When we think of Slasher films we think of cheap scares, gore, and explicit content. Slasher films have a well-known formula. The killer who is almost always seeking revenge, the victims who are always hormonal teenagers and the gory violence. Those three things create a successful slasher film. Say what you want about these films, but you can’t deny there’s a sense of nostalgia when you come across them while browsing for a scary movie to watch during spooky season. Here are the top 10 Slasher films you must watch on Halloween.
1. Halloween
Halloween. There are 11 movies in the Halloween franchise including the newest one that’s set right after the first movie that originally came out in 1978. The newest movie takes place 40 years after the original one completely eliminating the other 9 movies (like…why?). Besides the fact that this is happening, Halloween is a classic. It would make total sense for you to watch it during the spooky month we all love.
2. A Nightmare On Elm Street
A Nightmare On Elm Street. We love another classic slasher film. A Nightmare On Elm Street came out in 1984 We all remember how scared we were to go to sleep at night because we felt like if we closed our eyes for just one second, Freddy Krueger would pop up in our dreams and use those knives of his on us. Did the sight of a fedora and striped sweater give you a mini heart attack? Cause honestly… same. As we got older we started to realize what Freddy actually was and I think that made the movie scarier.
3. Friday the 13th
We have yet another classic 80’s slasher on our hands. Friday the 13th came out in 1980 and had 12 films in its franchise It’s based around the mass killing of teens at a camp that Jason Voorhees drowned at as a child. Spoiler alert! Jason wasn’t even the original killer, his mother was. He started his murder spree as a way to get the revenge his mother was seeking.
3.5 Freddy VS. Jason
Here’s a little bonus. We all know Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th, but do you know Freddy vs Jason? Yes, they made a crossover for the most two feared 80’s horror icons in Hollywood. Freddy vs Jason came out in 2003. Freddy becomes incapable of haunting everyone’s dream so he uses Jason as a tool to bring fear into the lives of everyone in Springfield, Ohio, but Jason gets a bit upset when Freddy deprives him of potential victims. The two go head to head in a violent conflict.
4. Scream
Scream. Another classic Craven movie. Scream came out on December 20 1996. After the first movie in the franchise, they continued to make three more movies in the franchise. We have a serial killer in a ghost face mask running around killing teenagers left and right. The only thing different in each of the films are the identities of the killer each time. It’s one of my favorite classic slasher films.
5. Children of The Corn
Children of the Corn is based upon Stephen King’s 1977 short story. Want another example to back up why children scare you? Just show anyone this film. Children of the corn is about children who kill off the adults in their community as a sacrifice to their demonic deity. Yeah…
6. I Know What You Did Last Summer
I know what you did last summer is an iconic 1997 slasher film about four teenagers getting rid of a dead body while being haunted by the man they thought they killed. I know what you did last summer and scream have a lot in common. Stereotypical slasher film teens being stalked by a slasher who wants revenge.
7. Child’s Play
Another 80’s classic about our favorite “good guy”. Childs play has messed with every child’s views on dolls. What? Am I not supposed to be scared of the fact that my Barbie may be possessed by a serial killer? We were frightened by his small but deadly figure and his burning passion for murder and vengeance throughout the entire franchise.
8. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Texas Chainsaw is a film that just keeps building the tension. A couple of friends on a road trip together, end up checking out an abandoned farm ( bad idea) where they meet Leatherface, who wears masks made from human skin and participates in cannibalistic and murderous behaviors alongside his family.
9. Sleepaway Camp
Sleepaway camp is mostly known for its twist ending that still freaks me out every time I watch it during spooky season. The setup itself just makes everything feel campy but in a scary way. You have a killer on the loose and because we never see the killer properly, it makes it even scarier and interesting. Who is it? What’s their motive? You start to develop your own theories, but then you’re slapped in the face by that plot twist at the end.
10. Psycho
Momma’s boy doesn’t even come close to describing Norman Bates. Pretty sure he had some issues getting over the Oedipus complex phase of his life. Like Sleepaway camp, Psycho had an iconic plot twist and basically paved the way for what would become the “slasher” sub-genre. Psycho represents a standard for many of today’s slasher hits. Norman Bates is the OG killer, identified as the product of a messed up family.