The Slashers: 1989 – Part 1

The end of the decade is in sight, but 1989 isn’t going quietly.

This week, we dive into three wildly different slices of late-’80s horror: the frosty revenge thriller ICED, the supermarket siege slasher INTRUDER, and the sun-drenched paranoia of Don’t Panic.

From ski masks to stock rooms to supernatural dread, this trio captures a genre in transition, nastier, stranger, and pushing against the limits of what the slasher could be before the ’90s reset the board.

Three films. One year. The body count keeps climbing.

This week is all cornfields, canals, and killer toys! The Slashers slice into the back half of 1989. This time, we’re stalking scarecrows in the cornfields, unearthing satanic panic in the suburbs, chasing a wetsuit-clad killer through Amsterdam’s canals, and unboxing one of horror’s most enduring icons.

On the slab:

Scarecrows (1988/89 release) – Shot down over a cursed farm, mercenaries discover the harvest fights back.

Hack-O-Lantern (1988/89 release) – Grandpa’s occult hobbies turn Halloween into a suburban nightmare.

Amsterdamned (1988) – A giallo-tinged slasher soaked in neon and canal water, directed by Dick Maas.

Child’s Play (1988) – The birth of Chucky, where consumer culture and killer instinct collide.

From regional oddities to international mayhem to franchise origin stories, this lineup captures the strange, transitional energy of late ’80s horror where satanic paranoia, Euro-thriller style, and toy-store terror all shared the same video shelf.

The Slashers return to slice and dice the end of the decade with 1988: Part One. From the horrors of wholesome America to militarized police, low-budget chaos, and shocking international brutality, the late-’80s slasher cycle pushes into transgressive new territory.

It’s Christmas, and Billy is back. On this episode of The Slashers, we review Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025), the unrated reboot of the infamous holiday slasher, written/directed by Mike P. Nelson and starring Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine. Released in U.S. theaters on December 12, 2025, via Cineverse. This new entry marks a return to the franchise’s “you better watch out” brutality while adding plenty of new wrinkles. 

We break down what works, what doesn’t, and how it stacks up against the 1984 original and the broader Silent Night, Deadly Night legacy, kills, tone, holiday vibes, and whether this reboot earns a spot on your annual Christmas horror rotation. 

Peeping Tom (1960) is the taboo-shattering thriller that dissected voyeurism, exposed the predatory psychology baked into filmmaking, and, ironically, became the accidental blueprint for a whole subgenre of cinematic sexual sadism. In this mini-sode, we break down Michael Powell’s striking color design of saturated reds, icy blues, and uncanny purples; the film’s razor-sharp commentary on directors and audiences as voyeurs; and the enduring irony that Peeping Tom was condemned for the very impulses later slashers celebrated.

From its explosive reception to its outsized influence on modern horror, we explore how Peeping Tom warned us about the genre it helped create. A deep dive into color, psychology, and the dangerous thrill of looking.

Our journey through 1987 continues! This time, slicing through Christmas carnage, rural rampages, real estate nightmares, and one of the greatest sequel glow-ups in horror history. ’87 refuses to quit, and neither do we.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1987) Garbage day! 

We dig into the wild genre swings that make late-’80s horror such a glorious mess.

More than trees were trimmed in 1987 when the slaughter continued.

We’re carving into some truly deranged offerings from 1987, because nothing says “family holiday” quite like identity theft, sleazy LA strip joints, Italian arthouse mayhem, and a killer with a taste for cranberry, colored carnage.

This feast features:

The Stepfather (1987)

We break down the kills, the chaos, the craft, and the traditional family values behind this year of pure insanity, all while celebrating the most important Thanksgiving tradition of all: cinematic dismemberment.

Pull up a chair. Sharpen the carving knife.

The summer of ’86 wasn’t just big hair and bigger explosions; it was a massacre. Slashers were getting weirder, wilder, and way more unhinged. In Part Two, we dive into four films that pushed the genre into neon-soaked absurdity, meta-mayhem, and straight-to-video madness.

The Blood Pool:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 – Tobe Hooper’s bonkers sequel blends grindhouse satire, chainsaw duels, and Dennis Hopper in full maniac mode.

We break down the kills, the craft, the chaos, and hand out awards along the way.  

The mid-’80s slashers are evolving!  Trading grindhouse grime for glossy kills, wild twists, and dark comedy. In this episode, Jason, Paul, and Megan carve into four films that define horror’s strange transition year:

The 11th Commandment

From returning icons to forgotten freak shows, we debate which films kept the genre alive as the slasher craze started to die. Expect heated takes, deep cuts, and maybe a few April Fools along the way.

The Slashers return to 1985 when gore went direct-to-video. Paul from The Countdown, Megan Kearns from Spoilerpiece Theater, and Jason from Binge Movies slash through Murderlust, The Mutilator, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, The Ripper, and Blood Tracks. Expect sharp debate, killer trivia, and a battle for Best Kill, Best Final Girl, and Best Overall Film. Don’t let them catch you!