GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM

Genre: DOCUMENTARY / HORROR

Release Dates: Friday, October 13, 2006

Official Websites: www.starz.com/goingtopieces

Taglines:

A Starz Oringals Production

The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

Production Company: Starz Entertainment Group / Candy Heart Productions

Synopsis:
“The ‘slasher film’ is brutal and gory, coming of age during the late ‘70s, the bastard child of the horror film. Too gleefully violent and graphic to be embraced by the mainstream, but far too popular and successful to achieve true cult status.”
Adam Rockoff from his book GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM

Jason, Freddy, Norman Bates, Michael Myers – GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM traces the history, popularity and resurgence of the genre with an original look at the importance, prominence, and newfound legitimacy of the horror film and, more specifically, the sub-genre of the “slasher film.” The feature-length documentary contains an abundance of clips from classic films, as well as many current hits, and interviews with pre-eminent actors, directors, and producers, many of whom are themselves, icons, founders and masters of the genre, including Wes Craven, Rob Zombie, John Carpenter and special effects master Tom Savini. The film, produced by Starz Entertainment, is based on Adam Rockoff’s book of the same name. The book studied and lauded such seminal films as Halloween, Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Psycho, Prom Night, When A Stranger Calls, Sleepaway Camp, Last House On The Left and Black Christmas.

The 1978 opening of John Carpenter’s Halloween was also the birth of horror cinema’s most successful offshoot: the “slasher film.” Loved by fans, reviled by critics, the new genre quickly became a pop culture phenomenon whose unconventional methods of distribution, exhibition and marketing changed American cinema forever.

GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM traces the “slasher film” from its fledgling days through its heyday in the early ‘80s – its decline after a glut of inferior sequels – and its resurgence in the mid ‘90s with films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The documentary also acknowledges the influence of pre-“slasher films” such as Hitchcock’s Psycho and Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM ironically, is cut up into different segments within the film, examining conventions of the genre such as “the final girl” or “lone survivor” and the relationship between sex and drugs, usually culminating in a brutal death.

The film is produced by Starz Entertainment and Candy Heart Productions’ Rachel Belofsky and Rudy Scalese. The film is Executive Produced by Starz’ Michael Ruggiero. Rachel Belofsky has come to prominence in the industry as the Founder and Director of L.A.’s Screamfest Horror Film Festival, arguably the world’s most important horror festival. Scalese joined Screamfest and Candy Heart Productions in the summer of 2004. As both an expert and an ardent fan of slasher films, Scalese brought the project to Belofsky, who also produced the award-winning women in racing documentary Fast Women. They both felt the time had come for a comprehensive study and tribute to the films that had made such an impact upon them, their colleagues, and their festival participants.

“There’s such a rich history of film to cull from, we started to make a short list of seminal films to draw upon,” said Belofsky. “That short list quickly became very long, as did the list of interviews. It’s a real testament to the significance of these films.” Scalese adds, “To look at the body of the work of the ‘slasher film’ is a reminder of what began as a tiny group of films that became the little engine that could and left a significant imprint on the history of American cinema.”

Says Ruggiero, “Everyone has their favorite film, with each having a fan base.  These films are intricately explored for every nuance in magazines, websites and blogs.  But there has never been a stand alone tribute documentary until now. It’s also interesting to note how the socio-political climate in the ‘80s had its affects on the genre.  Truly a sign of the times, everything from Reaganomics to the AIDS epidemic found its way into these films in one form or another.”

Crew: Produced by Rachel Belofsky and Rudy Scalese
Executive Producer – Michael Ruggiero
Associate Producer – Christopher Black
Edited by Michael Bohusz
Director – Jeff McQueen
Author Adam Rockoff, based upon the book Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
Original Music by Harry Manfredini
Director of Photography – Michael Fimognari and Armando Salas
2nd Unit Director – Stewart Hopewell
Steadicam Operator – Erwin Landau and Jon Myers
Assistant Camera – Stewart Hopewell
Additional Photography – Peter Mezei
Sound Department – Andrew Edelman and Karl W. Lohninger
Gaffers – Kelly Herrin and Pat Murphy
Grips – Ricardo Smith
Makeup Artist – Vanessa Cartier
Titles and Graphics by Stewart Hopewell and Michael Bohusz
Assistant Editor – Peter Mezei
Publicity – Steve Waldo Belgard
Press Kit Design – Mark Hunt
Executive in Charge of Production – Stephan Shelanski

Cast: Featuring (in alphabetical order)
Malek Akkad (prod. Halloween H2O, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween: Resurrection)
John Carpenter (dir. Halloween)
Lilyan Chauvin (actress Silent Night, Deadly Night)
Bob Clark (dir. Black Christmas)
Wes Craven (dir. The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream trilogy)
Sean S. Cunningham (dir. Friday the 13th)
Herb Freed (dir. Graduation Day)
Debra Hill (archive footage prod. Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween III)
Amy Holden Jones (dir. Slumber Party Massacre)
Jeff Katz (prod. upcoming Friday the 13th sequel and exec. producer Snakes on a Plane)
Paul Lynch (dir. Prom Night)
Henry Manfredini (composer Friday the 13th and all sequels)
Armand Mastroianni (dir. He Knows You’re Alone and Friday the 13th television series)
Gregory Nicotero (special effects/makeup Day of the Dead, Evil Dead II, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Child, Scream, Kill Bill Vol. 1-2)
Betsy Palmer (actress Friday the 13th – “Mrs. Voorhees”)
Felissa Rose (actress Sleepaway Camp)
Tom Savini (special effects/makeup Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Maniac, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II)
Robert Shaye (Chairman and CEO of New Line Cinema – prod of A Nightmare on Elm Street and its sequels)
Joseph Stefano (screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho)
Anthony Timpone (editor of horror magazine Fangoria)
Fred Walton (dir. When a Stranger Calls, April Fool’s Day)
Stan Winston (dir. Pumpkinhead, special effects/makeup Friday the 13th Part III, Aliens)
Joseph Zito (dir. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Bloodrage)
Rob Zombie (dir. House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects)

Studio: ThinkFilm

Other Info

Going to Pieces Premieres Friday, October 13, 2006, and kicks off Fear Fest 06 on Starz Encore. The horror festival will feature such horror and gore classics as The Exocism of Emily Rose, The Fog Remake, The Omen (original version), Dark Water, Night of the Living Dead, In the Year 2889, At the Earth’s Core, and much much more.