WATCH TRAILER FOR "SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE"!

Slumber Party Massacre
It may come as some surprise that the quintessential slasher film of the 80’s—a genre often labeled as misogynistic—was created by women. Written by Rita Mae Brown and directed by Amy Holden Jones, Slumber Party Massacre employs nearly every pleasure associated with the sub-genre, including teenage tomfoolery, drug use, lingering nudity and gleeful gory violence. But beneath the surface lurks a strong current of feminism, as well as a not-so-subtle hint of lesbianism. The female protagonists and titular slumber partiers seem far more interested in each other than the immature boys that plague them, and when the phallic drill-wielding psychopath starts to wreak bloody havoc, the girls generally manage to put up a better fight than the chickenshit guys. None of this really matters, though, because in the end it’s just a fun, solid slasher film that’s appropriate for any gender or sexual orientation.
Dir. Amy Holden Jones, 1982, 35mm, 77 min.

Graduation Day
The slasher film for fitness enthusiasts! Have you grown restless with all those slasher films where people just sit around waiting to be gutted? Well, relief is here in the form of Graduation Day, a film which features so much running you'll feel you've completed a 10k just having watched it. The story centers around the death of a high school track star and the subsequent murders of other jocks at the school leading up to Graduation Day. There's a lot to enjoy here, not the least of which is director Herb Freed's penchant for inexplicable quick-cut editing and a supporting cast of inexplicably abusive older men. Plenty of cheat scares and red herrings abound, but once the killer dons a fencing mask and gear, you are literally off to the races. Featuring music and a live performance from pop band Felony (barely known at the time). Come get your diploma -- in terror!
Dir. Herb Freed, 1981, 35mm, 85 min.

The Redeemer: Son of Satan!
OK, so this one's a bit of cheat. Not strictly a slasher movie; it's got more of that weirdo, obscure 70s arthouse-meets-grindhouse, "Nightmare USA" vibe that's been a fascination for us here at Cinefamily. So while, yes, a masked killer does stalk and snuff his victims one at a bloody time, it also opens with a little boy emerging from a lake who possesses three thumbs. Set at the world's least populated high school reunion, the film's six attendees are greeted by a maniac who appears in a different menacing and grotesque persona for each bizarre kill (a clown, a marionette, a Grim Reaper). Those that make it through to the end of this evening with us will be treated to this confounding, nightmare-inducing gem.
Dir. Constantine S. Gochis, 1979, 35mm, 84 min.