Post by tav7623 on Oct 14, 2010 23:56:10 GMT -5
Hey everyone tav here with Part 4 of my 5 part series on Horror Documentaries, which will cover the 2005 documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of Slasher films. This documentary does not list a director in its credits, but it is produced by Rachel Belofsky and Anchor Bay Entertainment, based on the book of the same name by Adam Rockoff, narrated by Ed Green and features interviews with John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Debra Hill, Malek Akkad, Sean Cunningham, Joseph Zito, Tom Savini, Harry Manfredini (who also does the musical score for the documentary), Rob Zombie, and Stan Winston to name a few. This documentary is similar to the book that inspired it by briefly covering all the major slasher films from 1975 to 2005), the films that inspired them, genre conventions, the studio mass marketing of slashers in the 80's, and the controversies surrounding the Slasher sub genre.
Pros: Well made, covers a lot of ground including most of the majors except Texas Chainsaw Massacre and little known slashers such as My Bloody Valentine, Graduation Day, Terror Train, The Prowler, and Happy Birthday to Me in all with in a 1 hour and 30 minute run time, lots of interviews, incorporates lots of archive footage from the movies they discuss and from the era they were made.
Cons: does not include anything on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and it skips over/pays little attention to certain movies including the newer slasher movies because of it's 1 hour and 30 minute run time
Overall I give this documentary a 6 out of 10 for squeezing a lot of slasher sub genre history, interviews, and footage in watchable 1 hour and 30 minute time frame which is also it's greatest weakness because it skips over a key movie in the sub genre (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and for the most part quickly glosses over some of the major films of the sub genre such as Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Black Christmas. Still this is a better documentary than Halloween: 25 Years of Terror and I would still recommend this documentary despite my feelings about it omitting key genre films and being so short/quick that it doesn't go deeper into the history of these films. Still if you a fan of Slasher films and you want to hear about some of the lesser known genre films, then definitely check out this documentary.
Companion Book: Going To Pieces: The Rise and Fall of Slasher Films by Adam Rockoff
Well I hope you enjoyed the review, I hope to post Part 5 which will be an overview on upcoming horror documentaries as well as a brief look at documentaries being added to the Blu Ray re-releases of genre classics on Monday followed the next day with the 1st day my 13 Days of Halloween event where I will review Clive Barker's Hellraiser
Pros: Well made, covers a lot of ground including most of the majors except Texas Chainsaw Massacre and little known slashers such as My Bloody Valentine, Graduation Day, Terror Train, The Prowler, and Happy Birthday to Me in all with in a 1 hour and 30 minute run time, lots of interviews, incorporates lots of archive footage from the movies they discuss and from the era they were made.
Cons: does not include anything on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and it skips over/pays little attention to certain movies including the newer slasher movies because of it's 1 hour and 30 minute run time
Overall I give this documentary a 6 out of 10 for squeezing a lot of slasher sub genre history, interviews, and footage in watchable 1 hour and 30 minute time frame which is also it's greatest weakness because it skips over a key movie in the sub genre (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and for the most part quickly glosses over some of the major films of the sub genre such as Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Black Christmas. Still this is a better documentary than Halloween: 25 Years of Terror and I would still recommend this documentary despite my feelings about it omitting key genre films and being so short/quick that it doesn't go deeper into the history of these films. Still if you a fan of Slasher films and you want to hear about some of the lesser known genre films, then definitely check out this documentary.
Companion Book: Going To Pieces: The Rise and Fall of Slasher Films by Adam Rockoff
Well I hope you enjoyed the review, I hope to post Part 5 which will be an overview on upcoming horror documentaries as well as a brief look at documentaries being added to the Blu Ray re-releases of genre classics on Monday followed the next day with the 1st day my 13 Days of Halloween event where I will review Clive Barker's Hellraiser