10 Best Horror Movies That Subverted Classic Cliches

10. Unmasked Part 25

Easily the oddest flick on this list, this British cult curio from the late eighties is a strange spoof of the then-uber popular Friday the 13th series and its mute monster Jason Voorhees—the title refers to a fictitious slasher franchise of which this is the twenty fifth instalment, and the exasperated masked murderer is soon revealed to be a soft spoken Cary Elwes soundalike who wants nothing more than to move away from serial killing and transition to a more fulfilling passion.

He even falls for a young woman he planned on murdering, pursuing her romantically in a series of surreal vignettes which mine their laughs from the sight of this hulking Jason-stand-in traversing London with his sweet new beau.

A genuine oddity, this one is worth a watch for its ability not only to mine charming meta humour from the premise, but also its surprising sincere approach to the goofy premise and the thoughtful character comedy which comes therefrom, despite a misjudged and tonally wobbly ending (though the last shot is good for a dark, chilling last laugh that can stand toe-to-toe with the closing moments of John Landis' An American Werewolf in London for tragic horror endings).