10 Hidden Gem Slasher Horror Movies

3. Blood Widow

Dressed to Kill
Midnight Releasing

Released in 2014, Blood Widow nicely flips one of the usual, tired tropes of the slasher on its head by having its central masked killer be female.

The plot of this Jeremiah Buckhalt picture is solid enough, but what's most impressive about Blood Widow is its titular villain. Played by Gabrielle Ann Henry, the mysterious Blood Widow looks like a total badass and is as clinical and brutal as any of her peers.

In terms of said plot, that involves a couple moving to their dream home out in the middle of nowhere. When some friends come to visit, the group's decision to explore an abandoned boarding school sees them soon in the crosshairs of the Blood Widow.

While the movie does threaten to derail once it starts to position its titular villain as sympathetic, it thankfully steers away from that by fully embracing the fact that, regardless of her backstory, the Blood Widow is a twisted, sadistic killer.

For those with a taste for the grim and gruesome, Blood Widow also has one particularly gnarly leg break sequence once it hits its final act. As for its main attraction, it's a genuine shame that a planned sequel - Blood Widow Lives - has been stuck in development hell for these past few years.

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.