If you love slashers, here’s a trio you might find satisfying.
THE BENCH (2024)
How dumb am I? When I read the brief description of this film on IMDb, I seriously thought it was about a bunch of kids at a cabin in the woods getting killed off by a psycho killer each time they went outside to sit on some sort of park bench (and yet I watched the movie anyway despite thinking that was the plot). The actual bench being referred to is a sort of workbench where the killer takes all his victims to torture and kill them.
As far as backwoods slashers go, if you’re itching for something familiar, this is it. Nothing new here. Kids head to a cabin in the woods. They party, they hookup, they talk about a legend of a crazed killer in the area. And then…they start getting dragged to the bench.
This is not a masked killer movie. This feral looking dude has long, stringy hair and a machete, plus a few more torturous weapons in his lair. The torture is more implied than shown, there are some chase scenes, and there’s a “twist” that was pretty obvious to me right from the start.
INITIATION (2020)
This is in no way a body count slasher, and it’s rather slow paced, but it has a post-Scream aesthetic—sleek production, brutal kills, and a lingering sense of mystery that keeps you watching.
It begins with a frat party, shirtless boys, drinking, and a questionable situation. Our main girl, who is very natural, no nonsense, and likable, finds her wasted brother and a sorority sister passed out drunk in a bedroom and immediately questions what might have occurred behind the closed door.
Both the drunk girl and the brother also start to wonder what happened in the bedroom…
And then the kills begin. However, the first one doesn’t hit until 30 minutes in. The second one a half hour after that! The killer wears a mask and hoodie and is absolutely vicious in execution, which includes a drill with huge screws. Eek!
Most notable is that this is a reversal of the usual slasher trope—the half-naked victims are all male. We even get a guy jerking off and being attacked by the killer with his bare butt out!
There are police investigation elements as well to fill the time between kills, and the focus is on very few characters, which helps to keep the plot distraction-free.
The final act is a long, suspenseful cat and mouse chase scene between the killer and several characters. There’s a surprise ending, and it’s not one of those twists you’d ever be able to guess. However, what’s interesting is that the film opts to remain fuzzy on what did or did not happen in that bedroom at the beginning of the movie.
MY BLOODY GALENTINE (2024)
This fun holiday slasher is loaded with diva and queer camp value, in part thanks to a gay character that plays an important role in the film right up until the end.
Like Initiation, it isn’t a body count flick, but the small number of kills are quite entertaining, plus the killer wears a white mask with red-lit orifices and a black, hooded robe.
Three girls who have recently been dumped aren’t in the mood for their company’s Valentine’s Day office party, and they each have fantasies about killing their boyfriend, complete with red horror/Valentine’s lighting. The best part of these campy daydream kills is that they double the number of kills!
Instead of admitting to thoughts of murder, the girls decide to get revenge on their exes using simple cruel pranks.
Naturally, the guys start getting murdered.
And that means very few real kills sprinkled throughout the film. If anything, the film could have been trimmed down to 90 minutes from 104 minutes to bring us closer to the big killer finale at the Valentine’s party that much sooner. Despite some pacing issues, the girls are great, the energy is high, and the film is a blast. It most definitely earns a spot on both the holiday horror page and the does the gay guy die? page.
