The Slayer

Siblings Eric and Kay, her doctor husband David, her sister-in-law Brooke along with pilot Marsh become stranded on a rugged isle face off against a supernatural beast drawn to Kay who dreams of its killings.

The story and script were co-written by J. S. Cardone and Bill Ewing; Cardone eventually directed while Ewing produced. Cardone had been, what he called, "the white token of the black film community" writing for folks like Bill Cosby but was working in a liquor store to pay his bills. This was his first credited work on a feature film. Ewing had worked as an actor, and did cast coordination for "Meteor" (1979), but was also new to writing and producing films. Although today classified as a "slasher", the co-writers maintain they were really aiming for a psychological thriller with hints of Lovecraft.

The two were able to move from script to screen thanks to production manager Eric Weston (who horror fans may know as the director of 1981's "Evilspeak") and Lloyd Adams' International Picture Show Company (who then went bankrupt within the year). Outside of "Slayer", Adams may be best known as the producer of "Grizzly" (1976). This bankruptcy unfortunately caused any number of distribution problems, but the film did manage to find a life of its own.

For the appropriate setting, they chose Tybee Island, the easternmost part of Georgia… known for its hurricanes and for being one of the few places an atomic bomb was dropped on American soil. Though storms do factor into the plot, as well as the island's relative isolation, the atomic bomb part is not mentioned. Perhaps an unfortunate missed opportunity? Not only were Cardone and Ewing new at the movie game, but this was DP Karen Grossman on her first feature film. She followed it up with "Microwave Massacre" (1983), as well as a couple of Cardone's films. The bulk of her credits are with the George Romero TV series "Tales from the Darkside" and its quasi-sequel "Monsters" Robert Short, the special effects man, had come out of Don Post's crew and had previously helped design the mask from "Halloween"; he can claim responsibility for the cool pitchfork scene, which is as good as any trick Tom Savini had pulled. Short went on to many, many huge projects, including "Beetlejuice".

Leading the cast is Sarah Kendall, who really sells the film with her wide eyes; she looks like a more terrified version of Sigourney Weaver, making her the perfect lead actress. She had apparently worked with one of the creators (probably Ewing) on a TV show, though this is unclear from her credits. Quite possibly, she had been on a few shows in smaller parts that were not well-documented at the time.

Ultimately, "The Slayer" is something of a mixed bag. Kendall is a strong leading lady, some of the gore effects are pretty good. And the concept of blurring the lines between dream and reality is incredibly clever. Although it is not likely this film was an influence, some of the ideas presented do predate similar ideas in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films. What makes "Slayer" just alright rather than great, however, is the pacing. Far too much of the film is a slow burn and even at 86 minutes it feels long.

The film's early theatrical release saw it on Broadway with sections cut out and the color uncorrected, due in part to the bankruptcy noted above. Over the years the releases were degraded more and more, and fans who saw it on VHS probably saw it in its worst possible incarnation. This was until 2017, when Arrow Video saved the day. Despite these hiccups, director J. S. Cardone really went on to great things, directing movies with Cannon films, Empire Pictures and beyond.

The Arrow Video Blu-ray has an impressive 50-minute making of segment, with just about everyone attached to the film brought in. We also have a 13-minute feature on the locations, and a June 2017 Q&A that took place on the island. Typically I would say the only thing missing is a commentary track, but the making-of does a fine job of replacing it and actually goes above and beyond by breaking down how some effects were done, something that could not be done with just audio. "The Slayer" may not be the greatest of all slasher films, but it does have an important place in history and fans ought to check it out.

The Slayer only manages to scrape its way in to the slasher genre with its heels dragging across the floor. Like The Dead Pit, Hard Cover and Small Town Massacre; J.S. Cardone's video nasty includes many of the prominent trappings, but tries to incorporate something slightly different. The majority of the runtime is pretty standard stuff as a silhouetted killer hacks off cast members one by one. But when the maniac is revealed to be a supernatural monster, Cardone stretches the realms of the category beyond tradition. There's certainly nothing wrong with a tad of originality, but the stalk and slash cycle is renowned for its stringent similarities. This of course pushes titles like Pledge Night, Child's Play and A Nightmare on Elm Street just outside of the equation. Much has been written about The Slayer's obvious links to the creation of Wes Craven's Freddy franchise, so I won't dwell too much on that topic. But it's worth recognising the fact that Mr. Craven almost certainly lifted a few plot points from this and the Frankie Avalon bore fest of the following year (Blood Song) to come up with the idea for his huge horror series.

Surreal artist Kay (Sarah Kendall) has been having the same reoccurring dark dream since she was a young child. It contains vivid images of a horrific monster that stalks her in a flame filled room. Even though the nightmare has plagued her more and more over the past few days, she has never been able to see it through to its conclusion. Her Doctor husband David (Alan McRae) has agreed to take her away on a trip with her brother Eric (Frederick Flynn) and his wife Brooke (Carol Kottenbrook). He hopes that a little break from the pressures of everyday life will finally put an end to the restless nights. They have borrowed a beautiful house on a secluded island, which at this time of the year remains virtually un-inhabited. The rugged beauty of the isle immediately captivates Eric, but Kay is spooked because she believes that she has been there sometime before. On the first night they are warned that a dangerous storm is thundering towards the land, and it's arrival sends the atmosphere into total chaos. The following morning when they awaken, David has disappeared, unbeknownst to them semi-decapitated by an unseen menace. Before long, the silhouetted killer begins stalking the island with a pitchfork, looking to turn Kay's dreams into a shocking reality.

The Slayer succeeds in being one of the few video nasties that someway lives up to its gruesome reputation. Robert Folk's impressively orchestrated score keeps the tension running high and J.S. Cardone's razor sharp direction builds a few satisfying scares throughout the runtime. Although Richard short's special effects don't stand up to the scrutiny of Tom Savini's greatest hits, there's still some memorable gore scenes on offer. One guy gets semi decapitated in an ingenious killing that has surprisingly never been imitated over the following years, and there's a decidedly grisly pitchfork impalement that is worth the budget purchase price alone. The film does drag somewhat in places, but some splendid scenes, which see Kay battling to stay awake and prevent the monster's reappearance, salvage the final third. A good plot twist in the closing scene makes up for the somewhat brief showdown when the beast is finally unveiled and the net result is a thoroughly satisfying bloodbath.

Unfortunately, the years haven't been to kind to this feature and the digitally remastered DVD cannot hide the numerous blips on the negative. The level of performance from the cast is also fairly questionable, especially the lack of emotion from Sarah Kendall. Even when her brother and husband have been slaughtered she fails to look anything other than totally flat. At times Cardone also falls foul to the old 'victim # 1 goes missing so victim # 2 goes looking for him', which shows a slight weakness in the screenplay. But the intriguing set locations, some stunning aerial photography and a decent score (recorded at London's notorious Abbey Road studios) make up for the shortcomings.

The Slayer is one of the many old horror movies that have been re-released totally unedited on budget DVD. You can pick it up for next to nothing on Amazon, so there's really no reason why you shouldn't. Captivating, compelling and at times downright gruesome, this one is certainly worth picking up.

"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

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

Although not the most original concept in horror movie history ( girls dreams start to turn into reality), this is quite a decent and atmospheric movie, well acted and scripted, and it features some unusual and gruesome deaths (in the uncut version anyway). An unusually classy music score (played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra no less) gets things off to a moody start, and the tension slowly mounts as four holiday-makers travel to a deserted island for a weekend vacation which turns into a nightmare, when the bad dreams suffered by one of the group start to come true. Only disappointment I found was the let down ending, when the "monster" finally appears it looks dead phony. Apart from that, this is worth a look.