in the slasher genre
Fuck you, I’m not cheating! You’re cheating! I know this is a bigfoot movie. But it’s more than that. This is a bigfoot slasher. As I said in my review, this is “Friday the 13th if Jason Voorhees was Sasquatch.” Again, the story here, while basic, shows more creativity. But beyond that, the brilliantly crafted special effects from director and long-time special effects master Patrick Magee are very much a sight to behold. In what was clearly a labor of love, Magee brought bigfoot to life with terrifying realism. Primal Rage proves, definitively, that there is still room for creativity and originality in the slasher genre.
Slice
a fun, goofy romp that never takes itself too seriously
Does this one get a little goofy? Sure. Does the story not make sense in a few places? Absolutely. But, to quote Luke yet again, “Shut the fuck up!” It’s a fun, goofy romp that never takes itself too seriously–an alarming change of pace for A24 and a pretty significant risk. Some might argue that Slice isn’t a slasher. True enough, the kills never take center stage. But, come on. It’s literally about a knife wielding killer who slashes his (or her) victim’s throats. Follow your boys, “[s]top asking questions and enjoy this one for the stupid, mindless fun that it is.”
Terrifier
Halloween is intentionally watered down to appeal to the broadest of horror audiences
Ok, ok. This one is not for everyone. I mean, not even for every horror fan. Some would legitimately question whether it’s for anyone, but it clearly has its fans. As Luke said after PUFF, “It’s not trying to appeal to anyone other than the most hardcore of horror fans.” Admittedly, Halloween is intentionally watered down to appeal to the broadest of horror audiences. Arguably, it succeeds in doing so. Nevertheless, it’s not a better film for the effort. Terrifier may be “gritty and unpleasant to look at” but it’s also “a tour de force of mayhem and disgust.” What, pray tell, is Halloween a “tour de force” of? Terrifier‘s lack of substance and focus on senseless violence while lacking depth may turn viewers away. However, for fans able to stomach the debauchery, there is artistry in the realistic-looking makeup effects throughout this film.
Conclusion
I will defend any title on this list. Not every movie will hit with all fans, but each one strives to be something more in one way or another. These films also take chances that pay off more often than not. Finally, every film here proves that making a ‘dumb slasher’ is no excuse to put creativity on auto-pilot. There is still room for ingenuity in this, admittedly, relatively less sophisticated sub-genre.
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November 12, 2018
Pretty hilarious that you posit the thirteenth movie in a Charles Band series, which has fan-service casting and plays like a slicker Troma movie, as somehow being an alternative to nostalgia.
November 12, 2018
Woof. Looks like somebody doesn’t know how to handle differing opinions. Relax, dude. It’s okay that you liked Halloween. Most people did. Some of us didn’t. Those that didn’t have just as much of a right to write about not liking it and recommending alternative options for other like-minded individuals as those that walked away satisfied.
Not sure what’s hilarious about that. Seems pretty level headed to us. This obviously isn’t a place for you, and that’s okay too. We’re doing just fine without the toxicity that folks like you bring to the table.
November 24, 2018
Good lord, Luke. I only just saw your response and I’m quite startled by how hostile it is.
I don’t see where in my comment I said or implied that I liked the Halloween reboot. I thought it was a mediocre movie at best, and I agree substantially with the review that Jessica Rose posted on this site. I also thought it was over-complicated and had far too many dangling, unresolved plot threads, and I was also disappointed with the characterisation of Laurie as irretrievably damaged.
My comment was supposed to be a joke. Maybe it missed the mark, but I honestly don’t see the “toxicity” in it. All I did was point out the irony that an article which starts out saying that you are “no slaves to nostalgia” would list a late-series sequel that is 100% built on paying homage to past horror movies as an alternative to a Halloween sequel.
Maybe you were having a bad day when you commented, maybe you’re inundated by actually toxic people and my comment just happened to come along at a time when you were already close to snapping. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and overlook the insults in your comment. But as for “Looks like somebody doesn’t know how to handle differing opinions” – yeah, the irony is thick here.
November 26, 2018
Hey Pearce! Thanks for the thoughtful response. I’ll admit I also didn’t quite understand your initial comment, but appreciate the clarification. I’ll have to respectfully disagree with your assessment that Littlest Reich is “100% built on paying homage to past horror movies.” Between Zahler’s script and Lennon’s performance, I honestly found it fresh and don’t feel it relies on nostalgia at all. But on its face, yes, I see the irony.
November 26, 2018
Hey, thanks. I’ll admit that part of the problem for me was that I watched it immediately after Brawl in Cell Block 99, which straight-up bored me to tears, so I was pretty much over S. Craig Zahler’s writing style by the time I got to it. Add to that the casting of Barbara Crampton and Udo Kier, a lighting scheme that reminded me heavily of late ’80s direct to video movies and a sense of humour that I still think was rather Tromatic and it did play as quite retro to me. Your opinion differs, and I respect that.
November 14, 2018
I hated Halloween, but this list is garbage lol. Terrifier was decent tho.
November 17, 2018
Having seen all the films mentioned I don’t honestly think any of them are better than Halloween. Not that Halloween was overly impressive either. The Ranger couldn’t decide if it wanted to be Dr. Giggles (terrible one-liners based on a profession) or something more serious and therefore jumps between both with almost zero flair. Slice was just terrible.. It may have worked better as a niche show on a streaming service but overall the atrocious writing outweighs any flashes of creative brilliance the movie offers up. I did like Terrifier and I’m actually pretty good friends with David.. Let’s be honest though.. It’s not exactly fresh and the plot is non existent. I feel like you came up with the header to this article then sought out some random titles to fill in the blanks. You basically picked a half dozen not so great indie films and told everyone they should like them or shut up. Also, giallo and slasher are not the same.. If you believe that then you need to expand your knowledge in the era of what truly makes a giallo film and the history behind that word. I wish u luck but, with your writing style and your inability to take criticism, I’m not sure if your cut out for this.
November 23, 2018
Halloween 2018 was trash, thanks for the recs….
November 26, 2018
Fair enough. Sorry that you had to deal with that situation. My initial comment probably wasn’t terribly well thought out, in hindsight, so I apologise for that.
I’m sure The Littlest Reich was fresh compared to, I don’t know, Puppets vs Evil Bong or whatever the most recent entry was, I’m admittedly not up with the latest in Full Moon, but I did think it was a bit of a throwback in its style and its casting. You disagree, and that’s fine!
December 20, 2018
Having seen all the films mentioned I don’t honestly think any of them are better than Halloween. Not that Halloween was overly impressive either. The Ranger couldn’t decide if it wanted to be Dr. Giggles (terrible one-liners based on a profession) or something more serious and therefore jumps between both with almost zero flair. Slice was just terrible.. It may have worked better as a niche show on a streaming service but overall the atrocious writing outweighs any flashes of creative brilliance the movie offers up. I did like Terrifier and I’m actually pretty good friends with David.. Let’s be honest though.. It’s not exactly fresh and the plot is non existent. I feel like you came up with the header to this article then sought out some random titles to fill in the blanks. You basically picked a half dozen not so great indie films and told everyone they should like them or shut up. Also, giallo and slasher are not the same.. If you believe that then you need to expand your knowledge in the era of what truly makes a giallo film and the history behind that word. I wish u luck but, with your writing style and your inability to take criticism, I’m not sure if your cut out for this.