Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

--Reviewed by Lindy Loo

Plotline: This isn't an actual horror movie, so it doesn't have a plot. Instead, it documents the "rise and fall of the slasher film" from its beginnings (which they mark as the creation of Halloween) to its resurgence in popularity over the past few years.

Gross-Out Factor: There's a lot of special-fx discussion, so not only will you be watching lots of heads getting chopped off, throats getting sliced, etc., you'll also be watching some of them IN SLOW-MOTION. So yeah: pretty high for the squeamish.

High Points: You get to hear horror-movie legends like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, fx-master Tom Savini, etc. get geeked up about their horror movies and others as well. It also dips into discussion of the genre as anti-feminist (which they all argue vehemently against), the tropes of the slasher film, and the resurgence of its popularity with Scream. All in all, a fascinating romp through the genre, and particularly good for getting ideas for movies you need to rent.



Overall: I like watching documentaries about horror-films, what can I say? It makes my heart squishy to listen to grown men get all smiley and geeked up about how they finally figured out how to get a head to chop off perfectly and fly through the air for the perfect shot. And this documentary delights in that arena. Plus, it is chock full of movie clips for the horror movie geeks in all of us.

Grade: A