Editing Slasher film (section)

===1983===
Traditional slasher films saw less frequent output. ''[[The House on Sorority Row]]'' followed the same general plot as ''Prom Night'' (1980) with guilty teens stalked and punished for a terrible secret. ''[[The Final Terror]]'' borrows visual and thematic elements from ''[[Just Before Dawn (1981 film)|Just Before Dawn]]'' (1981), as ''[[Sweet Sixteen (1983 film)|Sweet Sixteen]]'' borrows from ''[[Happy Birthday to Me (film)|Happy Birthday to Me]]'' (1981). The most successful slasher of the year was ''[[Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'', which sold over 11&nbsp;million theatrical admissions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Psycho II |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0086154/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> The film also reunited original ''Psycho'' (1960) cast members [[Anthony Perkins]] and [[Vera Miles]].{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} ''[[10 to Midnight]],'' inspired by the real-life crimes of [[Richard Speck]], promoted star [[Charles Bronson]]'s justice-for-all character above its horror themes.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} [[Robert Hiltzik]]'s ''[[Sleepaway Camp]]'' was a home video hit, being unique for its [[Puberty|pubescent]] victims and themes of [[paedophilia]] and [[transvestism]]. ''Sleepaway Camp'' featured homosexual scenes, which were taboo at the time.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/02/the-sexual-politics-of-sleepaway-camp/|title=The Sexual Politics of Sleepaway Camp|last=Seibold|first=Witney|date=Feb 13, 2017|website=New Beverly Cinema|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=2018-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112230/http://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/02/the-sexual-politics-of-sleepaway-camp/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Canada, [[whodunit]] ''[[Curtains (1983 film)|Curtains]]'' had a brief theatrical life before finding new life on VHS, while criticism toward ''[[American Nightmare (film)|American Nightmare]]'''s portrayal of prostitutes, drug addicts, and [[Pornography addiction|pornography addicts]] hurt its video rentals.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} ''[[Sledgehammer (film)|Sledgehammer]]'' was shot-on-video for just $40,000, with a gender-reversal climax showing ''[[Playgirl]]'' model [[Ted Prior (actor)|Ted Prior]] as a "final guy."{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Other home video slashers from the year include ''[[Bloodbeat|Blood Beat]],'' ''[[Double Exposure (1982 film)|Double Exposure]]'', and ''[[Scalps (1983 film)|Scalps]]'', the latter claiming to be one of the most censored films in history.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} Releases began to distance from the genre. The poster for ''[[Mortuary (1983 American film)|Mortuary]]'' features a hand bursting from the grave, though the undead have nothing to do with the film. Distributors were aware of fading box office profits, and they were attempting to hoodwink audiences into thinking long-shelved releases like ''Mortuary'' were different.