SCREAMING STREAMING REVIEW - SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD (UPDATED REVIEW)
UPDATED REVIEW FOR WHOLE SEASON
As of October 3, 2021
Now that the fourth season, first on AMC’s SHUDDER, of SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD has concluded I thought it wise to update my review on the first half of the 8-episode season. I won’t be repeating the introduction section, or the WHAT’S IT ABOUT section, but rather the HOW IS IT and LAST RITES section.
Cronenberg as the diabolical patriarch of this fucked up family
HOW IS IT?
Maybe it’s the pandemic that has changed my viewing habits, maybe I’m just getting older and my tastes are changing, but whatever the case is I’ve been watching a lot more TV. After reviewing the first four episodes of SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD I made a bet to myself: could I in fact finish the whole season? While this sounds like a rather pedestrian goal, for someone who has traditionally avoided television this is the baby step I so desperately needed to test my convictions. I’m happy to report that I stuck with it, and completed the full run of SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD, albeit a week behind as I was on vacation and my wife would actually slasher me if I was reviewing horror shows on our holiday.
So after completing the full season I think it’s fair to say that I dug the fuck out of this! I’ll be candid in saying it is not perfect, but what’s great about horror is that it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it’s in the imperfections sometimes where the charm can be found. SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD doesn’t pretend it isn’t completely over the top, it relishes in it like meat in a marinade. The violence is brutal and absurd, even if it is anatomically impressive, and the plot has so many twists you may need to take some dramamine to avoid motion sickness. But that’s what makes this so much fun. Like so many other horror movies, and the most recent example being JAMES WAN’S MALIGNANT (check out our review from Dead Alive Dana), thinking too much about the ridiculousness of the situations can in many ways deter from the experience. It’s the reason, ironically, I can’t stand the FAST & FURIOUS films; they don’t suspend my disbelief enough for me to enjoy them.
Gotta start the slashin’ when you’re young!
It is worth mentioning that in spite of the glowing praise I’m heaping on this it is not void of its problems. To be honest, I don’t expect anything to be flawless, I just expect to be entertained and stimulated. The sheer premise and execution of it are unbelievable. The amount of physical punishment these characters endure and somehow survive (of course not all of them) is also completely audacious to the point that you wonder if they aren’t somehow superhuman themselves. The ending is somewhat of a letdown, but given how many logical leaps the plot took with its twists along the way it is a miracle they even concluded it in a somewhat coherent way. These are things that could easily trip up any viewer, and the good thing about that is these happen so early in the series (as referenced in my earlier review) that you won’t have to wade through more than two episodes to figure out if this is for you or not.
While the aforementioned absurdity can be both a blessing and a burden, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the absolutely unreal visual and makeup effects on display. I can’t be certain how much was practical versus CG, but what I can attest to is that the use of practical effects seemed to be a dominant choice and the series was extremely well served by this decision. From eye-gouging to tongue cutting and torso splitting, the opera of gore that adorns each episode makes even the less interesting parts of the series have something to keep you looking forward to. It feels so silly to say how delightful it is to see this many practical effects in a show, and I have to hand it to SHUDDER for constantly reminding their members why it’s the best money they will spend each month for their streaming services.
Half the man he used to be joke goes perfectly here…
LAST RITES
SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD has the violent tendencies of Joe D’Amato and the heightened characters of a day-time soap opera. Together, they create a highly-entertaining, often silly, romp that will leave gorehounds foaming at the mouth for more...as long as you don’t get caught up in the details!
THE GORY DETAILS
Where can you watch it?
All episodes available NOW streaming exclusively on SHUDDER!
ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM AUGUST 18, 2021
Ever since LOST, I’ve had a chip on my shoulder about the 45-60 minute episode trend which is not the norm. While there have been amazing shows to come out in longer episode formats, it also means that a good chunk of time is eaten up invested in one story. That’s why I’ve always favored movies. They are a more efficient way of storytelling, and for me, there is something comforting about closure. Regardless, I’d be naive to completely eliminate TV from my media diet. As such, the fine folks at AMC & SHUDDER have provided me with the first four episodes in their recently released series SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD. As someone new to the series, and a big fan of slasher films, it’s almost surprising I’ve never seen much of the television devoted to the sub-genre over the past few years. I guess it’s never too late to start, but is SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD a triumph of terror TV, or has my aversion to the episodic entry been well-advised?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
The patriarch of the privileged Galloway family invites his entire family to his secluded home on a private family island. This reunion takes a turn when he announces that he is dying, and his final wish is to have his family compete against one another until one remains as the rightful heir to the entire family fortune. While the family competes, someone is on the island with them savagely hunting them down one by one.
HOW IS IT?
The first thing that crossed my mind with this premise was, how are you going to stretch this out over multiple episodes? Perhaps it’s my ignorance of long-form TV, but the idea of a slasher movie concept being delivered over the course of multiple hour-long episodes in and of itself is a daunting task. Especially considering most slasher films are on average 90-minutes long. To my surprise, after watching the first four episodes that the story was really getting going. The setup is a familiar one we’ve seen in other horror-themed shows of the past few years like HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR. While I’ve seen the former, I did not finish the latter. It’s the same kind of dysfunctional, eccentric, and secret-laden setup we’ve seen before and mixed with some truly graphic, and impressive, gore and trashy soap-opera level drama. Then you add in a mysterious killer and viola!
My skepticism started to wane the longer I stayed invested in the show. It’s not perfect by a long shot, and there are some aspects of the plotting that you have to buy into very early on, or else you may get frustrated in the characters and their decisions. The familial drama is shocking, but unsurprising given the rise of detestable affluence on television and in real life. While the drama is sticky-sweet saccharine ripped from the trashiest daytime soap storylines, it is at times almost predictably obvious. Which also impacts the characters, of which none seem to be all that likable or sympathetic. That works in that you can’t wait to see if they will die, and how, but it also means you spend a lot of time invested in backstory that usually falls just short of compelling. Maybe it’s intended that no one is likable and it’s just me.
Now the title of this show implies there is someone dispatching folks, and on that front, the show both does and does not deliver. The slasher look is great, and the visual make-up EFX really gets down to the gory details, but they only seem to show up once an episode for about 5 minutes of the 45 minutes per episode runtime. While it’s not reasonable to expect that the slasher is around all the time, the show excels when they are and there has to be a balance somewhere above 5 minutes per episode in order to satisfy its titular requirements. It seems my initial sentiment around stretching this idea does come with a heavy dose of decisions around how much screen time to give a slasher, but more importantly what is done with that time to not make the novelty wear off. I’ll likely watch the remaining four episodes to see how this plays out, so kudos to the show for garnering just enough interest to make me want to see the end result.
LAST RITES
SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD first four episodes do a good job of building enough dramatic and diabolical interest to keep the viewer engaged with the absurdity of the Galloway family. While it can be light on the slasher angle, it is beautifully violent has some really gut-wrenching gore scenes which are sure to delight those who stick around to see them!
THE GORY DETAILS
Series stars Paula Brancati (Dark Oracle) and Rachael Crawford (Heartland), creator/EP Aaron Martin, showrunner/EP Ian Carpenter and director Adam MacDonald
Where can you watch it?
SLASHER: FLESH & BLOOD starring horror legend David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome), the hit anthology series will exclusively stream on the horror streaming service in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., and Ireland beginning Thursday, August 12 with two episodes, followed by new episodes streaming each week.
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