Original subtitles

-Okay, Darcy, look at this board.

These are the 10 greatest slashers in history.

We have icons for each one of them.

-Okay.

-Chosen according to the way

serial killers judge their popularity.

These are the 10 most popular.

-They vote on that?

-No, box-office results.

Franchises are built around the killer.

These are the top 10 franchises in slasher history.

-Okay. Got it.

-Arrange them in order of importance.

I want you to arrange them on this board

in order of importance.

-Arrange them in the order of box-office results?

-No, just arrange them in order of your favorites.

-Oh, my favorites. -Your favorites, 1 through 10.

-Ooh! That's tough. -Great slashers of history.

-All right, let me see.

-And those of you who want to play at home,

the slashers are Norman Bates, Leatherface, uh...

Were you dissing Norman Bates?

-I disagree with his slasher status, but --

but we'll get to that.

-It's done by box-office results.

-Fine! But is he even a slasher? -Michael Myers,

Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky the doll,

the fisherman... -Yeah.

...from "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

Uh, Ghostface, Jigsaw, and Art the Clown.

So, go for it, Darcy. What serial killers do you love?

-Bam. There you go.

-Now that's interesting.

-Why?

-I would have expected you to put Ghostface number one.

You've got him number two.

-So, I understand that. But Jason, as a whole,

he's my number one because there are some badass Ghostfaces --

don't get me wrong -- but even the original guys

are just, like, whiny, entitled high schoolers, so...

Jason, at another level.

-Well, if we were going strictly by box office,

everybody would have Michael at number one by a huge margin,

and you have him at number six. -Ha ha ha!

-I am not everyone, sir. -All right.

Well, even though you were killed by Michael --

weren't you killed by Michael in "Halloween Kills"?

-I was killed by a Michael "copycat."

Oh, I stand corrected.

So, anyway, if we went -- if we went strictly by box office,

Jason would be number, uh...

No, Michael would be number one.

I got it here. Jason would be number two,

followed by Freddy, Ghostface,

Chucky, Leatherface.

Now, see, that's a little misleading

because the Mafia owned "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

for the first seven years of its existence,

so we don't have the box-office numbers for seven years

of Leatherface, for those years. If we did have it,

my guess is Leatherface would probably be second or third.

Anyway, if we're doing Ultimate Slasher Night,

which we are, we need to answer the question

what do these 10 guys have in common?

Right? -Yes.

-All right. First of all, they are guys.

We have yet to come up with the first female slasher franchise,

although this would be a good time

to reveal slasher essential number nine,

which is the killer has a dual male-female character

and is often a cross-dresser.

Now, that's certainly true of Jason.

It's true of Leatherface,

it's true of Jame Gumb in "Silence of the Lambs."

Not so much Michael, although he does have issues with women,

but it all comes from the real-life models

for the original slasher villains,

especially one of those villains,

Ed Gein, the crazy-as-a-loon Wisconsin killer

used as a model for "Psycho," "Chainsaw,"

"Silence of the Lambs," many other movies.

The bottom line here is, man-child with mother issues.

At any rate, so one thing they have in common

is that they're deranged men, not women.

This would make sense, if for no other reason

than 93% of the population in prison are men.

Men commit crimes at a rate 14 times greater than women.

So if you look at the execution rate for murderers,

only 1.12% of the inmates

who get lethally injected were women.

So, yes, if society is gonna be afraid of a lunatic killer

on the loose, it's got to be a male.

But the more important thing they have in common,

I think, is that they mustkill.

It's like their job. You know?

They don't kill with any other goal in mind.

They don't kill to get rich.

Guys who kill to get rich, that's a Mafia movie.

You know? That's not a slasher.

In a slasher, the killer kills because that's who he is.

And I don't mean he enjoys killing.

He may or may not.

I mean, he goes to work every day,

fulfilling his obligation to himself -- to kill.

And sometimes he's an artist. I think Freddy is an artist.

I think Jigsaw thinks of himself as an artist.

But usually, he's just a blue-collar worker

with a tough job.

Many of them --

Here, let's pull off number 5.

Many of them work with a single weapon,

and it tends to be a pre-technological weapon.

Like, Jason, he works with many weapons,

but he seems to prefer a machete.

Leatherface only uses a chainsaw after the victim is dead.

Usually, he's partial to a wooden mallet.

If these guys all knew one another,

they'd build a union hall

and play cards together between kills.

But the reason they will never have a union hall

is that they can't get to know one another.

They can't get to know anybody

because they're cut off from society.

They're outcasts. They're ignored.

Serial killers don't exist in little villages.

They can only exist in places where you can live alone,

unnoticed, subject to your own meandering mind

and nothing else.

It's the guy at the rooming house

who seems to have no family.

It's the dude living in the shack

out where the bus don't stop no more.

It's somebody who's cut all ties or had the ties cut for him,

and that's what makes him dangerous.

Prison would be the most social place he's ever lived.

-So, didn't you promise to tell us the name

of the first slasher?

Yes. And we're gonna do --

-Actually, we're gonna do the complete history

of the slashers starting at the next break.

-Just -- just go ahead and give us the first slasher.

Just that.

- Okay. - Okay.

-I think it's Sergio Martino's "Torso."

-Ooh. Interesting choice.

So, you think the slasher started in Italy?

-I don't know about starting in Italy,

but I think the first fully developed one,

yes, was in 1973,

in Italy, the first one that had all the slasher elements.

-You're gonna get some hate for that.

I know I am.

So be my Sherpa and shield me

from falling off the side of the cliff

as we embark on this.

-I'll do what I can, sir.

-But right now, we're gonna watch a movie

that came out last year in the 51st year of slasher history,

if I'm counting correctly.

And we're gonna see if all those rumors

about the slasher being dead by the '90s are correct.

Ready? -I am so ready.

-"In a Violent Nature"!

What we have here is the sensitive story

of a developmentally challenged lumberjack zombie

with a grudge in the Canadian backwoods,

who has a sentimental attachment to a necklace

dangling over his burial place,

and when some 20-something college students snatch it away,

he develops an uncontrollable urge to go caveman

with a hatchet and practice his origami with body parts

while hiking through picturesque Ontario,

where the birds chirp constantly

and his steel shank work boots trample the daisies.

Sure, we've seen it before,

but have we seen it with slow-motion

forest-ranger body-splitting? I think not.

So let's take a look at those drive-in totals.

We have eight dead bodies, zero breasts!

-Boo! -These neo-slasher directors,

they don't remember all the basic principles from the '80s!

Nasty stick through the leg, hand crushing,

skull chopping, head flinging,

expert ax-throwing, corpse chucking,

corpse origami,

multiple three-wheeler evacuations,

multiple swarming flies,

one hulking, somewhat rotted bald maniac

with a head wound wearing flannel,

stomping relentlessly through the woods,

one dead putrefied trapped canine,

one resurrection from the dead,

goofball heckling and bullying,

gratuitous land dispute, gratuitous horn honking,

gratuitous crickets, gratuitous campfire legend,

heads roll, arm rolls, ax fu, bear trap fu,

wood splitter fu,

drama Academy Award nominations for Andrea Pavlovic

as the final girl,

Lauren-Marie Taylor, who shows up in her SUV at the right time,

then goes on a monologue so long

it puts her passenger to sleep twice.

Ry Barrett as Johnny,

the relentless killer who loves moonlight walks in the woods,

and Chris Nash, the writer-director,

for doing things the Drive-In way

and becoming the first filmmaker to make an homage to madmen.

3 1/2 stars.

Joe Bob says, "Check it out."

We actually showed "Torso."

Well, it's the only episode of "The Last Drive-In"

that has never aired, actually.

-I know.

-It was filmed live at the first Jamboree

at the Mahoning Drive-In in Lehighton, Pennsylvania,

but somehow we lost the rights to the movie

before we could show it, so it's never aired.

So the world is just gonna have to live

without our treatment of the first slasher.

-Are you sure that's the first slasher, though?

-No. -Yeah.

-But it came out in 1973,

and the other two American candidates came out in 1974.

It's a giallo, and giallo is the Italian slasher.

Would you agree with that? -Yeah.

-Sergio Martino had the cojones to put real kills

into the giallo, so we'll talk about that.

We'll do a poll. Let's do a poll.

What's the first slasher? Everybody can vote.

Everybody can vote on what's the first real slasher.

-And I get to count the votes.

-Of course. You have the honor

of counting the first slasher votes.

-You know what? I'm good.

-Polls are bad all of a sudden?

We used to do polls all the time.

You don't want to do polls?

-People will still be voting and arguing with me

about it three years from now.

-And "Torso" will eventually win.

Oh, my God. We'll see.

-All right, just put the poll up,

and we'll deal with the -- with the --

-You'll answer the e-mail. Deal?

-Done. All right. Go for it.

-All right. But aren't you already

like four years behind on e-mail?

-Probably more like five years, but, uh...

I didn't say I could answer the e-mails tomorrow.

Okay? -Fair.

-Yo, check this out.

-What is that? -A necklace or something.

-Looks like gold.

-Hey, maybe it's here for a reason.

-Oh, yeah? What reason, Colt?

-I don't know.

-This whole place freaks me out.

-Well, we are in the middle of a graveyard after all.

-Oh, don't start with your crap, Ehren.

-What, you guys never heard of the White Pine slaughter?

-The what?

-The White Pine slaughter.

I thought that was the whole reason we were here.

-Ehren, we're not in the mood for your shit today.

Fine. Whatever. I'm leaving.

-Yeah, seriously, though, he's right.

We should probably get back.

-Yeah, I figure we got like 20 minutes

before Brodie claims all the girls for herself.

-Right. 'Cause you'd be rolling in it

if she wasn't there, right?

-Hey, those girls from the gas station seem pretty into me.

-Dude...

-They were not flirting with you.

They were terrified. You wouldn't leave them alone.

-Hey, Troy, you coming?

-Yeah.

-All right. You want to be tough?

You got 15 seconds before I come back with the sheriff!

Chuck!

Jesus Christ, man.

Gt no patience for a man to pinch off a piece?

-Cut the shit, Chuck.

-I think that's what I was just trying to do.

-I told you what would happen the next time

I found one of your fucking animal traps in that park.

-Never seen those before in my life.

-When you first moved here, I said, you know,

I'm gonna be neighborly, give you the benefit of the doubt.

But you are fucking testing me, boy!

-Jesus, man, you gotta lighten up.

Come on inside. Take a load off. I buy you a beer.

-There are people in the park, Chuck.

-Uh-huh. -You got college kids

just coming for the weekend.

If they step in one of these, then what?

-I got an idea. Talk to the folks at Owen's.

-So I go back there, I'm not gonna find any more of these.

You go in that fucking barn,

you might not find your way out again, boy.

-Are you threatening an officer of the law, Chuck?

-Don't play cop with me, Ranger.

Your authority ends right there at them trees.

-I'm not gonna ask you again.

You stay out of that park,

or one of these days, you're gonna find something

that's gonna walk right through your traps.

And trust me, you don't want to find that animal.

-Is that a threat? You threatening me?

-Stay out of the park.

-I know my rights, Ranger.

You step one foot on this property again

and I'll have my rifle blow you a kiss goodbye.

-I see you in the park again, Chuck,

I'm coming back with the sheriff.

-Oh, yeah. That's what you need, you coward.

Another man to do your dirty work.

Fuck outta here!

Take out the trash while you're at it.

Fuck. That's all you're good for,

you soft-cock, motherfucker.

...lane reduction to continue into the afternoon.

Those who need to travel along Highway 427

west of Kennedale are encouraged to find a detour.

Today marks the 135th day since North Horse Steel and

Milford Haven has closed its doors.

John Gibbs, president of UBS 107,

is appealing to Mayor Joe Mancini for help.

Gibbs met with the mayor

last night to discuss the possibility

of utilizing the city's Emergency Measures Act

to provide relief for the hundreds of laid-off

steelworkers in the community.

Gibbs said that...

-This was your mother's, John.

I want you to have it.

That way, it will always be with you, no matter what happens.

You'll always be our little boy, John.

The Nestorville school board has announced their plans

to amalgamate their intermediate

and secondary schools into the newly designated...

...has made the continued operation

of both buildings unfeasible.

The new school is scheduled to open in the fall.

In sports, it looks like the Milford Haven Rangers will

once again conclude a hard-fought season in defeat.

You son of a bitch.

I told you what would happen if you came back here.

You're gonna make me fucking do this, you stupid son --

What the fuck?! Jesus!

-What the fuck are you?!

Jesus fuckin' Christ!

Jesus!

What do you want?

Say something!

I didn't do anything to you!

Fuckin' get away!

Please!

Get away!

Leave me alone!

Help me!

Ohh! Jesus Christ!

Oh, no!

Oh, dear God.

No, no.

What do you want?!

Fuck!

Jesus fuckin' Christ.

No!

Don't fucking touch me.

You're crazy. I didn't do nothin' to you!

Stop! Get away from me!

I didn't do anything to you!

N-o-o-o-o-o!

It happened at Town Light Storage

at approximately 2:15 last evening.

Thieves making off with various pieces of medical equipment

being stored at that facility

from Port Lock General Hospital.

Anyone with information on this

or any other incident are encouraged

to call the Kennedale Police Department's tip line

at 248-3245 or through e-mail

at tips@kennedalepd.com.

Good news for campers

and outdoor adventurers this weekend.

Oh-ho!

-Shit! -What?!

That was crazy.

- This one there? - Yeah.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

-Jesus Christ.

-Yeah! -Okay, you two, we get it.

Your dicks are fuckin' huge,

and you're not compensating for anything.

-Ah, you don't get shit, babe.

-But keep it up, you'll get it later.

-You might.

-Babe, what, are you hiding

a wedding ring somewhere or something?

-Yes.

It's behind my zipper.

-Wow. My boyfriend, ladies and gentlemen.

You can't help but think that's his actual wedding proposal.

-Nothing but the best for my girl.

-Wait. When you said, "Behind my zipper,"

does that mean the ring is on your dick?

As in, your dick is the size of Kris's finger?

-Yeah, like, sometimes it gets that big.

Oh-ho!

Just saying.

-Yeah, my girl is pretty funny.

- Isn't she, Colt? - Hey.

-You're a lucky man, Troy.

-Hey, uh, can I grab that lighter off you, bud?

-Yeah.

'Ey.

Fuck me.

I think maybe I smoked a bug.

-You good? -Yeah, I'm good.

Cough it up.

- Hey, what were you, uh, talking about earlier? - What's that?

-The, uh, slaughter thing.

-Oh, the White Pine slaughter?

-Wait, wait. A slaughter -- like a murder?

-Yeah.

My uncle used to live around here.

He told me the whole thing.

All the locals know about it, but they'll never talk about it.

-Come on, then, Soft Serve. What's the story?

-Well, my uncle said it all started

with this slow kid named Johnny.

-A "slow kid"? What does that mean?

-You know. Slow. -What?

-So what, the kid didn't win a race

and then a slaughter happened? I don't get it.

-He was mentally...hindered.

-No, "hindered" doesn't sound right.

It sounds like there's another word, maybe, for that.

-You know what the word is, asshole.

-Then why don't you just say it?

-You know, he was r-- -No, no, don't say it.

Aurora is filming you.

Oh.

Oh, so you're trying to cancel me. Cool.

-Okay, cancel culture doesn't exist, you fucking ableist.

-Cancel culture doesexist,

'cause I'm canceling story time, you fucks.

-Oh! -No!

-Fuck off, Ehren. Just tell us the goddamn story.

-You guys really wanna hear it?

-Yeah. -Come on.

Tell me this fucking story. -Are you sure?

-Yes! Tell this fucking story!

-All right, buckle up.

So, like 70 years ago,

everywhere a hundred miles in every direction

was leased out by this logging company.

And everything was way more remote back then,

so they would set up shops in the camp

and sell shit like razors and soap to the loggers.

But they would jack up the prices like a motherfucker.

Johnny's dad was the guy that ran these stores,

and they hated him for it.

And they used to take out their anger on Johnny.

It all came to a head one day

when one of the drunk loggers tripped

and broke his ankle on one of Johnny's toy cars.

He was out of work for months.

They all blamed Johnny for it.

So they decided to teach him a lesson.

They told Johnny they found a bag of toys

and then he should meet them at the old fire tower.

So Johnny snuck out camp at night,

and eager and keen and naive as he was,

he climbed up the top of the tower,

but there were no toys.

Just one of the men

in a creepy old firefighter's mask waiting to scare him.

And he did.

Johnny fell from the tower.

His neck snapped as soon as it hit the ground.

And the men freaked out,

so they put one of the firefighter masks on him

to make it look like he was playing up there by himself

and tripped and fell.

-So are you saying that was

the same fire tower from earlier?

-Could be. Hard to say.

But when Johnny's dad found the body a day later,

he knew those guys had something to do with it.

So he confronted them in the mess hall and a fight broke out,

and when the dust settled, Johnny's dad was dead.

And the guy that killed him claimed self-defense.

And the company, not wanting any issues,

made sure that no charges were laid.

Well, I mean...

A dead father and son

ain't really much of a slaughter, Ehren.

-Well, that happened a week later.

-Wait. So what happened next?

-A couple of the execs from the company

showed up to the camp,

and every single person was dead.

Huge fucking lumberjacks torn to pieces.

After a healthy donation from the company,

they paid off the widows, closed up shop,

and the police ruled it as a poisoning from tainted meat.

And they said a bunch of animals got in and tore up the bodies.

One of the policemen said he saw a guy

watching in the woods with a mask.

They still don't know who did it,

but some say it was the man in the mask.

Some say it was Johnny's spirit trying to get revenge.

Some say it was both.

-Good story!

Good goddamn story.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

My nails, they're bitten to shreds.

-Fuck off. It was a good story.

All true, too. I swear on my uncle.

-Uh, fuck your uncle. He's a pedo.

-It doesn't count if I forgave him.

-You're fucked.

-You guys want to hear about the, uh --

the park rangers that died here 10 years ago?

-I think we're good for tonight.

-Hey, Brodie was the one asking for it.

-Well, you know what? The bugs are getting bad.

I think we should go in. -Sounds good to me.

-Wait, wait, wait. Wait.

-Nope. Going inside.

-No, I need everyone.

-How long is it gonna take for you to realize

there's no reception out here? Are you fucking slow?

-Okay. Fuck off.

The lighting here is truly amazing,

so I need everyone to come...

-Over there? -...behind me.

Over here, Evan. Get up. -Come on.

Come on.

Okay, get in Evan.

Your head's not in the shot. Okay.

-Okay. -This is awful.

-Three, two, one.

Okay. Wait. Let me just get one without the flash.

-Okay.

-Yeah, okay, I'm going to sleep.

-And the ciders in the cooler are mine, guys.

-Yeah, we know. You won't shut the fuck up about it.

-Good! I'm not drinking beer all weekend

just because your toxic masculinity...

-Okay, the people making this movie

obviously know their slashers,

because we've just seen 4 or 5 of the essential elements

that get right down into the soul

of what the slasher is all about.

In the very first moment of the movie,

we see a necklace hanging on a tree branch

and a guy in the background, heard but not seen,

Ehren, talking about the White Pine slaughter.

And later on, after that first kill,

which was mostly off-camera,

we hear Ehren tell the story of the White Pine slaughter

around the campfire. In fact,

we hear him tell it at great length.

That is one long-ass urban legend.

So we're gonna go ahead and rip off number 13,

which is...

the background legend! -Ah!

-In this case, it's a logging legend.

So it's a rural, not an urban legend,

but it's a good one

because it explains two other slasher essentials --

Reveal number 18,

which is the controlling past event,

which is always a wrongful action full of injustice.

Like in "Friday the 13th,"

it's the fact that the counselors were having sex

instead of watching Jason swimming in the lake

where he's drowned.

And in this case,

it's grown men playing a terrible prank

on a mentally challenged boy, resulting in his cruel death.

And -- gonna reveal number 19 now.

The present event

that reactivates the controlling past event.

Troy snatches that gold necklace

that hangs above Johnny's resting place

under the fire tower where he died.

And of course, the necklace belonged to his mother.

Slasher killers... -Yep.

-...as we discussed earlier, always love their mothers.

Now, has that necklace been hanging on

that tree for 70 years?

I mean, the White Pine slaughter happened 70 years ago,

so I'm a little skeptical of the precise details on that point.

I mean, stuff left out in the woods

does not stay in one place,

even for two days, much less 70 years.

So anyway, maybe there's something I don't understand.

Did you get that part, Darcy?

-I didn't get that part,

and I didn't get why Johnny is an enormous man

when the legend says that he was a young boy.

-True. -Just sayin'.

-Well, the idea the director had was to do a slasher

that was told entirely from the point of view of the killer.

And if you read the reviews,

it'll say POV killer movie.

But it's actually not the point of view of the killer.

If it was the point of view of the killer,

we wouldn't be able to see the killer.

-I know, right? -We're seeing a camera shot

that's 10 feet behindthe killer.

And it's a good point of view,

because we can see those holes in his head.

I mean, we're -- we're like a slasher spirit,

watching our boy do his work, you know?

-So is this where you explain

why "Torso" was the first slasher?

-Yeah. Okay.

All right, let's go ahead with that.

As we all know, there are six slasher eras.

-Why do you say things like that?

-You hadn't heard of the six slasher eras?

There's six slasher eras.

-Is that actually a thing? -No, I made that up.

-Exactly. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

Okay. All right.

Here's a quick history of the slasher.

-Did I hear the word "quick"? -Yes, you did.

Quick capsule history of the slasher.

-Quick.

-It all starts with Jack the Ripper.

-Yay.

-Jack the Ripper was the first superstar serial killer, 1888,

in the Whitechapel neighborhood of London.

Five killings, for sure.

Mutilation of the bodies, possibly as many as 11 more

killings in the three years after that.

So for 70 years, we had articles, books, movies,

radio shows, the most famous being

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lodger" in 1926.

We had Fritz Lang's "M" in 1931.

The only other 19th century serial killers

that come even close to Jack the Ripper

in popularity are Burke & Hare,

William Burke and William Hare,

who killed about 18 people in 1828,

in Edinburgh, so they could sell the bodies

to an anatomy professor named Dr. Knox.

So "The Body Snatcher," probably the most famous movie in 1945,

produced by the legendary Val Lewton,

directed by the legendary Robert Wise,

with Boris Karloff in the title role.

Basically, the Burke and Hare murders.

That's what that movie was about.

"The Body Snatcher" was followed in 1948 by "Horror Maniacs,"

then "The Fiendish Ghouls" in 1960,

with Peter Cushing as the doctor buying the bodies.

There have been several other movies, as well,

but the problem with Burke and Hare movies

is that the killer, or killers, have a motive -- money.

So it doesn't count.

And the early Hitchcock film and the Fritz Lang film

don't show the actual murders.

And, in fact, I would say

that the perfect Jack the Ripper movie

has yet to be made. -Hm.

-Even though, Hammer Films, they took a shot at it in 1971,

"Hands of the Ripper" and "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde."

-Yeah. -Did you see that one?

-Fuck, yeah. -Okay.

So we don't get serious about serial killers until 1960,

Hitchcock's "Psycho,"

and by then, we're not talking about Jack the Ripper anymore.

We're talking about Ed Gein,

the butcher of Plainfield, Wisconsin.

Ed Gein was a grave robber,

a body-part lover, killer,

guy who loved his mother too much.

He apparently wore her face as a mask

in order to preserve her memory. -Aww.

-We don't know everything that Gein did,

but he probably only killed two people.

He was more of a corpse abuser than a killer,

but his crimes were so bizarre

that they caught the attention of the news media

and, ultimately, Alfred Hitchcock.

So in this pre-slasher era, you get "Psycho,"

which doesn't really qualify as a slasher,

'cause it's only two kills,

and the killer turns out to be sympathetic.

And then the other candidate in 1960 was "Peeping Tom."

But that killer fails to be a slasher on many levels,

'cause he's unable to kill that final victim.

And there are only three kills.

There's no gore.

There's just the faces of the people he kills.

And the whole ad campaign was, "Fear him!

But pity him, also."

So, as we know from "Phantom of the Opera,"

audiences hate that.

Don't make the audience feel sorry for the killer

in the last act, or they'll go home unhappy.

Roger Corman tried to make his own version of "Psycho."

He gave Francis Ford Coppola his first directing assignment,

and he made a movie called "Dementia 13."

But that 1963 movie ended up being nothing like "Psycho"

and not anything close to a slasher,

despite having some nice kills in it.

So all of these movies I've just named

are what I call proto-slashers.

-I'm really proud of you.

-Really? Why are you proud of me?

-'Cause you told the whole history of the slasher

in five minutes. -Well, actually,

I didn't even get to the beginning of the slasher.

I'm aware. Sarcasm.

-All right, I guess my point was that people

who say "Psycho" was the first slasher

are not thinking clearly. -Agreed.

They're just thinking about the shower scene,

which does have slasher elements.

-Yes. It has a point-of-view camera.

-Yes. -And it has slasher music.

Yeah.

-And a knife. -And a knife. So...

Yes, to slash with.

-Slash with.

So, maybe at the next break,

we'll talk about actual slashers.

-Good plan. All right, back to the movie.

Didn't you go to the --

the Jack the Ripper tour in Whitechapel?

-I did, with the leading Jack the Ripper expert.

-Now, was that grisly? -It was very...English.

-The English don't do grisly, do they?

-Not on walking tours, apparently.

-All right. Did you end up with

new respect for Jack the Ripper after going on the tour?

-Oh, I'm not gonna say respect, but, uh, curiosity, maybe.

-He was a major pervert, wasn't he?

-Yeah, big-time. -Some of the places

where he dissected those bodies...

-I know. -...the places he chose to...

I know.

-I think if they ever did figure out who really did it,

we'd be disappointed.

I mean, it'd just be some boring guy with a scalpel.

-Well, I feel like he wouldn't be boring, by definition,

because he's Jack the Ripper, so...

-Well, he'd be one of those guys who's interesting

because he's boring, right?

-Yeah. I actually -- I think it was a doctor.

-Well, he wanted the bodies and the organs.

-And the thrill.

-Right. So he's not just a pervert.

He was one of England's greatest perverts.

He was a thinking man's pervert.

-I'm gonna change into something a little bit more comfy.

-Oh, really? -Mm-hmm.

-Would you like a hand?

-Mm.

-Uh, you know, earlier tonight, you kind of upset me out there,

the way they were talking about you.

-Me? -Yeah.

-What about you? -What about me?

-Holding up your finger and shit.

-Yeah, as a joke.

And everyone was laughing.

-I don't fucking care.

I don't want to hear it this weekend, okay?

You already made me invite your fucked-up little friend.

-I told you, he's just going through something.

-I don't fuckin' care. He's bringing everyone down.

-Wow. Real nice, Troy. Real nice.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

-♪ I'm getting tired ♪

♪ Of losing ♪

-Hey. -Hey.

-You have a lighter? -Yeah.

Where are you going? -Nowhere.

-Then why are you sneaking out the back door?

-Just a door. -Wait.

Are you going to meet up with those gas-station girls?

-It's like a four-hour walk away.

Are you kidding?

-No, but it's a yes or no question.

-How desperate do you think I am?

-I think you're you.

-I'm gonna go take a shit.

Is that all right with you? -Right.

Okay, but when you get there,

make sure you show them your really cool cassette player

because they'll think you're from the future.

-What's going on out here?

-Um, Ehren's going to meet those gas-station girls.

-No fucking way. -Yeah.

-What, are you gonna go ask them if they need to fill up?

Right?

-Jesus Christ, I'm gonna go take a shit.

-Yeah, yeah, sure. -Right.

-"No, I'm just a little gas-station girl, Ehren.

Can you please fill me up?"

-"Me too, Ehren.

I'm just a little gas-station girl,

and I need to fill up really bad,

but I don't know how."

-"Hey, fill me up, Ehren." -"Fill me up, Ehren."

-"Can you fill me up?" -"Fill me up!"

-"Ehren, fill me up! Fill me up, Ehren!

Fill me up, Ehren!" -Fuck off!

Oh, fuck you. Fuck off! -"Fill me up, Ehren!"

Oh, my God.

-Hey, you want to see a cool spider?

-Yeah. -It's weird but cool.

I found it. -Is it big and hairy?

-It's bigger than Troy's dick. -Fuck.

Anything's bigger than...

-♪ Best make it up while your brother's still working ♪

♪ A birdie told me you've been skipping the chores ♪

♪ It's close enough if you really try squinting ♪

♪ The real thing is busy winning awards ♪

♪ Oh, lover boy, you're a really bad copy ♪

♪ You lack in heart and have a bale for thoughts ♪

♪ That's quite enough, think it's time to just cut it ♪

♪ Your M.O. matches with the one in reports ♪

♪ Quick lips never slowed me down ♪

♪ Keep breathing like you're gonna get drowned ♪

Okay. So Johnny's found his mask,

and it's a vintage firefighting apparatus.

Probably the same type that was used to scare him

when he fell to his death off the fire tower.

And as we discussed in the first movie,

the classic slasher needs a mask.

He feels better with a mask, and that's a great mask.

It looks kind of prehistoric.

Anyway, any kill is a great kill when heads roll, right, Darcy?

-Oh, it was a very cool kill.

-He has superhuman strength, apparently,

to pull the wire all the way through the neck that quickly.

But then, a lot of slasher killers

have superhuman strength, right?

-Very true.

-Okay. Let's get this out of the way.

Most people, when they talk about what's the first slasher,

they say either "Black Christmas"

or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

But in "Black Christmas," you never see the killer.

So I don't think that fulfills all the criteria.

Bob Clark doesoriginate

point-of-view tracking shots for the killer.

So go ahead and rip away --

we'll go ahead and rip away number 10,

subjective tracking shots from the killer's point of view.

And then, "In a Violent Nature" has plenty of those.

And the other iconic theme established by "Black Christmas"

is that it takes place on a holiday.

-Ooh, I love that. -That's number 12.

Holiday or anniversary backdrop.

But I think this movie qualifies for that

because these college kids are on vacation.

And, really, the only reason for the holiday themes --

Christmas horror, et cetera -- is that you're taking a time

when everybody is expected to be deliriously happy

and you're turning it into a killing ground.

So it's like those people who get killed at Disney World.

You know, it's just so wrong on so many levels.

Anyway, you got the three contenders

for worst slasher -- Sergio Martino's "Torso,"

Bob Clark's "Black Christmas,"

and Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

We're going to vote on it.

It's really a matter of how you define slasher

and how many tropes the film needs to have

before it qualifies as a full-fledged slasher

as to which one you choose.

What we know is that those three movies

set a lot of wheels turning,

and you had scripts galore with the general theme

of a serial killer who invades an All-American place

and turns it into a nightmarish war zone.

So, in 1976, Charles Pierce does "The Legend of Boggy Creek."

-Yay!

-No, he had already done "The Legend of Boggy Creek."

He makes "The Town That Dreaded Sundown"...

-I mean, yay. -...in the same town, Texarkana,

and he bases it on a series of real murders

that happened there in the '40s.

In that same year, we get "Alice, Sweet Alice,"

in which a deranged serial killer is trying

to clean up the sins of Paterson, New Jersey,

and nobody can clean up Paterson, New Jersey.

I mean, have you ever been

to Paterson, New Jersey?

-I don't believe I've had the pleasure.

-The only person who can clean up Paterson,

New Jersey, is Morgan Freeman,

because remember that movie, "Lean on Me"?

-Yeah.

-The high school principal with a baseball bat.

That was a real school in Paterson, New Jersey.

Anyway, a year after "Alice, Sweet Alice,"

Wes Craven makes his comeback film with "The Hills Have Eyes,"

turning family vacations into nightmare scenarios

manipulated by bloodthirsty killers.

And then, in 1978, "Halloween" happens.

That was simple, accessible, scary, on-the-nose.

The most successful independent film in history.

1978 is the beginning of the golden age of the slasher.

-True. -String of killers

seeking vengeance, many of them with abusive mothers,

some deranged from birth,

some suffering from a childhood trauma.

You've got "Maniac," you've got "Driller Killer,"

you got "Prom Night," you got "My Bloody Valentine,"

"Alone in the Dark,"

"House on Sorority Row," "Sleepaway Camp,"

"Final Exam," "The Burning," "Madman,"

"Slumber Party Massacre," "Silent Night, Deadly Night."

The golden age list is endless. You can watch movie after movie.

You can see various writers and directors

moving the pieces around on that chessboard,

defining what the slasher really is.

And then just when you think the genre is petering out, in 1984,

along comes "Nightmare on Elm Street."

-Heck yeah. -That's the slasher community

saying, "Hey, you know what?

Let's go supernatural with the slasher idea!"

And Freddy Krueger leads us into the second wave.

Should I go on? We can do the second wave later.

So... -It's a choice?

-It's a decision, you know?

Because I also wanted to talk about some things

that I find strange about "In a Violent Nature."

-Okay, go for that. -All right.

When they do the campfire storytelling scene,

standard scene, any slasher movie,

they stop to discuss politically correct speech

and cancel culture.

Why?!

-It's a little jarring.

-I mean, the campers in slashers,

they're always politically incorrect.

They were politically incorrect then.

They're politically incorrect now.

They're always obnoxious in one way or another.

These actors are actually more obnoxious than most.

I don't really care whether any of these people live or die.

But the new twist here is that Johnny is spying on them

and listening in on their conversations,

so we can assume that maybe he wants to kill them

just because they're stupid.

-I think he just wants to kill everybody.

-I suppose. But, for example, Ehren.

They're making fun of Ehren

because they think he's sneaking out to go meet some girls

he saw when they stopped at the gas station.

Which, first of all, would that even be possible?

I mean, since we're supposed to think it's

some isolated cabin in the woods,

how do you go back and find random strangers

who were passing through the gas station?

But even if it is possible,

why would you make brutal fun of Ehren

and actually gang up on him?

It just seems like an odd moment that has no purpose,

other than to explain why they won't miss him later

if he doesn't come back, right?

And then, if we're supposed to believe

that Johnny was listening in the background

to the whole campfire gathering,

wouldn't he be favorably inclined toward Ehren,

who knows the White Pine slaughter story?

And one more thing.

Johnny makes a lot of noise when he's walking.

How come nobody hears him coming?

He's slow.

-I think we're supposed to be inside his head, maybe.

-So we're hearing the footsteps,

but nobody else can hear the footsteps?

-I don't know! He's supernatural.

He's a revived, pissed-off zombie.

He can be loud. -Which means you can

get away with anything. -Yes, exactly.

-All right. So let's get back to the movie

and find out who else he kills.

-Um, let's, uh -- let's --

I want to rip off number 20 here on the board.

Set piece murders.

This whole movie is set-piece kills

separated by Johnny stomping through the woods.

-That is very true.

-All right, roll it!

Is this really, though --

Is this a slasher trying to make statements about cancel culture

and ableist language and bullying and stuff like that?

-I believe so, yeah.

-Kind of boggles the mind, right?

Right?

Where are we?

-Ah!

-It's so beautiful. -Mm-hmm.

-Yes.

-Isn't it so gorgeous?

We finally have some time away from everyone here together.

-Um, what are you doing?

-Aurora, you need to live a little.

-You said that you wanted to do yoga.

This doesn't look like yoga to me.

-It looks a lot like swimming, doesn't it?

-Come on. The water's great.

-I dressed for yoga.

I'm not getting this stuff wet.

-Take it off then. There's no one around for miles.

-Did you really think this was gonna work?

-What?

-This whole thing that you're doing.

-I don't know.

Worth a try, isn't it?

-Oh. Was it?

-Hey! No.

What?! Really?

-Yeah, really.

-Come on.

You know we had something back there.

-I didn't say we didn't.

-So what's all this, then?

-If you want to make a move, make a move.

Just don't waste my time with this high school bullshit.

-Well, that's good news, because I hated high school,

and this was my move.

-Take it easy there, tiger.

You blew your chance this time.

-Uh, sorry. What's going on here, then?

Am I missing something?

-I'm still gonna go to the lookout

to stretch myself out a little bit.

Why don't you come find me when you've done your swim,

and maybe you can stretch me out a little more?

-Whoa.

You're full of surprises, aren't you?

-Don't wear yourself out in there.

-Aah!

Help!

-I was wondering when you were finally gonna show.

You sure took your time, though.

Aah!

Unh!

-Okay.

-Yeah. -Aurora. Wasn't that her name?

I have a question for you, Aurora.

Once you see Johnny,

there's a pretty wide, flat area there

where it seems like you could sort of skedaddle to the left

or the right...

especially considering that he moves so slow, right?

-Dude, not only that, but that cliff she's standing on,

it's not even a cliff.

-True! That was more like a steep ramp

from a monster truck show or something, you know?

-She could just roll down, and maybe she'd, like,

break her leg, but, like, come on.

-You could probably run down that thing

without even falling down.

But even if you did fall down... -Bugs me.

-...Johnny would find it difficult in his

tromping-through-the-woods logger boots

to follow you to the bottom of that thing.

But apparently, she was "frozen in fear,"

which is the oldest -- -Bullshit.

-That's the oldest trick in the "why didn't she run away" book.

Um, what about the part

where they pulled her head down

and through the hole in her stomach?

I mean, credit to the effects guys who did that,

but when you start doing effects that are pretty much impossible,

you're in the realm of magic tricks, you know?

I mean, you don't really fear the guy so much

as admire the trick itself, and since it's so unreal,

to me, it's not that scary.

-I thought it was really cool. It just was very preventable.

-Yeah. -Very.

-Well, my main point is, you showed us the geography

of that scene, and the geography was eminently escapable.

You should have made it look like she had nowhere to go

and the cliff was at least as steep

as a Roadrunner cartoon cliff. -Yeah.

-So, does Johnny have a problem with lesbians, also?

You know, is that the subtext here?

You know, he doesn't like lesbians?

Um, anyway, go ahead.

I'm gonna go ahead and reveal slasher essential number seven.

Don't have sex.

-Boo! -Don't even think about sex.

"Oh, carnal repartee followed by skinny dipping.

Let me take care of that with my ability

to hold my breath for 20 minutes underwater."

Originally, they planned to shoot that whole sequence

of Johnny descending under the water and crossing the lake,

like, with underwater cameras, but they scrapped that --

I guess they didn't have enough money or whatever --

and they just had Brodie yelp a couple of times

and disappear beneath the surface.

All right, let's finish up the history of the slasher.

We did pre-slashers. We did proto-slashers.

We did first slashers. We did Golden Age slashers.

Now, in the late '80s, we got supernatural slashers,

mainly the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies

and the "Child's Play" franchise.

-Yeah. -And the "Candyman" franchise.

And we've also got sequel after sequel.

-Candyman should've been on that board.

-Candyman probably should have been on the board.

-Redo the board.

-I think it was because the franchise didn't last that long.

You didn't get the box-office numbers that the others got.

-It's based on box-office numbers.

-It has three and a remake.

-So, anyway, Wes Craven tried to create

yet another supernatural franchise with "Shocker."

I loved "Shocker," but apparently nobody else did.

-I love "Shocker." -Did you like Horace Pinker,

the guy killed in the electric chair who comes back to life?

-Hell yeah. -Horace Pinker is awesome.

He's, like, really scary. I love "Shocker."

-But for some reason, it didn't catch on.

We also got the "Leprechaun" franchise.

Eight films and still going strong.

But it's not really a classical slasher because the motive...

What's the motive?

-Me gold. -Gold. Yeah.

That can't be the motive of the slasher.

So, 1984 is the beginning of the supernatural era.

1996 is the beginning of the snark era.

-Yes. -Wes Craven makes "Scream."

-Whoo!

-And all the characters in the movie

know all the rules of the slasher

while they're experiencing an actual slasher.

So this idea becomes so popular

that there have been 347 self-aware, self-referential

versions of it... -At least.

...made by every wannabe director from Seattle

to Key West and Maine to San Diego,

and I'm not even counting the five sequels, soon to be six,

the TV series, the video game.

In my opinion, "Scream" ruined the slasher.

-Sir. -All right.

-Sir. -You don't agree with me.

-Watch what you're saying.

-But it did turn the slasher into an object of parody.

Hence you got movies like "Scary Movie."

That's just a version of "Scream" played for laughs.

-But, I mean, there's parodies of other slashers, too.

-Well, thank God we had a few serious slasher fans,

like Eli Roth... -Yay!

-...and James Wan, who said,

"Oh, you think slashers are funny?

Try this on for size." So we get "Hostel."

-Yeah. -We get that series.

We get the "Saw" series.

We have the torture-porn era from around 2003.

Didn't last that long actually, to --

-Maybe -- -It's still going in my heart.

-Maybe 2009, you know?

And that era shares space with the gigantic remake era,

which starts with "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

in 2003, continues with "Black Christmas."

It's interesting. The first two they do

are "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Black Christmas."

-Both classics. -"When a Stranger Calls,"

"Prom Night," all the rest,

a trend that continues to this day.

The latest big-budget remake success being probably

David Gordon Green's "Halloween" trilogy.

Is that the biggest success lately?

And, also, I should mention

"I Know What You Did Last Summer,"

which is an old-school slasher that came out in 1997,

and "Final Destination." Not technically a slasher

because the killer is not any individual person.

The killer is death itself.

Right? -Death is the ultimate slasher.

-The ultimate slasher. So you had a few

outliers in the "Scream" era.

"Urban legend." -Yeah.

-"American Psycho," "Wrong Turn."

-Yeah. -But for the most part,

the last 20 years has seen

the slasher genre cannibalizing itself.

Case in point, "In a Violent Nature."

Now, they call this a neo-slasher

or a deconstructed slasher.

I don't know what either of those terms means.

I mean, to me, it's just a slasher --

a slasher that's a little too aware of previous slashers.

Okay, back to the movie.

Roll the movie.

Do you think somebody gave Johnny a Fitbit,

and he's trying to max out his steps every day?

-That's the only logical explanation.

-I mean, okay, we get it.

He walks a lot. Okay?

-Literally, when I talk about this movie,

I just call it "the walking" movie,

and everyone knows what I'm talking about.

-It'd be about a half-hour shorter

if they got rid of the walking, right?

-Yes.

-What's the purpose of the walking, really?

What is the purpose of the walking?

-I feel like they're showing the in-between stuff

he does to make all the kills happen.

Like the, you know...

-Well, yeah. In between kills,

you have to walk to the next kill, but he's --

-But you never think about that.

-He's going way past 20,000 steps a day, you know?

He's in good shape.

He doesn't really need the extra walking.

-He's supposed to feel good about himself.

-Well, bless his heart. Okay. -Agree.

-Don't you even care?

-You're freaking out over nothing. Okay?

-We all know Ehren went to see those gas-station girls.

And Brodie and Aurora are probably just off

fucking in the woods somewhere.

-Something's not right, Troy, and you know it.

Let's just go to the cops

and file a police report or something.

-We're not going anywhere.

-Fine. Give me the keys. I'll go.

-Yeah? You want these?

Go fucking get 'em.

-What's your problem?!

-Did you seriously just do that?

-What?

-Did you see where they went?

-Yeah. Yeah. Um...

I think they're over here.

-Happy hunting, big guy!

-No! Don't touch me!

-What? What?!

-Be reasonable for once, Troy.

I mean, what about the guy in the photo?

-What fucking guy?

It was just a shitty photo.

Dirt on the fucking lens or something.

No, it wasn't dirt, and you know it.

-Where the fuck do you think you're going?

-Oh, you think you can drive that thing?

Okay. Look.

I'm sorry Colt's dead dad fucked him up,

but he doesn't get to kill my whole fucking weekend, too!

-What the fuck did you just say?!

-What are you gonna do with that, huh, tough guy?

-You think we're crazy.

You think there wasn't anyone else in that picture.

Well, look at this!

I found it on the ground out there!

-There's shit like that all over the fucking place here!

-Something's not right, man! Get it through your head!

-Come on, Colt. There's a ranger station

down the road with a phone we can use to call for help.

-You two lovebirds be careful!

-Fuck you, Troy!

-Hey, tough guy!

You gonna actually do something?!

Just keep fucking with me...

-What the fuck is this?!

God!

-You okay? -Did you get him?

-Yeah, I got him. -What the fuck, man?

-What the fuck is that? -Come on. Let's go.

Oh, shit, man.

-Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. -Fuck.

-Ohh!

-Look, if we cut through that, uh --

that deer trail, we can make it to the main road.

-Fuck. I don't fucking care, man.

Just get me the fuck out of here!

-Stop moving, man. -Oh.

Jesus Christ!

-It's fine, man. It's fine. He's dead.

-Shit. Shit.

Fuck! Come on, man! -It's fine, man.

Stop moving. -Oh, my God.

-Let's go. Come on, man. Get up.

-Fuck! Oh, my God.

Fuck!

-Pull up. Pull up.

-Come on.

Fuck.

Help!

Someone help me!

Help me!

Oh! No! Fuck me.

Please! Help!

-So, he confronted them in the mess hall,

and a fight broke out.

And when the dust settled, Johnny's dad was dead.

-Troy! Evan!

Troy!

Troy, we gotta fucking go! Ehren's dead!

-The ranger's meeting us at the station!

-Troy!

I can't find them anywhere!

-What?

-I think it's blood.

-Chris! Look out!

Come on! Hurry!

-Go, go, go! Go, go, go!

-Kris still has that necklace on,

and she was paying attention

when Ehren was telling the campfire story.

Anyway, the smushing of Troy's head, obliterating it.

I thought that was especially satisfying,

since of all the obnoxious cast members,

Troy just might be number one.

Isn't he the one who says,

"I'm sorry Colt's dead dad fucked him up,

but he doesn't get to kill my whole weekend, too"?

-I mean, that's fair. Come on.

-Okay. Smushes head. I'm fine with that.

What did you think of the face reveal?

-It was very creepy.

The milky eyes. The gashes under his eyes.

Rotting gums and teeth.

-The rotting gums and teeth. -Yes.

-Anything about the mouth

is always super-gross in special-effects makeup.

-His cheek is rotted away. His upper lip is gone.

-I wonder why he uses the mask.

You know, because the mask has to be awkward.

Is it because he thinks the mask makes him normal?

-What do you mean?

-Well, I mean, is he thinking,

"Well, I've been underground for 70 years,

so I might scare people.

Here. I'll put on this goggle-eyed,

deep-sea-diving firefighter mask.

Nobody will notice me when I walk up on them."

I don't know.

-I mean, it's a theory. -Zombie logic. Alright.

One more trend, and then I think we're done with slasher history.

-Hallelujah, baby.

-Alright. Home-invasion movies.

-Alright.

-The first big one is "You're Next" in 2011.

-Ooh, yeah. -Right?

"Hush" is another good one.

Um, I don't think they're technically slashers.

They have a high kill count,

but they're pretty traditional movie-wise,

because the killers aren't necessarily crazy.

What do you think?

-I feel like they canbe slashers, but not automatically.

An example of one that I would think would count

would be "The Strangers," especially the sequels.

-Renny Harlin is doing two more of those.

"The Strangers" is lasting.

-I love "Strangers."

-But you got multiple bad guys,

and you don't have that "isolated lunatic" element.

So I say we eliminate those from slasher history.

Okay, let's go ahead and clear off

our slasher essentials chart.

What do we have left here?

Well, we have number two. Take that off.

The final girl.

Now, I remember talking to Carol Clover in the '80s

when she was developing the definition of "final girl."

And then her book came out,

and almost everybody who ever commented on that book

failed to accurately describe the final girl.

At any rate, I'm assuming the final girl is Kris,

because isn't she the only female still alive?

I think she's the only female still alive in the movie, right?

Um. Alright. What else?

Uh, number 21 is...

Oh, yeah. -Ha!

-I don't remember. The "crazy old coot" warning.

We don't have that in either of these movies tonight.

Unless you count, uh, Emil Sitka in "Intruder."

He's not warning anybody, but he is a crazy old coot.

Um...

There's no warning that these college students

shouldn't go into the woods of Northern Ontario.

Or maybe that very first shot

where we're just looking at the necklace hanging from a branch.

Maybe that's the warning.

-Ooh, yeah. -And Troy can't resist.

He yanks it off the branch. -Fucking Troy.

-Anyway, um, you know what this movie needs right now?

-Walking!

-I was just thinking the same thing.

-More walking! -I want to see more walking

through the woods, so roll the flick.

-Give me that walkin'.

-And, um...

I think we've just about covered slasher films.

We -- This has been the ultimate last word on slasher films.

-You think so? -We should do shows like this

on every genre in the history of film.

-Every genre? -Yeah.

So, like, we do one show dedicated to slashers.

We do a show dedicated to home-invasion movies.

We do a show dedicated to

experimental Venezuelan art films.

-I feel like you would actually do that one.

-I would actually do that.

-I wonder if we could get people to watch a show

about experimental Venezuelan art films.

-You know, I did a couple of shows

in Houston back in December,

and people had flown up from Mexico City

to be in the audience.

-Mexico City is nowhere near Caracas.

-I'm just saying that we have got fans in unlikely climes,

even in cities where the first language is not English.

-I feel like Venezuelans

probably already know about their own films.

-They might need the "Last Drive-In" perspective

on experimental Venezuelan art films.

-Like body counts and breast counts?

-Exactly.

-Alright. Well, let's go for it.

Venezuelan art night! -Alright.

-This man...

Where did you get that necklace?

-What -- Are you listening?

-Where did you get that necklace?

-What -- What -- Listen to us!

-Where did you get that necklace?!

-In the old fire tower!

-Guard tower.

Okay.

You don't know what you just did.

Okay? That's his mother's necklace.

It's the only thing holding his soul at rest.

-Okay. Fine. Then we'll just give it back.

-You can't just give it back! He's awake now!

He's awake.

He's gonna be coming for all of us.

We have --

-There he is.

-You remember me?

I remember you.

And I...

I remember what you did 10 years ago.

I put you in the ground before.

-And I'll do it again!

-Is he -- Is he dead?

-No.

Bullets, they only slow him down.

Hey. Tom Sawyer.

Go to the shed there. Grab some chains. Okay?

We're gonna wrap him up

and take him to the old fire tower.

It's the only ground that'll hold him.

Now!

-W-Wait. So it's -- it's true?

The story about the kid, the one who massacred

everyone at the logging camp?

-It's mostly true.

Not all of it.

There was one survivor.

My father.

He put this monster down before.

You know I never believed him when he told me the stories?

-Hm.

-And then...

Then Johnny got up 10 years later.

And he killed the people that I cared about.

So I did what my dad did.

And I put him in the ground.

This time, I'll make sure he stays there.

Hurry up!

Alright.

Start wrapping his feet, and then we'll get his hands.

I got him.

Now.

-I can't.

-Okay.

Take the chains. Put them there.

Okay.

On the count of three, I'm gonna pass this gun to you.

Okay?

One.

Two. Stop shaking.

Three.

Get out of here! Now! -We have to get out of here.

-No. Wait. We have to do something.

-Come on. Come on.

Forget about it! Let's go!

-Come on! Come on!

Take this! -Okay.

Go, go, go! Go, go!

-Johnny! Come and get us!

We're right here!

Come on!

What are you waiting for?!

-He sees us.

Oh, my God. He sees us.

-Shh. You got to keep quiet.

-Wait. Wait. Where are you going?

-I've got to distract him.

You go to the fire tower and set up the trap.

I'll lead him there. It's the only way to stop him.

I'll be back. I promise.

I won't let anything happen to you.

Walk. Walk now.

Come on, you ugly son of a bitch!

We're right --

-Johnny hits Colt in the face with that ax

for a full two minutes of screen time.

I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before.

And this may be one of the main differences

between a slasher made in 2024

and a slasher made in, say, 1984.

Because after "Hostel" and "Saw" came out and all the remakes,

torture is necessary,

pain is necessary. -Yes.

-Those quick cutaway kills, gone forever.

There must be suffering. There must be overkill.

And, in fact, the one subgenre that we haven't mentioned yet --

New French Extremity.

Have you heard of that? -No.

-The French, they don't make a lot of horror films,

but when they do make horror films,

they make the most brutal films on the planet.

"High Tension" in 2003.

"Inside." Did you see "Inside", Darcy?

-Yes. -"You killed my baby,

so I want your baby!"

And so she cuts the fetus out of her adversary.

That's what the French consider a Christmas movie.

They released that at Christmas.

-Merry Christmas! -And they love rape revenge.

-I mean, we all do. -But their rape revenge

goes light-years beyond anything

that we saw in "I Spit on Your Grave."

But watch "Revenge." The French movie "Revenge." 2017.

Rough! -So good, though.

-Okay. Two more essentials on the chart.

Number 17.

The older people will never be helpful.

We just saw The Ranger. Okay?

The Ranger is the first character in the movie

who understands 100%

what Johnny is going through,

and he knows what you have to do to stop Johnny,

and he gets his head sawed off, so he's totally unhelpful.

That was Reece Presley as The Ranger.

He was also in "Psycho Goreman." Uh, Canadian actor.

They're all Canadian actors.

Kris is played by Andrea Pavlovic,

Bosnian Canadian ballet dancer turned model turned actress.

And the mutilated Colt, that was Cameron Love,

who's -- His only other film

is a small part in one of the "Spider-Man" movies.

Okay. Number 16 on the chart.

Last item.

A slasher cannot be a comedy.

Now, that doesn't mean that there can't be comic moments.

Any movie can have comic moments,

but if the whole movie is funny, it's a comedy, not a slasher.

-Like "ThanksKilling."

-"ThanksKilling" is a good example.

Comedy, not a slasher.

-I agree with you. -Okay.

So do we now agree on all 24 slasher essentials?

-I believe we do.

-So I think we have reached the conclusion

of "In a Violent Nature"... -Okay.

-Do you understand that title, by the way?

I don't understand the title.

-Because it's violent and they're in nature?

-Do they say those words, "in a violent nature,"

anywhere in the movie?

-I don't think they do.

-Okay, well, let's see how they resolve

this un-slasher slasher.

It has no soundtrack, by the way.

No musical soundtrack.

All the music comes from radios or other devices

that are being used by actors in the film,

and the director said that was because

he didn't want to manipulate the feelings of the audience.

So, anyway, roll the film.

You know, every single frame of a film

is manipulating the feelings of the audience.

You can't notmanipulate the feelings of the audience.

No music is manipulating the feelings

as much as massive music, so...

Plus, the music can always be counter-thematic.

You can -- You can have music

that can be the opposite of what the visceral feeling is.

Or it can be music that's not music.

But this was a conscious decision to not use that tool,

to take that out of the toolbox entirely.

And actually all those birds chirping and the crickets

and the underbrush crunching under his boots,

that's a soundtrack.

That's music. So that's manipulation.

That's something to ask the filmmakers about.

Will we ever meet him? I think we'll meet him somewhere.

Right? I'm gonna ask him.

I'm gonna ask him why he said that.

-I feel like they just meant

they don't want, like, scary violins like in "Psycho."

-Okay, well, nobody does that anymore anyway.

-They just really wanted us to hear all the walking.

Honestly. -The walking.

Do you think there's more walking?

Is there more walking coming up?

-I think we survived the walking.

We're done with that. Now we have running.

-Running? And limping.

-Limping. -The final girl is hurt.

You can't watch that limp

without thinking of Jamie Lee Curtis, right?

-I think of Sarah Michelle Gellar

in "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

-Well, many scream queens have limped into history,

but these filmmakers do know their slashers.

You got to give them credit for that.

Hey!

Hey! Hey! Stop!

Stop!

Stop! Stop!

-Hey! You okay?

Okay. -Yeah.

-You're okay? You need a hand? -No.

-Alright. Just take it as best you can.

We'll get you to a hospital real quick.

You're alright. Come on.

Let's get you going.

Let's get you going. You'll be okay.

You're gonna be alright.

Sweetie?

Hey, honey. Can you look at me?

You gotta answer me when I talk to you, okay?

Just so I know you're with me.

-Sorry.

-Alright.

-Just tired.

-You were, uh, limping up the road back there.

-I just fell.

-Thirsty?

Sorry. I, um, don't have any water.

Just coffee.

Can you, um...

tell me what happened to you back there?

Just in case I have to answer some questions at the hospital.

-It was an animal.

-Jesus.

Jesus. What kindof animal?

You're gonna be okay.

You are.

You are.

Hey. You made it out okay. Didn't you?

No missing pieces.

Heck, you even walked out by yourself.

You're gonna be okay.

Trust me.

I've seen people come out of there a lot worse than that.

They made it through just fine.

Right as rain.

-You've seen worse, huh?

-Mm-hmm.

Brother was a game warden.

Got mauled by a bear 30 years ago.

Real bad. -Hm.

-Real bad.

His office got a call from a hunter

who came upon a couple of deer carcass out in the woods,

out near Portlock.

Bobby took the call, drove his ATV

about an hour or so deep into the bush.

It's where this guy told him.

He said it looked like something

out of a horror movie or something.

Blood all over the ground.

Black-bear tracks all dug in the mud.

In the middle of it all was a fawn

and a 10-point buck torn to shreds.

Doing what he does, Bobby has seen feeding grounds before.

This one did not sit right with him.

They didn't look eaten at all.

It's like the bear just up and left after he killed 'em.

And that's when Bobby knows

something ain't right with this bear.

So called it in to his office.

Bobby's boss didn't want to take any chances.

Told him he would send him some support.

Told Bobby to keep tracking that bear.

So Bobby gets back on his ATV,

goes deep into the forest.

All the while, he's coming across fresh kill.

Porcupine. Partridges.

Just ripped apart and left there.

All of a sudden, he comes to a creek.

So Bobby gets off his ATV, goes into the water,

comes out the other side.

Tracks are gone.

It's as if the bear just went downstream and moved along.

So he's standing there in the water,

reaches for his walkie...

when all of a sudden he feels...

digging in the back of his head.

Said it felt like a hundred bee stings or something.

Turns out this bear come up behind him,

chomped on the back of his head,

and pushed him into the creek.

Bobby said it was like too much going on at once,

like it should have hurt more, but he didn't feel anything.

I mean, this bear was eating him alive,

and all Bobby could think of was getting his face

out of the water.

But he had a goddamn bear on his back.

Hell.

He laughs when he tells you now.

I guess you get kind of funny

when you're in a situation like that.

I'm sorry.

I'm just saying. Bobby made it out okay.

You'll make it out, too.

-How did he get out?

-Well...

he took in too much water and drowned.

Woke up on the side of the creek.

A member of his team doing CPR.

He was only out for a minute or so.

They airlifted him to the hospital.

A hundred stitches later, he's right as rain.

-What about the bear?

-Don't know.

His team said that bear was gone when they got there.

I guess when Bobby drowned,

the bear figured he killed him and moved on.

-Why?

-Who knows.

Bobby says that there is something in the field

called henhouse disease, henhouse syndrome,

something like that.

It's when coyotes and wolves and such

just keep killing everything around 'em.

They don't go back for food or anything.

They just keep killing.

No reason at all.

Bobby says animals don't get too hung up on reason.

That's what he says.

-Oh.

-Hey, honey.

Sweetie?

Hey, sweetie. You okay?

Hey, honey. Can you wake up?

Come on. Wake up, will you?

Sweetie, come on! Wake up!

Sweetie! Come on! Come on! Let's wake up!

-No, no, no, no, no no. Why are you stopping?

Why are we stopping? -I'm sorry, sweetie.

I got to do something to try to get that leg

to slow down the bleeding.

-Yeah. Okay. Take me to a hospital.

Let's go to the hospital, okay? Please, please, please.

Please. Just take me to the hospital, please.

Please? Please? -Honey.

-Please. -I know you're scared.

And you went through something out there,

and I don't pretend to know what it was,

but I have got to stop the bleeding in your leg.

-Okay. So let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Get in the car, and we'll go to the hospital.

Please. Please. -Honey, honey. Look at me.

I'm gonna wrap this around your leg.

It's probably gonna hurt a little bit,

but I'll be as gentle as I can be.

When I'm done with this, we'll get back on the road

and we'll get to the hospital, but I got to do this first.

Are you okay with that? Sweetie?

Alright.

Sorry.

-♪ 'Twas early in the spring ♪

♪ When I set out to go ♪

♪ To work up in the woods in North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ The unemployment office said they'd send me through ♪

♪ With the Little Abitibi and the survey crew ♪

♪ And those black flies ♪

♪ The little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ Well, the man Black Toby was the captain of the crew ♪

♪ He said, "I'm gonna tell you boys what we're gonna do ♪

♪ They want to build a power dam ♪

♪ So we must find a way ♪

♪ To make the Little Ab flow 'round the other way ♪

♪ And those black flies, the little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In north Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ Bah-bum-bum-bum ♪

♪ So we surveyed to the east, we surveyed to the west ♪

♪ We tried to make our minds up just how to do it best ♪

♪ Little Ab, Little Ab, what shall I do? ♪

♪ I'm all but going crazy on the survey crew ♪

♪ With those black flies, the little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ Bah-bum-bum-bum ♪

♪ 'Twas black fly, black fly, black fly everywhere ♪

♪ A-crawlin' in your whiskers, a-crawlin' in your hair ♪

♪ A-swimmin' in the soup, a-swimmin' in the tea ♪

♪ The devil take the black fly and let me be ♪

♪ With those black flies, the little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ Bah-bum-bum-bum ♪

♪ Well, the bull cook's name was Blind River Joe ♪

♪ If it hadn't been for him, we'd have never pulled through ♪

♪ He bound up all our bruises, and he kidded us for fun ♪

♪ He lathered us with bacon grease and balsam gum ♪

♪ And those black flies, the little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ Bah-bum-bum-bum ♪

♪ Well, now the work is over, Black Toby says we're through ♪

♪ With the Little Abitibi and the survey crew ♪

♪ 'Twas a wonderful experience, but this I know ♪

♪ I'll never go again to North Ontar-i-o ♪

♪ With those black flies, the little black flies ♪

♪ Always a black fly no matter where you go ♪

♪ I'll die with the black fly pickin' my bones ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o, i-o ♪

♪ In North Ontar-i-o ♪

-So the necklace is gone.

Guess that's all Johnny wanted, right?

Don't take Johnny's necklace. It reminds him of Mom.

So, "In a Violent Nature"

opened in theaters in June of 2024

and made about $4.2 million at the box office,

which is pretty dang good for a limited release

of a low-budget movie.

And the things it was praised for were...

the killer point of view,

the set-piece kills,

and the cinematography of Pierce Derks.

As I said before, it's called a neo-slasher,

but I actually -- I don't see anything "neo" about it.

I don't get that. I think it's just a slasher.

You can take any slasher and say

they did this thing or that thing differently,

but all the elements are there for it to be a classic slasher.

Its main weakness, in my opinion,

is making the killer supernatural

so that he really can't be killed.

He can just be slowed down with bullets.

Chris Nash, though, is the writer/director.

Chris has been making movies since 2005,

but this was his first feature.

And he was a bulldog.

I gotta give him credit.

Because they actually shot this movie twice.

They shot for four weeks

in the Kawartha Lakes region of Canada.

They shot 80% of the movie,

but their killer developed an illness

and he couldn't finish the movie.

They tried to put another actor in the Johnny suit,

but his movements didn't match the original footage.

So they eventually decided just to go to Chris Nash's hometown,

which is Sault Ste. Marie, and shoot the whole movie

all over again with a new Johnny

and a new director of photography.

And they shot in the Algoma District,

which is a rugged, heavily wooded area

along the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

And they had to make budget compromises.

For example, there's supposed to be

a big final scene at the fire tower,

and that may be why the ending feels like

we're only halfway through the movie.

But what they should be complimented for

is proving that the slasher lives.

And not that there's a new kind of slasher.

I don't like when people say that.

But that the old kind of slasher still has an audience.

And I should also mention Lauren-Marie Taylor,

the woman in the car in the last sequence.

That's not only a great performance

because you're never sure about whether she's dangerous or not.

You're never sure whether she's a ticket to safety

or a ride back into hell.

But it's also an Easter egg because

Lauren-Marie Taylor played Vickie

in "Friday the 13th Part 2." -Yes!

-Vickie was the girl

with a crush on the boy in the wheelchair,

but more importantly,

she was the girl in the sexy brown panties!

-Yes, she was!

-And the sexy brown panties became so notorious

that she now poses in the brown panties

at horror-convention photo ops.

-Does she?! I have to get that. -Yes, she does.

Anyway, I think she had more dialogue

than all the other actors in the movie combined.

So the last chapter of our history of the slasher

is the era of the neo-slasher.

"In a Violent Nature."

"Hell Fest." "Fear Street." "Terrifier."

-Yeah. -What makes them neo-slashers?

I have no idea why they say that.

-No idea. -They're just slashers.

And now it's time for a little Mailbag.

Always got to do Mailbag. What you got for me?

-Let's do it. I have...this.

It was a DM on X.

It's from Mabus.

He describes himself as an occultist, author,

poet, musician, and magazine publisher.

-Okay. And where is Mabus from?

-Idaho. -Okay.

"Hey, dude. Love your shows.

I recommend running your ending comments and sequences

before running final credits,

since it triggers Amazon Prime and Shutter

to skip it when it does the 'up next' ticker.

Mabus of Idaho."

You know what he's talking about?

-I do. It's a really big complaint.

Could we actually do that?

-I mean, I know people who don't like my jokes,

but there's an actual trigger device that cuts off the jokes,

cuts off the wrap-up?

-Yeah, it's triggered by the credits, so...

-Then how do you watch the credits?

You mean you're watching the credits and it cuts the credits?

-It's people who don't watch the credits

so they don't know there's more after.

-Well, if they don't watch the credits,

they're sure not sticking around to watch us, so...

- Exactly. - Yeah.

I mean, can you set it not to do that?

-You can, but they don't make it really easy.

-Okay. Well. that sucks. -Right?

-Because this is the only segment

where I can talk about the ending.

That's the reason we have the final segment,

so we can talk about the ending.

-Honestly. Is that a change we can make?

Can we, like, switch it around? -Do what?

Make the credits run after the last segment?

-Yeah. -I don't have a good

track record of getting formats changed at Shutter.

-Well, I think we should try. -Alright.

I'll ask the high sheriffs. -Okay.

-Alright, everybody, set your streaming device

to always allow credits,

or else you're gonna miss my jokes.

-Wow. No comment on that one.

-I know, right? Okay.

That's it for me, Joe Bob Briggs,

and Darcy the Mail Girl.

I'll see you tomorrow night in Cleveland.

-Yay! -At the Church of Chills.

-Yeah! -What is the Church of Chills?

What are we doing at the Church of Chills?

-No idea! -Alright.

We're partying at the Church of Chills.

-Whoo! -We're also at the

Sun-Ray Cinema in Tampa on the 26th...

-Tampa! -...for one of our big

geek-out double features.

And need I mention Crypticon in Seattle --

May 3rd and 4th.

Meanwhile, I want to remind everybody

that even though we traffic in fear

here on "The Last Drive-In," the only thing

we've really got to fear is a public toilet seat.

And The Drive-In will never die.

Slice of apple pie costs $250 in Jamaica,

but it costs 3 dollars in the Bahamas.

Do you know why? -Why?

-Those are the pie-rates of the Caribbean.

Okay.

-I like that. I'll take it.

-I thought that one would kill more than that.

-It medium killed. -Alright.

A man plays piano in a bar with a trained monkey.

-Okay. -And while he's playing piano,

the monkey goes around

and collects tips from the customers.

So one night while he's playing, the monkey jumps up on the bar,

walks over to a customer, squats over the customer's drink,

and puts his testicles in the drink.

So the man is all pissed off and he walks over

to the piano player and he says,

"Do you know your monkey dipped his balls in my martini?"

And the piano player says, "No, but if you hum a few bars,

I can probably pick it up."

-That's a fake laugh. No.

♪♪ We are "Drive-In" Mutants -♪ "Drive-In" Mutants

-♪ We are not like other people ♪

♪ We are sick, we are disgusting ♪

♪ We believe in, we believe in ♪

♪ Blood and breasts and beasts ♪

♪ Yeah, we believe in ♪

♪ Blood and breasts and beasts ♪

♪ If life had a vomit meter ♪

♪ We'd be off the scale -♪ Off the scale ♪

♪ As long as one drive-in remains on the planet Earth ♪

♪ We will party like jungle animals ♪

♪ We will boogie 'til we puke -♪ Boogie 'til we puke ♪

-♪ The Drive-In will never die ♪

♪ We will boogie 'til we puke -♪ Boogie 'til we puke ♪

-♪ The Drive-In will never die ♪

♪ We believe in ♪

♪ Blood and breasts and beasts ♪

♪ We believe in ♪

♪ Blood and breasts and beasts ♪

♪ Yeah, we believe in ♪

-Made in Georgia.