Episode 5: The Slasher Movies of 1981, feat. Patrick Ripoll of Tracks of the Damned

Strap in, because we’ve got a lot of ground to cover this month. Gabe and special guest Patrick Ripoll from Tracks of the Damned are looking into the peak year in slasher movie history: 1981. Originally assuming that this would shrink the number of movies to about 20, they learned that there were, in fact, 42 movies that people on the internet consider slashers released in the year 1981 – and they were foolish enough to think that was still a small enough number to discuss every single one of them in under two hours. “Perhaps this will be a two-parter,” Gabe wonders aloud at the top of the podcast. No. Absolutely not. This is now a three-parter. So, enjoy the first of three sweaty, panicked trips through slasher country, including (ahem): Scream (directed by Byron Quisenberry; aka: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker and The Outing), Ghostkeeper (directed by Jim Makichuk) Corpse Mania (directed by Kuei Chih-Hung), Home Sweet Home (directed by Nettie Peña; aka: Bloodparty and Slasher in the House), A Day of Judgement (directed by Christopher Reynolds), Srigala (directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra; aka: Wolf), Night School (directed by Ken Hughes; aka: Terror Eyes), The House Where Death Lives (directed by Alan Beattie; aka: Delusion), My Bloody Valentine (directed by George Mihalka), Eyes of a Stranger (directed by Ken Wiederhorn), Murder Obsession (directed by Ricardo Freda; aka: Murder Syndrome), Madhouse (directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis; aka: There Was a Little Girl), The Funhouse (directed by Tobe Hooper), Love Massacre (directed by Patrick Tam Kar-Ming), and Bloody Moon (directed by Jess Franco).

Follow along and check out what’s coming up using this chronological Letterboxd list: https://letterboxd.com/gabepowers/list/1981-slasher-movies/

Listen to Patrick’s extended thoughts on The Funhouse by listening to this episode of Tracks of the Damned: https://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/tracksofthedamned/s2e2 Episode two should be live in about two weeks, followed by an H.P. Lovecraft themed episode with Betsy from Your Favorite Monsters at the beginning of September and episode three two weeks after that (also in September).