Slaughter (2009)

“Slaughter” rounds out this week’s theme of stalker movies, a film from the After Dark Horrorfest 3 8 Films to Die For collection. In this movie we see the stalking element in full effect as a reckless teen from the county goes to the big city and lures men back to her family farm, has an intimate evening with her date who goes missing in the morning. If any killer was going to be compared to a spider, then Lola is the perfect example. She spins a delicate and devastating web that entraps Faith, a young woman on the run from an abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend. This movie claims to be based on real events although it never says which ones and research into this matter has proved that there are several stories that this could be inspired by.

Faith is moving to Atlanta to escape her abusive boyfriend Jimmy. While out in a bar one night, Faith notices a guy being rough with a very young woman who looks distressed by the situation. She comes over and tells the woman that she’s been looking for her all evening; the girl plays along and leaves the guy behind. The girl, Lola, thanks Faith for the help and after a while the two become friends. Faith visits Lola at her family’s farm and the two go out to the bars later that night. Faith joins Lola on a date with a well to do but much older guy, and when he asks if they are sisters, Lola says yes; they are about the same height, build, and have similar hair. Faith stays the night in the barn that Lola lives in and catches the teen having sex with her date. In the morning her date is gone but has left his expensive watch behind. Lola is afraid that Faith thinks that she’s a slut but Faith is only concerned about Lola’s safety. When Faith returns home she finds out that Jimmy has found out where she lives. She tells Lola this who then invites her to stay at the farm, to which Faith agrees to.

 As Faith stays, and helps out with farm chores, she learns that her father and her brothers live in the farmhouse and won’t talk to Lola. Faith becomes suspicious of Lola’s father and the missing dates that Lola brings home. After snooping around the slaughter house and discovering the family’s dark secret, Lola’s father knocks Faith out and drags her to the pond, ties and concrete block to her legs, and pushes her in. As Faith comes to, she sees a graveyard of cars that have once belonged to the many dates that Lola has brought to the farm. Faith blacks out and is saved, but by who and why?

Favorite death scene – the on screen killings don’t really begin until later in the film and some of these are pretty horrendous, context-wise. I can’t say that I have a favorite because they are a little unnerving.