10 Hidden Gem Slasher Horror Movies

Because there's way more to slasher movies than just Haddonfield, Camp Crystal Lake and Woodsboro.

Dressed to Kill
Filmways Pictures

When it comes to the murky world of horror, few subgenres are as forever popular as the slasher movie.

Its roots may be in the 1970s, but the fact that Michael Myers is once again terrorising Haddonfield on the silver screen right now in Halloween Kills is testament to how popular the slasher subgenre continues to be. Of course, Michael himself is one of the most beloved characters in all of horror, but not everybody gets the chance to take the spotlight like the infamous Shape.

Much like is so often the case in any genre of film, period, there are countless slashers that have flown completely under the radar of mainstream audiences and even the radar of many a horror fan. These pictures may not feature big bads quite as impressive as the aforementioned Myers, Jason Voorhees, Ghostface or the usual heavy hitters, but they still have their own respective devilish delights and sinister charms to offer up to horror hounds.

Taking all of that into consideration, then, here are ten hidden gem slasher movies that would make for absolutely ideal viewing for those looking for something a little different to the regular mainstream horror features we all know and love.

10. Skinner

Dressed to Kill
Image Entertainment

Admittedly, Skinner is somewhat of a mixed bag of a movie, but it totally deserves a mention on this list as a) most people have never heard of it, and b) Ted Raimi is absolutely fantastic as the film's headline act.

Raimi is famed for being a great character actor and for small roles in the likes of brother Sam's Spider-Man trilogy, the Evil Dead franchise, Xena: Warrior Princess and seaQuest DSV, but it's pretty rare to see Ted get to take centre-stage in a lead role.

In Skinner - which has nothing to do with Armin Tamzarian (hey, Simpsons fans!) - Raimi gets to do his best Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as uber-creep Dennis Skinner. Viewed by the outside world as your standard everyman character, Dennis spends his spare time scouring the streets looking for people to skin.

Having moved to a small town and become a lodger at the house of Ricki Lake's Kerry, ol' Den finds his past coming back to haunt him as one of his previous victims (Traci Lords) hunts him down. Still, that doesn't stop Skinner from slicing 'n' dicing up other poor fools, all while he develops a major crush on Lake's Kerry.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.