Slashers — that gloriously grubby, stabby subsection of horror — were first unsheathed in the early 1970s, when Mario Bava stalked his cavorting, frequently disrobed victims around in A Bay of Blood. You can even look to Texas Chain Saw Massacre from the same time period, or even go back and pay Alfred Hitchcock a visit as he’s filling up the bathtub in Psycho.
But the Bava Blood bash set up mood of the slasher: Sexually charged, with a degree of mystery, where the ample cast of characters one-by-one take a sharp turn into doom. Slashers can be stylish (Opera, Dressed to Kill), carnal (Torso, Friday the 13th), grimly violent (The Prowler, The Burning), trashy (Pieces, The Slumber Party Massacre) and even supernatural (Halloween, Child’s Play). We’re studying all sides of the blade as we assemble movies that best represent this killer genre in the 100 best slasher movies, ranked by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh films first.
Critics Consensus: Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre. Because Psycho was filmed with tact, grace, and art, Hitchcock didn't just create modern horror, he validated it.
Synopsis: Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away [More]
Critics Consensus: Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day.
Synopsis: In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler [More]
Critics Consensus:Pearl finds Ti West squeezing fresh gore out of the world he created with X -- and once again benefiting from a brilliant Mia Goth performance.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of X, in this astonishing follow-up to the year's [More]
Critics Consensus:Fear Street Part Three: 1666 sends the slasher series back in time for a trilogy-concluding installment that caps things off on a screaming high note.
Synopsis: The origins of Sarah Fier's curse are finally revealed as history comes full circle on a night that changes the [More]
Critics Consensus: A smart and subversive twist on slasher horror, Fear Street Part II: 1978 shows that summer camp has never been scarier thanks to stellar performances from Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, and Ryan Simpkins.
Synopsis: Shadyside, 1978. School's out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider [More]
Critics Consensus:Terrifier 2 outdoes the original in every way -- which makes it bad news for the squeamish, but a bloody good time for genre enthusiasts.
Synopsis: After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the timid town of Miles County where he [More]
Critics Consensus:Totally Killer may not take full advantage of its promising conceit, but this time-traveling horror/sci-fi mashup is still enjoyable overall.
Synopsis: Thirty-five years after the shocking murder of three teens, the infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer" returns on Halloween night to claim [More]
Critics Consensus:Candyman takes an incisive, visually thrilling approach to deepening the franchise's mythology -- and terrifying audiences along the way.
Synopsis: For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago's Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost [More]
Critics Consensus: Thanks to a smart script and documentary-style camerawork, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves start-to-finish suspense, making it a classic in low-budget exploitation cinema.
Synopsis: Young adults encounter a house full of demented butchers who chase them with chain saws and other deadly tools. [More]
Critics Consensus:Fear Street Part One: 1994 kicks off the trilogy in promising fashion, honoring the source material with plenty of retro slasher appeal.
Synopsis: A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued [More]
Critics Consensus: As with the first film, Scream 2 is a gleeful takedown of scary movie conventions that manages to poke fun at terrible horror sequels without falling victim to the same fate.
Synopsis: Sydney (Neve Campbell) and tabloid reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) survived the events of the first Scream, but their nightmare [More]
Critics Consensus: With arresting visuals and an engrossingly lurid mystery, Dressed to Kill stylishly encapsulates writer-director Brian De Palma's signature strengths.
Synopsis: When Liz Blake (Nancy Allen), a prostitute, sees a mysterious woman brutally slay homemaker Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson), she finds [More]
Critics Consensus: Combining belly-busting humor with delightfully over-the-top gore, Thanksgiving is a feast for grindhouse fans.
Synopsis: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts -- the birthplace of the [More]
Critics Consensus: Though it ultimately sacrifices some mystery in the name of gory thrills, Candyman is a nuanced, effectively chilling tale that benefits from an interesting premise and some fine performances.
Synopsis: Skeptical graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) befriends Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams) while researching superstitions in a housing project on [More]
Critics Consensus:Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic - yet still effective - ingredients.
Synopsis: It's been 40 years since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from crazed killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. Locked [More]
Critics Consensus: Horror icon Wes Craven's subversive deconstruction of the genre is sly, witty, and surprisingly effective as a slasher film itself, even if it's a little too cheeky for some.
Synopsis: The sleepy little town of Woodsboro just woke up screaming. There's a killer in their midst who's seen a few [More]
Critics Consensus: As single-mindedly focused on mayhem as its demonic monster, In a Violent Nature serves up a deliciously disgusting feast for gore aficionados.
Synopsis: When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, [More]
Critics Consensus: Taking an axe to yuletide cheer and everything else in its path, Terrifier 3 is a bloody fantastic stocking stuffer for the holiday season.
Synopsis: After surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the [More]
Critics Consensus: Certain aspects of horror's most murderously meta franchise may be going stale, but a change of setting and some inventive set pieces help keep Scream VI reasonably sharp.
Synopsis: Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. [More]
Critics Consensus: A mixture of gory slasher and sweet rom-com that ingeniously nails both formulas, Heart Eyes serves up a bloody valentine that'll make the heart skip a beat.
Synopsis: For the past several years, the "Heart Eyes Killer" has wreaked havoc on Valentine's Day by stalking and murdering romantic [More]
Critics Consensus:Wes Craven's New Nightmare adds an unexpectedly satisfying - not to mention intelligent - meta layer to a horror franchise that had long since lost its way.
Synopsis: Reality and fantasy meet in unsettling ways in this installment of the long-running horror series, which finds director Wes Craven [More]
Critics Consensus:The Final Girls offers an affectionate nod to slasher tropes while adding a surprising layer of genuine emotion to go with the meta amusement.
Synopsis: Max, recently orphaned, goes to see a screening of a B-horror movie that her mother made 20 years earlier. When [More]
Critics Consensus: The kinetic camerawork and brutal over-the-top gore that made Dario Argento famous is on full display, but the addition of a compelling, complex story makes Deep Red a masterpiece.
Synopsis: A psychic medium (Macha Méril) is brutally murdered, and musician Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) feels a need to solve the [More]
Synopsis: Following the murder of Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda), an heiress possessing a beautiful piece of beachfront property, members of [More]
Critics Consensus:Happy Death Day puts a darkly humorous sci-fi spin on slasher conventions, with added edge courtesy of a starmaking performance from Jessica Rothe.
Synopsis: Tree Gelbman is a blissfully self-centered collegian who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of a student named [More]
Critics Consensus: The rare slasher with enough intelligence to wind up the tension between bloody outbursts, Black Christmas offers fiendishly enjoyable holiday viewing for genre fans.
Synopsis: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), [More]
Critics Consensus:Haunt is spooked by the spirits of its obvious influences, but still packs enough thrills and chills to satisfy horror fans up for a haunted house excursion.
Synopsis: On Halloween, several friends enter an extreme haunted house and quickly discover some of their nightmares are real. [More]
Critics Consensus: If it falls short of the deadly satire of Bret Easton Ellis's novel, American Psycho still finds its own blend of horror and humor, thanks in part to a fittingly creepy performance by Christian Bale.
Synopsis: In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as [More]
Critics Consensus: Rather quaint by today's standards, Friday the 13th still has its share of bloody surprises and a '70s-holdover aesthetic to slightly compel.
Synopsis: Crystal Lake's history of murder doesn't deter counselors from setting up a summer camp in the woodsy area. Superstitious locals [More]
Critics Consensus:A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors offers an imaginative and surprisingly satisfying rebound for a franchise already starting to succumb to sequelitis.
Synopsis: During a hallucinatory incident, young Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) has her wrists slashed by dream-stalking monster Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). [More]
Critics Consensus:Child's Play occasionally stumbles across its tonal tightrope of comedy and horror, but its genuinely creepy monster and some deft direction by Tom Holland makes this chiller stand out on the shelf.
Synopsis: Gunned down by Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon), dying murderer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) uses black magic to put [More]
Critics Consensus: All about the splashy kills, Terrifier artfully introduces the unpredictable massacrer mime Art, yet fails to carve an entertaining story worthy of his wrath.
Synopsis: A maniacal clown terrorizes three women on Halloween night. [More]
Critics Consensus: The franchise is showing its age, but Scream 4 is undeniably an improvement over its predecessor, with just enough meta humor and clever kills.
Synopsis: It has been many years since the Ghostface Killer cut a deadly path through the town of Woodsboro. In order [More]
Critics Consensus: While it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares, Orphan fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller.
Synopsis: Devastated by the loss of their unborn baby, Kate and John decide to adopt a child. At the orphanage, both [More]
Critics Consensus:April Fool's Day takes a decent stab at deconstructing the slasher genre, but an underwhelming story keeps it from really sinking in.
Synopsis: When a group of college students decides to spend spring break at the secluded island estate of their wealthy classmate, [More]
Critics Consensus:Friday the 13th: Part VI - Jason Lives indeed brings back ol' Vorhees, along with a sense of serviceable braindead fun.
Synopsis: Years ago, Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) killed infamous hockey-masked murderer Jason Voorhees (C.J. Graham), and the intensity of the experience [More]
Critics Consensus:A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master marks a relative high point in this franchise's bumpy creative journey, although the original remains far superior.
Synopsis: Grotesque Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) gives some more suburban teenagers something to dream about. [More]
Critics Consensus:It's a Wonderful Knife takes an enthusiastic stab at holiday-themed horror-comedy, even if it doesn't cut quite as deep as it should.
Synopsis: A year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve, Winnie Carruthers' life is less than wonderful [More]
Critics Consensus:The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 shocks with a gonzo blend of over-the-top humor and gore, but without the tense atmosphere of its predecessor, the stakes feel lower.
Synopsis: Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface (Bill Johnson) is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted [More]
Critics Consensus:The Strangers has a handful of genuinely scary moments, but they're not enough to elevate the end results above standard slasher fare.
Synopsis: Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay [More]
Critics Consensus: A by-the-numbers slasher that arrived a decade too late, the mostly tedious I Know What You Did Last Summer will likely only hook diehard fans of the genre.
Synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer [More]
Critics Consensus: Horror aficionados might have a ball with Prom Night, but a lack of mystery and inability to capitalize on the dance hall setting makes for a generic night of mayhem.
Synopsis: This slasher movie follows a relentless killer who is out to avenge the death of a young girl who died [More]
Critics Consensus: An intriguing subtext of repressed sexuality gives Freddy's Revenge some texture, but the Nightmare loses its edge in a sequel that lacks convincing performances or memorable scares.
Synopsis: Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) moves with his family into the home of the lone survivor from a series of attacks [More]
Critics Consensus:Hell Fest might give less demanding horror fans a few decent reasons to scream, but it's neither clever nor frightening enough to leave much of an impression.
Synopsis: On Halloween night, three young women and their respective boyfriends head to Hell Fest -- a ghoulish traveling carnival that [More]
Critics Consensus:Halloween Ends -- for now, anyway -- with a frequently befuddling installment that's stabbed, slashed, and beaten by a series of frustrating missed opportunities.
Synopsis: This is Laurie Strode's last stand. After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its [More]
Critics Consensus:The Strangers: Prey at Night may appeal to fans of the original who've been jonesing for a sequel, but its thin story and ironic embrace of genre tropes add up to a bloody step back.
Synopsis: Mike and his wife Cindy take their son and daughter on a road trip that becomes their worst nightmare. The [More]
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