Great horror movies cannot be singularly defined; instead, the genre is comprised of a diverse collection of special subgenres. Some are identified by specific monsters, like vampires and zombies; some have specific settings, like home invasion and haunted houses; and some feature familiar story structure… which is what brings us to the subject of slashers.
You know a slasher when you see it – with the tell-tale sign being a plot that involves a violent killer or killers on a spree, often methodically eliminating key players in the supporting cast. The subgenre includes a lot of shlock-y, gratuitous nonsense, but the story approach has also been brilliantly utilized by filmmakers in the last century, and it’s to celebrate the best of the best that we’ve put together this feature ranking the greatest slasher horror movies of all time.
15. Detention (2011)
Joseph Khan’s Detention qualifies for this list because its baseline genre is slasher – but the truth is that it is also oh so much more. It begins with a familiar setup – a serial killer called Cinderhella is on a rampage attacking high school students in a small town – but then the movie goes headlong into blissful insanity with plot twists involving time travel, body swaps, and more.
It’s made with such self-assured weirdness and unfurls at such a quick pace that it’s hypnotizing, and there is no other cinematic experience quite like it.
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14. The Frighteners (1996)
Though he is now best known for his work in the world of Middle-earth and making documentaries, Peter Jackson will long be remembered for his fantastic contributions to the horror genre, and while the brilliance of 1992’s Braindead doesn’t qualify for this particular ranking, his excellent 1996 film, The Frighteners, most definitely does. The movie executes a cool twist on the genre – with a slasher continuing his slashing from beyond the grave – and the lovable charisma of Michael J. Fox as a huckster paranormal investigator well-pairs comedy with scares.
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13. American Psycho (2000)
Author Brett Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho is an extreme book that's tough to stomach, which is why it was viewed as unadaptable following its release – but that just means that director Mary Harron deserves all the more credit for her incredible job bringing the material to the big screen. It’s not a traditional slasher in terms of story structure, but it does hit on the key themes of the subgenre in its presentation of lurking madness and evil, and it also happens to be a sharp and delicious satire of yuppie culture.
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12. Child’s Play 2 (1990)
There are many great (as well as underappreciated) slasher sequels, but John Lafia’s Child’s Play 2 is the movie I hold in high enough esteem to qualify for this ranking. The original Child’s Play is awesome and has the distinction in pop culture history of introducing the world to Chucky (Brad Dourif), but the first sequel is where the killer doll starts getting properly inventive with his kills and the foster brother/sister dynamic between Alex Vincent's Andy Barclay and Christine Elise's Kyle make for wonderful sibling heroes.
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11. Deep Red (1975)
This list of the best slashers would feel empty without a representative from Team Giallo, and it doesn’t get much better than Dario Argento’s Deep Red. Following a musician as he independently investigates a series of murders in Turin, Italy, there’s a marvelous, taut mystery at its heart with a stellar twist, and while certainly violent, it’s a gorgeous movie of bold, visceral, and colorful cinematography and production design.
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10. Predator (1987)
Does the killer have to be human or at least formerly human for a movie to qualify as a slasher? The vast majority of the titles featured in this ranking would suggest that the answer to that question is yes…but I also feel that John McTiernan’s Predator hones close enough to the traditional structure of the subgenre that it counts.
There obviously is an abundance of action blockbuster dressing – the story centering on a team of mercenaries hired for what they are told is a standard rescue mission – but soldiers getting targeted and picked off one-by-one is classic slasher material.
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9. Frenzy (1972)
Alfred Hitchcock had a major hand in the birth of the slasher, but while one title gets the majority of love for being a seminal title in the subgenre (more in a bit), the excellence of Frenzy is not to be ignored in this discussion. In addition to the movie being one of the director’s great mistaken identity stories, with Richard Blaney (Jon Finch) accused of being the serial killer called the Necktie Murderer, Barry Foster delivers a fully unnerving turn as the Bob Rusk, whose friendly smile perfectly masks his violent, dangerous mind.
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8. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)
Not only is John McNaughton’s Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer one of the best slasher films of all time, it would also rank highly on a list of movies that require thorough post-screening showers. Part of what makes this subgenre special is the idea that a sadistic lunatic might be hanging out at your local convenience store, gas station or movie theater, and Henry makes that reality disturbingly clear. No amount of cinematic desensitization will ever allow you to shake off the work done here by Michael Rooker and Tom Towles.
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7. Peeping Tom (1960)
As recognized in this list, perspective is not a disqualifying factor in defining slashers, as the subgenre has stories told from the point of view of victims and killers alike – and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom is the best all time example of the latter.
Like another horror classic that was released just two months later (a title that will be further discussed a bit later), the movie helped creatively pave the way for slashers, and in itself is both thrilling and fascinating. Understanding the obsession of Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) to capture the fear of his victims on film can’t help but lead one to contemplate the draw of genre cinema.
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6. Black Christmas (1974)
Contrasting the stereotypically merry time of year that is the holiday season with a grim tale of chaos, bloodshed and terror is catnip that a lot of horror directors can’t resist, and it has been put to use in terrific films including Joe Dante’s Gremlins, Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s Silent Night, Deadly Night, and René Manzor's Deadly Games, but Bob Clark’s Black Christmas is the best of the bunch and one of the best slasher movies of all time.
The obscene phone calls from “Billy” – with their manic shifting tones, giggles and vile suggestions – are chilling enough, but far worse are his actions as he terrorizes the girls of a sorority house.
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Buy Black Christmas on Blu-ray on Amazon.
5. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Even by slasher standards, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an extremely simple film. A bunch of kids on a road trip get stranded in the worst possible place, and as they venture away from their van, they end up encountering the chainsaw-wielding madman known as Leatherface and his psychotic, cannibalistic family. It’s because of its stripped down nature, however, that it is so utterly terrifying.
There are no gimmicks or twists to remind you that you are watching a movie; it’s grounded in such a way to remind you that the world can be a nightmare, and we are along for the ride like a blood-soaked young woman laughing hysterically in the bed of a speeding pickup truck.
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4. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
A lot of people don’t like horror movies because they give them nightmares… and that’s what makes Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street so devilish: not only will it inspire nightmares, but it suggests you may be wholly unsafe while experiencing them. The performance by Robert Englund and the iconography of Freddy Krueger (the famed knife glove, fedora, and stripped sweater) are unforgettable, and it’s impeccably crafted from its cinematography to its special effects to its sound design to send chills up your spine.
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Buy A Nightmare On Elm Street on Blu-ray on Amazon.
3. Scream (1994)
This feature is admittedly dominated by subgenre prototypes and classics, but Wes Craven’s Scream is a landmark achievement that did a magical job evolving the genre via introspection after the golden age that was the 1980s.
With its genius script by Kevin Williamson, it’s as much a satire as it is a slasher, but the brilliance of Craven is that the laughs don’t undercut the terror – from Ghostface’s shocking slaying of Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker at the start to the showdown between Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and the “friends” (Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard) who murdered her mother.
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2. Halloween (1978)
The Shape. I think those two words alone should be enough to explain the high placement of John Carpenter’s Halloween in this ranking, but I will elaborate anyway.
It’s the film that arguably paved the way for the golden age of slashers in the 1980s, and helped cement subgenre elements that we view as staples today – including an iconography-and-myth-heavy killer (Michael Myers), the suburban setting (Haddonfield, Illinois), and the classic final girl (Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode). Carpenter didn’t invent the slasher genre, but he pretty much perfected it in 1978.
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1. Psycho (1960)
I’ve alluded to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho a couple times already in this feature before getting to this point, and there’s a reason for that: without it, slasher movies may not exist as we know them.
It’s a film so engrained in pop culture that even those who haven’t seen it know about the mid-shower death of Janet Leigh's Marion Crane and the twist with Norman Bates’ mother, but it’s brought to life with such incredible style and atmosphere that even memorizing every scene won’t minimize the chills it induces.
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For more scary cinematic goodness, check out our feature keeping track of upcoming horror movies and our list of 32 horror movies for genre beginners.
