When I first took a stab at a Stalk ‘n’ Slash retrospective on the old site a couple of years ago, I went in very excited, with high hopes, and a keen interest to dig into the fossil records of one of my favorite cinematic genres. A genre I literally grew up with and simply adore. However, I was soon to get a harsh lesson in economics, regional distribution, and the booming home video market which found most titles I was hunting for never playing here or skipping a theatrical run altogether and going straight to video. The 1980s also saw the death of the Grand Island Twin Drive In, first shoring up to one screen for a couple of seasons before closing down completely in 1983. (By then, it was a ghost of its former self anyway, rarely getting any new content, just films immediately shifted over from the hardtops with the occasional all night horrothon or a sexploitation blowout.) To make matters worse, by 1984, both the Capitol and Grand theaters had shuttered up as well, leaving the multiplexes, the Conestoga 4 and the newly birthed Island Twin, as the only game in town. And with these limited screens and seemingly infinite runs for some films, who played for months and months on end, and not just the blockbusters, either, leaving no slots open for other product, which is why you only see the Stalk ‘n’ Slashers that were either produced by the majors or picked-up and distributed by them because that’s all there was. It was really depressing. This is also why the 1980’s have been relatively ignored or neglected on this site and why the 1990s and beyond will never see the light of day here because there’s nothing to show but boring info-boxes. Yeah, as you can see by the last few posts, with the decade barely half over, we’ve already entered the dire info-box age of movie ads, where you’d get the title and showtimes only. Sure, you’d still get something splashy on Fridays for the new premieres, and two more repeaters for Saturday and Sunday, but that was it. Luckily, we won’t be dwelling on this sad state affairs. For I have come to praise the Stalk ‘n’ Slash Cinema, not bury it. (And besides, we still have nearly seven decades of product to sift and dig through for your viewing pleasure.) I hope you’ve all enjoyed this little harrowing personal trip down memory lane. We’ve got one more batch of Halloween Midnight Spook Show ads to post this month, and then we’ll be taking a couple of weeks off to recharge before posting will resume sometime in November. Until then, stay cool, Boils and Ghouls.
Scenes from the Morgue 
