BLOODY BIRTHDAY (1981) d. Ed Hunt (USA)
BLOODY MOON (1981) d. Jess Franco (Spain/Germany)
DEADLY BLESSING (1981) d. Wes Craven (USA)
DON'T GO IN THE WOODS (1981) d. James Bryan (USA)
EYES OF A STRANGER (1981) d. Ken Wiederhorn (USA)
FINAL EXAM (1981) d. Jimmy Huston (USA)
GRADUATION DAY (1981) d. Herb Freed (USA)
NIGHT SCHOOL (1981) d. Ken Hughes (USA)
STRANGE BEHAVIOR (1981) d. Michael Laughlin (New Zealand)
STUDENT BODIES (1981) d. Mickey Rose (USA)
A few months back, we took a deep dive into the slashers of 1981, and now we're back to finish the job! If our first installment focused on future classics and franchise cornerstones, this week's episode explores the stranger, sleazier, and more offbeat corners of the slasher boom.
Some films stick close to the formula. Final Exam delivers stripped-down campus suspense, Graduation Day pairs revenge with an unmistakably early-'80s soundtrack, Night School mixes police procedural thrills with a memorable killer, and Eyes of a Stranger blends voyeurism and vigilante justice while featuring an impressive early performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Others push the boundaries. Wes Craven's Deadly Blessing fuses religious paranoia and psychological horror, while Strange Behavior combines mad science, teenage romance, and small-town conspiracy into a cult favorite.
Then there are the true oddballs: Bloody Birthday, Bloody Moon, Don't Go in the Woods, and the gleefully self-aware Student Bodies, each embracing excess, exploitation, or outright parody in wildly different ways. Join AC and his blood-loving panel of guests (Fraser Coffeen, Lauren Cupp, Art Ettinger, Kolleen Carney Hoepfner, Freddie Young) as we celebrate—and occasionally eviscerate—ten more slices of 1981 horror, spotlighting the overlooked gems, cult favorites, ambitious experiments, and gloriously excessive carnage that made this such a banner year for slasher fans!
-----------------------------------------
FRASER COFFEEN is the co-host of Creepy History, a podcast dedicated to all the creepy stuff you wish they taught you in High School. He's been published in Horror Homeroom magazine and How to Analyze and Review Comics.
LAUREN CUPP is a performer and personality in the Southern California horror community. Having recently performed in (and survived) the LA run of Saw the Musical, she can now be found performing comedy at Pop Culture Hell, cosplaying at horror conventions, or catching a film at her local AMC.
ART ETTINGER is the editor of Ultra Violent Magazine, a public defender, and a Razorcake record reviewer. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where his lifelong obsessions with punk rock and horror/exploitation cinema continue to consume him.
KOLLEEN CARNEY HOEPFNER is a freelance writer, copyeditor, and Southern California convention booth gal for venues such as Fangoria. She is the host of For Unlawful Cinematic Knowledge, a film podcast celebrating the underloved and overlooked.
FREDDIE YOUNG is a NYC horror reviewer and frequent podcaster. He has been running the website Full Moon Reviews (www.fullmoonreviews.net) since 2006, telling it like it is and enjoys spreading the word on good and bad films, mainly in the horror genre. He's planning on a full-time return to podcasting soon, hoping to put some attention on some "misunderstood films."
---------------------------------------------
Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!
