History of the slasher genre

An overview of the slasher genre

1. History of the S lasher genre By C onor Horne

2. What is a Slasher movie? A S lasher film is defined as a film in which a psychopathic killer stalks and kills a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner. Great examples of the most popular S lasher films include: Friday the 13 th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Child’s Play (1984).

3. Earliest influences? Slasher films have had influences from many earlier film like, for example, The Spiral Staircase (1945) which featured POV shots and j ump scares; things commonplace in slasher films. There are various other influences that helped shape the genre throughout the early 20 th century.

4. The first Slasher film? Many people would say the Psycho, directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock is the first slasher film; the ‘Mother of all Slashers’. However, the film Peeping Tom (1960) was released 3 months before and has many of the same conventions and codes associated with that of a Slasher film.

5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973) The low-budget hit by director Tobe Hooper is the first film in one of the leading franchises in the horror genre itself, let alone the S lasher genre. Released in 1973 it is considered one of the greatest and most controversial horror films ever made. Empire magazine has described it as "the most purely horrifying horror movie ever made“.

6. Black Christmas (1974) One of my personal favourite slasher films Black Christmas, directed and produced by Bob Clarke sparked the start of holiday-themed slasher films. It embodies many of the classic Slasher tropes: A mysterious unknown caller, a sorority house, brutal murders and intrigue as it leaves you thinking who really was the murderer?

7. The Golden age of slasher films. Now we enter what is known as the Golden age of slasher films, a time in which the genre really flourished. Great classics were being crafted like Child’s Play, Friday the 13 th and A Nightmare on Elm S treet.

8. Halloween (1978) Directed by John Carpenter Halloween became one of the most successful independnt horror films ever made grossing $47 million (equivalent to $250 million as of 2014) and paved the way for many other S lasher films in the future.

9. Friday the 13 th (1980) Directed by Sean S. Cunningham Friday the 13 th became one of the best known films within the golden age of Slashers, it succeeded in what it set out to accomplish which was to frighten the audience. Funnily enough, Jason, one of the most recognisable killers was not actually in the film until the last scene.

10. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Directed by Wes Craven A Nightmare on Elm Street was released in 1984 and became an instant commercial success. It successfully played on people’s fear of being out of control, as the victims were in their dreams which were ultimately controlled by Freddy. A Nightmare on Elm Street has spawned multiple sequels and even a remake in 2010.

11. A Rough Patch After that the genre slowed down incredibly as less original and unique ideas were being put out in favour of more of the same. More sequels of some of the already established franchises like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Friday the 13 th . With the new-found popularity of VHS many low-budget Slasher films were allowed to pop up, it was the home video revolution.

12. A Brand new franchise In 1988 a brand new franchise was created; Child’s play. Child’s play, directed by Tom Holland has become a cult hit despite gaining only moderate success in the box office. Chucky, the main villain has now become one of the icons of the slasher genre.

13. An Honourable Mention: Candyman (1992) During the 90’s the S lasher genre saw a new icon with B ernard Rose’s Candyman, which showcased the first black S lasher killer icon. The narrative, based on a novel by the horror master Clive Barker borrows elements from Urban Legends like Bloody Mary; if you say her name in the mirror a few times she will appear.

14. A Revival: SCREAM (1996) Directed by Wes Craven, who also directed A Nightmare on Elm Street, SCREAM saw a revival to the Slasher genre. The genre seemed like a fad of the 80’s that didn’t carry on into the 90’s yet SCREAM successfully brought it back. Adding characters that were aware of the tropes and conventions of S lasher films.

15. Return of the Sequels As with many of the other main Slasher franchises we can expect there to be sequels. The sequel to the cult-hit, SCREAM 2 gained $101 million in the box office. It was the highest grossing R-rated film of the time. Other sequels to major franchises like Halloween and Child’s play also were released.

16. Remakes, Reboots and Throwbacks. By 2002 the S lasher genre had nearly all disappeared from modern cinema and since it had been a long time since there had been any real new ideas film-makers chose to make remakes; to bank on people’s nostalgia in hopes of creating a faithful modern adaptation of such timeless classics. Some examples of modern remakes include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and House of Wax (2005).

17. Late 2000’s to early 2010’s And that brings us to where we are today, there have only really been few new IPs that have really stood out from the crowd. There have been remakes and sequels to some of the bigger S lasher franchises though like Friday the 13 th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). A notable sequel to be released though is Curse of Chucky (2013) which bypassed cinemas entirely and went for, instead, a straight-to-DVD release.