The Gore Connoisseurs

Gratuitous sex scenes are a mainstay in most horror flicks, but some stick in the mind for their general WTF nature. Here are the four most bizarre scenes of intercourse, handpicked in four different categories. This list includes consensual encounters only, so there'll be no appearances from otherwise memorable scenes such as the Midsommar fertility ritual, the Evil Dead handsy tree branches or the various penile decapitations in Teeth . Weirdest Slasher Hookup We all know teens in slasher films exist to have sex and then be inventively killed. But which movie has the most out-there adolescent coupling? There can be only one answer: WINNER:  Madman (1981) - hot tub scene TP (Tony Fish) and Betsy (Gaylen Ross) are enjoying a bit of aquatic loving, unaware the murderous Madman Marz is on the prowl. The scene has distinct soft porn vibes - the song choice of Steve Horelick's 'I Don't Need Words'; the slo-mo undressing; and seemingly endless shots of the couple circl...

With The Burning recently added to Shudder (in the US at least) and many discovering the movie for the first time, is it time to re-evaluate the film as one of the greatest ever slasher flicks ? Is there even an argument to say it’s better than the much more ubiquitous Friday the 13 th ? On its release in 1981, The Burning was buried in a slew of similarly plotted slasher flicks – with many complaining it was derivative of Friday the 13 th , released the previous year. It also suffered extensive cuts to its gore effects, and was only officially available uncut in 2003 in the UK and 2007 in the US. On the surface The Burning has much to recommend it. Special effects come courtesy of Tom Savini, who turned down Friday the 13 th Part 2 to work on it. The budget of $1.5 million is also almost three times that of Friday the 13 th . This shows by having the action take place in a fully operational summer camp, rather than just having a handful of camp counsellors turn up ear...

Slasher movies have been preoccupied with the most inventive ways to kill folks for decades. Here's ten of horror's most elaborate murders from artisans such as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and Art the Clown. The kills are ranked on originality, gore effects and just how much they make your stomach turn. There's also a bit of info on how the special effects team worked their magic. It hardly needs saying, but be advised there are some bloody images and video clips below. 10/ Caught in a cat flap - Scream (1997) Killer: Ghostface Victim: Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) What goes down: Tatum is confronted by Ghostface while grabbing some beers from the garage. What she thinks is a prank escalates quickly as the masked killer pulls a knife. Tatum looks to have the upper hand as she batters a flailing Ghostface with fridge doors and beer bottles. Yet then she makes the ill advised decision to try and squeeze through a cat flap. Ghostface can't beli...

Death faces, much like come faces, can be... well, a little bit embarassing. Especially if you happen to be a z list actor in a horror franchise.  The Friday the 13th movies boast heady atmospherics, great camerawork and brutally inventive methods of offing numerous interchangable horny teenagers. What they do not boast is great acting. The emotions characters' experience as they succumb to either Jason or his dear old mum (or the copycat killer in Part 5 we'd much rather forget) range from resignation, overdone shock and clear apathy. Here are our favourite last hurrahs : 10) Tina (Deborah Voorhees) Film: A New Beginning Cause of death: Garden shears through the eyes. Yikes! What's going down: Yes, her name really is Voorhees. Tina is enjoying some al fresco rumpy pumpy while simultaneously treating the viewer to some full frontal nudity (this is the movie where all the sex starts to feel a bit icky). Naturally, the Jason copycat is in the vicinity with...

The danger with meta horror is that any genuine scares are suffocated with a deluge of nods and winks. The movie can end up looking just a bit too self-satisfied by its discovery that the horror genre is kind of silly and full of clichés. Yes, we have noticed. Films like Scream and Friday the 13th: Jason Lives are outrageously entertaining, but nobody can accuse them of being that scary. You're meant to view everything from an ironic distance and actively enjoy the characters' gruesome deaths. Even Cabin in the Woods , Drew Goddard's mega-ambitious meta horror, isn't that scary. It's very clever and it tries to explore why we love horror so much rather than just poking fun at the genre, but you're unlikely to be screaming in fright. The Cabin in the Woods aka the more successful Evil Dead reboot Ruin Me, Preston DeFrancis's debut film which premiered at the 2017 Screamfest and has recently come to Shudder , may have upped the meta horror ant...

We've been poking around YouTube trying to find the best horror short films so you don't have to. This week: Final Girls by Michelle Hanson Synopsis:  Jessica (Anna Leeper) and Courtney (Cat McApline) are a lesbian couple hiding out in a tent after their friends have been dispatched by a crazed masked killer. Courtney, like the cast of  Scream,  is clearly a horror nerd and has realised that only one of them can survive and become The Final Girl. Background:  The horror genre has a bad rep for its handling of female characters, particularly the "final girl" trope. This slasher flick cliche has a lone women – who is typically presented as less sexual and more intelligent than the other female characters – surviving the carnage. Think Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , Friday the 13th. The trope is still going strong with modern slashers like You're Next  or even Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead remake. Michelle Hanson has tackled this horror trope...