This article explores the enduring legacy of the slasher subgenre in horror cinema. It highlights ten essential slasher movies, from classics like *My Bloody Valentine* and *Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives* to the modern masterpiece *Terrifier 2*.
Slasher movies are a staple of the horror genre. Influenced by films like Psycho, Peeping Tom and the Italian giallo movement, filmmakers in the 70s began to create the foundations of the slasher subgenre. After the monumental success of John Carpenter's Halloween, slashers became the most prolific category of horror for the entire decade of the 80s. Since that peak, slashers have gone through multiple resurgences, as new generations of filmmakers continue to take stabs at the subgenre.
Every slasher fan has their favorites, from the true classics, to the ones that made Siskel & Ebert question humanity's future. Like Jason Voorhees in a hardware store, there's just too many options to choose from. Each era has brought with it new ways for hormonal teens to get slaughtered. These ten slasher movies are the ones any horror fan must watch. 10 'Terrifier 2' Directed by Damien Leone Many modern mad men and women have tried and failed to carve themselves a place on the Mount Rushmore of slashers alongside killers like Freddy and Jason. Creating a new slasher icon is no small feat, but that's exactly what Damien Leone did with Art the Clown, the homicidal harlequin at the center of the Terrifier franchise. While Art originated in a couple of short films by Leone, the character wouldn't become a murderer worth remembering until David Howard Thornton donned the white make-up for the character's first feature-length film. The first Terrifier may have introduced the character, and his brutal killing style, to a wide audience, but it's Terrifier 2 that solidified the clown as a slasher icon. Terrifier 2 is an epic-sized slasher movie that ups the ante on the gore and also gives Art some solid competition in an angelic warrior of a final girl, played by Lauren LaVera. Gorehounds will especially appreciate just how far Leone and his crew go with the kills in Terrifier 2. For Art the Clown, there's no kill like overkill. 9 'My Bloody Valentine' (1981) Directed by George Mihalka There have been plenty of holiday-themed slasher movies, enough that fictional teens could mark their own shuffling off the mortal coil on the calendar. While Christmas and Halloween predictably dominate as the most popular time to kill, several other federally recognized days of murder have provided memorable slasher movies as well, like Eli Roth's Thanksgiving or the bluntly titled April Fool's Day. The best of these alt-holiday slashers though is the killer Canadian cult classic My Bloody Valentine. Set in the Great White North, in the small mining town of Valentine Bluffs, this 80s slasher is a cut above thanks to its atmospheric setting, a cast of working-class characters, and the mystery that surrounds the killer's identity. It follows a group of young miners who party hearty on the holiday that is their town's namesake, but the festivities are disrupted by a pickaxe wielding maniac in a mining mask, who may be a former miner who was driven to madness after being trapped in a cave-in. It's a fun, freaky slasher that's the perfect counter-programming to the saccharine romantic comedies that regularly fill out February. 8 'Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives' (1986) Directed by Tom McLoughlin Jason Voorhees was the preeminent slasher of the 80s. The Friday the 13th franchise had an installment released in almost every single year of the decade, and its hockey-masked killer was the poster boy for slasher cinema. Despite the pervasive success of the series, many of the earlier installments haven't aged particularly well. Those early films have a lot of low budget charm to them, but also suffer from slow-pacing. Jason also, notably, doesn't take over as the killer until the second movie, and his iconic hockey mask doesn't appear until the third. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is frequently cited as a fan favorite of the franchise, thanks to its memorable characters, beefed up budget, and self-aware humor. It may not be the scariest Friday the 13th, or the most outrageous, but it is the best executed of the original films and embraces its slasher status. Nearly a decade before Scream, Jason Lives was satirizing its own genre from the inside out, beginning with a Bond-like gun barrel with the silent killer standing in. It set an entertaining template for all other Friday the 13th movies to follo
SLASHER MOVIES HORROR CINEMA FRIDAY THE 13TH TERRIFIER 2 MY BLOODY VALENTINE CLASSIC HORROR MODERN HORROR MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
10 Slasher Movies That Can Be Called Masterpieces, RankedDaniel Boyer is list writer for Collider who primarily focus on films and television shows related to the Action, Horror, and science fiction genres.
Read more »
10 Great Horror Movies That Prove January Isn't A Lost Cause For ReleasesImagery-from-M3GAN-and-Split
Read more »
8 ‘80s Horror Movies That Should Never Be RemadeComic Book Movies, News, & Digital Comic Books
Read more »
The Best Horror Movies According to IMDbThis article explores IMDb user's top-ranked horror films, delving into iconic classics and discussing their enduring appeal.
Read more »
10 Horror Movies Where The Atmosphere Is Scarier Than The Movie ItselfTotem from The Ritual
Read more »
10 Non-Horror Movies Where All The Main Characters Die10 Non-Horror Movies Where All The Main Characters Die
Read more »