The Slasher Movie Book By J.A. Kerswell

The slasher movie is the most reviled but successful of horror’s subgenres. Taking its cue from Hitchcock, grind-house movies, and the gory Italian giallo thrillers of the 1970s, slasher movies brought a new high in cinematic violence and suspense to mainstream cinema. For six bloody years (1978–1984)—the “golden age” of slashers—cinema screens and video stores were stalked by homicidal maniacs with murder and mayhem on their minds.


The Slasher Movie Book Synopsis:

An affectionate yet critical look at the surprising beginnings of the slasher movie - a genre that brought a new high in cinematic violence and suspense to mainstream cinema - this grisly guidebook revels in its glory days of the late 1970s and early 1980s and discusses its recent resurgence. Packed with reviews of the best (and worst) slasher movies and illustrated with an extensive collection of distinctive and often graphic color poster artwork from around the world, this book also looks at the political, cultural, and social influences on the slasher movie and its own effect on other film genres. Also included are a list of the top 10 body count films, trivia about famous actors who made their big-screen debuts in slasher films, a glossary of need-to-know terms, a list of additional reading, and recommendations of websites to head to for additional macabre movies.


Combining Kerswell’s detailed essays with distinctive and often graphic retro poster art, The Slasher Movie Book is a fun and fascinating overview of a film genre that, like its villains, just won’t die. Everything from Hitchcock movies to grindhouse and violent French theatre to the Golden Age of the Slasher (1978-1984) launched by John Carpenter’s Halloween is here!
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