Always a slasher bridesmaid...

Over yonder at My New Plaid Pants, our pal Jason wrote a piece today lauding the oft-unlauded 1981 slasher flick Just Before Dawn, and you know what? He's right in his a-laudin', and Jason's done got me fixin' to give it another watch. I'd been thinking about it recently along with a few other films that are essentially the bridesmaids or second stringers of the slasher genre. Let's face it, "slasher" conjures up images of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers and Leatherface, right? Maybe a few others have worked their way into the major leagues–dudes like Harry Warden of My Bloody Valentine. But there's a whole tier of films that have never quite achieved the status afforded to the Fridays and the Halloweens even though...hey, some of them deserve it. Like Just Before Dawn!

I mean look at these guys

Maybe it's because they never spawned a zillion sequels, or maybe the killers were unnamed or not as "compelling" as the icons. Maybe they weren't gory enough, or they misfired just a tad. Who knows why they're neglected in the big picture! What I do know, however, is that I'd pit House on Sorority Row, Hell Night, He Knows You're Alone, and April Fools Day against any number of the Halloween, Friday, or Nightmare sequels and they'd be better, more interesting films. Sure, you can feel differently if you want to be wrong about things, go ahead! That's not my business. But it is my business (and part of my community service requirements) to give these second stringers some respect, goldurnit. They deserve their moments in the sun, so watch a slasher bridesmaid today!