The Slayer (film)
Encyclopedia
The Slayer is a 1982
horror film
directed by J. S. Cardone. The film gained notoriety and was classified in the UK as a video nasty
in the 1980s.
artist
sister Kay (Sarah Kendall
), her doctor husband David (Alan McRae), her sister-in-law Brooke (Carol Kottenbrook) along with pilot Marsh (Michael Holmes
) become stranded on a rugged isle. For thirty-something Kay her current situation is her worst fears realised, for she's been troubled since her childhood by recurring prophet
ic nightmares in which she is stalked and slain in a burning room by figure known as The Slayer. Now it seems this place may be in fact its dwelling and she's sure somehow that this so-called entity is lurking close by, biding its time until nightfull, where it will be drawn to Kay who (for whatever reason) dreams of its killings. But, then again, what's real or make believe? Not everything is what it seems in this place.
. The film currently has no rating at Rotten Tomatoes
, but holds an audience share of 25%, with 45 people who "want to see" and 138 people who are "not interested".
and DVD
format. The Slayer was released in the U.S. on double feature
video format by Continental Video alongside another feature - Scalps
. It was cut by five minutes or so, in order to make room for the second feature, but all the gruesome scenes and violence are intact. The film has never been made available on DVD in the U.S.
In the UK, the film has had several releases. The film appeared on the video's nasty list in October in 1983 but was dropped in April 1985, before that, the film was released on VHS uncut by Vipco
until it was banned in the UK. It received another release in 1992 by Vipco, with 14 seconds cut by the BBFC. But in 2001 the film was released again by Vipco for the first time on DVD and was passed uncut by the BBFC. The same DVD version was released in 2010, uncut by Cornerstone Media, but it is only the outer packaging that is new, the disc is from Vipco's release. The extras include trailers and filmographies. Both DVD's have an aspect ratio of 4:3 full screen.
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by J. S. Cardone. The film gained notoriety and was classified in the UK as a video nasty
Video nasty
"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
in the 1980s.
Plot
Siblings, Eric (Frederick Flynn) and his surreal abstractAbstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
sister Kay (Sarah Kendall
Sarah Kendall
Sarah Kendall is an Australian comedian from Newcastle, New South Wales, now based in London, England. She attained much success on the Australian comedy circuit since winning the Raw Comedy competition in 1998, regularly appearing on Australian television, before moving to the United Kingdom in...
), her doctor husband David (Alan McRae), her sister-in-law Brooke (Carol Kottenbrook) along with pilot Marsh (Michael Holmes
Michael Holmes
Michael Holmes is an Australian anchor and correspondent for CNN International. He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1973-77. Holmes began his career at the Daily News newspaper in Perth. Prior to his work at CNN, he was a reporter for more than a decade for Australia's Nine Network in Perth,...
) become stranded on a rugged isle. For thirty-something Kay her current situation is her worst fears realised, for she's been troubled since her childhood by recurring prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
ic nightmares in which she is stalked and slain in a burning room by figure known as The Slayer. Now it seems this place may be in fact its dwelling and she's sure somehow that this so-called entity is lurking close by, biding its time until nightfull, where it will be drawn to Kay who (for whatever reason) dreams of its killings. But, then again, what's real or make believe? Not everything is what it seems in this place.
Cast
- Sarah Kendall as Kay
- Frederick Flynn as Eric
- Alan McRae as David
- Carol Kottenbrook as Brooke
- Michael Holmes as Marsh
- Paul Gandolfo as Fisherman
- Newell Alexander as Kay's Father
- Ivy Jones as Kay's Mother
- Richard Van Brakel as Eric (as a child)
- Jennifer Gaffin as Kay (as a child)
- Carl Kraines as The Slayer
- Alan McRae as Stripper
Reception
The film has received mainly a positive critical reaction from online critics, despite the fact that it only holds a rating of 3.3/10 at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. The film currently has no rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, but holds an audience share of 25%, with 45 people who "want to see" and 138 people who are "not interested".
Home Video
The film has been released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format. The Slayer was released in the U.S. on double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
video format by Continental Video alongside another feature - Scalps
Scalps
Scalps is a 1983 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray that revolves around a vengeful Native American spirit.-Plot:Six college archeology students work on a dig in the California desert, despite the warnings of a professor and the town drunk. When the group digs around in an Indian...
. It was cut by five minutes or so, in order to make room for the second feature, but all the gruesome scenes and violence are intact. The film has never been made available on DVD in the U.S.
In the UK, the film has had several releases. The film appeared on the video's nasty list in October in 1983 but was dropped in April 1985, before that, the film was released on VHS uncut by Vipco
VIPCO (Video Instant Picture Company)
VIPCO was a UK based home video distribution company that specialized in releasing obscure and cult horror films - in particular, low budget Italian and American films produced during the seventies and eighties...
until it was banned in the UK. It received another release in 1992 by Vipco, with 14 seconds cut by the BBFC. But in 2001 the film was released again by Vipco for the first time on DVD and was passed uncut by the BBFC. The same DVD version was released in 2010, uncut by Cornerstone Media, but it is only the outer packaging that is new, the disc is from Vipco's release. The extras include trailers and filmographies. Both DVD's have an aspect ratio of 4:3 full screen.
External links
- The Slayer at Yahoo! MoviesYahoo! MoviesYahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...