This segment is all about showing appreciation for films that are criminally underrated. It’s different from a review and it’s more like an appreciation article. This particular article is dedicated to my favorite horror documentary, Going To Pieces: The Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film!

I’ve never been big on documentaries and it took me a long time to give them a chance. Going To Pieces is the first horror documentary I’ve ever seen and it’s just so well-made that I have to give it its recognition. For starters, we are graced with all the somewhat godfathers of the slasher franchise, including Wes Craven, Tom Savini and John Carpenter! They start out explaining people’s obsessions with gore and violence in cinema, or even before cinema existed. I’ve seen people ask all the time, how people like us can watch the blood and violence in slasher films, and I never have a good explanation. It’s explained perfectly in this documentary.

When it comes to special effects and stories, I believe the slasher genre is the most creative in horror. They’ve been able to create weapons out of almost anything and create a horror story for each holiday. We are given some of the best work by makeup effects guru, Tom Savini and how he became obsessed with creating all of these different ways to kill people in the genre.

With Going To Pieces, we’re given a complete history of how the slasher genre came to be, and a timeline from the start of the slasher craze back in the 1960s to its peak in the late ‘70s to ‘80s, to its seemingly downfall in the 2000s. We get to view the starts of our favorite slasher flicks, from Halloween to House Of 1,000 Corpses. The documentary also touches on how poorly these films were initially received by critics and audiences, depicting their lack of understanding of the genre.

I wasn’t alive to see the slasher genre in its prime, so I never knew just how bad these films were received when they were first released. I can’t really say I’m surprised though, because people are still like that – people still have a problem with this genre and have no problem trash-talking it. They viewed slasher films as sexist and misogynistic. Call me crazy, but I’ve never viewed the old slashers that way. After all, most of these films had a strong female role who fought her way to the end of the film, that’s why people nowadays talk about the Final Girls in horror and rarely talk about the Final Guys.

The genre’s popularity has definitely risen and fallen over the decades, but it’s never been truly dead. There’s always been new audiences and new filmmakers reviving the slashers, whether in a genuine way or a satirical way. If you’re obsessed with the slasher genre, Going To Pieces: The Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film is a must for everyone! Have you seen it yet? What’s your favorite slasher film? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!