Sure, it's easy enough to find the up-side of the handsome hunks of horror film. Hunks are easy. They're (mostly) hot, with their nicely whitened teeth and their hair product-styled to perfection, their six-pack abs, their ... sorry, where was I? Oh, right. Hunks versus Slashers. Jeff and Monika have already brought you the hottest hunks and chicks of horror; guess who drew the short straw and had to pick the slashers? (Actually, I volunteered for this one, so I guess that says something freaky about me ... ) My mission: to determine the hottest horror slashers (at least, according to me). These are the bad boys of horror you just can't stop thinking about, the ones who keep popping up in your dreams ... or nightmares. Whether they slash with blades on their fingers, roque mallets, or your basic kitchen knife, these are the boys you don't want to bring home to introduce to the folks over Sunday dinner ... unless you want your family to be the main course.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates (Psycho) My mother always told me: Never date a mama's boy. Little Normie's devotion to his mother was sweet, sure, but his methods of showing it left a little to be desired. But you have to admit, there's something about a guy who might stab you through the shower curtain if the mood strikes that guarantees that you'll never be bored while getting ready for your big date night. Anthony Perkins' striking performance as Norman Bates set the bar for horror slashers for decades -- even after all these years, watching Psycho still sends shivers up your spine. (View the trailer for Psycho or go straight to the gallery!)

Doug Bradley as Pinhead (Hellraiser) Sure, all those nails stuck into his skull give new meaning to the word "hammered" -- not to mention making it a little tricksy to coordinate outfits for those hot dates to movie premieres -- but at least, in his own bizarrely twisted way, Pinhead had a sense of fair play. Of course, if you make the wrong choice, your evening is gonna go downhill in a hurry. There's nothing like giant fishhooks pulling your flesh 14 different ways to put a damper on date night. On the plus side, though, you're probably pretty safe being walked home after dinner by a guy who looks like he had a close encounter with a nail gun, on purpose. (View the trailer for Hellraiser ... or go straight to the gallery!)

According to the obituary newsgroup and the Wikipedia, screenwriter Joseph Stefano died Friday after having fallen days earlier. He was 84. I find it surprising that no major media outlets have reported this sad news, since Stefano's script for Psycho remains one of the most original and daring ever written. Perhaps I am only more interested in his death having just read the chapter on Psycho in Peter Bart's new book Boffo. In the book Stefano is said to have come up with the idea of beginning the film's story with Marion Crane and holding off the introduction of Norman Bates until later. Robert Bloch's novel had the plot laid out more conventionally, with Crane being a far less significant character.

Without the film structured the way it is, it would not be as great nor would it have been as successful. Part of its popularity came about in the way that Hitchcock marketed it. Theaters showing Psycho were under strict instructions not to allow latecomers, despite the fact that it was previously common for moviegoers to enter a picture halfway in, then stay and watch the beginning afterward. It was a rare film of Hitchcock's to be so contingent on a surprise.