Revenge Of The Slashers: Russ Thorn

“It takes a lot of love for a person to do this.”

Most of the slashers on this list seem to have a motive for their mayhem. From mental trauma to out-and-out revenge, these folks have a reason for what they are doing. Today’s slasher, Russ Thorn, likes pretty girls and power drills. For this reason, he is known as the Driller Killer. But why didn’t I list today’s slasher by that nickname? Because both of the sequels to the original Slumber Party Massacre (1982), where Russ makes his debut, feature other versions of the Driller Killer and I want to focus solely on Russ.

In the original Slumber Party Massacre, a group of young girls have a slumber party at the wrong time. Russ has recently escaped from prison, where he was serving time for five murders, and picks up right where he left off by killing a local telephone worker and a very, very young Brinke Stevens. Russ terrorizes the girls at the party, but they manage to put up a surprisingly good fight, especially considering that the early 80s thrived on damsels in distress being saved by men. In fact, the men in this film that do get in Russ Thorn’s way end up on the business end of his power drill.

There’s absolutely nothing flashy about Russ Thorn. He wears a denim jacket, t-shirt, and jeans. He throws out a few choice words here and there, sometimes humorous, but he’s pretty much nothing more than your traditional, sadistic, twisted serial killer. There’s no backstory or motive for his murders, except for the fact that he appreciates a pretty face. He was portrayed by Michael Villella in the original film.

Two sequels and a 2021 remake were released. In the first sequel, 1987’s Slumber Party Massacre II, the Driller Killer is a supernatural rockabilly guitarist (yes, you read that correctly) who has a massive drill on the end of his guitar (you read that correctly as well). He haunts the dreams of Courtney Bates, the little sister from the original film, and then murders her bandmates and friends one by one. He’s A LOT mouthier than Russ. The third film, Slumber Party Massacre III (1990), gives us Ken, a troubled young man who was sexually assaulted as a child by his uncle, who goes on a drilling spree. A 2021 remake of the original film turns Russ into an escaped mental patient who has a fondness for drills.

Russ Thorn might be a bare-bones mass murderer, but his weapon is pretty unique. I hope that you enjoyed this look at our favorite drill enthusiast and I appreciate you checking out my post!

Revenge Of The Slashers: The Miner

“Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, One Is Dead, And So Are YOU!”

Although he doesn’t get as much attention as Jason, Michael, Freddy, or even Ghostface, the Miner from My Bloody Valentine (1981) and My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009) definitely deserves to be in this month’s Revenge Of The Slashers entries. He has a cool suit, an even cooler primary weapon, and he sends folks Valentine’s Day candy boxes packed with a human heart. Now that’s class!

The Miner keeps things simple. He wears a miner’s uniform complete with a hard hat and gas mask. He mainly uses a pick-axe as his go-to weapon and he uses it with great accuracy. He also uses the occasional laundry dryer, boiling hot dog wieners, and a nail gun. He’s also pretty lethal with a shower head. He may not have the charm of Freddy, the dashing good looks of Jason, or the charisma of Michael Myers, but the Miner is efficient and industrious.

The Miner is technically two people in both of the films. Harry Warden is the original villain in both films. In the 1981 version, Harry and other miners are trapped in the mine. In order to stay alive, he murders his co-workers and resorts to cannibalism to survive. He then kills the two supervisors who skipped out on work early to go to a Valentine’s Day party and failed to check on the men. He is shipped off to a secure asylum. Twenty years later, Harry apparently returns just in time for the first Valentine’s Dance since that fateful night in the mines……except it isn’t Harry that’s doing the killings. Nope, it’s Axel Palmer, who is basically a jealous boyfriend who witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of Warden when he was a child. He never recovered from that night and decided to ease his mania by killing townsfolk and the competition, T.J. Hanniger, for his girl. In the 2009 remake, Harry kills his co-workers to conserve air and goes into a deep coma after being recovered from the mine. He later awakens from the coma, escapes from the hospital, and is then brutally murdered by the local sheriff and the mine supervisor after going on a killing spree at a party in the mines. Ten years later he apparently shows up again, but this time around it’s T.J. Hanniger who is on the hunt, and although Axel isn’t the most likeable guy in the film, he turns out to be the good guy. Both films end with the potential for a sequel, but there has yet to be one made.

Harry Warden was portrayed by Peter Cowper in the original film. Neil Affleck portrayed the murderous Axel. Rich Walters portrayed Harry in the remake and Jensen Ackles played the wicked Tom Hanniger. The Miner was immortalized by NECA when that company released an action figure of the character in 2021.

Thanks for checking out today’s post! Tomorrow’s slasher promises to make you fear sleepovers!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Jason Voorhees

“Ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma…..”

Could I really pass on the opportunity to post about Jason Voorhees, arguably the most famous slasher of all time, on Friday, October 13th????? Absolutely not. There’s really not much to say about the big guy that most horror fans don’t already know, but I’ll do my best. Instead of giving you a general description of Jason, I figured that bullet points would work best for him. I hope that you enjoy this look at everybody’s favorite hockey masked slasher.

  • There have been twelve Friday The 13th films, but Jason was only the antagonist in ten of them. His mom, Pamela Voorhees, was the killer in the first film and Roy Burns portrayed a copycat killer in Friday The 13th: A New Beginning (Part V).
  • Jason’s signature weapon is considered to be a machete, but he has used everything from spears to lawn equipment and even a sleeping bag to kill his victims.
  • According to this article from Digital Trends, Jason ranks third on the Kill Counts list with 163 confirmed kills. He only trails Michael Myers by two kills. Topping the list is Pinhead with over two hundred kills. In my book, Pinhead isn’t a slasher, so Jason moves to #2 on my list.
  • Jason is one of the only slashers to make it to outer space. He did so in Jason X (2002).
  • Jason didn’t wear his iconic mask until Friday The 13th Part III (1982).
  • Jason battled another horror heavyweight, Freddy Krueger, in the 2003 crossover film Freddy Vs. Jason.
  • Jason was created by Victor Miller. Young Jason was designed by Miller, Ron Kurz, and Tom Savini. Sean S. Cunningham is considered the co-creator of the Friday The 13th franchise and has been heavily involved on many of the films.
  • Ari Lehman was the first person to portray Jason. He appears in the first film during a dream sequence and is shown to be a deformed child.
  • The first person to portray Jason as an adult was Warrington Gillette. However, Gillette was not able to perform the stunts in Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981), so stuntman Steve Daskawisz appears as Jason for nearly all of the film.
  • Numerous actors and stuntmen have portrayed Jason over the years. Many, like makeup and effects guru Tom Savini, only portrayed Voorhees for one scene. Some of the notable actors behind the mask include C.J. Graham, Derek Mears, Richard Brooker, and Ken Kirzinger.
  • Kane Hodder has appeared as Jason more than any other performer with four appearances. He is also considered by many to be the best actor in the role.
  • Jason has appeared in video games, comics, and novels. There have also been model kits, action figures, and tons of other types of merchandise created featuring his image.
  • A prequel series entitled Crystal Lake is set for release on Peacock at some point in 2024. Little is known about the series, but Adrienne King, who played Alice in the first two films, will have a role in the series.
  • Michael Myers is noted as one of the biggest inspirations for Jason. The duo have never squared off on film but often battle for the top position on multiple Favorite Slasher lists.

Well, that does it for my look at Jason Voorhees. This post is a little different from the rest, but I felt that it was probably the way to go considering how popular Jason has been over the years. I will most likely use this format for a couple of other big bads that will arrive later this month!

Thanks for checking out my post!

Revenge Of The Slashers: The Hag

“I’d kill for the part.”

1983’s Curtains gives us, spoiler alert, not one, but two killers. Only one of them, however, qualifies as a real slasher. I won’t reveal the name of the second killer, but I will say that the slasher in the film wears an old hag mask and while she is never directly called that, the Hag has become the name that horror fans have attached to her. The Hag will stop at nothing to get the starring role in Jonathan Stryker’s new film, Audra, about a mentally unstable woman. The movie mirrors the real world plight of actresses in the late 1970s/early 80s and the misogyny that ruled that era and much of the era prior to and following it. It shows just how far women were willing to go to win the role of a lifetime.

In the film, Stryker invites a number of actresses to his home to audition for the part of Audra, and one by one they meet a terrible fate. The film does a great job of setting up potential suspects right off the bat, and while one particular actress seems to be the obvious choice for being the Hag, a twist is thrown in for good measure. When the real Hag is revealed, the film ends with yet another twist, leaving the audience wondering if the murders actually occurred or if they were all in the head of the killer.

The Hag, ultimately revealed to be Patti O’Connor (Lynne Griffin), favors a knife to kill most of her victims, but one particular death, that of sweet, innocent Christie Burns (Lesleh Donaldson), stands out from the rest. In Christie’s death sequence, the Hag chases her down on ice skates and eventually catches up to her in the forest where she decapitates her with a sickle. It’s one of the best and most unique chase sequences in the slasher genre in my opinion. The Hag is also known for her distinct mask featuring a wrinkled face and long, grey hair.

Curtains is a much deeper film that it appears on the surface, with most of it, from the different types of actresses to the Hag mask itself, representing some of the darkest corners of the film industry. Check this film out. It’s available to stream for free on numerous platforms. I might have to do a full film review on this one, so be on the lookout for that as well.

Thanks for checking out my post. The bloodbath continues tomorrow!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Angie Phelps

“Welcome To Camp Whistler.”

Today’s Revenge Of The Slashers post features a rookie member of the slasher club. Yep, Angie Phelps only arrived on the scene in August of 2022 when the film They/Them landed on Peacock, but she definitely wasted no time racking up a body count. Angie is the masked killer who takes out victims at Camp Whistler. Sounds like a pretty standard summer camp slasher, right? Well, if you think so, you’re wrong.

Angie has chosen Camp Whistler because it’s a conversion therapy camp for LGBTQIA+ teens. This puts quite the twist on a traditional slasher flick, as the villain isn’t necessarily the slasher for most of the film. Sadly, the movie as a whole is kind of dull, but you may want to check it out.

Angie wears a fairly traditional black hooded outfit to dispatch victims. There is one striking feature, though, and that’s her mask. It’s an eyeless face that is haphazardly stitched down the middle (most likely as a representation of her non-binary gender identity). One side of the face is relatively plain and the other side appears to be scratched up with the teeth exposed. It’s an excellent mask. She’s an opportunistic slasher as well, using any and everything that she can get her hands on to kill her victims.

I hope that we see more of Angie in future They/Them sequels. As of right now, I have yet to hear anything about any plans for another film. Angie is definitely an interesting slasher and a unique entry into this month’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror. Let me know if you’ve seen They/Them and let me know what you think about the film.

Thanks for checking out today’s post. It was pretty difficult to find photos of Angie in her full costume, so you’ll just have to watch the film for yourself to see her in all of her glory. See you tomorrow!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Benjamin Willis

“When you leave a man for dead, make sure that he’s really dead!”

Today’s slasher is the primary antagonist of what has often been referred to as the lesser slasher franchise from the 1990s. Despite being written by the same man, Kevin Williamson, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) has always remained in the shadow of Scream (1996). Summer is also considered the first in a long line of copycat slasher films featuring a young, beautiful cast that is systematically taken out by a sadistic killer that attempted to capture some of Scream‘s profitability. Today’s slasher is none other than Benjamin Willis, also known as the Fisherman.

Willis goes on a vengeful killing spree after he is struck by four young adults in a vehicle who, believing that he is dead, dump him by the docks and vow to never speak of the incident again. Willis remains in hiding for a year and then begins his reign of terror in the town of Southport, North Carolina, taking out friends and family of the four young adults before turning on them as well. Willis would return to hunt down the survivors of the first film in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and, in a whacky twist, be resurrected in 2006’s very forgettable I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. Another Fisherman killer appears in the 2021 series I Know What You Did Last Summer, but let’s not talk about that one.

Willis wears a black commercial fisherman’s slicker suit and uses a large, industrial fisherman’s hook to kill his victims. When he loses his hand near the end of the first movie, he replaces it with the hook in the second film. He was never a good guy, as he actually murdered his daughter’s boyfriend just prior to getting hit in the first film. We finally see his face at the climax of the first film.

Willis was portrayed by Muse Wilson in the first two Summer films. In the third film, Don Shanks took on the role. Benjamin Willis does not appear in the television series. Rumors about a fourth film have floated around since the early 2010s, but nothing has come to fruition. Hopefully we will sen Ben and his hook back on the big screen soon.

I hope that today’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror entry really “hooked” you in and made you eager for the rest of the month’s posts. Tomorrow’s slasher is the most recent to join the killer club!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Timmy Reston

Searching For The Final Piece Of The Puzzle

Equal parts giallo slasher and exploitation film, 1982’s Pieces tells us the story of little Timmy Reston, a kid who really, really loves puzzles. When his mother discovers him putting together a puzzle of a nude model, she goes through his room looking for any and all pornography and demands that he get a plastic bag for her so that she can throw away the filth. Instead, Timmy grabs an axe and hacks his mother to death. He tells the police that a stranger came into the home and murdered his mother, and little Timmy gets away with his diabolical crime. Years later, young girls are found dismembered on a college campus. As the police go on the hunt for the killer, Timmy, who now goes by the name Dean Timothy Foley, is putting together the perfect puzzle.

You can check out my review of the film here, but let’s focus on Timmy in this post. Timmy is clearly insane. He’s killing young women and taking specific pieces of their bodies to create a human puzzle. His weapon of choice is a chainsaw, although he has one particularly brutal murder that takes place on a water bed that involves his use of a knife. Although it initially appears like he is randomly choosing victims, it’s revealed in the end that he wants specific parts from certain women to form his creation.

We don’t get that many glimpses at Timmy in his full gear, as most of the shots focus on the gory dismemberment of his victims. When we do see him, it’s pretty obvious that the pulp hero known as The Shadow is an inspiration for his look. Timmy is a brutal murderer, and he definitely earned his spot on this year’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror list.

Have you checked out Pieces? If you haven’t, please note that it is very violent and features a lot of exploitative nudity. Honestly, the director, Juan Piquer Simon, comes off as a real creeper, as he rewrote entire scenes to add more nudity after seeing the actresses that were cast in some of the roles.

Thanks for checking out today’s post. More mayhem is coming your way tomorrow!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Chucky

“I’m Your Friend To The End!”

Charles Lee Ray is arguably the most well-rounded serial killer you’ll ever meet. He’s dabbled in voodoo, married, had a gender-fluid child, hosted talk shows, started his own cult, and……..killed a lot of innocent folks over the years. Of course, you may know Charles Lee Ray by another name, Chucky. Inspired by the Cabbage Patch Kids doll craze of the 1980s, Don Mancini developed the character of Chucky as a satirical take on those dolls. The resulting film would be called Child’s Play (1988). That film would spawn six sequels between 1990 and 2017, a reboot in 2019, and a successful television series and numerous other franchise tie-ins like comics, video games, toys, clothing, theme park rides, and more.

In the original film, Charles Lee Ray transfers his soul into a Good Guy talking doll after being fatally shot by a detective. The doll is then given to young Andy Barclay who quickly becomes the suspect in a number of murders despite insisting that the doll, named Chucky, is actually the culprit. Chucky discovers that he must transfer his soul to a human in order to remain alive, or that he’ll be the doll forever and can be killed as the doll as well. The first three films in the franchise focus on Chucky’s intention to transfer his soul into Andy’s body. Beginning with the fourth film, Bride Of Chucky (1998), the franchise takes a more comedic turn and Chucky embraces his “dollness” and takes a wife, has a child, etc.

Chucky uses just about anything to kill people, but seems to favor a traditional knife. The utilization of voodoo and the transference of souls, while not necessarily a new concept in horror, is unique to the Child’s Play franchise as far as slasher films are concerned. I’m pretty sure that impregnating dolls is pretty unique as well. The entire franchise has been something of a trailblazer.

Brad Dourif has voiced Chucky from the beginning. It was only in the 2019 reboot, which featured an AI doll that goes bad, that Dourif did not voice the character. Chucky was voiced by Mark Hamill in that film. Chucky’s wife, Tiffany, is voiced by Jennifer Tilly. Both Tilly and Dourif have portrayed the human versions of their doll characters. Chucky’s gender-fluid spawn, Glen/Glenda, is voiced by Billy Boyd in doll form and portrayed by Lachlan Watson in human form on the Chucky television series. Keeping it all in the family, Dourif’s daughter, Fiona, joined the franchise as Nica Pierce in Curse Of Chucky (2013) and has appeared in both the television series and the last sequel based tied to the original film series, Cult Of Chucky (2017).

Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky, and his daughter, Fiona, who portrays Nica Pierce in the Child’s Play franchise.

With the success of the television series, there seems to be no slowing down the Chuckster. Hopefully, more sequels tied to the original franchise will be released either theatrically or on streaming platforms. Chucky is one of the biggest slashers out there, and I’d hate to see him fade into obscurity. For now, however, that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

Thanks for checking out today’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror post! See you again tomorrow!

Revenge Of The Slashers: Mrs. Tredoni

“Bless Me, Father, For I Have Sinned.”

Today’s Revenge Of The Slashers entry has a bit of a twist to it. If you haven’t seen the 1976 slasher flick, Alice, Sweet Alice, stop right now and go watch it, because you need see this film. The movie itself is known for being the big screen debut of Brooke Shields and the brutal way that she is dispatched early in the film. It has also been at the center of controversy ever since its release, being seen as anti-Catholic in a number of countries. I am Catholic and have reviewed this film already on this blog. If you’d like to see my brief comments on whether or not I saw the film as anti-Catholic, click here.

As far as our slasher goes, things look pretty bad for young Alice. Only twelve years old (actress Paula E. Sheppard was actually nineteen years old when she portrayed Alice), sweet Alice becomes the prime suspect in her sister’s brutal murder at the local Catholic Church moments before her sister is about to receive her first communion. More murders and attempted murders occur, many of which throw off the cops and the audience as they try to figure out who the killer is.

Well, the killer is revealed somewhat early in the film to be none other than little ol’ Mrs. Tredoni (Mildred Clinton), the sweet church secretary…..or is she the killer???? Misdirection and implications lead the audience to believe that perhaps, just perhaps, Alice is also a serial killer. In any case, Mrs. Tredoni seems to favor knives as her weapon of choice, but she’ll give you a quick kick or set you on fire if needed. She wears a yellow raincoat just like the one we see Alice in during the film and one of those creepy “face” masks that features a somewhat translucent face covered with makeup. You’ve seen these types of masks before, just check out the one in the photo above this paragraph. Her motive for killing? If you’re a sinner, you’re a target!

The film has a somewhat vague ending that makes you wonder if Alice has either been inspired by Mrs. Tredoni to take up her killing spree or that Alice has been a part of the murders the entire time. Do you believe that Alice was also a killer in the film? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for checking out my look at one the lesser known proto-slasher film killers. Mrs. Tredoni’s name may not find itself in many slasher lists, but she made it into mine! Get ready for more slasher fun tomorrow!

Revenge Of The Slashers: The Last Matinee Killer

You Won’t Believe Your Eyes!

Although he only appears in one film and is never given a name, the killer in The Last Matinee definitely deserves a spot in this year’s version of Thirty-One Days O’Horror. The film combines the American Slasher and Italian Giallo genres for a wickedly fun film. It was released in 2020 and I have a full review of the film here. Check out that review if you’d like, but be aware that this post focuses on the killer and includes spoilers.

Our killer finds his way into a theater in 1993 during a downpour in Montevideo, Uruguay. He locks the doors and sets out on a murder spree. He systematically takes out the audience members and theater staff, leaving only the projectionist, a teen girl, and a young boy to try and stop him.

What sets this killer apart from many of the others on this list is the fact that he isn’t out for revenge or hunting down a family member. Instead, he’s killing people to add their eyes….yep, their eyes, to his pickle jar. He apparently enjoys the taste of eyeballs and when his jar gets emptied, he has to stock up on the locals.

The killer in The Last Matinee doesn’t have a specific weapon of choice. He does use a knife for most of his kills, but a couple of them are a bit more creative. My favorite kill in the film is when a young couple are making out and the killer stabs them both through with a metal rod, pinning them in an eternal kiss.

Thanks for checking out today’s Revenge Of The Slashers entry. I hope that you check out The Last Matinee if you haven’t seen it yet. I highly recommend it!