AKA Nightmare Island
Director: J.S. Cardone
“The Slayer” was released in 1981 and comes from writer and first time director J.S. Cardone. “The Slayer” was yet another film to make its way on to the “video nasty” list in the UK and wouldn’t be released uncut until 2001. As with many films that were banned during the video nasty scare, looking back at the movie now it’s difficult to understand why. The gore is fairly minimal and the plot is hardly problematic from a moral stand point but as we all know, the inclusion of films on the infamous list often doesn’t have any rhyme nor reason.
The film focuses on two couples taking a short holiday to a remote and virtually deserted island. On the first night of their stay, a storm ravages the island cutting them off from the mainland. To make matters worse, a mysterious killer begins to knock off the group one by one. It sounds like a fairly simple set up and in some ways the film plays like a conventional slasher movie but what gives it more depth is the character of Kay, played by Sarah Kendall, a struggling artist who has been suffering from nightmares for many years. As the plot unravels, it becomes clear that many of the places and situations they encounter on the island are from Kay’s dreams and often things she has depicted in her artwork (including a rather creepy derelict theatre with the warning “no trespassing” emblazoned on the front of it). This gives the film a slightly more supernatural feeling, differentiating it from the normal slash and stab style outings that dominated the 80s.
It’s a relatively slow burning film but never feels boring, despite a large bulk of the film feeling like characters are just wandering around the island trying to find out where David, the first victim of “The Slayer”, has gone. Another member of the group, Eric, played by Frederick Flynn, is also Kay’s brother and there are some nice moments showing their relationship. Eric gives us some valuable glimpses into Kay’s past which makes the audience wonder how much of what is going on is reality or just part of her over-active imagination. The murders only seem to happen when Kay is sleeping; could her dreams be the catalyst for all the bloodshed? Added to the mix is the fact that the slightly creepy pilot of the small plane which brought the group to the island, Marsh, played by Michael Holmes, didn’t appear to leave the island before the storm set in – could he be “The Slayer”?
As we head towards the climax of the film, some of the shots of our main character appear to have been sped up. Normally this practice takes me out of the film but, in this case, it gives our lead’s manic behaviour extra weight, and also gives the footage a freaky look, similar to that of the infamous deleted spider walk scene from “The Exorcist”.
The film’s finale is pretty suspenseful and doesn’t wrap up the story as neatly as you might think when first going in to the movie. This instead gives the audience a few different ways to interpret the ending. In many cases I would be inclined to call this laziness on the part of the storytellers but I actually feel it is very skilfully handled here and to the benefit of the film.
The cast are likeable, play their roles well, and the death scenes are executed to a high standard – although I’m not sure what I find more scary: the eponymous “Slayer”, or Sarah Kendall’s bulging blood shot eyes peering through the darkness. In fact, I would go as far to say that Sarah Kendall and her 80s bouffant hair are excellent as Kay. Her creeping descent into madness is brilliantly done and it’s a shame Sarah Kendall’s career didn’t go on to bigger things, as her only other film credit I can find is for a background part in “The Karate Kid Part II”.
The island is atmospheric and there is a great sense of foreboding as the storm takes over. I know thunder and lightening is a cheap way to amp up tension and scares but it always works for me and its use in “The Slayer” is no exception. The film is nicely directed and photographed with some interesting camera angles but what really puts this film above many others of a similar ilk is the soundtrack by Robert Folk. The orchestral score is beautiful and the main theme reminds me of part of James Horner’s work on “Aliens” which would be released five years later. Robert Folk’s score is a real treat and would definitely be a soundtrack I could listen to in isolation to the film but sadly no album is available at present.
I bought “The Slayer” based only on its fantastic cover art and the fact that it is another video nasty I hadn’t seen, but it really surprised me with its quality. Sure, the plot isn’t anything groundbreaking but the filmmaking, Sarah Kendall’s performance and the the score all elevate the film to above average. I would definitely recommend “The Slayer” to horror fans. The story is interesting enough and the gore restrained enough for the average viewer too. The film would make an excellent triple bill with Joe D’Amato’s cannibal zombie nasty “Anthropophagous” (which definitely isn’t restrained) and Buddy Cooper’s 1985 fun slasher flick “The Mutilator”. I suppose you could also chuck in “Biri Beni Gözlüyor” AKA “Someone Is Watching Me” for good measure, which is a Turkish “remake” of “The Shining” complete with music lifted from “Psycho”, “Psycho II” and “Psycho III”! Clearly it never crossed their mind to actually take music from the film they were ripping off!
Writer Director J.S Cardone would go on to have a pretty fruitful career and he is still active today, which comes as no surprise given how skilfully made “The Slayer” is. Composer Robert Folk, who had previously only scored one other film, “Savage Harvest”, would also continue working in the industry, going on to provide music to the “Police Academy” movies and “The NeverEnding Story II”, to name just a couple.
This is probably just pure coincidence but there are elements in “The Slayer” that would later appear in other films. The general concept that an evil being is released when a character falls asleep is strikingly similar to that of Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare On Elm Street”, while a death scene involving fishing wire and hooks has a distinct “Hellraiser” feel. I doubt this little seen horror film was responsible for influencing such iconic movies such as those but the fact remains that “The Slayer” is a great movie and deserves far more recognition than it currently gets. Grab yourself a copy of the Arrow Video release and on a dark stormy night, light a few a candles, whack “The Slayer” on and go along for the ride – you won’t be disappointed.
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