Made popular by iconic movies likeHalloween,Friday the 13th, andA Nightmare on Elm Street,the slasher film is a subgenre of horror cinema that often involves a killer stalking and murdering a group of people. To distinguish itself from other horror films, the slasher film typically adheres to anestablished formula and set of tropes: a wrongful action causing severe trauma that inspires the killer, the catharsis of the kill scene, and the final girl who outlives the other characters.
As with any genre, the slasher film has transformed over the years and continues to surprise as it adapts to changing audience expectations. It is no longer enough to merely gratify the audience with gruesome deaths or the killer’s reveal, and so the genre has evolved in new and exciting ways that continue to put a spin on the classic slasher genre.
10‘Scream’ (1996)
One of the first self-referential slashers released after the genre’s classical period that spanned from 1974 to 1993,Wes Craven’sScreamsatirized the genre through its meta commentary on the tropes and clichés that have become familiar to a media-literate audience.
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Set in the small town of Woodsboro,Screamfollows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her fellow high-schoolers tormented at the hands of Ghostface - the sadistic killer with a penchant for horror movies. Known for calling their victims over the phone and asking horror movie trivia before taunting their victims who fall into the typical traps and clichés of the genre,Screamrevels in rewarding its media-literate audience who are aware of the tropes and how to overcome them.
9‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2011)
The Cabin in the Woodsfollows five college friends on a weekend trip to a remote cabin. As they start to encounter zombies and werewolves, the friends soon learn their cabin resides within a force field, an area of which is under control by a secret facility whose purpose is to methodologically torture the cabin’s inhabitants under guidance from “The Director” (Sigourney Weaver) in an attempt to appease The Ancient Ones.
Drew Goddard’s 2011 film is explicit in its critique of both the slasher genre and the broader entertainment industry as it reveals the motivations behind the creation of horror movie clichés and archetypes that should be allowed to be dismantled.
8‘You’re Next’ (2011)
During their wedding anniversary getaway, the members of the Davison family come under attack by a gang of mysterious killers in animal masks. However, the killers soon discover that one of their victims has a secret talent for fighting back thanks to her combat and survival skills training.
Adam Wingard’sYou’re Nextsubverts the archetype of the final girl who is typically glorified for their moral purity. Instead Erin (Sharni Vinson) shows a different side to the final girl, a cunning and ruthless survivalist who will stop at nothing to stay alive.
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7‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009)
As a series of deaths of teenage boys rock the small town of Devil’s Kettle, the locals are left questioning who or what is responsible for the vicious murders. Needy (Amanda Seyfried) has noticed a change in her best friend Jennifer (Megan Fox), and soon learns that her soul was sacrificed to satan, and she has become a bloodthirsty succubus intent on eating teenage boys.
Karyn Kusama’s cult classicJennifer’s Bodysubverts the classic slasher film largely through its emphasis on female empowerment. Drawing attention to the power of a subverted gaze,Jennifer’s Bodydisplaces the gendered tropes of the slasher film in favor of a film that revels in the gore and gratification ofsubversive female empowerment.
6‘Sissy’ (2022)
Sissyfollows Cecilia (Aisha Dee), a successful mental health advocate with a large social media following. When she runs into her ex-childhood best friend and is invited away on her bachelorette weekend, old memories are brought to light as she finds herself stuck in a remote cabin with her school bully and a taste for revenge.
Kane SenesandHannah Barlow’sAustralian indie horror filmSissyfollows the classic slasher narrative with a twist. This time audiences are invited to truly empathize with the morally ambiguous killer as the film offers a new perspective on the catharsis of slasher films.
5‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ (2022)
Following girlfriends Bee (Maria Bakalova) and Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) as they attend a hurricane party set in their wealthy friend’s mansion, a game of “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” goes terribly wrong when party guests start turning up dead, and those who remain are left questioning who the killer is among them.
Halina Reijn’sBodies Bodies Bodiesis a slasher that satirizes Gen Z and reflects on the impact internet culture has had on its audience. When it’s revealed that there was no killer all along, and the first corpse David (Pete Davidson) was actually just a victim of his own foolishness trying to perform a stunt for a TikTok video, it completely recontextualizes the past 90 minutes of the movie not as a slasher, but as critique on how Gen Z internet culture fuels conspiracy.
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4‘Freaky’ (2020)
After a run-in with a mystical dagger causes high school student Millie (Kathryn Newton) and the serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) to swap bodies, the two navigate their new lives with the Butcher relinquishing unforeseen power in his new body while Millie gets the help of her school friends to try to swap back before the change is permanent.
Christopher Landon’sFreakynot only cleverly adaptsMary Rodgers’ popular children’s novelFreaky Fridaywith a horrifying twist, but also puts a fun spin on the classic slasher narrative in which the final girl and killer are one and the same.
3‘The Final Girls’ (2015)
Todd Strauss-Schulson’sThe Final Girlsacts as both a homage and a parody to the classic era of the slasher film. It follows Max(Taissa Farmiga), the daughter of famous actress Amanda (Malin Åkerman) known for her role of Nancy in the fictional 80s slasher filmCamp Bloodbath.
When Max and her friends attend a screening of her mom’s old movie, they are transported into the world of the film and made to live out the events ofCamp Bloodbathin a fourth-wall bending critique of the slasher film from within itself. Within the world of the movie, the slasher film is relentlessly critiqued by its modern day visitors for its corny dialogue and unbelievable deaths - all elements that signify a typical classic 80s slasher movie for better or for worse.
2‘Happy Death Day’ (2017)
Landon’sHappy Death Dayintroduces atime loop twistto the slasher genre. Instead of the typical slasher movie showing the killer pick off a series of characters,Happy Death Dayis concerned only with the death of its lead character, but doesn’t stray from typical slasher style with the time loop narrative allowing for a series of gorey yet gratifying deaths.
1‘Totally Killer’ (2023)
Totally Killeris set 35 years after the shocking murders of three teenage girls, when the infamous masked killer returns on Halloween night to claim its final victim - Pam Hughes (Julie Bowen). Struggling with the grief of losing her mom, Pam’s daughter Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) back in time to where it all began in 1987, to team up with her mum and prevent the murders from happening in the first place.
Nahnatchka Khan’sTotally Killeris a time-traveling slasher that puts a horror twist onBack to the Future. It leverages the fact that the audience is already aware of each of the deaths, and instead finds catharsis in unraveling the mystery. In bringing a modern understanding to a classic 80s setting,Totally Killerfinds comedy as the two eras collide in hilarious ways as Julie learns to work with her teenage mom to solve the mystery of her future murder.
