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.