SLASHER Films (Classical Era 1974-1993)
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed tools.
Critics cite the Italian giallo films (which are their own subgenre and not included in this list) and psychological horror films such as Peeping Tom (1960) and Psycho (1960) as early influences.
The genre hit its peak between 1978 and 1984 in an era referred to as the "Golden Age" of slasher films. Notable slasher films include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Black Christmas (1974), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Child's Play (1988), Candyman (1992) and Scream (1996).
Many slasher films released decades ago continue to attract cult followings.
The slasher canon is divided into three eras: the classical (1974–1993), the self-referential (1994–2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000–2013).
Critics cite the Italian giallo films (which are their own subgenre and not included in this list) and psychological horror films such as Peeping Tom (1960) and Psycho (1960) as early influences.
The genre hit its peak between 1978 and 1984 in an era referred to as the "Golden Age" of slasher films. Notable slasher films include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Black Christmas (1974), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Child's Play (1988), Candyman (1992) and Scream (1996).
Many slasher films released decades ago continue to attract cult followings.
The slasher canon is divided into three eras: the classical (1974–1993), the self-referential (1994–2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000–2013).
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- DirectorTheodore GershunyStarsPatrick O'NealJames PattersonMary WoronovA man inherits a mansion which once was a mental home. He visits the place and begins to investigate some crimes that happened in old times, scaring the people living in the region.Considered a predecessor to the slasher film genre.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Cinema-goers walked out of theaters in disgust and in 1976, two theaters in Ottawa, Canada, were advised by local police to withdraw the film lest they face morality charges.
The film was banned for periods in many countries.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered one of the greatest — and most controversial — horror films of all time and a major influence on the genre. - DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsBen JohnsonAndrew PrineDawn WellsThe story of a hooded, berserk killer who terrorized the border town of Texarkana, Arkansas in 1946--leaving no fewer than five murder victims in his wake. He was never caught. Based on one of America's most baffling murder cases.
- DirectorDennis DonnellyStarsCameron MitchellPamelyn FerdinWesley EureA ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.Briefly banned in the early 1980s in the United Kingdom during the "video nasty" panic.
VIPCO released an edited DVD in 2000.
88 Films released an uncut version in 2017.
It has been cited by horror writer Stephen King as one of his favorite horror films. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.The first slasher to become a huge box office hit.
The blueprint for all slashers and the model against which all subsequent films are judged.
Hugely responsible for the new wave of horror that emerged during the 1980s.
Jamie Lee Curtis's film debut! - DirectorDavid PaulsenJohn Mason KirbyStarsChristopher AllportJim DoerrDavid GaleSeveral couples head upstate to the country to watch a boat being built. Unfortunately they are stalked by a murderer behind a ghoulish mask.
- DirectorArmand MastroianniStarsDon ScardinoCaitlin O'HeaneyElizabeth KempA young bride-to-be is being stalked upon by a serial killer in Staten Island. She gets help from a former lover, but will they manage to escape?
- DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsBetsy PalmerAdrienne KingJeannine TaylorA group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.Friday the 13th was the first independent slasher film to be acquired by a major motion picture studio and it became a huge box office success.
As of 2018, Friday the 13th has spawned ten sequels. - DirectorPaul LynchStarsLeslie NielsenJamie Lee CurtisCasey StevensAt a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.Another influential slasher film of the 1980s.
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen! - DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsBen JohnsonJamie Lee CurtisHart BochnerThree years after a prank went terribly awry, the six college students responsible are targeted by a masked killer at a New Year's Eve party aboard a moving train.
- DirectorLewis JacksonStarsBrandon MaggartJeffrey DeMunnDianne HullA toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.
- DirectorDavid HessStarsJennifer RunyonForrest SwonsenLinda GentileA group of teenagers at a party find themselves being stalked by a maniacal killer in a Santa Claus costume.
- DirectorWilliam LustigStarsJoe SpinellCaroline MunroAbigail ClaytonA psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.Originally considered an exploitation film. With a minuscule budget, many scenes in the film were shot guerrilla style.
While not prosecuted for obscenity nor officially listed as a video nasty, Maniac was seized by various police forces across Greater Manchester and Lancashire during the video nasty panic, presumably based on the film's notorious reputation overseas. - DirectorEmmett AlstonStarsRoz KellyKip NivenChris WallaceDuring a New Year's Eve celebration, a Los Angeles disc jockey receives a phone call saying that when New Year's strikes in each time zone, someone will be murdered - and she will be the last one.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBetsy PalmerAmy SteelJohn FureyFive years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.Set five years after the events of Friday the 13th, the plot again follows a group of camp counselors who arrive at a training camp near Crystal Lake, only to be murdered one by one.
- DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsPaul KelmanLori HallierNeil AffleckA decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.Even after cutting the film to match the requirements made by the MPAA, it was again returned with an X-rating and further cuts were demanded.
Even today the complete uncut version has not been released (though the 2009 DVD and Blu-ray release by Lionsgate reinstated three minutes of excised footage). - DirectorEd HuntStarsLori LethinMelinda CordellJulie BrownThree children are born at the height of an eclipse of the sun. Ten years later, they begin to murder the people around them - even their family members.
- DirectorTony MaylamStarsBrian MatthewsLeah AyresBrian BackerA former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.The Burning was heavily trimmed to receive its R-rating. VIPCO released a cut version in the early 1990s, missing about thirty seconds' worth of Savini's gore effects, but by 2001 the censor board was ready to pass the uncut version.
- DirectorHerb FreedStarsChristopher GeorgePatch MackenzieE. Danny MurphyA masked killer begins murdering students on the school track team after a track runner dies upon completion of a 30 second 200-meter race.
- DirectorJoe GiannoneStarsGaylen RossTony NunziataHarriet BassA legendary psychopathic murderer stalks a summer camp.
- DirectorTom DeSimoneStarsLinda BlairVincent Van PattenPeter BartonFour college fraternity and sorority pledges spend the night in a deserted old mansion as part of a hazing ritual during hell night, where they are stalked by the only survivor of a family massacre from the mansion's sordid past.
- DirectorJimmy HustonStarsCecile BagdadiJoel S. RiceRalph BrownA psycho killer shows up on college campus to slash up pretty co-eds and dumb jocks.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsLeonard MannRachel WardDrew SnyderWho's been decapitating the innocent girls at a local night school? The police are baffled.In England, Night School became a video nasty.
- DirectorMickey RoseMichael RitchieStarsKristen RiterMatthew GoldsbyJerry BelsonA serial killer with his signature heavy breathing proceeds to systematically kill the students and teachers of Lamab high school.