funeralfortheliving
Something happened after the 80's where for some reason people can't make a horror film to save their life this movie is a crash course in crappy 90's film making. How to make a piece of crap step 1 ruin the atmosphere by throwing in a bunch of bottom of the barrel pop music songs. OK am I supposed to be thrilled or get up and dance? These hacks are good at one thing destroying the mood with one pathetic song after another after another, did TCSM throw in pop music? Did Nightmare on Elm St.? No, because it sucks how are you supposed to build suspense with cheesy garbage radio pop rock? And this movie just won't quit 13 minutes in and we've already been subjected to 4 pop songs that sound like the director was trying to show case his friends band or something. That's it really I mean if you like push up bras for fake cleavage, people having sex with their cloths on and the worst music since a dingo got shot eating a baby you'll slash your ears and eyes out trying to figure out if this is scary movie 5000 or a failed music video. Rule number 1 how to kill your horror film start picking rock music that sounds like their practicing and walla your movie stinks. I don't get why film makers struggle so hard and pay so much money for songs well I guess if you turn off the sound and see what a mess they shot it makes sense. For future so called horror film makers please do not do this. I know you think the music you are into is so rocking and you got chills while playing tennis with a pink sweater tied around your waist and thought oh this song is perfect. Again show me one horror film that uses pop music effectively and I'll show you that you know nothing about atmospheric horror. The 90's are over stop trying to make hipster horror this is why nobody respects horror and they all get pg 13 ratings because they are all made by hacks who go hey lets make a horror movie those are easy. You ever wonder why their are only two seasons of Masters of Horror because their are only a handful of people capable of creating art that is disturbing. I'm sick of it fangoria shame on you for putting your name on this. Bowwwoooo Bowwwwwooooow Wooooo are you scared yet or are you like me and just slash your finger across the eject button and try to forget you ever heard of this failure. Well maybe I'm wrong and they created a new genre movies that disturb you with their choice in music in that case I give it a ten and rate it up their with Requiem For A Dream as so disturbing I can only watch it once.
slayrrr666
"Slash" is one of the better scarecrow-slashers around.**SPOILERS**As a young kid, Mac (James O'Shea) watched as his uncle burned in a fire. As an adult, he's the lead singer/guitarist in a band with a bunch of his friends. After a gig one day, the band is approached and told that his aunt has died. The next day, he and the rest of the band, Keith (Craig Kirkwood) Carl, (Brett Goldin) Susie, (Zuleikha Robinson) Rod, (David Dukas) and his girlfriend Candy, (Nina Wassung) travel to the farm where he grew up for the funeral. As he attempts to reconcile with his father, Jeremiah, (Steve Railsback) being back on the farm stirs up memories of his youth. As they settle down for the night, Mac is still upset by the memories of the past, which makes matters worse when a neighbor pops up dead around the farm. They start to leave, but their bus breaks down a little way down the road. Traveling back to the farm, they stay to help out. Being stuck on the farm takes its toll on the rest of the band, and Keith bails on them. When he pops up dead, the rest starts to fall prey to a murderous scarecrow hell-bent on getting them away from the farm.The Good News: The scarecrow-slasher film is a new sub-genre that has really gotten some popularity of late. This could be one of the better ones, mainly because it is one of the first, and better, ones. It was a great idea to strand a bunch of city people on a rural farm, as it allows for some brief comedic moments with some great "fish-out-of-water" gags and a couple really cool smart comments. It also opens great, with a guy and a girl on their way to a concert arguing on the way about their sex life, when they suddenly veer off the road to avoid hitting a cow. When they finally stop in the middle of a giant corn field, the man goes off to go to the bathroom, leaving her in the car. When he returns to scare her with a mask, she freaks out and calls him on it. Then, he is pierced through the stomach with a giant knife from behind. The blood flies into the car before she has a chance to scream, but can't find the killer anywhere. He suddenly appears on the room, prying open the top of the car with his scythe. It's a great, but very bloodless way of opening the film. The whole back-story of the band is very smartly played out, and does seem like a believable thing to happen. The killer scarecrow is also very creepy, and the rotting face and hat make him look very intimidating. He is the creepiest scarecrow I've seen.The Bad News: This is one of the most bloodless horror films I've ever seen. Apart from the cool kill in the opening, this really needed some blood. Seeing a scarecrow slash away at people with a giant scythe demands a lot of blood shed, and this one provided very little. Other than this, I really don't see the harm in this one.The Final Verdict: With some gore, this would've been a sure fire must-see. However, it isn't, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bad movie. I still think it's a good movie, but some blood-flow and some more nudity and this could be a small little cult film. See this only if you hate scarecrows or seeing a fresh twist on a well-worn idea.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene
AngryChair
Rock band ends up stranded on the family farm of it's lead singer. So what's next? A fight to stay alive when a scarecrow-ish killer starts stalking!While Slash may not look or sound like anything new, it does serve horror fans best by being a completely entertaining and fairly thrilling ride. It makes the best of it's country setting by being a bit reminiscent of such classic rural horror flicks as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Children of the Corn. Director Neal Sundstrom gives us a musty atmosphere of dread in the movie's nicely rustic filming locations.At any rate, there's plenty to enjoy in this film. The story provides for enough good thrills and spills, along with some occasional bloodiness. The cast is pretty game, Railsback probably being the best as Mac's gruff father. But such unknown stars as O'Shea and Dukas prove that they are capable as well. There's also a fairly good rock soundtrack, after all, the movie IS named after the band.Genre fans may find it a fun trip, while others will likely call it silly horror. Either way, it's a fun watch.*** out of ****
Backlash007
~Spoiler~ Slash is a pretty mundane effort. The film's plot involves a rock band named Slash who's lead singer used to be a farmboy. When the singer's Aunt dies, the band goes back to the McDonald farm where he begins to remember his childhood while his bandmates are killed in usual slasher form. My first complaint is that when you hear a rock band named Slash you expect it to be a metal band. This was more like a lounge band and were completely unworthy of the name "Slash." My second complaint comes from the band's tour bus. Slash is supposed to be a struggling act but they have the biggest tour bus I've ever seen. Not a van, a BUS. And my final complaint is the entire rest of the film. But the cheesiest, and I do mean cheesiest, part of the film comes from the music video at the end. The remaining band members have hit the big time and recorded a song. The chorus of said song is "E-I-E-I OH!" Like Old McDonald Had a Farm...get it? Terrible. It could be a career low for Steve Railsback. No, it definitely is. I was unlucky enough to catch both this and The Backlot Murders (another stalk-n-slash flick about a band) on the same night. Avoid both.
