I Just Saw

Arguably the true first of the slasher boom that would help to define ‘80s horror cinema, for better or worse, this is the film that codified and thereby effectively birthed the sub-genre without even meaning to. Director Sean S Cunningham had no intention to make any sort of inspirational piece, he was just ripping off various elements from horror films that had come before and placing them loosely in the context of an urban legend.

The resulting film is therefore at a much lower level of artistry than its peers and probably isn’t even the best in its durable franchise (it doesn’t have Jason, for one thing). But it does have a pulpy charm. The prologue is oddly effective, and as soon as Betsy Palmer shows up it’s a scream, with a camp intensity approaching Hammer films.

Rating: 2.5/4

Richard O’Brien’s musical genre mashup is beloved of theatre kids, queer folk, and general audiences alike, although many today are likely to be baffled by its weird, disjointed storytelling, dodgy jokes, and hyperactive performances. It’s probably best understood as an Airplane-style parody of sci-fi and horror films that were popular in the ‘50s and before. Its plot once you get past its zaniness is clearly playing with the tropes of old genre classics: Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) are our white, middle-class, heteronormative protagonists, while Dr Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) and his kind are made alien by their liberal, amorphous sexualities and genders. The true fear is modernity and options other than the binary. Not to mention communism.

Tim Curry of course steals every scene he’s in, but all the cast are great, including a fantastic cameo by MeatLoaf, whose “Hot Patootie” might be my favourite song here.

Rating: 3.5/4