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.
The final girl is a trope in horror films. It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been observed in many films, including Psycho, Voices of Desire, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, Alien, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and Train to Busan. The term was coined by Carol J. Clover in her article "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" (1987). Clover suggested that in these films, the viewer began by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experienced a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film.
Prom Night is a 1980 slasher film directed by Paul Lynch and written by William Gray. Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen star. The film's plot follows a group of high school seniors who are targeted at their prom by a masked killer, seeking vengeance for the accidental death of a young girl. The film features supporting performances from Casey Stevens, Eddie Benton, Mary Beth Rubens and Michael Tough.
Terror Train is a 1980 slasher film directed by Roger Spottiswoode in his directorial debut and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and Hart Bochner. The film follows a group of pre-medical school students holding a New Year's Eve costume party on a moving train who are targeted by a killer who dons their costumes. It features supporting performances from Sandee Currie, Anthony Sherwood, and David Copperfield.
The Human Tornado is a 1976 American blaxploitation film directed by Cliff Roquemore. The film is a sequel to Dolemite.
The Suckling is a 1990 American horror film directed by Francis Teri and starring Frank Rivera, Marie Michaels, and Michael Gingold.
The Devonsville Terror is a 1983 American supernatural horror film directed by Ulli Lommel and starring Suzanna Love, Donald Pleasence, and Robert Walker. The plot focuses on three different women who arrive in a conservative New England town, one of whom is the reincarnation of a witch who was wrongfully executed along with two others by the town's founding fathers in 1683.
Blades is a 1989 American horror comedy film distributed by Troma Entertainment and directed and edited by Thomas R. Rondinella, who also co-wrote the film with producers William R. Pace and John P. Finegan. Its plot concerns a series of brutal murders occurring at a prestigious country club's golf course, which are apparently the work of a possessed lawn mower.
Frightmare is a 1983 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane. It stars Ferdy Mayne, Luca Bercovici, Jennifer Starrett, Nita Talbot and Barbara Pilavin, along with Jeffrey Combs in his horror film acting debut. The film's plot follows a group of drama students who decide to kidnap the corpse of a recently deceased horror movie star. By disrupting his tomb, they unwittingly release an ancient black magic that begins consuming them one by one.
Horror House on Highway 5 is a 1985 American slasher film written and directed by Richard Casey. Its plot follows three college students researching the case of a missing scientist and possible Nazi in a small California town, who fall prey to two insane brothers, as well as a killer donning a Richard Nixon mask.
Spookies is a 1986 American independent horror film directed by Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran, with additional footage directed by Eugenie Joseph. It stars Felix Ward, Dan Scott, Alec Nemser, and Maria Pechukas, and follows a group of partying adults who find an abandoned mansion and become trapped inside as a warlock tries to sacrifice the group with the intention of using their vitality to keep his wife alive.
Uninvited is a 1987 American science-fiction horror film written, produced and directed by Greydon Clark and starring George Kennedy, Alex Cord, Clu Gulager, Toni Hudson and Eric Larson. The film primarily takes place aboard a luxury yacht owned by a criminal multimillionaire and bound for the Cayman Islands, whose passengers and crew are terrorized by a mutant cat.
Tales of Halloween is a 2015 American comedy horror anthology film consisting of ten interlocking segments, each revolving around the holiday indicated by the title. Segments were directed by Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, and Dave Parker.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a 2018 American horror comedy film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A stand-alone sequel to 2015's Goosebumps, it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. The new cast consists of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell, and Ken Jeong. The plot follows two young boys who accidentally release the monsters from the Goosebumps franchise in their town after opening an unpublished Goosebumps manuscript titled Haunted Halloween, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.
Unmasked Part 25 is a 1988 British slasher film directed by Anders Palm. Written and produced by Mark Cutforth, the film serves as both a horror film and a parody of the slasher genre, and the Friday the 13th film series in particular. It stars Gregory Cox as Jackson, a hockey mask-wearing serial killer who develops a romance with a blind woman named Shelly and grows weary of his murderous ways. The film's cast also includes Edward Brayshaw as Jackson's father.
Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films". The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore and distribute old X-rated films that were lost or otherwise unavailable. Their catalog has since expanded to include other types of cult and exploitation films, including horror films and action films.
Nurse Sherri is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Al Adamson and starring Jill Jacobson, Geoffrey Land, and Marilyn Joi. Produced and distributed by Independent-International Pictures, the film's plot follows a nurse who becomes possessed by the spirit of a vengeful cult leader who died in the hospital where she works. "Reanhauer," the name of the cult leader character, appears to have been derived from Margaret L. Reinauer, who presided over the real-life cult The Circle of Friends. The incident taking place early in the film, during which Reanhauer and his followers seek to resurrect one of their dead brethren via chanting, may refer to the attempted resurrection of seventeen-year-old Katherine Globe, who died after she was refused medical attention by religious zealots at St. Matthias, Bellwoods in Toronto in 1967. The film is also known under such titles as The Possession of Nurse Sherri and Black Voodoo, as well as Beyond the Living, Hospital of Terror, Killer's Curse, and Hands of Death.
New York Ninja is a 2021 American action film written, directed by and starring John Liu. It was shot in 1984, but was not edited or released until 2021, when its footage was discovered and restored by the film preservation and home video distributor Vinegar Syndrome.
