Slasher: Flesh & Blood: An ambitious, balls-to-the-walls season with the most brutal kills yet

Guys, Slasher Season 4, or Slasher: Flesh & Blood as it is officially known, is SO. FUN. Seriously. I’ve always enjoyed this show because I generally love the slasher genre, but this season takes things to an entirely new level. It’s a brutal blend of Ready or Not, And Then There Were None, and Knives Out with kills so bold and ambitious, they’d make Jigsaw proud.

At its new home of Shudder (the show’s third home overall, after Chiller and Netflix), Slasher seems to embrace its concept completely, in ways that make the previous seasons look tame by comparison. By the end of the first episode, it’s clear this season is not messing around, and a kill in the second episode actually made my jaw drop.

With a combination of characters that mix between likable and downright detestable, Slasher Season 4 feels wholly rejuvenated. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re on Shudder now and perhaps given more freedom behind-the-scenes or what, but something seems to have reenergized the cast and crew.

Whenever you think Slasher Season 4 will zig, it zags

This season begins with the Galloway family reuniting at their father, Spencer Galloway’s (David Cronenberg) estate on a secluded island. Soon after, the Galloway family members learn that Spencer reignites an old tradition of having his children compete in dangerous games for an epic prize. This year, the prize is the biggest one of all: His entire fortune. With that much money on the line, it’s not surprising that everyone quickly shows their dark side.

As for this season’s slasher, it appears the killer this time around is modeled after a traditional Victorian-era gentleman complete with a top hat, cloak, and a creepy white mask that’s not entirely dissimilar from a plague doctor getup.

In the first episode, one character reveals an old ghost story about the estate about “The Gentleman,” the angry ghost of the original Galloway estate owner wh continues to haunt the place. Of course, in Slasher Season 4, the ghost appears to have become something far more dangerous than that.

While I’ve only seen the first half of the new season, I think I can say with confidence that Slasher packs twist after twist and will likely leave you breathless as you try to keep tabs on all the crazy unraveling mysteries and sheer violence. I was pleasantly surprised by how often the first few episodes subverted my expectations. I’m not easily shocked by kills and twists because I’ve seen so many horror films, but every time you think this season will zig, it zags.

Overall score: A-

Slasher: Flesh & Blood premieres with the first two episodes this Thursday, August 12, exclusively on Shudder.