The Slayer

Two couples in their 30s take a vacation to a secluded isle off the coast when a storm hits and people mysteriously start dying one-by-one. Kay, a troubled artist (Sarah Kendall), says she sees everything in her nightmares before it happens.

I suppose "The Slayer" (1982), aka "Nightmare Island," could be classified as a slasher flick, but it's more accurately a mystery-horror with haunting remote island ambiance, sort of like "The Shuttered Room" (1967), but mixed with elements of moody coastal horror, such as "The Fog" (1980). "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998) took the stormy island setting to forge a more conventional slasher.

The filmmaking is top-notch for the time period, including the superb score. Carol Kottenbrook as Brooke is a highlight, lookin' good in tight jeans. Kendall shows her acting chops as the haunted protagonist. Meanwhile the titular character is diabolically hideous, but you barely get to see him. Yet there's a twist and, even then, the movie's an enigma wrapped in a riddle.

The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot on Tybee Island, Georgia, and nearby Savannah.

GRADE: B

Struggling artist Kay (Sarah Kendall), her husband (Frederick Flynn) and another couple (Carol Kottenbrook and Alan McRae), take an impromptu vacation to a remote island to get away from it all. Unfortunately for them, the terrible dreams that have haunted Kay since girlhood have followed her to the island. While Kay slumbers, one by one, her beloved and her friends are slowly and gruesomely picked off. Is it Kay's subconscious or is it... "The Slayer"?

Released in 1982, a time where you couldn't throw a cat (or a hammer?) without hitting a slasher film, "The Slayer" is in good company, but also stands out from the pack in a few ways. First off, unlike your "Prom Night" or "My Bloody Valentine," this film isn't about teens getting cut up. This is a movie about adults, and despite some dodgy acting here and there, these characters feel like a real, tight-knit group of people who care about each other, which makes their grisly fates even more effective. Also, this isn't exactly a body count flick. With only four characters (well, there's also the pilot who pops in and out of the plot), that pretty much goes without saying. As a result, "The Slayer" is slow and steady, and focuses on the surreal more than it does in grossing you out.

On the technical side of things, the haunting, desolated beach-side setting and the gorgeous cinematography help to keep things interesting during the movie's slower parts. Also of note are the special effects which, while few and far between, are pretty well accomplished for such a small-budget affair. They couldn't get Tom Savini, but Robert Babb does his best to keep you (ahem) hooked. Likewise, the score that serves as the backdrop to the horror adds a touch of class rarely associated with the genre.

There's a lot going on in this deceptively simple little film. Much like, say, "Phantasm," it plays with your expectations and makes you question that what you've seen was real (or at least real in the context of the film). If you watch it late at night, it will beg another viewing in the morning just to make sure you got everything. It's that kind of movie. For its modest intentions and humble origins, "The Slayer" pretty much slays. Fans of the genre who have patience for the more deliberately paced side of things won't want to sleep on this.

Very few of the original 'video-nasties' were actually good. This one was definitely not one of the good ones. My biggest disappointment came when I realised that the monster that is shown on the DVD menu only properly shows up in the last minute of the film. So DVD menus have ruined another film for me. Trailers ruin films too sometimes. Like Spiders (2000) told me the ending in the trailer. I hate that. Anyway if you manage to not see the monster before you watch the film then this may be a little better for you. The story bumbles along telling us of nightmares, isolation and killing. It was actually quite gory even though there were only five people to kill off. What also surprised me was that there was actually a bit of atmosphere - just not enough. It was a film of not enough; they just needed more of everything to make it average.

"The Slayer" follows a troubled avant-garde artist with psychic proclivities who travels to a remote island with her husband, brother, and sister-in-law in order to regroup. Immediately bothered by the atmosphere of the island, she insists something is amiss among the forests and derelict buildings— but the three dismiss her. Unfortunately, they're wrong.

An early entry in eighties horror that somehow got sidelined by history, "The Slayer" is shockingly good given its lack of notoriety. The set-up is straightforward, and the low character number means there isn't much in the way of the expected body count, but in its brisk eighty minutes, the film manages to achieve a dreadful atmosphere and also boasts some shockingly realistic and disturbing murder scenes.

J.S. Cardone, directed and co-wrote the film—it's his first picture, and he has gone on to work mainly in genre films over the years, giving us the marginalized 2001 vampire flick "The Forsaken" and 2006's "Wicked Little Things." Compared to those films, "The Slayer" is rather minimalistic, but there is a unique sense of foreboding in this film that is something that slasher flicks particularly don't always seem to achieve. The island locale is woodsy and populated with derelict buildings from when it was a resort years prior—an idyllic setting for a horror film. The film in some ways reminded me of a non-wintry "Ghostkeeper," another debased eighties horror picture. The score is quite elegant and ominous, and there are also high-caliber special effects throughout, which are on show during each death sequence, as well as during the monstrous reveal at the finale. Some have argued that the conclusion to "The Slayer" is a cop out. I don't know if I necessarily feel that way. It is rather abruptly thrown at the audience, but it also has narrative significance, linked to threads that are presented earlier on in the film. If anything, it's a somewhat bold move.

Overall, I was quite surprised by how well-crafted this film was. It's not a groundbreaker, but it's a sturdy exercise in dread that happens to be well-shot and eerie. Serious fans of stalk-and- slash movies may find it a bit slow, but it's worth holding out for the impressively jarring murder scenes and the wild card of a conclusion. 8/10.

"The Slayer" is definitely a forgotten film from the early 80's. The title "The Slayer" is not really a great title as it gives false hope of this being another typical slasher film. And in ways... it is a slasher, but not at all typical.

The storyline starts with a couple (Kay and Eric) trying to go on vacation for the sake of the Kay. It seems that she is having horrible nightmares and they are affecting her life, as well as Eric's. They decide to bring her brother and his wife along for the trip. They fly to an isolated island where instantly Kay feels like she has dreamed of it before. The rest of the group ignore her and explore the island to find the house they are renting for vacation. It is when Kay decides to go to sleep when horrible things start to happen, and people start getting murdered.

The plot is slightly similar to that of Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm St." but made before and not quite as unique. The movie is very slow but is very atmospheric also. At times it seems that the director didn't really know what he wanted to do, so he filled time with the vacationers wandering around the island looking for a missing friend. Those scenes seem to drag for quite sometime. Although, the music does help out a lot. It is a nice orchestrated soundtrack that adds depth to a depth-less movie. The gore in the movie is alright. There are a few moments that are thumbs up worthy but don't look for something like "Friday the 13th" here. One particular scene is great that involves a rowing ore.

If you are a true genre fan of the early 80's horror, this is definitely worth a look. Just try to keep focused on the movie because it can be a little difficult to watch at times. 6/10