Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986 by Adam Rockoff

 

(oversized pb; 2002: cinema/nonfiction)

From the back cover

“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 also tracks the slasher from its fledgling days through its heyday in the early 1980s to its decline after a glut of inferior sequels. With a wealth of photographs and in-depth discussions of each year’s significant films, this thorough dissection also reveals:

“The influence of Grand Guignol and pre-slasher films such as Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. . .

“. . . and much more! Interviews with directors including John Carpenter, Sean Cunningham, Armand Mastroianni, and Bill Lustig reveal startling behind-the-scenes stories of the legendary slasher films.”

 

Review

Going is a good overview of the Golden Age of the slasher genre, a mostly entertaining Stalk-and-Kill 101 book for those unfamiliar with its 1978-86 flicks as well as those who are nostalgic about the films and those connected with them.

I write “mostly entertaining” because Rockoff indulges in politically correct/moral handwringing over the value (or lack thereof) of films like Meir Zarchi’s 1978 rape-revenge thriller I Spit on Your Grave (and the unfortunate subgenre that followed), going so far as to insult those who disagree with him. Rockoff's distaste for Nazisploitation and the original Spit flick is understandable, but his outrage runs into insult territory, particularly regarding those who do not share his blustery outlook.

Aside from Rockoff’s Nazisploitation/Spit rant, Going is a fun, informative read, with enough behind-the-scenes details and box-office-analysis facts to make Going a worthwhile book for both the casual reader and those familiar with cinematic slice-and-dice.

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The resulting documentary of the same name was released stateside on October 13, 2006.