Who doesn't love a good gory slasher film? There's nothing better than seeing a bunch of irritatingly arrogant fresh-out-of-high-school teenagers being systematically taken apart at the hands of some remarkably inventive and supernaturally psychotic serial killer. Its almost self-fulfilling to see a bunch of half-wits dropping one by one, safe in the knowledge that - if you were in that situation - you'd have been smarter, quicker, more alert to the dangers. In the 1980s and 1990s slasher films were as ubiquitous as perms and microwaveable dinners, meaning it was a very crowded marketplace. Freddy, Jason, Ghostface, Myers, Leatherface, Chucky and thousands of imitators/variations jostled for a piece of the substantial audience - and that audience lapped it up. Slasher movies temporarily went out of fashion after they were brilliantly lampooned in the Scream films of the 1990s, but the Hollywood (re)cycle has since reverted back to generating slasher remake after slasher remake. One thing that remains, and which has been a key trope of slasher films since the genre was born, is the abundance of clichés and stereotypes. Those recognisable characters, lines and scenes that appear in practically every slasher ever released. Fortunately, these clichés reveal a code. A set of identifiable rules that, if followed correctly, would enable anyone to make it through their night of hell. Here are 20 failsafe rules and tips about how to survive in a slasher film.
