A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Friday the 13th is a 1980 American independent slasher film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Victor Miller, and starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Kevin Bacon. Its plot follows a group of teenage camp counselors who are murdered one by one by an unknown killer while they are attempting to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past.
Candyman is a 1992 American gothic supernatural horror film, written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, and Vanessa E. Williams. Based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden", the film follows a Chicago graduate student completing a thesis on urban legends and folklore, which leads her to the legend of the "Candyman", the ghost of an African-American artist and the son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century for his relationship with the daughter of a wealthy white man.
Killdozer! is a 1974 made for TV science-fiction horror movie, adapted from a 1944 novella of the same title by Theodore Sturgeon. A comic book adaptation appeared the same year, in Marvel Comics' Worlds Unknown #6. The film has since gained a cult following.
The Burning is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Tony Maylam, and starring Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua, and Lou David. Its plot follows a summer camp caretaker who is horribly burnt from a prank gone wrong, where he seeks vengeance at a nearby summer camp years later. The film marks the debuts of actors Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter.
Scarecrows is a 1988 American slasher film written, produced and directed by William Wesley. Its plot follows a group of mercenaries who hijacked a plane in California, and after making an emergency landing in a cornfield, find themselves stalked by murderous scarecrows possessed by spirits.
Midnight Movie is a 2008 American slasher film directed by Jack Messitt, who also co-wrote the film, and produced by Kacy Andrews.
Jolly Roger: Massacre at Cutter's Cove is a 2005 American horror film by The Asylum, written by Gary Jones and Jeffrey Miller and directed by Jones, and starring Rhett Giles as Jolly Roger.
The Boogens is a 1981 American monster film directed by James L. Conway and starring Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, Jeff Harlan, John Crawford, Med Flory, Jon Lormer, and Scott Wilkinson. The title refers to scaly turtle-like monsters that are released from an abandoned and boarded-up silver mine, and begin to wreak havoc.
Trackman is a 2007 Russian slasher film directed by Igor Shavlak.
Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet is a 2009 American slasher film written and directed by Frank Sabatella, and co-written by Elke Blasi. The film stars Bill Moseley, Nate Dushku, and Danielle Harris.
Don't Answer the Phone! is a 1980 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Robert Hammer.
Detention is a 2011 American slasher black comedy film directed by Joseph Kahn, and co-written with Mark Palermo. The film premiered in March 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Detention stars Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke, and Dane Cook.
Wrestlemaniac is a 2006 American slasher film written and directed by Jesse Baget and starring Rey Misterio Sr.
Adam and Evil is a 2004 American slasher film directed by Andrew Van Slee. It stars Erica Cerra, James Clayton, and Jodie Graham. The plot follows a group of friends who are stalked and murdered by a masked killer during a camping trip.
A Night to Dismember is a 1983 American slasher horror film, produced and directed by Doris Wishman. The film stars pornographic actress Samantha Fox as a psychotic young woman, recently released from a psychiatric institution, who is driven to kill by an ancestral curse. It was the first and only foray into the horror genre for Wishman, who mainly directed and produced sexploitation films.
Barracuda is a 1977 American horror/thriller film about a small Florida coastal town that is menaced by chemically induced and highly aggressive barracuda fish. The cast included Wayne Crawford, Jason Evers, Roberta Leighton, Cliff Emmich, William Kerwin and Bert Freed. It was directed by Harry Kerwin, with the underwater sequences handled by Wayne Crawford.
The Final Girls is a 2015 American comedy horror film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, and Nina Dobrev. The plot follows a group of high school students who are transported into a 1986 slasher film called Camp Bloodbath.
The Blackout is a 2009 American science fiction horror film directed by Robert David Sanders and starring Barbara Streifel Sanders, Joseph Dunn, Ian Malcolm, Michael Caruso, Caroline Rich, Anthony Tedesco, and James Martinez. The film is about the occupants of The Ravenwood as they try to escape the building during a citywide blackout, all the while being stalked by terrifying creatures.
Camp Massacre is a 2014 American comedy horror slasher film directed by Jim O'Rear and Daniel Emery Taylor, starring Bree Olson, Al Snow and Megan Hunt.
