Before seeing it in the cheap bin at Wal-Mart, I'd never even heard of Slash before - which is strange given my penchant for bad movies and wandering around local video stores. Despite its obscurity though, it's not all that bad a movie. Granted, most of it is derivative of more famous (and some not so famous) slasher movies, but that's been the case with slasher movies since the first Halloween clone came around better than twenty years ago.

The story centers around the "cursed" MacDonald farm (clever), the site of some grisly murders a number of years ago. As we start out, the singer of the rock group "Slash" is called back to the farm for his aunt's funeral. The problem is the locals seem to think his arrival will start the Harvest of Blood again - that is, the crops are sprinkled with human blood to ensure a good harvest. Of course, the killings start again, he has some hazy flashbacks that have everyone questioning his sanity and a nasty scarecrow man is scene poking around places scarecrow's should never be.

Steve Railsback (Ed Gein) once again takes on the role of a hillbilly that may or may not be a psychopath, and once again, his performance stands out from the rest. Also of note is Nick Boraine who plays Billy Bob, one of the farm hands, he's great in his role and adds much more to the movie than the cast of "hip" rockers - sadly, the rest of the cast goes from forgettable to unbearable. Slash is also missing two key ingredients no slasher film should be without, copious amounts of nudity and decent gore, nearly all of the killing is done off screen.

I'd suggest Slash for Railsback and Boraine, but as a slasher movie, you could do a lot better. (Red, 3/5/04)

Directed By: Neal Sundstrom.
Written By: Stephen Francis, Gus Silber.

Starring: Steve Railsback, Nick Boraine, James O'Shea, Jocelyn Broderick.