10 Smartest Decisions In Slasher Horror Movie History
Those wise calls that made the difference between life and death.
By its very nature, so much of the horror genre involves huge amount of people biting the bullet, and where the slasher subgenre is concerned that's even more true.
After all, the slasher subgenre - which is largely viewed as being ushered in by both Bob Clark's Black Christmas and John Carpenter's Halloween - was one that became infamous for the amount of bodies these films would pile up. While less is so often more, the films often aim to get as high a body count as possible, with the more inventive and gory the kills the better.
When it comes to surviving a slasher picture, sometimes it's down to luck, sometimes it's down to others helping you out, and sometimes it's down to the simple, yet oft-avoided notion of using your brain to make smart choices.
Opting to make a smart choice in the realm of the slasher movie has so often made the difference between whether a character lives or dies, and here are ten such examples of some truly inspired wise choices made within the confines of the slasher genre.
10. Giving The Correct Answer - Silent Night, Deadly Night
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do in a horror movie is to simply tell some murderous killer whatever they want to hear.
In 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, Billy Chapman's strict orphanage upbringing eventually results in him leading with a firm hand when it comes to punishment in later life. All of this capitulates on one Christmas Eve when Billy, decked out as Santa Claus for his boss, snaps and goes on a murder spree.
Like so many films of the time, a hefty body count is amassed in timely fashion, yet there is one brief moment of hesitation during Billy's bloodthirsty rampage. That hesitation comes when, after having killed the babysitter and her boyfriend, Santa Billy encounters a young girl.
Taking a moment, Billy asks the girl whether she's been naughty or nice.
After Cindy proclaims that she's been nice, she's gifted with a bloody knife as Santa Claus goes on his way. Should she had opted to admit to being naughty, Santa would've clearly handed out the strictest punishment possible to Cindy.
Showing that he'd think nothing of killing a child, it's only minutes later that we see Billy decapitate a young bully - because bulling is clearly naughty and totally not nice.