In 1980, Sean S. Cunningham changed the way you watch horror films. Since the invention of film, people tried to keep you in suspense. They've asked you to figure out who done it, they've tried to frighten you with monsters and they've shown you maniacal killers on the loose. Taking a page from Agatha Christie and another from H.G. Lewis, Cunningham created what would become, the slasher film.
Two years prior, John Carpenter had the boogey man stalking babysitters and audiences loved it. Cunningham just wanted to make a similar trip to the bank, little did he realise what he would start.
The storyline was classic: a group of strangers are thrown together in an isolated area and one by one they start disappearing. The twist is that you see how they are dispatched in a close up shot with emphasis on realism. Sure, exploitation films had been cutting people up for years over multiple drive-in and grind house theater screens but you could tell it was ketchup, tomato soup and red tempera paint.
So now, grab a six pack of your favorite adult beverage, play some strip Monopoly and enjoy a piece of history.
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