Spanish Horror Masterpiece Unfolds Slowly and Mercilessly

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Slasher‘s synopsis is one you’ve heard a hundred times before. A group of young, carefree friends decides to go on a road trip. Among those friends, you have the usual tropes. From the moment we meet the sullen Ursula (Fabiola Muñoz), we know she’s our final girl. She’s upset with her jealous boyfriend, Lucas (Mario Gallardo). Accompanying them are another male friend, Mario (Rafa Blanes), and party girls Shayla (Cristina Bravo) and Lore (Anna Hastings). Slasher separates their personalities by having Shayla obsessed with her phone, while Lore is the stereotypical horny one who flirts constantly and is so annoying that Mario can’t stand to be around her.

As these friends go on a trip, they speak about the Red Demon who is said to hunt the area around the home they will be staying in. Many who have ventured this way have disappeared, and although that is taken seriously by a few, the rest treat it like a joke. As the audience, we already know that the Red Demon is real thanks to an intriguing opening scene. In it, we witness not a demon but a man wearing a mask made of wood. He is cloaked in red and dragging a bag containing a still-living man. When he gets to his basement, the silent killer hands the knife to his young son, Julio, to finish the job. Julio looks at his father with awe, wanting to be just like him. This killer has a family who knows all about his morbid past time and they’re supportive of it.

Although there is a lot to criticize about Slasher, there are some elements that pull you in. Beyond the opening scene, Julio is easily the most complex character. It’s probably not a good thing when the villain is more likable than the protagonists, but since this is his movie, it’s welcome. This makes it frustrating that Julio isn’t explored more. He is excited to get his mask and to go out killing, but when he strikes, he struggles, having never done this before, meaning that we get to see an amateur killer in the making rather than another run-of-the-mill hulk in a mask who slashes through everyone with ease. While Slasher doesn’t have many inventive kills, Julio’s initial lack of skills leads to an improvised death scene that is not only fitting for its victim but inventive in its creation.

Slasher needed much more of that inventiveness and exploration into who Julio is. Instead, everything is surface-level. Out of nowhere, Julio decides he can’t kill anymore, only to quickly go back to doing it. Seeing more of an internal struggle would have been a nice touch to make Slasher more than the stereotypes it’s born from. It falls short the most with Julio’s father. He is the focus of the first scene, only to disappear without any explanation. Now, a horror movie that over-explains is never a good thing, but Slasher goes so far in the other direction, explaining nothing, that we don’t have a reason to be invested. Who is Julio’s father? Where do the powers come from? Why does he wear a wooden mask? Not giving us any of these answers makes it hard to care.

Slasher leads to a rather anticlimactic showdown between Julio and Ursula, but stay tuned in for the after credits scene. Here, we get a twist and perhaps an unsaid explanation for why Slasher struggles to find its way. Has the film been a set up for a sequel and a franchise all along? That could have worked, but you have to make the audience excited about the first film for them to want anything that might come after. Julio is not going to be the next masked killer icon.

Slasher is out on VOD and digital on October 8.

Conclusion

Slasher has its moments, but ultimately, it fails to deliver a fresh and exciting take on the slasher genre. Despite some interesting elements, the film’s lack of exploration and explanation holds it back from being a truly engaging watch.

FAQs

• What is the premise of Slasher?
  A group of friends go on a road trip, only to find themselves being stalked by the Red Demon.
• Who is the main villain of the film?
  Julio, the son of the silent killer, becomes the main villain of the film.
• Is Slasher a good horror movie?
  While it has some interesting elements, the film ultimately falls short due to its lack of exploration and explanation.