The horror genre contains some of the most exciting and most compelling films in cinema history, and despite its reputation as a “lesser” genre, it also holds some of the most terrifying and visually arresting sub-genres of all time. One of the most important horror sub-genres is the slasher, a classification of horror typically depicting some kind of iconographic killer hunting a group of innocents.
Though the slasher genre gained popularity in the 1980s in America, the sub-genre has been around far longer than that. Horror as a whole has influenced the film world so much over the years, and one of the most influential pieces of the horror genre has been the slasher. The modern landscape of horror movies would be vastly different without the effect of so many slasher classics.
10
Terrifier 2 Was A Recent Game-Changer
Directed By: Damien Leone
One of the most recent additions to the slasher genre, director Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise has been a shocking success with contemporary audiences. Produced on a shoestring budget, the original Terrifier from 2016 blew away horror fans with its creative style, over-the-top violence and effects work, and instantly iconic killer, Art the Clown.
The second film in the franchise, however, 2022’s Terrifier 2, upped the ante in almost every way. Longer, meaner, and more artistically confident, Terrifier 2 brought the slasher genre into a new age. Although the film’s graphic violence and mean-spirited nature haven’t connected with all audiences, there’s no doubt that the film has become a recent influence on the genre as a whole. Art the Clown has become a new horror icon, and the slasher genre has been reinvigorated by the Terrifier films.
Terrifier 2
- Release Date
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October 6, 2022
- Runtime
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140 minutes
- Director
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Damien Leone
9
Pumpkinhead Was An Underrated Folk Slasher
Directed By: Stan Winston
Most notable for his incredible effects work on major Hollywood films like Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park, director Stan Winston brought audiences one of the most influential yet underrated slashers in 1988 with Pumpkinhead. Pushing the sub-genre in a direction that made it more emotional, more intense, and more tangible, Winston’s Pumpkinhead is a devastating delight.
As sad as it is scary, Pumpkinhead takes a different approach from most slashers. While its titular character and story might not be the most iconic in the sub-genre, it has inarguably become a major influence on how the slasher genre incorporates themes of grief, folklore, and familial trauma into its stories. Pumpkinhead is a visual feast for any horror fan, and it is one of the most important slashers ever made.
Pumpkinhead
- Release Date
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October 14, 1988
- Runtime
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86 Minutes
- Director
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Stan Winston
8
Child’s Play Brought Dark Comedy To The Genre
Directed By: Tom Holland
The film that birthed an entire long-running franchise, director Tom Holland’s 1988 classic, Child’s Play, was the movie that brought audiences Chucky, the murderous doll. Unlike some other slashers of the same era, Child’s Play brought a bizarrely frightening tongue-in-cheek tone to its violence and horror.
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While the franchise would later embrace the dark comedy much more overtly, the 1988 original absolutely contained the early DNA for the comedic horror that would permeate the franchise for decades. Chucky has become a horror icon, and his first film appearance absolutely holds up today.
7
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter Was The Franchise’s Peak
Directed By: Joseph Zito
Ironically, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter was only the beginning of the long-running franchise’s domination of the slasher genre, as the entry was only the fourth in a series of ten films. Though the original Friday the 13th is nowhere near as good as many other films in the slasher genre, the series finally found its groove with 1984’s The Final Chapter.
Finally bringing the iconography of Jason Voorhees that fans know and love today to the series, the fourth chapter in the franchise was able to strike the perfect balance between schlocky horror thrills and genuine terror. Jason has never been more frightening than he is here, and the cast of innocent victims is perhaps the strongest in the entire franchise. Though the series started as a Halloween knock-off, this entry solidified it as something unique and special.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
- Release Date
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April 13, 1984
- Runtime
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91 Minutes
- Director
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Joseph Zito
- Writers
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Barney Cohen, Bruce Hidemi Sakow, Ron Kurz, Victor Miller, Carol Watson, Martin Kitrosser
Cast
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Kimberly Beck
Trish Jarvis
-
-
6
A Nightmare on Elm Street Brought Fantastical Terror To The Slasher Genre
Directed By: Wes Craven
Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger is easily one of the most recognizable and iconic horror characters of all time, and his first appearance in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street is easily his best. Though the horror franchise would occasionally reach heights close to the original with films like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, nothing beats the original.
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Wes Craven’s brilliant tonal and stylistic balance makes the first Freddy Krueger adventure a terrific showcase of practical effects and horrifying set pieces. The cast is fantastic from top to bottom, and the film’s legacy is absolutely unrivaled. A Nightmare on Elm Street inspired so many pieces of art across all media, and its impact on the slasher genre cannot be overstated.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Release Date
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November 9, 1984
- Runtime
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91 minutes
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Heather Langenkamp
Nancy Thompson
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John Saxon
Lieutenant Thompson
5
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Was An Early Peek At The Genre’s Violent Potential
Directed By: Tobe Hooper
One of the most violent and genuinely terrifying films in the slasher genre, 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was unlike anything being released in major theaters at the time. The tangible, textural nature of the film, paired with its backwoods vibe and believable cast of characters, made Tobe Hooper’s iconic slasher a sadistic delight.
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Packed with iconic imagery, wonderfully developed villains in the form of Leatherface and his despicable family, and utilizing levels of on-screen violence that had rarely been seen before, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre set the standard for what the slasher genre would become in the years to come.
- Created by
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Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper
- Cast
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Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow
4
Scream Reinvigorated The Horror Genre
Directed By: Wes Craven
In the wake of the 1980s’ obsession with slasher franchises like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, general audiences were somewhat sick of the sub-genre. So many slasher films had become mediocre, sloppily produced cash grabs, and horror fans were becoming tired. Finally, director Wes Craven returned to the genre with 1996’s Scream.
Scream was a breath of fresh air for the genre, taking all the tropes and stylistic quirks of the slasher movie and turning them on their heads. Weaponizing audience expectations against them, Scream made the slasher into something new — something meta. The characters themselves had seen slasher movies before, and that meant they could avoid the trappings and pitfalls of the characters in said films. It was a brilliant shift away from the genre’s typical set-ups and payoffs, and it led the slasher in a bold new direction.
Scream
- Release Date
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December 20, 1996
- Runtime
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112 minutes
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David Arquette
Dewey Riley
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Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
3
Black Christmas Was The Prototype For The Modern Slasher
Directed By: Bob Clark
A film that didn’t spawn a major franchise in the same way that many other iconic slashers did, Bob Clark’s 1974 masterpiece, Black Christmas, is one of the most important horror films of all time. Similarly to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the film brought a new level of depravity, violence, and horror to movie audiences.
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Frightening, tense, and refreshingly mean-spirited, Black Christmas doesn’t get nearly the level of respect and admiration from general audiences that it deserves, and its role as one of the foundational Hollywood slashers should not be overlooked. It set the standard for what a slasher could and should be, and it remains one of the strongest entries in the entire genre.
Black Christmas
- Release Date
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December 20, 1974
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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Bob Clark
2
Psycho Was The Original Slasher
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Without Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal 1960 film, Psycho, there’s a strong chance that many other entries on this list would not exist. One of the most iconic films ever made, Psycho remains as terrifying and utterly bewitching today as it was sixty-five years ago. Anthony Perkins’ performance as Norman Bates is one of horror’s very best, and the iconic shower scene remains the high-water mark for slasher kills.
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A film that shaped a generation of slashers, Psycho is not just one of horror’s most important films, but one of the most important films from one of cinema’s most important directors. Alfred Hitchcock crafted some of the greatest movies of all time, and Psycho stands among his very best.
1
Halloween Remains The Gold Standard For Slashers
Directed By: John Carpenter
In a genre that is so often dominated by mediocrity and half-baked scares designed to temporarily thrill audiences, director John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece, Halloween, reshaped horror as a whole. Brooding, moody, and slow, Halloween is a tone and mood piece on levels never before seen in the horror realm.
Michael Myers is one of the most terrifying horror villains ever put to screen, and his presence is utterly soul-shaking each time he’s on-screen. Jamie Lee Curtis brings empathy and depth to a role that could so easily have been tossed aside, and everything from the cinematography to the music to the production design sends a chill down audiences’ spines. Halloween is a masterpiece, and without it, the horror genre would be in a much less interesting place.
Halloween
- Release Date
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October 27, 1978
- Runtime
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91 Minutes
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