How can we tell reality from Fiction ... well we do know that this is a movie so it isn't reality in the first place. But in this movie our main character has a lot of nightmares and it is tough to distinguish them from what "actually" happens at times - no pun intended.
A low budget effort with some quite neat effects to boost - all within the margin and having the knowledge of the low budget in the back of your mind. Not a flawless movie/horror by a long stretch, but interesting as another reviewer put it ... a curiosity of sorts and one I was not really aware of. Any horror fan will likely find things to like here ... anyone else might want to stay away ... something the characters should have done ... as with most of these movies of course.
The Slayer
1982
Action / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Plot summary
Four young people vacation on a barren island. One of them, a female artist, has dreams that depict ghastly murders. Sure enough, the fun begins when her boyfriend is found dead.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Film as in Fiction yes?
Nifty little early 80's horror outing
Troubled and neurotic artist Kay (a fine and sympathetic performance by striking redhead Sarah Kendall) suffers from frightening recurring nightmares about gruesome murders that begin to come true after she decides to spend a vacation on a barren island with her protective husband David (well played by Frederick Flynn),her jerky brother David (a nicely irritating turn by Alan McRae),and David's wife Brooke (a solid portrayal by Carol Kottenbrook).
Director J.S. Cardone, who also co-wrote the compact script with Bill Ewing, relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, ably crafts a supremely spooky and unsettling atmosphere, takes time to develop the characters, maintains an appropriately gloomy tone throughout, delivers several strong moments of graphic gore, and ends things on a haunting grim note. The remote island setting projects a potently unnerving feeling of isolation and vulnerability. Karen Grossman's polished cinematography makes neat use of a smooth gliding camera. Robert Folk's lush orchestral score hits the shivery spot. A worthwhile fright film.
Interesting
Although not the most original concept in horror movie history ( girls dreams start to turn into reality),this is quite a decent and atmospheric movie, well acted and scripted, and it features some unusual and gruesome deaths (in the uncut version anyway). An unusually classy music score (played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra no less) gets things off to a moody start, and the tension slowly mounts as four holiday-makers travel to a deserted island for a weekend vacation which turns into a nightmare, when the bad dreams suffered by one of the group start to come true. Only disappointment I found was the let down ending, when the "monster" finally appears it looks dead phony. Apart from that, this is worth a look.