laurieanngermann

With a cast featuring Sally Field, Jessica Walter, Julie Harris, and Eleanor Parker and a script by Psycho's own Joseph Stefano, Home for the Holidays delivers the ghoulish holiday horror you'd expect with some first-rate performances, twists, turns, and lots of great performances. With a pedigree like this, it's surprising to me that Home for the Holidays is still languishing in relative obscurity with not so much as a legitimate DVD release to its name.

If you're on the lookout for a slasher film with less plot and more slashing, Pieces is the film for you. It doesn't twist itself out of shape to give the audience anything unexpected, but it delivers its gruesome delights with a mix of inept dialogue/character interactions and stylish murder sequences. It makes for a strange, but oddly satisfying brew.

The Canadians prove once again that they were responsible for some of the most interesting slashers of the early 80's. Happy Birthday To Me has a labyrinthian screenplay with so many characters and subplots that you might find yourself thinking it would function better as a TV miniseries. The twists and turns come fast and furious, sprinkled with some gnarly and gruesome death scenes and styled with old school Hollywood class by veteran director, J. Lee Thompson. Be sure to stay for the absolutely insane final act.