Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006) is a horror documentary worth watching online if you grew up on masked killers and final girls. Director Jeff McQueen charts the genre from Carpenter's Halloween and Friday the 13th through its mid-80s slump and its rebirth via A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.

The real draw is who shows up to talk. John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Sean S. Cunningham, plus the writers, producers and effects artists like Greg Nicotero break down how these films were made and why audiences kept buying tickets. Dozens of clips stitch the story together, alongside a sharp read on how the man-in-the-mask became a mirror for Reagan-era anxieties. Adapted from Adam Rockoff's book and running 88 minutes, it takes the genre seriously without fawning over it, and it's honest about where the slasher ran out of steam. Stream Going to Pieces (2006) online on iFILM.