A Preview of Shudder’s ‘Slasher: Flesh & Blood’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It is definitely safe to say that the slasher sub-genre of horror, is supremely polarizing in nature. Because there is a great deal of people that view this type of story, as nothing more than a gratuitous celebration of gore and pain and in their eyes… slasher stories offer little to the substance of a genre that is highly regarded for its ability to examine the human condition in a supremely unique manner. While on the other hand, there are fans that firmly believe slashers are supremely important to the overall health of the genre, since slashers make the genre accessible to all viewers and serve as a great starting to point to everything the genre has to offer and well… truth be told, the folks that celebrate slashers are the ones with the correct stance.
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But not necessarily for those baseline reasons. Which have merit for certain, since slasher stories are indeed one of the most recognizable and celebrated aspects of the horror genre. But what truly makes them special, is the sheer fact that they actually do have incredible depth and meaning to them, since they can use men like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers to explore the dangers of repressive religion and beliefs and the problems that come with marginalizing certain types of people, and the more we celebrate that aspect of the slasher, the sooner it will be as respected and fawned over as a George Romero movie. If anything the power and gravity of the slasher is relevant to our discussion today, simply because Shudder is about to play host to a brand new season of an iconic slasher series, one that truly does understand how to perfectly blend commentary and gore together.

In fact, Slasher: Flesh & Blood is so good at this particular feat, that we here at Nerds That Geek thought we would take a moment and preview what you can expect from this brand-new season of this iconic show. Simply because it is going to make loyal fans of this long running and dynamic series supremely happy and well, the first thing that we can tell you… without spoiling any plot points, is that this series delivers big on one thing that slasher fans demand from these types of stories. In that, the gore and the kills are simply top notch. Because without those elements being at the top of their game, a slasher is nothing more than a horror drama, but here… the blood flows and flows and people die in the most supremely creative and unsettling ways, making this series well worth the viewer’s while for certain. 

But while it is wonderful to know that the kills are magnificent in this tale and the gore will make one cringe, there was mention of commentary to go along with the buckets of splatter and well, this series deserves our awe for what it accomplishes there. Because setting this story on a remote island, one owned by a disgustingly wealthy family, allows for this series to explore the dangers of money and consumerism, quite frankly. Since we are in fact, dealing with a ridiculously wealthy family, one that simply has money to burn and views it as the end all, be all of stature and how exactly the story accomplishes this particular feat… we will discuss at another time. Because that requires a detailed analysis, one that would spoil some key plot points and that would be a grave disservice to you, valued reader. 

Because this is the kind of wondrous slasher story that you need to experience on your own, preferably in the company of others and with the lights on. Because the scares come fast and furious in this one and they keep you guessing as well… since one is quickly eager to learn who exactly is behind that mysterious bird-like mask and why exactly they’re targeting the Galloway family with such a resolved bloodlust and well, in the end, this really is the finest chapter in this saga to date. Because it is filled to the brim with intelligent writing and top-level kills and most important of all, it features that twisted sense of fun that only a slasher story can send our way and truly, we here at NTG cannot wait to geek out with the rest of you about this magnificent series, when it premieres on Shudder on August 12, 2021.  ​

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