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was banned or censored across the world, and until 2008 could not be seen in an uncut form in the United Kingdom.

In 1974 Canadian movie Black Christmas saw a vicious killer stalk a house of young women at the most festive of times. But the passion of this movie was overshadowed by another seasonal offering in 1978. Having scored success with Dark Star and Assault On Precinct 13, John Carpenters next movie is a keystone in the history of the slasher movie.

Halloween is arguably john Carpenters most successful movie, and one of the most famous horror movies of all time. Taking the element of fear already instilled in the hearts of Americans in respect of Halloween, Carpenters story follows vicious killer Michael Myers as he escapes from a mental institution and rips terror into the community of Haddonfield as he hunts down relative Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Halloween was a naturally acted movie that showed an innocent babysitters life turned upside down, to the viewing public it was all just so plausible.

Where Halloween stopped, Friday The 13th (1980) picked up. Taking the feel of Halloween's horror from a community to an isolated location, in this case Camp Crystal lake. Nicknamed Camp Blood after a terrible series of events back in the 1950's the plan is to turn Crystal Lake into a summer camp for kids, and the unlucky victims of Friday The 13th's killer are the summer camp guides, one of which was future star Kevin Bacon. What made Friday The 13th so special was that it was a low budget movie offered by producers Paramount to a major audience, it knocked Oscar winning movie Kramer Vs Kramer off the top of the charts, and at that point became of the most profitable movies of all time.

The same year a similar tale The Burning appeared, this was far more extreme that Friday The 13th, where as there was 7 victims in Friday, in The Burning the body count was in double figures, and that was in just one attack by the movies killer Cropsy. Like Friday The 13th the movie was set in a summer camp, and had future Hollywood stars Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. Notorious for its rowing massacre The Burning unlike Friday The 13th was censored across the world. The Burning rather interestingly bought about one of the most successful movie houses of modern times, Miramax.

Having released Halloween, and Friday The 13th the next few years saw lots of date themed movies, Happy Birthday To Me, My Bloody Valentine, Don't Open Till Christmas, New Years

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