Slasher Sessions

I'm an emotional storyteller and person. My journey with mental health has been a long one, battling multiple diagnosed issues to include ADHD, anxiety, depression, survivor's guilt, and PTSD. Binging my way through horror franchises with a smile on my face but also bettering myself as a husband, father, and friend made me ask a simple question that sparked an idea: "What if slashers had to go to therapy?"

And that's where the idea of SLASHER SESSIONS came about.

This simple concept launched a whirlwind of scenes and moments to explore common horror tropes, wondering why the slashers became who they were. Especially since I use films and television to understand what's happening in my life. When I think of my own emotional journey, I talk to my therapist about the "season finale" that I'm going through or what part of the hero's journey I'm on in a certain part of my life.

The concept of slashers having to talk through their feelings rather than take it out on their victims immediately gave me an image of a therapist doing a big emotional speech, setting the audience up for what looks like a Lifetime movie, then we find out their group is full of mass murderers. Plus with the image of different types of slashers, it was too fun to pass up.

My favorite movies merge genres like Shaun of the Dead mixing horror with comedy, allowing the jokes to land when they should, but never reducing the stakes just to hit a punchline. When you know the tropes of the genre, you can experiment and play with them.

Making this has been a huge story of recovery for me. It's also been a joy discovering these characters and asking why the common tropes of slashers would kill. Why would a slasher only focus on killing those who've just had sex? What makes a killer go silent?

Creating these new slashers based on the common subgenres helped inform who would get along, who wouldn't, and whether they'd choose to change. Exploring the subgenres of slasher films also helped create these characters because you have the silent brooding types of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, then your psychological killers like Patrick Bateman and Freddy Krueger, your hillbilly types of Leatherface and Victor Crowley, then the demonic types of Hellraiser and Wishmaster. Placing these styles of slashers informed the interactions and ways they'd feel about one another.

I sincerely loved every step of making this film from the script to production to post and I cannot find the words to share about the cast and crew's impact on this film. Every person brought their best and made this a better movie. This journey has made me a better man.

Thomas A. Fowler