Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006) on Netflix

Plot summary

Halloween, Friday the 13th and Prom Night are where this historical survey begins, and dozens of clips follow. Directors, producers, writers and special effects creators comment on how the films were made and how they succeeded. During the Reagan years the entries grew gorier and budgets shrank while their appeal faded, and A Nightmare on Elm Street later brought the genre back. The account moves on to the late 1990s, when Scream added humor and television stars. Some critics call the films misogynistic, while most of those interviewed celebrate them and note that teenagers will keep them alive. It is based on a book about the genre.