1. SUSPIRIA
This movie is hands down, my favorite slasher movie. If you have seen Argento movies before you know he is all about scene setting, bright colors, and the art of the film. At the time this movie was released it had what was considered one of the nastiest murder scenes in a movie. Even now in 2013, it is pretty intense. Dario Argento has a ton of great movies, but if you have never seen any of this flicks, Suspiria is a great place to start.
2. SCREAM
In many ways, the horror and slasher genre had it's hey day in the 1980's. But in 1996, Wes Craven brought both horror and slasher back into the popular main stream. It was the first horror movie to gross more than $100 million dollars, and sparked a litany of slasher clones that dominated the late 90's. But what made Scream so unique was how it was a meta parody of the entire horror genre. It played on tropes of running up the stairs when the killer was in the house instead of running out the front door. It made characters who said, "I'll be right back!" pay with their lives in the next scene. Scream sparked a renaissance of the horror genre and I could write so much more about it. Is sparked 3 sequels and there is talk of a Scream 5. As long as they keep making them, I will keep watching them.
3. HALLOWEEN
Most people will probably say that this is the best slasher movie of all time, and they are probably right. Halloween in a way not only spawned the slasher genre, but made horror movies in general something to go see at the movies. There were others horror movies before it, Psycho (which we will see later), Night of the Living Dead, and the Last House on the Left. But Halloween made horror mainstream and created the idea of a masked killer slowly killing a group teenagers that we all know and come to expect with a slasher. Most people dont know that the budget was so small, props were purchased at local stores and many of the actors wore their own clothes on set. The infamous Michael Myers mask was a William Shatner mask purchased at a local costume store that was spray painted white and had teased hair. Halloween is a classic and deserves to be seen for not just fans of horror, but fans of movies in general.
4.SLEEPAWAY CAMP
Remember that I said this list is of my favorite slashers and not necessarily what I think are the best slashers. Sleepaway Camp is technically a pretty bad movie. The acting is substandard, the dialogue is cringe worthy, and the whole package is just rough around the edges. But there is something about this movie that I love. The special effects used for the death scenes are great and the twist at the end was a complete shocker to me. The 2 subsequent sequels were atrocious and they even made a 4th called Sleepaway Camp Returns that was straight to video and was just as awful as the previous two. But the original struck a chord with me and I will always have this movie on my top 10 list.
5. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
I really want to put the whole Elm Street series here at number 5. This is probably my favorite horror series out there. I love all of the sequels (of which there are 6) and the franchise never really got stale for me. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 was the highest grossing horror movie until Scream which shows how much fans enjoyed the original and all of the follow ups. I think I like these movies so much because of how these movies played out. The slasher genre is pretty formulaic. A killer uses a knife or a machete or some other sharp object to kill their victims. Freddy Kreuger has knives on his fingers but through 7 movies and a remake, Freddy rarely ever kills his victims with his glove. Because he had the supernatural power of dreams on his side, the death scenes were always so much more elaborate and creative than just another stabbing. The original Nightmare was excellent and the 2nd Wes Craven movie on this list. Freddy Kreuger almost became the hero as the movies went on and Robert Englund was always great in the iconic role. A Nightmare on Elm Street is a must have on any horror list.
6. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was probably the first horror movie I ever saw where I was actually disturbed by what I was watching. Tobe Hooper directed a movie so gritty and realistic that it scared droves of people and made Texas one of the scariest places to visit. The first time we see Leatherface on screen, he hits a poor unsuspecting young man over the head with a meat tenderizer. The low muffled thud of the hammer hitting his skull is sickening and the way Leatherface pulls the man's lifeless body through the door frame, while pulling the large metal sliding door shut shook me unlike any horror movie I had seen before it and is still creepy even to think about now. The ending scene of the movie is also one that doesn't disappoint and will always be one of my favorite slashers.
7. THE PROWLER
The Prowler is a slasher movie that truly benefits from the creepy killer who is slicing and dicing throughout the film. The movie doesnt do anything unique in terms of the way people are killed or how the movie progresses. To me, it is pretty formulaic in its narrative. But the slasher wears army fatigues and a helmet throughout this movie and creates dread and fear every time he comes on screen. Other famous slasher flicks have icons like Jason, Michael Myers, or Freddy. Cinema goers wanted to see these killers. They became the reason to see the movie. But The Prowler was the villain you never hoped you would see and were happy when his scenes were over. This is another that probably wouldn't make a lot of slasher lists, but I really like this move and wish more people knew about it.
8. FRIDAY THE 13th PART 3
So you may be thinking...not the original? Not for me. Friday the 13th is synonymous with Jason Voorhees. Not just Jason Vorhees, but Jason, in a hockey mask, Voorshees. For being one of the most iconic slasher movie killers in one of the most iconic masks, Jason doesn't don the infamous hockey mask until the 3rd installment of the series. Part 3 created the Jason we know and love and for that it makes this movie my favorite of the series.
9. PSYCHO
Pyscho is such a good movie that it should probably be on any greatest movie list that you can think of. Alfred Hitchcock made a classic. If Halloween is the movie that made slashers mainstream, Pyscho is that movie's mother screaming from the top floor of the house on the hill. It is really almost two movies in one. For 1960 this movie had a grisly death in the shower scene and one of the most profound twists that shocked everyone who saw it. This movie dealt with mental health, greed, lust, and a lot of other taboo subjects for the time period it was released. This list may not even exist if this movie had not been made. You cannot go wrong with Psycho.
10. APRIL FOOL'S DAY
My final movie in this list is April Fool's Day. Again, not the best movie ever made, but I love the tongue in cheek approach that this movie takes from the very beginning. It in a lot of ways iit s very much like Scream only made 10 years earlier. It really sort of makes fun of itself as being a very stereotypical slasher movie, but still maintains a solid story, some good death scenes and another one of those great twists. If you know going in you are not watching an academy award winning film, it is hard not to love what April Fool's Day has to offer.
So there it is...that is my list. What did you think? Do you think I am a fool? Leave comments below and let me know what some of your favorite slasher are. Do you think mine are in the right order?
Thanks for reading and if you are in Atlanta this weekend for Dragoncon come check out my panel on Friday night...Slashers 101!
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