In celebration of this Fridays release of
Wes Cravens highly anticipated
Scream 4, Ive decided to scour my extensive horror collection and divulge what I believe to be the 10 Greatest Slasher Films ever made! The slasher subgenre of horror has become one of the most ubiquitous entries into the wider genre, as it exploits audiences most basic fears of being hunted by a psychotic murderer. The slasher came into its own during the 1980s, when a surge of films aimed at the teenage market entered cinemas. Arguably, however, Alfred Hitchcocks
Psycho (1960) is the seminal example and not only redefined the horror genre entirely, but also saw the birth of the slasher film. The debatable nature of Psychos position within modern horror cinema (and the fact that it has been included on some of my previous lists!) means that I havent included it in todays offering. I am, however, one of the many who believe it to be the original, most iconic and essentially ultimate slasher movie! What remains are 10 of the greatest slasher films out there So as you prepare for a scare with the 4th instalment of the Scream franchise, read on to discover the rest of the best!
10. SCREAM 2 (1997)
Its two years since the tragic teen massacre at Woodsboro and Sidney Prescott (
Neve Campbell) and Randy Meeks (
Jamie Kennedy) are trying to get on with their lives. Cotton Weary (
Liev Schreiber), who was accused of murdering Sidneys mother, is now out of prison and attempting to make a quick buck off the back of his wrongful incarceration. Ruthless reporter Gale Weathers (
Courtney Cox) has written her bestselling non-fiction account of the killings, The Woodsboro Murders. This has been adapted into a film, entitled Stab. As the film premieres the killings begin once more Ok, so some of you may not agree with the inclusion of two Scream films on this list, but the second instalment of the franchise is one that shouldn't easily be dismissed. The movie develops an intelligent and inventive narrative that dissects the inferior nature of sequels but itself manages to progress the story further and always in a surprising way. As with the other Scream offerings, copious amounts of grotesquery are combined with oodles of black comedy and the opening cinema sequence here equals the brilliance of the original. It's simultaneously horrific and complete with subtle meaning. If this was a stand-alone movie and not a sequel, I think it would have a better reputation.
09. CHILDS PLAY (1988)
When psychopath Charles Lee Ray (
Brad Dourif) needs to escape quickly from policeman Mike Norris, he decides to transfer his soul into a playful childrens doll called Chucky. Andy Barclay (
Alex Vincent) soon becomes the owner of the possessed doll and Charles confides in him while he commits countless murders. Will the adults believe Andy's stories before it's too late With a vitriolic but humorous villain,
Childs Play is another entry that combines dark comedic scenes with some truly grisly moments. Whilst it may not strictly be a slasher film entirely, it does contain all the major elements that define the subgenre. Ill be honest, Ive always had an irrational fear of dolls, dummies, waxworks, mannequins etc (and yet, oddly, I love Thunderbirds!!) and even as a teen viewer this film frightened the living daylights out of me! On subsequent viewings its easy to laugh at the absurdity of it, but Childs Play remains successful as a horror film due to its acceptance that many would find a homicidal doll rather humorous. Whilst this first instalment is by no means as comical as the later sequels, the comedic elements offset the brutal and gory death scenes to add a slasher ethos to the film. Whether or not you find Chucky scary, its interesting to note that sales of the real life My Buddy dolls that the character looked to be based on rapidly declined.
08. THE BURNING (1981)
A caretaker at a teenage summer camp is accidently burned severely when a practical joke goes horribly wrong. Years later, the caretaker is released from a mental institution, only to return to the camp with an aim to take revenge on the campers responsible for his hideous disfigurement In a film that sports the familiar revenge on teenagers plot of many an 80s slasher film,
The Burning manages to impress much more and stand out from the typical fare. The homicidal victim of the thwarted practical joke is brutally disfigured and the exceptional special effects makeup creates a hideously grotesque and very frightening villain here. The film is also successful for its ability to turn the everyday, ordinary tool of a pair of garden sheers into the terrifying weapon of the caretakers choice. Tapping into viewers fears by taking the sublime and transforming it into something horrific is horror on the most fundamental level, but the effect works incredibly well here. Shades of Psycho permeate through the petrifying canoe attack scene and this should certainly be one of the most iconic moments of 80s slasher cinema.
07. THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1983)
When a group of sorority sisters clash with their housemother, who wants to evict them, they decide to play a practical joke on her. The joke goes horribly wrong and the woman is killed. In a state of extreme panic, the girls attempt to dispose of the body and cover up the crime, but someone or in fact, something has witnessed the crime and begins to pick them off, one by one Whilst many may believe that there are better slashers out there,
The House on Sorority Row offers something that not many similar films have dared to: the killers identity isnt revealed! For most this would probably be a major annoyance so avoid it like the plague if youre one of those people! but if your not, it makes the viewing experience that much more unnerving. Feelings of incompleteness lead to a fear of the unknown, as its left up to audiences to decide whom the homicidal maniac really is. Its a clever ploy that exploits the viewers most basic fears. Aside from this, the film is also incredibly comical in places and mixes this with enough gore to satisfy the most gruesome of horror fanatics. One such example is the hilarious, but also rather sickening, decapitated head in the toilet scene Its terribly fake, but theres just something really quite wrong about it too! Pre-empting the onslaught of teen horrors to come out of the 90s, The House on Sorority Row is perhaps not better than these films, but is certainly more unique.
06. MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981)
A twenty year old folk legend that tells of a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day, turns out to be true when a group of teens plan a huge party and directly defy the killer's order to never do so again. As the party begins, the bodies start to pile up... No, not the rather dreadful 2009 3D version, the original to that film is a deeply frightening and exceptionally well-made slasher. The premise of an urban legend being based in reality is an incredibly unsettling notion, which works extremely effectively here. The haunting deep breaths of the miner killer behind a gas mask is an exceedingly haunting sound that lends well to the horror of seeing the murders through the killers point of view. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the cave scenes also heightens the suspense and horror of the second act, which in turn is made more horrific by the dimly lit tunnel sets that simply look like corridors of death. This actually caused some controversy back in 81, when the MPAA had to cut about 5 minutes of screen time, due to the overly gory nature of many of the death scenes (in fact, not a single one remained untouched by the censors before its cinematic release). By todays standards they appear pretty unrealistic (although very gory still), but what
My Bloody Valentine is really about is the taut and unsettling atmosphere that is so successfully created. On an aside, Tarantino has also mentioned that he considers this to be the ultimate horror film quite an accolade Id say!
05. BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
It's Christmas time and a group of sorority sisters are making plans for their holiday. Whilst they make plans, a series of unnerving anonymous phone calls begin to put them on edge. When one of the sisters disappears, they decide to contact the police, but are met with little concern The police eventually begin to suspect that something is up when a 13-year-old girl is found dead in a park. Setting up a wiretap at the sorority house they attempt to protect the girls, but is it too late? One of the groundbreaking, original slasher films,
Black Christmas beat Halloween to become one of the first legitimate ventures into this new horror subgenre. Whilst the 2006 remake is pretty much a shambles, the simple concept of a group of sorority girls being terrorised by a homicidal maniac is a successfully terrifying concept here and it was completely original back in the 70's. Aided by the incredibly unsettling telephone voice of the prank caller which really does leave you feeling dirty and in need of a good scrub Black Christmas perfectly taps into viewers fears of terrorisation and helplessness. The initial inaction of the police is equally petrifying, as it cements the idea that when those we rely on fail to be of assistance we truly are vulnerable. The cheerful Christmas setting perfectly offsets the gruesome elements of the narrative and adds a sardonic element to a very dark narrative. Ultimately redefining images of psychosis and disturbed families in horror cinema, along with Psycho, this marked the birth of what would become one of the most popular and enduring subgenres of horror film.
04. ALICE SWEET ALICE (AKA COMMUNION, 1976)
Alice Spages (
Paula E. Sheppard) is a quiet, withdrawn little girl who finds her sister Karen (a very young
Brooke Shields) gets the majority of her mothers attention. When Karen is found brutally murdered in the church her holy communion is meant to be taking place the suspicion falls solely on Alice. As the body count rises, could Alice really be responsible? Produced before the slew of low budget, badly acted slasher films of the 80s were inflicted on audiences,
Alice Sweet Alice of a humble budget, but featuring real talent was made. Representative of the pre-Halloween and heyday productions, Alice Sweet Alice adds a religious aspect to the narrative and features a child as the main serial killing suspect. Deliberating images of innocence and guilt, the religious aspect of the narrative works well within the slasher subgenre of horror cinema and adds a unique element to the narrative here. Paula E. Sheppard places the awkward and precocious Alice with an ability to unsettle even the most veteran of horror fans! Combining giallo imagery with a whodunit style narrative, this film is an interesting entry into the canon of slasher horrors The killer also wears a seriously creepy mask and Ill bet you never look at a yellow raincoat in the same way again!
03. FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
At Camp Crystal Lake, a group of young counsellors begin to get ready to lead campers by restoring the grounds, which have been uninhabited since a young boy drowned years before. But somebody is watching, and theyll stop at nothing to prevent the camp from re-opening Ok, its cheesy and by todays standards its not really that scary, but my real love for
Friday the 13th is its homage to Hitchcocks Psycho: the psychotic mother (whos actually real here!) and the shower murder scene being the most notable. The referencing to what is debatably the original slasher movie means that whilst the plot of the film itself may seem rather rudimentary, on a deeper level it exhibits an intelligence that the majority of the 80s heyday slasher movies just didnt display. The isolation of the summer camp location contains the horror in one locale, which adds to the suspense and heightens the horror surrounding the unknown killer. What does make Friday the 13th truly scary is the reality of a psychotic mother I mean; surely any mother is capable of flipping if her son is endangered, right? The climax is also one of the most surprising moments in cinema history, as Jason lunges out of Lake Crystal and into the onslaught of sequels that followed!
02. SCREAM (1996)
A year after the murder of Sidney Prescott's (
Neve Campbell) mother, a serial killer begins to slaughter teenagers at Woodsboro High School. As the death toll rises, Sidney begins to suspect that theres a link between her mother's death and the new murders Can Sidney and her friends follow the rules of horror films past and survive the carnage? Its clever, its humorous, and its gruesome!
Scream has to be one of the most intelligent slasher movies out there. With a knowing self-reference through its various nods to horror films of the past and its tongue in cheek attitude meandering through the narrative, it quite simply has to be a modern classic of the genre. The imaginative death scenes blend the right amount of black comedy and suspense and the over-arching narrative adds a fresh look at the entire subgenre of horror. The narrative has a strong plot that continued to twist its evil web through three films (and undoubtedly the fourth will follow suit!) and remained engaging and exciting throughout. The ultimate homage to the genre,
Wes Craven has never managed to surpass the Scream franchise, which remains popular with audiences of various ages. The real power, however, of these films lies in their ability to attract viewers who are not fans of the genre (my Mrs for example: hates horror, loves the Scream movies!) and this is undoubtedly due to the perfect blend of horror, suspense and comedy. Probably the one 90s horror movie you HAVE to watch!
01. HALLOWEEN (1979)
After 15 years in a mental institution, psychotic Michael Myers escapes. Returning to his hometown of Haddonfield, nobody can guess the madness that is about to ensue But can Myers psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (
Donald Pleasance) stop him before its too late? Ive mentioned my respect for this low budget masterpiece from the legendary
John Carpenter before and it really is the ultimate slasher movie in my mind! Resplendent with death scenes that combine just the right amount of gore, unseen elements that lend to the viewers imagination and a healthy dollop of black humour,
Halloween combines the best elements of the genre. The narrative actually makes sense here and is created with enough suspense and spine-tingling horror to transcend this film out of the realms of its infinite sequels and the atrocious rip offs. Michael Myers will always remain the one psycho who scares the living crap out of me: his superhuman ability to survive any manner of death, his silent and entirely ominous stature and that bloody freaky white William Shatner mask! Complete with Carpenters instantly recognisable score (which is equally unnerving), Halloween will always be the best example of this subgenre of horror Plus, the sound of the awful Mr. Sandman will forever invoke sheer terror!