If you want blood... 10 gruesome cinematic slashers to get you in the mood for Halloween

With Halloween almost here, our minds are turning to the nastier things in life, and cinema has produced - even celebrated - its fair share of those over the years.

However, since the 1970s, it has seemed that pure horror is not enough for audiences wanting ever more death and destruction. Filmmakers have increasingly turned to shock and gore as they try to entertain - and most of us have at some stage given in to these guilty pleasures.

So ahead of Halloween, here's 10 of the most gruesome and gory productions in film history for your consideration. Watch them on Friday night, if you dare.

(Dir: Herman Yau Lai-to; 1996)

For those who suspected Hong Kong director Herman Yau was a man ahead of his time, look no further than this film which predicted many years ago the fear the Ebola virus might spread across the globe. Was the director giving us a warning? Anthony Wong Chau-sang plays his role as though he believes he's really the cannibal who chops and minces up his victims to make hamburgers, and helps spread the virus out of Africa after raping and killing a poor lass who suffers from the disease. A small budget proved no limit to the imaginations of Lau and his tech teams as the arterial blood sprays, and virus victims fall apart - often literally.