Slasher film

The slasher film is a sub-genre of the horror genre. Typically, a masked, psychotic person stalks and graphically kills teenagers or young adults who are away from adult supervision. Slashers are often followed by multiple sequels which steadily decline in quality and fan interest.

Notable slasher movies

• Bay of Blood (1971) a.k.a. Twitch of the Death Nerve
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - first in the series about a family of cannibals.
• Halloween (1978) - about a masked killer that escapes a mental institution. Started the 80's slasher craze.
• Friday the 13th (1980) - the first in a long-running series. A mother avenges her dead son by killing teenagers at a summer camp.
• Maniac (1980) - explores sexual motivations of the killer.
• Sleepaway Camp (1983) - first in a series of typical 1980s slashers.
• A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) - first in the series that gave slashers a supernatural twist.
• Scream (1996) - began the 1990s revival, followed by 2 sequels.
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - most successful of the post-Scream slashers, followed by further sequels.
• Scary Movie (2000) - spoof of Scream, followed by multiple sequels
• Freddy vs. Jason (2003) - combined the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises.
• High Tension (2003) - French homage to the heyday of the American genre, also known as Haute Tension or Switchblade Romance.