Iconic films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street define the slasher subgenre of horror cinema. Here's what makes these movies tick.
With Halloween approaching, it's prime time for horror movie marathons that deliver genuine chills. Fans of the genre know the terror inflicted by killers like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Ghostface from Scream. These characters hail from a distinct subcategory of horror: the slasher film.
Like many genres, the slasher's roots are murky. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) is widely regarded as the progenitor, featuring a deranged killer masquerading as his deceased mother.
Agatha Christie's mystery novel And Then There Were None (originally titled Ten Little Niggers) also influenced the subgenre. In it, a group becomes stranded on an island and picked off one by one in mysterious fashion.
Black Christmas (1974) introduced several key elements that later defined slashers.
These works all contributed, but the genre truly emerged in 1978 with John Carpenter's cult classic Halloween, originally titled The Night of the Masks in some markets.
While Freddy and Jason wield different weapons, slasher films share consistent patterns. These informal conventions form the genre's backbone, though innovative entries sometimes subvert them.
Typical slasher ingredients include:
Slashers peaked in the 1980s but waned due to diminishing sequel quality. The A Nightmare on Elm Street series spans nine films, while some Child's Play (Chucky) entries skipped theaters.
Despite this, slashers profoundly shaped pop culture, creating unforgettable villains, traumatizing generations, and inspiring countless parodies.
Over four decades after the original Halloween, nostalgia fuels revivals. Ghostface returns in new Scream installments, and Halloween Kills (released October 15, 2021) pits Laurie Strode against the unstoppable Michael Myers once more.
