Added by The Mighty Celestial on 29 Oct 2012 02:20

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My Top 15 Halloween Favorites: Slashers

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Decade: Rating: List Type:

2141

5.7

6.2

Scream 2 (1997)

In the same manner that the first Scream movie reinvigorated the slasher genre, the second Scream movie help to invigorate sequels to the slasher genre.
Except now, these groups of movie installments were being called franchises.
The benefit being that now movie goers didn't consider themselves fans of a particular film, now they were fans of film franchise.
Now movie companies felt an obligation to pump out chapter after chapter of a franchise with more of a guarantee that "fans of the franchise" will still flock to see 'em. And whenever a certain chapter in the series hits a lull, all you have to do is "reboot" the series with a new first chapter, and start all over again.
To be honest, for me personally, is comes more as an endless cycle of movie marketing that is enough to make any serious connoisseur of the medium scream.

But still, Scream 2 was a good slasher flick.
Displaying vociferous success in terms of both script and box office, this is a sequel that shows that when it comes to this type of usually overwrought sharp edged thriller, screaming twice can be just as nice.

5.6

6.2

Cold Prey 2 (2008) (2008)

Okay, as I said in the side description, I'm not that big of a fan of slasher flix. So it's rare that I like one (the ten listed here are the only ones that I can watch). What's even more rare is that I'll like a slasher flick sequel.
I enjoyed the first Cold Prey enough to see why it was such a surprise success. This 2nd installment, made more as a result of that the first one did so well (as opposed to a story that had always been planned to be made as a series from the start), follows the standard of other sequels that came from unexpected successful movies; it's not as good as the original. However, because it was somewhat willing to venture outside the formula it's predecessor, it felt more as an extension of the first film and not simply as a xerox-copied script hoping to just lazily cash in.

956

6.8

The Devil's Rejects (2005)

Ever since the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 1974, there have been a certain type of subhorror slasher-family flicks that have since tried to match the bar 'o' evil that was raised by the original Leatherface Clan.
While Rob Zombies' creation of Captain Spaulding's kith and kin, IMO, doesn't quite match up to the legendary status of TCM, it's was still a worthy effort to the genre.

Even though, this type of straight for the jugular scare-fare usually isn't my cup of tea (or in this case, my "slice of milk"), Rejects succeeds as a dark ditty of deviltry about a family of hellbent hillbillies that makes even Lucifer hisself go "Damn....! These ratchety-ass rednecks are just plain downright evil.....!"

1627

6.9

7.2

Sunshine (2007)

Considered by many as the underrated film of 2007, Sunshine is a eco-conscience sci-fi film that by the third act, turns into an outer space slasher flick.
Now while this film is not perfect by any means, I still like the attempt of the premise, the depth of the visual design, and overall just the pace of the story as it unfolds.
So I guess I fall onto the side of those viewers who I would've liked to have seen get wider recognition than it originally did.
It's kinda feel sad that the only people who experienced any light from Sunshine were the characters that were in it.

Now I know most hardcore fans of the genre don't think this movie of this qualifies as a genuine slasher flick, but I read one review that did describe it loosely as a semi-slasher in space, and after watching it, I agree.

4.9

5.7

The Rental (2020)

Whenever there's a horror movie with a setting that's in the woods, the formula usually calls for a small, moldy log cabin to be the dwelling upon which all the fear unfolds. But, as this story demonstrates, a fancy shmancy oceanview weekend getaway house will also do the trick. As long as the proprietors include a masked slashing stalker and a "no return" policy in which the "no return" part is more literal than any visiting guest would expect. That way, The Rental can easily become a getaway that can be much more permanent than just a weekend.

3407

6.6

7.2

Scream (1996)

Just when it seemed like the concept of the slasher horror flick had been done to death, to the point where the genre was finally presumed to be deceased,
along comes Wes Craven's Scream. It was an update to the genre that revealed that the murdering masked megamaniac is not so easily slayed.
Unfortunately, on the flip side, the sequel to this film is also what began the massive resurgence of the endless multitude of horror sequels that tend to crank themselves out in numbers more than the body count of victims.
The slasher franchises have suffered from such an over-used formula, that, when a feature like Scream comes along, with it's twist of self-reference and send-up, it has a feeling as though there is now new blood to be vigorously spilt.

271

6.4

6.6

Hush (2016)

The masked slasher genre hits a high note with this silent themed out in the middle of the woods scare fare in which a deaf woman finds herself all alone, isolated far away from the rest of the world, and stalked by a killer who doesn't care if his victim can hear him coming or not. He's still gonna slash yo deaf ass, even if you don't have the ability to hear yourself scream.

When I mentioned of how the overall writing quality of horror themed cinema is improving, moving the genre further away from the shlock and camp infested reputation that it accumulated during the 60's and 70s, Hush is a good example of this.
One film after another of simply stacking up one body count after another, the slasher flick was developing itself as a subgenre that was all blood, but with no heart. However, with the advent of movies like this one, we are now seeing that sometimes, the entertainment value of watching masked knife wielding maniacs go on a spree can come from fearing for the life of their intended victims rather than just seeing how much blood they can spill.

357

6.5

Severance (2006)

During the nationwide lockdown of 2020, as the world was caught in the grip of the CoVid 19, I decided to peruse thru the internet for the month of October, to search out what many onliners were listing as the best horror films of the new millenium.
One of the titles I kept seeing cropping up was for a movie called Mayhem. After I watched it, I didn't think it came off as much of a horror flick as it did a corporate themed thriller filled with lotsa blood letting gore. But the office-stylings of Mayhem did remind me of Severance, which I had been meaning to watch for a quite a long time, but always kept forgetting about. I think what kept me from it so long was that one of it's main stars is Danny Dyer, an actor from across the pond who has one of the worst filmographies in the "hole" of England. But I kept hearing good things and finally got around to giving Severance a looksee. Not only does this movie have of a very good balance of all the elements of an effecive corporate horror tale (which I assume is becoming a sub-sub-genre of fear films), but even Dyer fits into his role of the story as comfortably as a ladder climbing brown-noser fits his snog into an executive boss's corner orfice.
And with's mix of black comedy, corporate satire, slasher bits and touch of alone-in-the-woods folk-fright, I think it comes much as a horror as the aformentioned Mayhem. And much more entertaining, IMO.

239

6.8

6.5

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Alice, Sweet Alice is a movie that was fortunate enough to have come out when it did.
At the time, the genre of the slasher flick hadn't taken root yet.
Therefore, sexual boundaries had not yet been set as to what gender one must be in order to establish one's as a murderously relentless, knife welding, masked maniac.

And even though we do see the occasional feminine face lurking behind a bladed weapon aimed at carving it's fair share of cadres of corpses, in today's world, the slashing game still seems to be mostly a boy's club.

184

6.2

6.3

Cold Prey (2006)

A Norwegian-speaking cabin in the woods type of flick that follows the formula of the more well-known american franchises of the Freddy Kruger/ Michael Myers variety. Except, instead of a cabin, it takes place in an abandoned hotel. And also, the teenagers that terrorized by knife wielding slashmaster (a mountain man in this instance) are not so much in the woods as they are in the snowy mountains of Jotunheimen.

305

6.2

After Dark Horrorfest - Frontier(s) (2008)

Let's talk gore shall we?
James Cameron once said" You don't create fear with gore. You create disgust. It's a whole different emotion."
Therefore,
for the longest time,
I truly believed that, try as I might, I just didn't like gory horror films.
Then, after I watched Frontier(s),
I realized that I was wrong.
What it actually was that I didn't like was gory horror films that had no or very little story.
For so long, it seemed like frightfest filmmakers were cranking out so many flicks that compromised the story for the sake of the blood and gore,
that it seemed like all movies of this kind were only capable of featuring broken plot-lines that, at best, were usually as splattered as the "special" effects that are were gooey center of this particular sub-genre of horror.
Glad to see that after watching Frontier(s), this was a case that proved that stereotype to be wrong.

306

6.3

6.6

Halloween (2018)

As just about every horror fan knows, there have been a bunch of sequels to the first Halloween movie from back in 1978, which was a surprise hit in it's day and launched one of the longest running franchises in horror history. However, since none of 'em have been able to match the success of the first one, particularly on a critical level, it felt like the horror of it's iconic slasher's "visage" was being slightly diminished with each subsequent release. So, in an effort to bring the franchise back to life, this 2018 entry just ignores all those follow-ups and takes place as if though this outing into All Hallow's Eve was the one that actually follows the original '78 movie. And judging from it's high critical ratings from both critics and fans alike, plus it's incredible box office returns, this latest semi-reboot of Michael Myers and his murdering inspired mask looks like it's gonna stick.

4154

8.3

8.5

Psycho (1960)

Due to the era that Psycho was released, Norman Bates may not have had the opportunity to cut through a swath of teenaged bodies (not that most teenagers back then didn't deserve it) in the manner that the Freddies, Michaels and Jasons do these days, but he definitely pioneered the crazed, almost supernaturally-empowered maniacs that the modern masked contemporaries have become famous for.

Though the datedness of this movie has seemed to lessen the shock and horror of this b/w classic, the energy of it still reverberates today and the final shot of Norman Bates' visage is still one of the best creepy endings on film.

2450

7.5

7.7

Halloween (1978)

While Texas Chainsaw Massacre introduce us the idea of an unstoppable masked maniacal force intent on making all mere mortals that it comes upon into it's chopped sushi bitch, Halloween introduced us the formula of this theme before it became formulaic. And also before the formula became stupid.
Pay attention to the handling of the characters, the situations of each victum and even the simplicity of the musical score, and you'll find that even though this film requires the usual suspension of belief that is needed to swallow the outrageousness of this genre, Halloween does not require that you hide your intelligence too much behind any kind of William Shatner mask in order to enjoy it.
Which is why, even though I'm not a big fan of the way the slasher genre is handled these days,
H-1 still is and always will be a classic for me.

1889

7.4

7.5

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

As someone whom is often very frustrated with most horror flicks, I was very pleased that this movie's plot-line came off as very genuine. While most slasher flicks tend to make it's audience yell things to the screen like "Idiot! Run outside, not to the upstairs!" or "Don't go in there, you moron!", this movie actually made the situation of the onscreen victims seem logistically believable. Therefore, their fright and inevitable demise doesn't come off as deserving as the mindless teenage victims featured in other films, who make the viewer feel that their stupidity justified their grisly end. The intent of TCM's story was aimed more at making the observer feel the fear thru the fright of the victim, not just thru the singular idea of a mad demonic slash-object-wielding maniac.

Favorites films about those who slash.

I'll be honest here,
while I'm a big fan of the horror genre,
I've never been a big fan of the subhorror category known as the slasher flick.
While I understand that most genres have their limitations, it seems to me that slasher films in general, seem to take the least amount chances , particularly when it comes to stretching out their boundaries beyond the basic formula.. Also because not since the Kaiju and the zombie films of the 60's and 70's, has a genre type relaxed itself in terms of the quality level of its story. I just don't think that the writing in most of these slashers flix is very good.
And sometimes, IMO, it's just because that the central slasher figure has become a cartoonishly violent characters-trope who's main function is just to build up its body count simply to satiaite the bloodthirst of the lowliest common denominator. In other words, the slasher has basically become a "zombie", they're all basically the same. Other than their weapon of choice and/or their themeatic "mask", there is no real distinguishable features to their character.
Hopefully, this'll explain why iconic staples like Freddy or Jason or their many of their sequels make no appearances on my list.
For those few that I do like. I could explain why I consider these certain titles to be more watchable than most, but I think there are a couple of enrtries whose descriptions boxes do that well enough.
Finally, even though I haven't seen that many teenage-mangling titles which would allow me to make this a longer list, I do like the current trend of rising quality in horror films. So I'm hopeful that eventually, future efforts in the subgenre will lead me to finally say that when it comes to being a fan of the slasher flick, I'm pretty hardcore.

Updated Entries:

- Sleep Away Camp
- Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Other Halloween Favorites Lists:

Frankenstein
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-2340

Ghosts
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites

Vampires
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-6351

Werewolves
www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-halloween-favorites

Zombies
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-thecelestial

Demons
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-3563

From The Depths
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-6603

Giant Monsters
www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-favorite-giant

Spiders
www.listal.com/list/my-top-15-halloween-favorites-6575

Crazy A$s Bitchez
www.listal.com/list/my-top-20-halloween-faves