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This blog has been contributed by guest blogger Kieran Masterton, a jovial British bloke who credits Back to the Future for getting him into filmmaking.

“The truth of the matter is there’s a bloodlust in all of us, and it kills, and it doesn’t care.” -- John Carpenter, Writer/Director (Halloween)

The Slasher film, Hollywood’s popular problem child, adored and abhorred in equal measure, has been with us for over thirty years.  Whatever your opinion of horror’s most controversial offspring, the Slashers’ popularity with both mainstream and cult audiences can’t be denied. In the 70's and 80's they drew teen couples in droves to drive-ins all over America with the promise of 120 minutes of guaranteed fearful embraces while the likes of Mike Myers stalked babysitters with a hunting knife. In the 90's Scream introduced a new hyper-postmodern self-aware Slasher for the home-movie generation that killed busty teen starlets with a cheeky wink. And now, at the turn of the century, we’re in the midst of a decade of Slasher remakes. With the likes of Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left and now Friday the 13th all receiving the remake treatment have Slasher filmmakers finally run out of ways to kill people?

The Gist of It
Going To Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, based on Adam Rockoff’s book of the same name, is a documentary that chronicles the evolution, success, controversy and ultimate de-evolution of the Slasher genre.  Rather than the conventional didactic narrational approach, Going to Pieces relies largely on interviews with filmmakers to tell its story.  Beginning with a historical perspective on the nature of violence as entertainment, the film introduces the masters of the craft by asking them to speak on the subject of abject violence as spectacle. Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham, Stan Winston, Tom Savini, Rob Zombie, Herb Freed and Rockoff himself are all introduced via their thoughts on the subject.

The documentary quickly moves in direction of the films themselves, citing and discussing Peeping Tom and Psycho as early influences for the genre.  In broaching the conception of the Slasher, both Halloween and Friday the 13th are given a good deal of attention while The Texas Chain Saw Massacre receives a less thorough exploration.  This is presumably due to Tobe Hooper’s absence in the film, which is a shame given the relatively detailed handling TCM receives in Rockoff’s book.  Next, the film draws in the socio-political context of the late 70's / early 80's with discussions of AIDs, the white flight and changing attitudes towards gender.  As the genre cycle progresses, Prom Night and Terror Train are drawn in with the discussion of Jamie Lee Curtis’s role in the popularity of these films.

At this point in the historical discussion of the genre, the documentary pauses to define the Slasher.  The killer, the settings, the final girl, and the weapons of choice are all briefly touched upon, but are also revisited later.  Transitioning to the subject of increasing gore and special effects brings about the specific examples of Dario Argento's Spaghetti Slashers as well as a detailed interview with legendary special effects / makeup artist Tom Savini, in which he discusses the intimate details of his work on Friday the 13th and George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

As the classical Slasher cycle begins its decline, footage of demonstrations is shown along with criticism from parents about the dangers of the genre.  Here, Silent Night, Deadly Night is highlighted as a flash point in the genre’s history during which only one man could bring it back from the brink.  Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street took the Slasher to the next level by bringing the killer into the safe havens of your home and even your dreams and is used by the documentary as a springboard to discuss the role of stardom and the slasher - devoted fans will realize, after all, that there were very little semblances of Freddy Krueger's trademark dark humor within the inaugural film.  Finally, this extremely thorough documentary tackles gender and issues of the final girl and then concludes with the Scream phenomenon and the role of post-modernity in the slasher.

Why You Need to See It
Whether you are a fan of the Slasher gene or not; whether you are a fan of the horror flick or not; if you love cinema you simply have to see this film.  At the very least, it provides an incredible first-hand insight into a genre cycle in action.  Maybe you’ve taken Film 101 and heard professors talk the talk, but have never been able to visualize what generic change means in reality.  Maybe you’ve always wanted to know more about the evolution of special effects and makeup.  Maybe you’ve always wondered why you’re so scared of men in masks on Halloween.  Going to Pieces delivers for all of you.

The documentary not only details the evolution of one of the most popular and controversial sub-genres in history, but also serves as a wonderfully illustrative example of how makeup and special effects techniques evolved.  Similarly, if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, it offers a unique opportunity to hear from some of America’s greatest horror directors and producers on subjects such as funding, making low budget look good, and storytelling, as well as experiencing their journeys in making each of their films.

The cornerstone of this documentary is fantastic input from seminal filmmakers discussing their films in relation to the wonderful research of Adam Rockoff.  It is rare to find such a detailed insight and for that reason alone it is well worth watching.  Likewise, it is important as moviegoers viewing such a high quantity of Slasher remakes, to understand where they have come from and how they have evolved.  While the documentary can never be as detailed as Rockoff’s book it does a great job of sifting through a vast amount of information in a short 88-minute run-time and selecting only the prime cuts.  There is simply no fat on the bones, just solid informative documentary filmmaking.  It's been said that in order to discover a country's values, look at the media they're consuming.  In this regard, Going to Pieces is not only a history of the Slasher genre, but also a historical retrospect on the social situations that allowed such a genre to be created, to prosper, and ultimately, to fall.

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film is available on DVD from Amazon and Play.com as is Rockoff’s book of the same name.

Kieran Masterton is a postgraduate research student who has taught at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. His research interests include screenwriting, neo-noir, genre theory and the slasher genre. His first slasher was Friday the 13th at the age of 9 and he still flinches when Marcie gets an axe to the face.

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