Slasher: Season One

The number of horror shows on television networks over the past several years has grown and grown. From 'The Walking Dead' to 'The Strain' to 'Scream' and even 'Scream Queens', these television shows have brought brought horror back to television in a big way. Some are good and some are bad, but all appeal to the horror mainstays and audiences that grew up with the old 70s and 80s horror movies. The Chiller Network decided to get into original programming and put out 'Slasher', which had its first season, consisting of eight episodes that followed the traditional "slasher" horror trope in the vein of 'Friday the 13th'. It's a decent enough show, despite its many flaws.

Maybe one of the reasons I like this, is that it brings back a certain nostalgic quality in those old slasher films, despite it's very modern setting and look to the show. There is just something always fun and entertaining about some masked person going around town killing people in over-the-top ways, where the rest of the people try to figure out who it is. That's basically the premise here with 'Slasher' as back thirty years ago in the small town of Waterbury, there was a killer known as 'The Executioner', who brutally murdered Sarah Bennett's parents. Present day, Sarah (Katie McGrath) and her husband Dylan move back to her old house where her parents were murdered and aim to live there.

It's a very odd plot point. Once she arrives, she meets a series of interesting townsfolk, but then a ton of grisly murders start to occur around her in the same style as 'The Executioner'. The thing is, that killer is locked up behind bars and gives Sarah advice in the same vein as 'The Silence of the Lambs'. Now, everyone is a suspect in town as more people drop like blood dripped flies. The acting here really isn't the best and is more over-the-top than anything else, but saying that, the show itself takes itself way too seriously and doesn't seem to have any fun with any of the story lines or characters themselves. If they cracked a joke or had some fun with the show, things would flow better, but it all seems to play out like some day time drama with a ton of gore and blood.

Speaking of that, it looks like the filmmakers had a good time with the death scenes, which are pretty fun to watch for a TV series. Most aspects of the show are very predictable from the first episode and you'll be able to see things coming from a mile away, but when that nostalgic sense comes tip toeing back, you'll find yourself enjoying the series, mostly for the over-the-top performances and the very good death scenes that always seems to pack enough blood for the whole family.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Slasher Season One' comes with two 50GB Blu-ray discs from Scream Factory that are Region A Locked. There are four episodes on each disc. There are no inserts here, but the reversible cover art details each episode. The disc itself is housed in a hard, blue plastic case with  a cardboard sleeve.

'Slasher' Season One comes with a great 1080p HD transfer presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The new series has a great digital look to it and ripe with detail and color throughout. The detail is vivid and sharp in every episode. Closeups reveal great facial lines, wrinkles, makeup blemishes, sweat, and freckles on the actor's nicely. Individual hairs can be seen to in the closeups. The gore and guts of the show look incredible as each bone fragment, and crease in the organs can be made out nicely.

Wider shots also have some great detail. The moments in the wooded areas show the bark on the trees nicely and every imperfection on the leaves. The sets and props also look great in the backgrounds. The colors all pop right off screen. Reds are bright and stunning with the blues, greens, and browns standing out. Nothing looks pale or vague here. Black levels are deep and inky and the skin tones are natural. Some of the night time scenes can have a little crush and there is some minor banding and video noise, but it's barely noticeable. This is a great video presentation from Scream Factory.

This release comes with a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and does a great job with the musical suspense and scares. This is mostly a front heavy mix, but the surrounds and rears do pick up the ambient noises and music quite often. They really kick into high gear in the bigger death scenes. Sound effects are robust and loud and pack quite a punch each time someone gets stabbed, decapitated, or bloodied up.

There are some great musical crescendos that pack scares and jumps with the overall score being the right amount of suspenseful, always adding to the high tension here. The bass kicks in nicely from time to time too, especially during the bloody moments. Dialogue is always crystal clear and easy to follow along and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and high shrills. This is a great audio mix for this horror TV series.

Behind The Scenes (HD, 15 Mins.) - Here are cast and crew interviews as they talk about their characters, the themes of the show, filming the series, and their horror influences and favorite horror characters and movies.

'Slasher Season One' isn't the best horror series out there for sure, but it has some sort of charm that keeps me coming back to it. It's not perfect, but for an homage to the old slasher films, this does a decent job. Yes, it's silly, overly-acted, and very predictable, but it's just plain old fun, plus to have a series with this much blood and guts is always welcome in my book. The video and audio presentations are both solid, and the one extra is decent enough. Give this one a rent to see if you enjoy it.