Precursor to the Modern Slasher Film

"Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier boys going in for law;
One got into Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Soldier boys playing with a gun;
One shot the other and then there was One.
One little Soldier boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

And Then There Were None (three and a half stars total) There is a character in Friday the 13th (the original) that is named after Agatha Christie and her all-time best-selling mystery novel, And Then There Were None (1940; adapted 13 times as a movie or on TV). The first big screen adaptation (1945) just happened to be the next DVD on my online rental queue, so it was the first movie I saw after watching the new remake of Friday the 13th. It's a proto-slasher film because it features a multitude of characters of different stereotypes, all stranded in an exotic location (a desert island as opposed to a campground in the woods), who die one at a time by various, creative means. The killer is always present (either lurking unseen or unrevealed till the end) and only strikes when someone leaves the group and goes off alone. There's even a modus operandi or calling card, as the killer sets up each death to match the ones in the above poem, Ten Little Indians. In the book, everyone dies but they spared two characters in the movie for that "Hollywood ending." I became really engrossed in the intricate plot, the new surprise ending seems preferable to the original, and the most annoying character was the first to die, so all in all, a highly recommended movie (if you don't mind black and white). Here are some newer, color, "killer" movies (and B-movies that I've been thinking about lately):

1. Black Christmas (1974) technically, the first suburban slasher film (released the same year as the "rural slasher" Texas Chainsaw Massacre and four years before the original Halloween), directed by the guy that did A Christmas Story; and featuring the scariest eye through the peephole reference to And Then There Were None

2. April Fool's Day (1986) one of the best slasher films I've seen, which follows And There Were None's plot pretty closely

3. Dr. Otto and the Riddle of The Gloom Beam (1986) not a slasher film, but still dark comedy about a guy from a bad childhood who wants to kill everyone; who says Jim Varney only makes Ernest movies?

4. Summer School (1987) not a slasher movie either, but has a great homage to '80s gore makeup artists à la Friday the 13th

5. Cry_Wolf (2005) the best recent slasher movie I've seen, with only two kills and a PG-13 rating

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