A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers 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.
Survival horror is a subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, such as dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American supernatural slasher media franchise consisting of nine films, a television series, novels, comic books, and various other media. The franchise began with the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), written and directed by Wes Craven. The overall plot of the franchise centers around the fictional character Freddy Krueger, the apparition of a former child killer who was burned alive by the vengeful parents of his victims, who returns from the grave to terrorize and kill the teenage residents of the fictional Springwood, Ohio in their dreams. Craven returned to the franchise to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write and direct Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). The films collectively grossed $472 million at the box office worldwide.
Barbara Crampton is an American actress and producer. She began her career in the 1980s in television soap operas before starring in horror and thriller films. In 2024, Crampton was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror franchise created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. It consists of nine films, comics, a novel, and two video game adaptations. The franchise focuses on the cannibalistic spree killer Leatherface and his family, who terrorize unsuspecting visitors to their territories in the desolate Texas countryside, typically killing and subsequently cooking them. The film series has grossed over $252 million at the worldwide box office.
"Robbing the Cradle" is a level in the 2004 video game Thief: Deadly Shadows, developed by Ion Storm. Unlike other levels in the game, it features a strong survival horror theme, in addition to the stealth gameplay typical of the Thief series. Players traverse an abandoned, haunted orphanage and mental asylum called the Shalebridge Cradle, while attempting to free the soul of a young girl from the building's captivity.
Slasher is a horror anthology television series created by Aaron Martin. It premiered on Chiller on March 4, 2016, and on Super Channel on April 1, 2016. The licensing rights for the second season were acquired by Netflix in January 2017. The second season was released on October 17, 2017. On August 8, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on May 23, 2019. An eight-episode fourth season was ordered for Shudder, premiering on August 12, 2021. On February 10, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on April 6, 2023.
Dead by Daylight is an online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror video game developed and published by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. It is a one-versus-four game in which one player takes on the role of a Killer and the other four play as Survivors; the Killer must hunt and impale each Survivor on sacrificial hooks to appease a malevolent force known as the Entity, while the Survivors have to avoid being caught and power up the exit gates by working together to fix five generators.
A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements.
The Backrooms are a fictional location originating from a 2019 4chan thread. One of the best known examples of the liminal space aesthetic, the Backrooms are usually portrayed as an impossibly large extradimensional expanse of empty rooms, accessed by exiting reality.
The Dark Pictures Anthology is an anthology series of interactive drama and survival horror video games developed and published by Supermassive Games. The anthology is planned to consist of eight games, with each game inspired by a different horror genre. Each game features five main characters whose survival depends on the choices made by the player. While each character only appears in one game, face models are often reused in other games, except those of the leading actors. The games use a third-person perspective and the ability to choose from various dialogue options and courses of action.
Evil Dead: The Game is a 2022 asymmetric survival horror game developed by Saber Madrid and published by Boss Team Games. It is part of the Evil Dead franchise. It features Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, along with most of the original cast reprising their roles.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me is a 2022 interactive drama and survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the fourth game of the first season, and the season finale of The Dark Pictures Anthology. A game with a multilinear plot, decisions can significantly alter the trajectory of the story and change the relationships between the five playable protagonists; some lead to their permanent deaths. The Devil in Me follows five members of a documentary film crew who are invited to a replica of H. H. Holmes' hotel on an island in Lake Michigan called Hunter's Island to film an episode of their series. It's not long before they discover their lives are at risk due to traps placed throughout the hotel and they must escape the island before Granthem Du'Met kills them. Jessie Buckley, who plays investigative journalist and the host of the documentary film show, Kate Wilder, was marketed as the game's leading actress. Jason Graves, a long-time collaborator with Supermassive for the series, returned to compose the soundtrack.
Instinction is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed and published by Hashbane Interactive, based in New Zealand. Inspired by the Dino Crisis game series, development began around early 2020. It was originally scheduled for release in September 2022, although additional project financing helped fund a larger development team to expand the game, with the release pushed to 2025. It will be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Murder House is a slasher-inspired horror game by Puppet Combo, originally released for Microsoft Windows in October 2020, and later for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2021. The game focuses on a news crew arriving at the house of a thought-dead serial killer to film a documentary, only for the killer to re-emerge and hunt them down.
Puppet Master: The Game is a 2023 free-to-play early access survival horror game based on the Puppet Master franchise. It was developed by October Games and published by Full Moon Features and October Games. It features co-operative gameplay and player versus player (PvP) combat. Puppet Master: The Game was released in early access for Steam on March 1, 2023.
Killer Frequency is a 2023 first-person horror-adventure game developed and published by Team17. The game takes place in a small town in 1987, where players control a DJ who acts as an impromptu radio dispatcher when a serial killer returns to terrorize the town's residents. The player must take calls from the survivors and solve various puzzles to help them escape the killer. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and comedy horror elements.
Mouthwashing is a 2024 psychological horror adventure game developed by Wrong Organ and published by Critical Reflex. Played from a first-person perspective, the game follows the five crew members of the freighter spaceship Tulpar after a mysterious crash leaves them stranded in space, trapped within as supplies dwindle. The captain, alive but severely maimed and unable to speak or move, is blamed by the remaining crew for deliberately crashing the ship for reasons unknown. The game uses a split, nonlinear narrative. The game received positive reception from video game critics for its narrative and visual style.
