As my dear co-writer Kevin covers all things Evil Dead on No But Listen, it has brought the splatter genre to the front of my mind (well, what’s left of it, anyway). It’s a genre that’s hard to define, often overlapping with others like slashers and murder mysteries, but for me, it’s defined by a completely gratuitous and mostly unrealistic and cartoonish depiction of all things gory, bloody, and gross. There are stacks of gleefully gory movies in horror’s extensive back catalogue, but here are a few you might not have seen to add to your Halloween watchlist.
PG: Psycho Goreman
The clue’s in the name with this one, right? Directed by Steven Kostanski, the man behind the incredible surreal slasher The Void, Psycho Goreman truly understands that the true horrors of the universe mostly exist within terrifying little girls. It’s got a DIY approach in terms of production, and that really captures the gory goodness of classic splatter movies; chaotic, ridiculous, and somehow really earnest underneath it all, Psycho Goreman is the deranged excuse for wall-to-wall shlock you’ve been looking for. I’m pulling for a franchise.
Aquaslash
Alright, this is on the list really for one sequence and one sequence alone: a group of unwitting teens zooming down a water slide packed with razor blades. The entire movie is a daft and irreverent throwback to eighties teen splatter movies, with ridiculous character work and a non-stop parade of horny hook-ups to lead in to the inevitable aqua-slashing. For what it is, it’s a great movie, and the anticipation as we approach the doomed finale is genuinely impressive. Also, that title? Perfection.
Versus
Zombie movies play well with all things splatter, and turn-of-the-millenium Japanese action movie Versus proves it. Ryuhei Kitamura (probably best known to English-language audiences for The Midnight Meat Train) draws on everyone from Sam Raimi to George Miller in this blend of action, horror, and balls-to-the-wall gore. It constantly feels as though it’s hanging on by the skin of it’s teeth in terms of style and execution, but Kitamura brings it together through the lens of more blood and guts that I get through in a particularly busy weekend. Spackled through with moments of profundity amongst the exceptional swordfighting sequences, it’s unforgettably unique.
Slaxx
Is there anything worse than working in retail? Well, maybe working in retail with a pair of killer jeans on the loose. Slaxx, from Canadian director Elza Kephart, takes on the horror of working an overnight in a clothing store and turns it into a deranged, outrageously violent, and endlessly silly salute to the “haunted (insert literally any object at all)” genre of horror movies. It’s got a strong throughline of social commentary about clothes production to lift it out of complete anarchy, and the inventive kills and over-the-top performances land it squarely in excellent splatter territory.
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Eastern Kicks)
No But Listen 