By Melissa Garza
“What killed him wasn’t a nightmare. Whatever it was, it was very real.” – Eric (Frederick Flynn)
Kay (Sarah Kendall), an artist with emotional issues decides to take a trip with her husband David (Alan McRae), her brother Eric (Frederick Flynn) and her sister-n-law Brooke (Carol Kottonbrook). They fly out to an island where Kay immediately recognizes a house as one she had painted but never seen. She had premonitions in her dreams before, and so she begins to worry. David, convinced it is a coincidence pays no mind. Kay walks away from the house and attempts to let it go, but as more strange occurrences happen her feelings worsen. She tries to discuss what she feels with David who only reassures her that everything is in her mind. When she argues the poin the becomes angry and storms away. Later, they reconcile but only after she accepts that it is her imagination and nothing more.
The pilot Marsh (Michael Holmes) worsens her paranoia when he warns Kay that something is wrong with the island. Again, David is unmoved. Then people begin to die. It becomes clear that someone is brutally murdering random people on the island. Soon, the target shifts to the four of them. Once she sees a death in her dream prior to it happening, she becomes sure. She tells Brooke and Eric about the psychic visions. Brooke slowly comes and begins to believe her until Eric vehemently disagrees. Eric informs Brooke that Kay has serious problems and that as a child she went to a therapist for years. He raises one incident where a family pet was found dead, and Kay said she had seen it all within her dream.
When the women become even more disturbed, Eric takes it upon himself to find out who the killer is. Determined to prove that whatever is causing the horrors that they are enduring is real and not Kay’s dream, he walks into the darkness with only a flashlight in hand. The task becomes a tough one and soon his too is being targeted by the unknown assailant.
The film utilizes the typical horror atmosphere. Every night is a dark and stormy one. Pitch black scenes lit with mere lanterns or a streak of lightening provide an uneasy sense in the viewer. There is the typical creaky doors and silent rooms which create tense moments. The deaths are not quick but slow. There’s time for the victims to get away which gives a bit of hope, but also more time to worry and become unnerved.
This is what a horror movie should be. Back in 1982, this is what a horror movie typically was. There was an understanding that the filmmakers had with the audience. The intent was to frighten with scenes that would stir emotions. Sure, there were the cheap thrills. Once in awhile cats would jump out of the darkness and something that appeared to be a killer would soon reveal itself as no more than a chair; but overall the intent was to make the moviegoer fearful for longer than a moment. Now, the horror genre relies on one out of two things. We have the movies where individuals are tortured to death or films where cheap thrills are all that’s given. Movies where a gray CGI ghost will jump in front of the camera and scream may be scary to a five year old, but for real horror fans, we require more. Unfortunately, to obtain that ‘more’ we are forced to look either outside the mainstream or at movies from the past. “Slayer” is one of the movies from the past that is often overlooked but should not be.
The conclusion admittedly isn’t as startling as it should be. Still, the movie leads down one road and then brings the viewer on another which is hard to do in a time now when nothing surprises.
The acting is above par. Each performance was solid and each actor delivered well. Michael Holmes stood out as the strange pilot that seems to know more than he’s letting on. Though not on nearly as much as one would hope, he owns every scene that he is in.
Sarah Kendall also does marvelous in the lead. She is a sympathetic hero. It is often a difficult task to portray a woman in a horror movie realistically. Actresses are commonly placed into one out of two categories. They either portray the weak heroine who desperately needs a man to save them or they are cast in the role of a Tomb Raider-like super hero that defeats the villains with unrealistic ease. Kendall finds that line and perfects it. She seeks help from her friends but the role of heroine is never stripped from her. She expresses fear and apprehension but never loses control or is in a position where she needs to be saved by a masculine counterpart. She’s independent and though at times confused by all the events that surround her, doesn’t seek clarity from anyone else but herself. Though the occurrences frighten her, as they would anyone, she remains coherent and ready to fight with all she has. What could have been just another forgettable character turns into a memorable performance and one that I wish modern actresses would view.
Overall, “The Slayer” is a fun horror movie that is worth watching more than once.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
