Episode 1 – The Slaughterhouse & Episode 2 – The Painful Truth
Comparisons to Fox’s American Horror Story are inevitable for Shudder/AMC’s Horror seasonal anthology series, Slasher. Each season presenting a new story and setting, and just like it’s contemporary, it brings with it a multitude of returning actors in different roles. However, unlike AHS, Slasher rarely falls off the rails or gets lost in its own grandiose ideas. On the back of Slasher’s very satisfying 4th season in 2021, Flesh & Blood, with its Ready or Not influenced dysfunctional family at odds with each other over an inheritance, comes arguably Slasher’s most ambitious series to date, Slasher: Ripper.
With a title that invokes a certain aesthetic, you are not going to be disappointed, we are in Victorian era Toronto and things are about to get gloriously gory. That’s one thing that I will always give credit to Slasher for, they don’t shy away from the crimson liquid, and the opening two episodes of Slasher: Ripper are anything to go by, this doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
Episode one, The Slaughterhouse, is the quintessential opener to a series. We are placed on the shoulder of a nefarious gentleman, stalking the streets in search of someone to quench his perversion. So far, so expectations met, but as with nearly every season of Slasher to this point, not everything is as it seems, and soon the real game is unveiled as we are introducing to this season’s killer, The Widow, and what an introduction it is (one that will make many a man squirm in their seat).
With tropes and influences from all our favourite scary movies, it isn’t always original, but it is always entertaining
Episode 2, The Painful Truth, adds a previously unseen supernatural element, whilst a little jarring at first, manages to fit well within the narrative by the conclusion, leaving a sense of authenticity to the setting and how charlatans and scam artists operated during this period.
This season of Slasher is not holding back, and it wants its audience to know that from the very start. Each character is placed like pieces on a chess board, each an unwilling participant in a much larger game, one that promises to cut the number of players in each and every episode.
If you hadn’t figured out already, I am a little bias towards Slasher. Having seen all 4 available seasons to date (1-3 available on Netflix in the UK, with 4 & 5 being Shudder exclusives), I was already onboard for its return. It always delivers a rock-solid mystery element that isn’t overtly convoluted, the performances are rarely outlandish and despite my earlier statement around its willingness to get gory, Slasher has become a bit of a comfort watch. I’m not sure exactly what that says about me, but having new stories told by many a familiar face, with the occasional star taking centre stage (Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack taking this mantle for Ripper), with tropes and influences from all our favourite scary movies, it isn’t always original, but it is always entertaining, which is why I’ll be watching Slasher: Ripper each and every week, popcorn in hand and a smile on my face.
Slasher: Ripper comes to Shudder on April 6th and will run for 8 episodes.
