The 35 Best Slasher Movies Of All Time Ranked

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" brought the fear of monsters into a modern setting. Instead of creatures from the Black Lagoon or caped vampires in castles, the pioneering filmmaker forced audiences to think differently about the dangers lurking in their own backyards. From the butcher knife to the twist ending, it also presented the basic mechanics which would later define the slasher movie subgenre.

Throughout the following two decades, numerous other films, including 1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," laid the groundwork for the slasher boom of the 1980s. Other early entries, like 1964's "Blood Feast," toyed with grotesque images of severed limbs and tense stalking sequences. Yet, it wasn't until John Carpenter's 1978 classic "Halloween" that the formula was perfected with the incorporation of several other genre tropes such as the Final Girl and the masked killer.

Virtually a direct copy of Carpenter's film"Friday the 13th," arrived two years later, and all bets were off. All the big players, including Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street," bought into the subgenre's conventions and pumped out countless sequels. There was "Child's Play" and "Candyman" and "Leprechaun," oh my! By the mid-90s, horror was due for a good ole fashion shakeup, and thanks to 1996's "Scream," slashers were cool again.

For the sake of this greatest list, I opted not to include the usual suspects. Instead, you'll find those slashers that either don't get enough credit for molding the genre or have been sorely underseen. Check your backseat, and buckle up. It's going to be a bloody good ride!

Released in 1981, "My Bloody Valentine" is set in a location you don't often see in slasher movies: a coal mining town. Directed by George Mihalka, the feature follows a group of residents from the town of Valentine Bluffs as they gear up for their first Valentine's Day dance in 20 years. 

Two decades before, five miners died in a tragic accident. Trapped underground, the accident's sole survivor, a miner named Harry Warden, turned to cannibalism. Consequently, Warden completely lost his mind and went on a killing spree, tracking down the two supervisors who failed to check methane levels properly. 

In the present, the townspeople believe Harry to be dead. Little do they know, Harry has returned, and his vendetta against the town is far from over. He's only getting started. With a script written by John Beaird, the film doesn't do much in pushing the genre forward, but when you think of classic slashers, you better think of "My Bloody Valentine."

Set in a grocery store, 1989's "Intruder" is an under-appreciated slasher with epic, inventive kills and a high-voltage third act. Directed by Scott Spiegel (who co-wrote the script with "Pulp Fiction's" Lawrence Bender) this little-known flick follows a group of supermarket employees as they're stalked and ground into meat. 

After closing time, they're tasked with restocking the shelves and preparing for the next business day, but a mysterious intruder has other plans. Elizabeth Cox stars as Jennifer whose ex-boyfriend Craig (David Byrnes) serves as the obligatory red herring (or is he?) when he shows up and picks a fight with store co-owner Bill (Danny Hicks). 

After a few scuffles, Craig is tossed out on the street. The real killer, however, has already slipped into the store and lurks through the aisles and the storerooms. Soon, the employees meet grisly ends. The killer proves he has a flair for the dramatic, posing the bodies of his victims in interesting ways. "Intruder," (which also co-stars the one-and-only Sam Raimi, director of "Evil Dead") is just plain fun.

"Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker" (also called "Night Warning") is not for the faint of heart, especially if you're part of the LGBTQ+ community. Released in 1981, the film captures the rampant homophobia of the time and how reactionary the general public was to the early outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. 

Michael Miller was originally hired to direct and actually filmed the opening sequence before being fired. From there, William Asher signed on and completed the shoot. With a script co-written by Stephen Breimer, Boon Collins, and Alan Jay Glueckman, the story follows high school senior Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol) and his cruelly manipulative mother Cheryl, portrayed by Susan Tyrrell, who gives an incredibly deranged performance. As Billy experiments sexually with another student, Julia (Julia Duffy), and plans for his future, his mother doesn't take too kindly to his need to break away.

Bodies hit the floor, but that's not the most terrifying aspect. From a homophobic policeman and frequent use of the "f slur," the film doesn't hold back in portraying the horror many queer people endure. It's a tough watch but an essential one.

"Scream 4" crawled so "Tragedy Girls" could run. Addressing similar themes of social media and fame obsession, the 2017 film (directed by Tyler MacIntyre, who co-wrote the script with Chris Lee Hill from an original screenplay by Justin Olsen) combines retro style, modern music, and a savvy genre sensibility. 

McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) have big ambitions. They want to become the next great serial killers. But there's a problem: They can't get the public or the media to believe a series of troubling deaths to be anything but accidental. To take their careers to the next level, they kidnap a known sociopath and try coercing him into teaching them his ghastly tricks. Dead bodies mount, and differing opinions in their murderous approach lead to a rift between McKayla and Sadie. They eventually iron out their differences and, in the tradition of "Thelma & Louise," hit the open road on a cross-country killing spree. "Tragedy Girls" is a glossy, gory, and glorious thrill ride.

Sometimes, a sequel is just plain better than the original. That's no shade to Jamie Lee Curtis, the star of 1980's "Prom Night." That movie is fine, but it's nowhere near as good as the 1987 follow-up "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II." 

Directed by Bruce Pittman and starring Lisa Schrage as the title character, the film was originally titled "The Haunting of Hamilton High." However, the producers wanted to capitalize on "Prom Night's" success and name recognition, and the film was retitled. Ron Oliver's script takes supernatural elements and fuses them with the slasher template, giving "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II" a heightened charm and sense of mystery. 

In 1957, 17-year-old prom queen Mary Lou Maloney is burned to death on stage in a prank gone wrong, Three decades later, she returns from the grave for revenge. Minor similarities to Brian De Palma's "Carrie" aside, "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II" more than stands on its own as an essential "slashic."

Michael Saovi, famously known as a protégé of Dario Arengto, made his directorial debut with a film straddling the giallo and slasher genres. In 1987's "StageFright," Soavi utilizes conventions from both genres and melds them into his own ferociously thrilling creation. 

The film follows a troupe of actors readying an upcoming production. The pressure is on for the director, Peter (David Brandon), to deliver a worthwhile investment to his producers. When a mental asylum patient escapes from a nearby institution, he trails two actors to the theatre and wreaks havoc. The killer dons an owl costume (the exact one used in the play) and stealthily slips in and out of the shadows. 

One particular death scene recreates an actual moment in the show as the rest of the cast, thinking it's all a big goof, looks on from the audience. That's just scraping the surface oh why this film is so effective. Elements of camp, from overly dramatic performances to the killer's generally clumsy nature (think "Prom Night"), make it perfect for Friday night viewing.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, 1981's "Happy Birthday to Me" is a glimpse into childhood trauma and its lingering effects throughout adolescence and early adulthood. "Little House on the Prairie's" Melissa Sue Anderson plays Virginia (or Ginny for short), a teen still reeling from the tragic death of her mother. Her father (Glenn Ford) does all he can for her, and although she's still regularly seeing a therapist, Ginny appears to be living a normal life. 

Her friends, an elite clique called the Top Ten, get drunk and drag race over a drawbridge, and the car Ginny is in barely makes it. The near-tragedy awakens something dark and unknown in her. Meanwhile, a killer seeks out Ginny's friends and picks them off one by one, leaving her emotionally distraught and alone. 

On a budget in the neighborhood of $4 million, "Happy Birthday to Me" excels as both a horrifying tale and a showcase for Anderson, who commands the screen with a nuanced, evocative performance. The film certainly follows the usual slasher patterns, but the last 20 minutes contain some of the most unsettling imagery in all of horror.

"Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon," co-written by David J. Stieve and director Scott Glosserman, was way ahead of its time. Arriving seven years after "The Blair Witch Project," horror fans were still hungry for found footage, and they were given a feast in the form of this 2006 slasher. 

A film crew led by journalist Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) documents the life of rising serial killer Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) and his approach to becoming as prolific as Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Leslie exposes genre conventions and tropes through a mockumentary framework. The viewer sees Leslie's every move from stalking his next prey to scoping out the murder house. 

Cameos by Robert Englund, Scott Wilson, and Zelda Rubinstein turn this low-budget affair into an absolute genre blast. It's a shame it never struck enough of a chord with the general public to warrant a sequel. Put simply, "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" is a bonafide classic.

Director Christopher Landon is making quite a name for himself in the genre fusion department. Where his previous films "Happy Death Day" and its sequel reimagined the 1993 Bill Murray classic "Groundhog Day" as a time-stopping horror movie, his 2019 feature "Freaky" took the Disney comedy "Freaky Friday" and rearranged its parts to create a full-throttle, super gay body swap. 

With a script co-written by Michael Kennedy, the film follows Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) and her ill-timed encounter with a serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn). When Millie is stabbed with an ancient dagger called La Dola, she switches bodies with her would-be murderer and has 24 hours to reclaim her body before she's stuck inside his hulking figure for good. Fortunately, she has the help of her BFFs Josh (Misha Osherovich) and Nya (Celeste O'Connor) to undo the spell. 

From its meta opening to its general campiness, "Freaky" owes a huge debt to "Scream" but manages to carve out its own unique spot in horror history. It's rare for slasher movies to feature gay main characters, and "Freaky" proves exactly how essential representation is.

There are few slashers with as much heart as "The Final Girls." Screenwriter Joshua John Miller penned the script with M.A. Fortin and based many of the film's emotional moments on his experiences following the death of his father, actor Jason Miller (who starred as Father Karras in the 1973 classic "The Exorcist"). 

Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, this 2015 slasher riffs on camp-themed horror like "Friday the 13th" to tell a tale about death and grief. On the third anniversary of her mother's death, Max (Taissa Farmiga) attends a late-night screening of the cult horror film "Camp Bloodbath" in which her mother starred. Through a series of "Final Destination"-style twists, she and her friends find themselves transported into the movie. As they are forced to walk through the beats of a typical slasher flick, Max must not only survive until dawn but learn to finally let her mother go. 

The film's use of the '80s hit "Bette Davis Eyes" is guaranteed to bring you to tears.

A prank goes horribly wrong in Tony Maylam's "The Burning." A bunch of hooligans plants a wormy skull and candles next to the bedside of Camp Blackfoot caretaker Cropsy (Lou David). Cropsy understandably freaks out, then accidentally topples the candles, which set his bedding on fire. He suffers severe third-degree burns over his entire body. You can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. He was only trying to sleep when the delinquent pranksters upended his entire life. He's not absolved from what comes next, but you do understand it.

A few years later, Cropsy is released from the hospital, even though skin grafts failed to work. Instead, he dons a hat and trench coat to cover his scars. He slowly makes his way to another nearby camp and goes on a murderous rampage, gutting campers left, right, and center. And who could forget that carnage-drenched raft scene 一 it's an absolute slaughterhouse. If "Friday the 13" hadn't been so vital to the slasher genre, "The Burning" may have outpaced it on this list. As such, the waterside heart-pounder is easily a Top 15 finisher for good reason. It's just to die for.

There are moments in "Friday the 13th" that are so dark you literally can't see a thing. Therein lies the real terror of the Sean Cunningham-directed gorefest. The camera drowns the audience in what it really feels like fumbling around in the dark trying to get away from an unknown assailant. It's a classic whodunnit slathered in graphic, neck-puncturing violence (Kevin Bacon!) and buckets of fake blood. It owes everything to "Halloween," and in fact, Cunningham specifically wanted to cash in on the Michael Myers success and rip it off. 

"Friday the 13" is a simple campfire tale about a vengeful mother named Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) and her plot to make camp counselors pay. When a group of fresh faces decides to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, Pamela doesn't take too kindly to such transgressors, believing them to be exactly like those counselors who let her baby boy Jason drown. She unceremoniously slices and dices and flays them open, leaving bodies all over the camp. She whittles down the group until only Alice (Adrienne King) remains. Little does Pamela know, but Alice is a worthy adversary and eventually beheads Pamela with her own machete.

The film has a rough-around-the-edges quality that makes it an enjoyable watch. It's not the most inspired hack 'n slash, yet it did take what a slasher could be to the next level. It's also not as polished as "Halloween" nor as disturbing as "Black Christmas," but it does hit the sweet spot.

"Fear Street: 1994" is an unapologetic love letter to everything great and wonderful about the 1990s. Radiohead, Soundgarden, shopping malls, bookstores, band geek-dom — oh my! Of course, it also pays homage to another '90s staple: "Scream." From the star-studded opening kill (sorry, Maya Hawke, RIP) to the skull mask, it's hard not to think about the 1996 classic when watching the first in the "Fear Street" trilogy from director Leigh Janiak. Its slick, colorful polish is doused in blood and some of the most grisly violence in a modern slasher. That bread slicer kill, anyone? How unfortunate for Kate (Julia Rehwald).

There's a curse that's plagued Shadyside for generations. Every so often, someone in town snaps and kills a bunch of people. Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) find themselves in the eye of the latest spree and must figure out what role the so-called one-handed witch Sarah Fier (Elizabeth Scopel) plays in all of this. Has her spilled blood soiled the very earth beneath the town's feet or is there more to the story? Things are never as they seem.

While "Fear Street: 1994" rips inspiration directly from "Scream," Janiak carves out something totally unique and just as exciting. I guess you could argue "Fear Street: 1994" is nothing without its companion pieces, "1978" and "1666," as a complete vision of slasher genius, but "1994" more than holds it own as a genre essential.

"April Fool's Day" arrived relatively late in the slasher craze. A nail-biting whodunnit, the 1986 film follows a group of college students on spring break to their friend Muffy's (Deborah Foreman) secluded island estate. The group is completely cut off from the outside world, and a series of hijinks leads to utter chaos, a string of dead bodies, and the revelation of a deeply troubling backstory. Amy Steel (who established her slasher credentials as "Friday the 13th: Part II's" Ginny) stars as our level-headed and intuitive final girl Kit Graham.

The film, directed by Fred Walton (best remembered for 1979's "When a Stranger Calls" and its 1993 sequel "When a Stranger Calls Back") and written by Danilo Bach, contains all the usual genre delights such as sex, elaborately gory set pieces, and a shocking reveal. But unlike most of its contemporaries, it flips expectations and blurs even the audience's perception of reality.

Originally titled "Communion," 1976's "Alice, Sweet Alice" carries all the slasher hallmarks but delivers them with a much sharper blade. The story centers on a deeply troubled young girl named Alice Spages (Paula Sheppard) and her sister Karen (a preteen Brooke Shields), who is ready to take her first communion at St. Michael's Parish Girls' School. When Karen is gruesomely murdered, a deadly race against time ensues, as a masked killer wearing a bright yellow raincoat seems dead set on making Alice their next victim. 

With a screenplay co-written by Rosemary Ritvo and director Alfred Sole (whose other claim to genre fame is the 1982 horror-comedy "Pandemonium"), "Alice, Sweet Alice," engages genre conventions with a perverse irreverence. There's a coarseness in the film's cinematography that grounds the story in gritty realism. Despite its outrageous plot, "Alice, Sweet Alice" is an honest story about lost innocence and trauma.

There are few things as terrifying as a clawed, fedora-wearing sleep demon. Despite the slasher craze quieting down, 1984's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" brought new vitality to the genre. It also introduced one of the best Final Girls in history with Heather Langenkamp's Nancy Thompson. Freddy Krueger, played masterfully by Robert Englund, was once a child killer, and despite the law's best efforts, he was not convicted for his crimes. The parents of his victims take matters into their own hands by tracking him down to an old boiler room and burning him alive. A deserving end to a despicable human being 一 or so everyone thinks.

Years later, Freddy returns and invades the dreams of all the Elm Street children. He targets Nancy and her friends, forcing them to stay awake for days at a time. He's sinister yet playful with the way he toys with his victims. With each killing, Nancy grows more resilient and determined to put Freddy to bed (literally). She buys a survivalist book and equips herself with devices and tools to "Home Alone" her house, with plans to pull him out of her dreams. The boogeyman doesn't stand a chance against Nancy.

"Elm Street" ranks high because, well, it's "Elm Street." It's tense, skin-burning, and thrilling fare that made slashers exciting again. Its mere existence 一 thank you, Wes Craven! 一 still hangs over the genre to this day.

What is possibly left to analyze about John Carpenter's "Halloween"? Films like "Black Christmas" and "Alice Sweet Alice" pre-date the Carpenter classic, yet it was "Halloween" that made slashers cool for mainstream audiences. It struck fear into American suburbia; the very notion that the boogeyman could be lurking in your backyard is horrifying. Filmed over 20 days, the slasher is expertly crafted, with mood-dripping shots backdropped on a normal street. Trick or treaters scamper into frame, and the night pushes in on the viewer. It's the way Carpenter approaches the sense of dread and palpable terror that is most masterful. Nothing particularly frightening may happen on screen, but Carpenter makes you believe there is.

"Halloween" tells the simple story of an escaped mental patient who travels back to his hometown and kills babysitters. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends talk about boys, books, and babysitting. Co-writer Debra Hill is credited for her contributions to their dialogue, presenting them as your typical high school teens. When Michael Myers (Nick Castle) comes to town, they don't know what hit 'em until it's too late. Carpenter's tale absolutely terrified audiences (see for yourself), so it's no surprise a juggernaut film (and franchise) was born out of a meager $325,000 budget. It went on to snag $47 million at the box office and became the highest-grossing independent feature at the time. Still, while "Halloween" is certainly vital to the slasher genre, I won't apologize for arguing that "Black Christmas" did everything better.