10 80s Slasher Movies You May Not Have Seen
5. City In Panic (1987)
City in Panic is a sorely overlooked slasher that tries to bring awareness to a much larger issue. The movie focuses on a serial killer targeting HIV+ people throughout Toronto, all the while taunting a local radio DJ with the details of the crimes.
This movie tried to do something topical and much more serious than the slew of slasher movies that surrounded it, to wildly mixed results. You can see the intent, but often the on-the-nose subject matter can come across as quite insensitive and misjudged.
This isn't really helped by the tone of the film. The movie feels very sleazy, characters are not presented as particularly likeable and the final reveal is... rather obvious.
Still, the very fact that a simple slasher movie broached such a controversial and topical issue is what earns it a place on this list.
For better or worse, it's an artefact of the decade and acts as a real change from the slasher cliche of partying high school kids while still delivers an impressive gore quota.
City in Panic is worth seeking out for curiosity's sake, even if the film is mighty depressing.