MovieChat Forums > Friday the 13th (1980) Discussion > back in the '80s studios made great slas...

back in the '80s studios made great slasher films but ever since the '90s started slasher movies have been rated PG13

posted 5 years ago by lukejbarnett (1869)
11 replies | jump to latest

this is so wrong because the very essence of slasher movies is showing detailed, explicit violence. why did studios start to and still only make watered down uneventful, PG13 rated slasher movies since the '80s ended? i mean it's no wonder i can't think of 1 classic studio slasher movie made since the '90s started except Scream and maybe 10 other slasher films from the friday the 13th series and the a nightmare on elm street series.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20437) 5 years ago

Could it have to do with money? Can’t a film sell more tickets if it’s PG-13?

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

yes and this is precisely why most slasher movies from the '00s to now have been rated pg13 but they are inferior to most r rated slasher movies. slasher movies are all about showing explicit, descriptive, bloody violence. we watch for the violence and creative kill scenes. in the '80s it was always who can make the most gruesome, violent, and extreme bloody slasher movie. they should have never invented the pg 13 rating because with it they stopped making violent slasher movies.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (71625) 5 years ago

As Mojo implied it's about ticket sales
I miss the great Slasher era, those were some of the best movies I've ever seen

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

exactly and VHS, nothing can compare or replace VHS. the graininess adds to the charms of a lot of slasher movies made in the '80s and without it they wouldn't be special or as good as they were in the '80s. that's why i don't like dvd movies as much as VHS tape movies.

can you give me some slasher movies in the '80s that were special to you and still are?

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20437) 5 years ago

I do agree about the charm and nostalgic feeling when watching certain movies on VHS. I have a bunch of older horror on VHS instead of DVD and there’s just something great about watching them on that format.

I’ll make a new post in the general forums where we can list our favorite slashers.

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

i wonder about how certain slasher movies would be on dvd compared to VHS like friday the 13th the final chapter mostly because it's my favorite Ft13th film and also because it's really grainy on VHS tape. would the graininess go away a lot? would the cinematography not be as good on dvd as on VHS? if you take away the look of this film it wouldn't feel anywhere near as good because a lot of this film's greatness and specialness is because of the look and feel and atmosphere of this film.

i read about the evil dead on blu ray and they said it lost a lot of it's greatness on blu ray because it looks too crisp and clear. i also read that the superbit dvd is one of the best editions of this film.

i own every Friday the 13th film from the first film to jason goes to hell: the final friday on VHS tape. this is something very important and special to me. some people just don't understand how special VHS tape movies are bc of the graininess which was always a big part of '80s movies on video, watching on your tv growing up in the '80s and '90s. i refuse to ever get rid of a lot of my VHS tapes and my old tube tv set and my VCRS.

is the reason why you don't own a lot of horror movies on dvd because you refuse to watch these special horror movies without the graininess?

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20437) 5 years ago

I grew up in the 80's going to mom and pop video rental stores renting all the crazy horror and action movies and even movies I never rented I still have their covers memorized from going down those same isles so many times over the years. Those VHS covers that many times had great art work and even did not need a star's face plastered on them mean a lot. I've seen so many covers for films that have evolved over the years that I prefer the original release.

I do not own a Blu Ray player. To me, films like Foxy Brown (1974), Django (1966), Rolling Thunder (1977) and The Last Hunter (1982) beg to be watched on a grainy VHS. Also many obscure B grade films have never had a DVD release and may only be found on VHS. So needless to say I do not pass up many resale shops.

So yes, I do love the graininess of certain films played on a VCR and messing with that tracking knob is a joy these days. :)

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

oh man, we are so alike we could be brothers! gosh, the tracking knob yes. but it's better if you have a VCR with automatic tracking. one of my VCRs has auto tracking so i don't have to spend time adjusting the tracking.

there's a certain joy and pleasure in watching grainy and not perfect with degrading spots on the screen '80s movies on VHS that can't ever be equaled on dvd or blu ray. i really wish they hadn't stopped making VHS movies and VCRs and i wish they hadn't got rid of nearly every single movie video rental store in America. there's a new documentary on Comcast on demand about the phasing out of VHS tapes and video rental stores called VHS something. in it Lloyed Kauffman said Blockbuster got rid of a lot of the mom and pop video rental stores. this documentary also has joe bob briggs. it looks really cool.

the problem is no one cares about movies anymore. with the new generation they treat movies as just a past time but not as a passion. also the convenience of renting and watching movies online made physical movie renting suffer. so blame the internet and technology for getting rid of physical movies. also blame redbox and netflix. the problem with netfilx and all the other big renting companies is they have such a few amount of old(1990s and older movies) available for rental. they said even amazon prime and netflix only have like 100 movies just from the '90s and earlier! and they have like no black and white movies.

me too! i also grew up in the '80s and used to go to mom and pop video rental stores in the late '80s and early '90s and rent horror movies. i rented them often times just based on the badass, original art work on the video box covers. they often had really cool looking and gruesome images on them. they don't care about that anymore though. if you look at the dvd and blu ray art work video box covers for horror movies which had great art work nowadays you'll see dull, uninspired, plain looking, generic art work that doesn't captur

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

e your imagination like the old '80s and '90s horror movie video box covers. which is fitting since this young generation of people who rent horror movies nowadays don't really care about movies anyway, to them it's disposable entertainment like all of pop culture and technology.

exactly me too! i also memorized a lot of horror movie video box covers from seeing them at my mom and pop video rental store so many times even though i never rented them. the black roses box cover stood out as did fright night and the return of the living dead, and bad taste. i still haven't watched black roses but i still really want to. i finally watched fright night, the return of the living dead and bad taste 15-20 years ago.

have you ever noticed how a lot of VHS covers from the '90s have people on them who are not even in the movies? like erotic thrillers from the '90s?

i love how you don't own a blu ray player. i do. i heard that all these movies on blu ray nowadays are too colorful, like disney cartoon movies or something. and also the art of cinematography has suffered through this digital movie shooting and too clear blu ray movies technology. films just don't look as artistic and beautiful as they looked in the '80s and '90s since the '00s started. don't you agree with all of this?

and some old movies aren't even available on VHS. this might only be due to these movies being out of print though or only available on Beta. i have a great video store in Downtown Seattle near me called Scarecrow video. you really should check it out sometime. it has the largest selection of movies for rent of any store in the United States. it has like 120,000 movies for rent in one store!

what are resale shops? i love, love going to yard sales because sometimes they have hard to find movies on VHS tape which i want to own. i just bought Police Academy and the tv series V, the miniseries and the movie on VHS tapes.

ahh, the nostalgia of adjusting your VCRs tracking knob, a lost art. you

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

probably long for those days in the '80s and '90s when you had to adjust the tracking when watching a movie on VHS tape. i love even just the lines at the top of the screen when watching old VHS tapes. there's a great nostalgic VHS tape horror film called VHS and another film called VHS 2. definitely watch these films as they are so nostalgic and epic and great. VHS 2 is not a classic film but VHS is a classic film. i love VHS and i really liked VHS 2.

is mr mojo an internet writer? it seems like i remember seeing mr mojo on a website about movies.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20437) 5 years ago

Resale shops are place like Goodwill stores that take donations and place the merchandise for sale at reduced prices. in these stores DVDs are usually a dollar or so and VHS tapes are 50 cent. There are many privately owned resale shops as well. I used to drive a lot for work and I knew where all the resale shops were in many cities and I have found many great movies on DVD and VHS.

I seem to remember Quentin Tarantino saying he hated digital and only shoots in 35 mm film and has even gone so tar as to say he would stop making movies if he was, for whatever reason, forced to make films in digital. Love or hate him, you have got to respect that.

Talking about those VHS box covers that you always saw but did not rent, one I really remember was "Happy Birthday to Me." On the cover it was a person with their mouth open and what looked like a shish kabob stabbing into it. To this day ive never seen it but I will never forget that cover. I wonder if its any good. LOL

There must be another Mojo out there because I am not an internet writer.