Here we are folks. I have been building toward this post for an entire year. Last October I discussed how 1981 featured several of the greatest werewolf films and transformations of all time. Then, this spring I waded into the controversy over two of the more iconic nature-horror films of all time: both featuring lions and both released in 1981.

At that point I probably could have stopped with quite a case built as to why 1981 was a great year for horror fans. But of course horror is much more than werewolves and animals run amok. For instance, I haven’t even mentioned as of yet perhaps the most successful horror genre of the past forty years – the slasher film. Largely kicked off by the October 1974 release of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (which introduced several key elements of the genre – including murder by power tools and a powerful mask wearing killer) the genre exploded in popularity during the early 1980’s. Continue reading