The 80s Slasher Movie Champion

Out of 224 slasher movies released between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989, one movie was voted by you as the King of all 80s Slasher Movies. And that movie is none other than 1984's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, directed by Wes Craven.



During the qualifying round in which it was fair game between all 224 movies, NIGHTMARE received more votes than any other film, qualifying it for the First Round of the tournament. In the First Round, it was randomly paired up against 1981's HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME and eventually destroyed the Canadian slasher with 86% of the votes which was easily the biggest ass-whipping of the tournament. It then went on to the Second Round to face Dario Argento's 1982 Giallo TENEBRE, which it beat with 64% of the votes. The Semi-Finals saw NIGHTMARE beat one of its sequels, 1987's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, with 68% of the votes for that particular pairing.

Finally, it came down to the last two 80s Slasher Movies that were left standing after the dust had settled and the body parts were collected: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and 1980's FRIDAY THE 13TH. It goes without saying that NIGHTMARE won, and it did so with 75% of the votes. It's only appropriate that the last two movies to make it to the Finals are two of the most popular and influential Slasher movies ever made, and because of your votes it should settle once and for all who the undisputed Champion of 80s Slasher Movies is. Well, at least according to those of us who are part of the horror blogging community anyway. Thanks to everyone who voted, and stay tuned because I have something special planned that will kick off some time on Sunday morning.

80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament: Finals

Special thanks again to Reverend Phantom for the awesome banner.

Well 222 movies have been eliminated, and now it's finally come down to the final two. The Semi-Finals saw Canada's MY BLOODY VALENTINE going up against FRIDAY THE 13TH, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET taking on the third installment of the ELM STREET series, DREAM WARRIORS. MY BLOODY VALENTINE put up a decent fight but ultimately came up five votes short of advancing. DREAM WARRIORS, on the other hand, was slaughtered by the first NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, which surprised me a little. I thought it would be a close match-up, but apparently most of the people who voted, including myself, thought that the technically better movie deserved to advance over the fan-favorite. Now that finally leaves us with the two original films from the most popular franchises in not only the slasher sub-genre, but horror in general.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) vs. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

Need I say more? The polls are now open until Friday, June 25th. Please feel free to come back and vote as many times as you'd like. Stay tuned for more poorly-written slasher movie reviews here on the Death Rattle and also for the inevitable crowning of the undisputed King of 80s Slasher Movies which will wrap up the month. Thanks!

80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament: Semi-Finals

Special thanks to Reverend Phantom for the awesome banner.



Semi-Finals: Match #1
MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981) vs. FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
So far MY BLOODY VALENTINE has beaten both FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 and Dario Argento's OPERA to make it to the Semi-Finals. Not too shabby! Will it be a St. Valentine's Day Massacre for FRIDAY THE 13TH in the Semi-Finals, or will Mrs. Voorhees and the Crystal Lake crew send the Canadian slasher back to its home country with a broken heart, eh?

Semi-Finals: Match #2
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) vs. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987)
It's come down to the "best" of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series versus the one that's considered to be the personal favorite amongst fans of the franchise. Will the original NIGHTMARE go on to the Finals, or will DREAM WARRIORS pull off an upset and make it to prime time, bitch!? Either way, my money's on the one with Freddy Krueger in it.

The polls are open, so feel free to vote as many times as you want, and also thanks to everyone who's voted thus far. I couldn't have done it without you. Well, I could have, but it would have been really awkward.

80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament: Second Round Matches

The polls have just closed for the First Round of the 80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament, and now it's obviously time to move on to the Second Round of four matches. Eight movies have been eliminated and now eight movies are left. Below is a rundown of the four matches of the Second Round, but, as usual, if you'd like to get straight to voting, you know what to do.

Second Round: Match #1
Dario Argento's OPERA (1987) vs. MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981)
This should be an interesting match seeing as both movies couldn't be any more different from each other, or so the saying goes anyway. We have arguably the best movie from Italian "Master of Horror" Dario Argento going up against a Canadian cult classic. Will the Gas-Mask and Pick-Ax reign supreme, or will the Fat Lady finally sing for MY BLOODY VALENTINE?

Second Round: Match #2
FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) vs. MANIAC (1980)
Not only were these two beasts born on the same year, but they're also two of the most important and highly-regarded films of the Slasher sub-genre. I have a feeling that Mrs. Voorhees just might be too much woman for Frank Zito to handle, but you never know!

Second Round: Match #3
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987) vs. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)
Much like the match involving FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 in the First Round of the tournament, the key word for me with this pairing is "torn". These are both personal favorites of mine and I think that this one could go either way. I think FRIDAY is a better film, but DREAM WARRIORS does have a Wizard Master. Decisions, decisions.

Second Round: Match #4
TENEBRE (1982) vs. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
This Dario Argento guy seems to be a hit with the kids. Two of his movies have managed to advance to the Second Round of the tournament, but how many, if any, will advance to the Semi-Finals? Here we have not only Argento versus Craven, but Saxon versus Saxon! One is considered by many to be the greatest Giallo ever made, while the other is considered by many to be the scariest Slasher ever made. This will be interesting.

And now let's quickly go over the movies that got eliminated:
APRIL FOOL'S DAY lost to OPERA by only two votes, but OPERA was pretty much in the lead for most of the week. I was actually a little confused by this considering APRIL FOOL'S DAY actually came in second place in the qualifying polls right behind A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, getting significantly more votes than OPERA initially.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 got spanked by MY BLOODY VALENTINE and lost by nine votes, which surprised me. Not that it lost, but how badly it lost. In the qualifying polls, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 actually got more votes than MY BLOODY VALENTINE, which is another reason I was surprised to see it get beaten like a red-headed stepchild.

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT got trampled by FRIDAY THE 13TH and lost by fourteen votes! I'm sure everyone saw that one coming, though. I sure as hell did. You don't fuck with that crazy bitch Mrs. Voorhees. You just don't.

SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE lost to MANIAC by eight votes, and I can't say that I was surprised there. I'm pretty sure MANIAC stayed in the lead the entire time. How SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE made it into the top sixteen in the first place is beyond me.

THE BURNING lost to ANOES3: DREAM WARRIORS by five votes, which isn't too bad. But still, it's even more reason for Cropsy to be jealous that another burn victim is getting all the glory. First Freddy gets all the sequels, and now he eliminated him from the tournament. What an asshole.

SLEEPAWAY CAMP lost to FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 by only one vote! These two movies were neck-and-neck the entire time, and SLEEPAWAY CAMP was actually in the lead for most of the week. I actually refused to vote for either one because I love them both. It's like picking your favorite kid, but I admit that I did pull for SLEEPAWAY CAMP to advance.

MANIAC COP lost to TENEBRE by twelve votes. Not really a whole lot to say about that, and while I do like MANIAC COP a lot (mostly for nostalgia reasons), I was surprised to see it make the top sixteen. Actually it almost didn't but that's another story.

And finally HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME was the recipient of the biggest ass-whipping of the tournament, losing to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET by seventeen votes! Even Stevie Wonder could have seen that one coming!

80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament: First Round Matches

The polls have been closed (thanks to everyone who voted, by the way!), the votes have been counted, and the 80s Slasher Movie Championship Tournament has officially started. I picked the sixteen movies with the most votes, wrote them down on pieces of paper, put them into a hat and drew them at random to determine the first round of matches. In case you're wondering which movie got the most votes, it was A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. That doesn't mean anything, though, because I voted for it, but in a tournament situation I can think of a couple of other movies that I would choose over that one. I was originally going to reveal the matches throughout the day on Sunday, May 30th, and open the polls for the tournament the day after that but I have the flu and I'm lazy, so the matches will be revealed right now. If you want to just get straight to voting, feel free to direct your attention to the sidebar and get to it!



First Round: Match #1
APRIL FOOL'S DAY (1986) vs. Dario Argento's OPERA (1987)
A cult favorite American slasher going up against an Italian powerhouse and, arguably, director Dario Argento's greatest film. I really don't have anything to say about this one other than there's no doubt in my mind who I will vote for.

First Round: Match #2
MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981) vs. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)
The Pick-ax versus the Machete. The Gas Mask versus the Hockey Mask. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would consider Canada's MY BLOODY VALENTINE to be their favorite 80s Slasher. On the other hand, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 is an undeniable classic when it comes to Slasher movies. This could be interesting.

First Round: Match #3
FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) vs. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984)
Ho Ho Ho! Looks like Christmas won't be coming early this year. Or perhaps Santa Clause will be able to bitch-slap Mrs. Voorhees and send her back into the kitchen where she belongs, barefoot and pregnant.

First Round: Match #4
SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982) vs. MANIAC (1980)
These are two movies that I would consider to be the underdogs of the tournament, so I'm glad that I just so happened to randomly pick these two and match them up against each other. I'm pretty sure I know what the outcome of this one will be, but you never know! Personally I would have much rather seen SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II get into the tournament.

First Round: Match #5
THE BURNING (1981) vs. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987)
Two cult favorites going head to head, pitting the two most famous burn victims in the history of horror films against each other.

First Round: Match #6
SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983) vs. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)
The key word here for me would be "torn" because both are personal favorites of mine. Will Angela get enough votes to continue her murderous rampage in the second round of the tournament, or will Potato-Sack Jason molest her into submission?

First Round: Match #7
TENEBRE (1982) vs. MANIAC COP (1988)
Dario Argento turns up yet again with his second and final entry into the tournament with TENEBRE. Will his Giallo masterpiece be able to wipe out the cult-favorite Slasher from Bruce Campbell and co.? Rumor has it that if MANIAC COP loses, Robert Z'Dar will hunt down whoever voted for TENEBRE and rub his chin all over them. I was hoping that MANIAC COP would have gone up against MANIAC, but oh well.

First Round: Match #8
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981) vs. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, it was fun while it lasted!

The voting for the first round will end on Friday, June 4th. By the way, if anyone wants to design an official banner for the tournament, that would be pretty rad and greatly appreciated.