The Top 10 Slasher Films

There are thousands of horror movies and many of them seem to fit in this genre. The 80s had so many, like the hair bands of the same era, the genre imploded on itself. But unlike hairbands, the slasher film has had a series of resurgence proving that, like many of the killers, it will never die. Here is a list of the top 10 slasher films. Enjoy.

This movie is about doll possessed by a killer with a nasty sense of humor. Not only did it start a franchise, it made every kid in 1988 cross off Cabbage Patch Kids and My Buddy off of their Christmas List. Parents around America rejoiced. Sadly, this movie spawned even scarier doll movies that just didn’t have the same staying power or sarcasm for that matter. In the end, Chucky launched the career of Brad Dourif and proved that even the least threatening looking things could be scary.

Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this teenage screamer about a masked killer seeking revenge for the accidental death of a ten year old girl. The killer waits 6 years to get that revenge at the most important night of a teenagers life-prom. Who doesn’t love girls screaming in their best dress and running down an empty hallway in their high heels? This movie has been remade and rethought, but none compare to the original.

In this movie, a bunch of college kids spend April fool’s day on their friend, Muffy St. John’s, mansion located on a remote island. You really don’t need to know anything else about this movie. Just watch it. And don’t watch the impossible to sit through remake. It doesn’t compare to the chuckle then jump original.

When Rob Zombie finally made his feature film directorial debut he didn’t mess around. He takes two couples and puts them in the home of a sadistic family of killers. Zombie doesn’t hide the fact that he is paying homage to other classic horror films, instead he ramps it up and takes it to a whole other level.

This is the movie that breathed new life in the horror genre during the 90s. It took every trope that became stereotypical during the Slasher films’ heyday and turned the viewers’ knowledge of these tropes against them. The approach is simple and effective. Not only did it launch a highly successful franchise, but it showed that if the genre kept evolving and rethinking what the viewer is anticipating there are always new ways to scare people.

It’s not enough that there are killers roaming outside your bedroom door, but now they’re in your dreams too. This movie introduced Freddy Krueger, a murderous child killer, who seeks his revenge after death. There are too many sequels to name, but the movie does have the distinction of being the first feature film Johnny Depp was in. Let me spoil you…he’s not the final girl.

There is a reason Jamie Lee Curtis was called the scream queen. This movie was her feature film debut and it brought the name Michael Meyers into households all over America. It’s about a murderous kid who gets institutionalized, and then returns back to his hometown to spill more blood. John Carpenter directed this movie and the sequel, which were both worth watching. If you see the third, skip it. Not only does it not make any sense in the series, but it is just awful.

Crazy killer picking off counselors at summer camp. There have been many imitators, but this is the original. It also introduced us to Jason Voorhees. Most people recognize the oversized guy in a hockey mask, but if you haven’t seen the original, you’ve never really seen Jason Voorhees. Not only is it startling, you’ll be amazed at how far he’s evolved during this never ending franchise.

This is the first horror movie to claim to be a true story (and it wouldn’t be the last), but to this day people still think that it is real. Might as well be since director Tobe Hooper used real life stories as inspiration. All the pieces are in place to make a great horror movie: a likeable cast of twenty-somethings, a location to die for and a group of villainous cannibals. Nothing, however, compares to the sight of a gigantic man in a human leather mask running after you with a chainsaw.

This movie may seem tame by comparison to others on this list, but there’s something so riveting, so frightening about Alfred Hitchcock’s classic. It made everyone who watched it rethink an actor’s role within a film as well as whether or not they would plan to stay at a local motel after all. It’s about a woman who steals money from her boss’ client and lays low at the Bates Motel, a place run by a man who has serious mama issues.