From Hitchcock’s primal scream to postmodern mask killers, these twenty films make up the definitive slasher canon. Whether you’re planning a blood-soaked movie marathon or just brushing up on horror history, this list is your guide to the genre’s sharpest, scariest, and most rule-breaking entries. Just one tip: whatever you do, don’t say “I’ll be right back.”
1. Halloween (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ke9IPTIJQ&t=11s
Michael Myers escapes and turns a quiet Haddonfield Halloween into a nightmare of white masks, silence, and pure suspense.
2. Psycho (1960)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/DTJQfFQ40lI
Norman Bates’ motel, a shower, and a violin crescendo: Hitchcock’s classic wrote the blueprint for the modern slasher.
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCVh4lBfW-c
Freddy Krueger attacks teens in their dreams — because sleeping is deadlier than staying awake.
4. Friday the 13th (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDrOvFtzyPQ
Camp Crystal Lake becomes the hunting ground of a vengeful killer; teen hormones meet machetes.
5. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ
A sun-scorched hell ride full of psycho families, meat hooks, and a roaring chainsaw.
6. Scream (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/AWm_mkbdpCA
Wes Craven delivers meta-horror where teens recite the slasher rules… and still die.
7. Black Christmas (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6JuJHmVsh4
Prank calls, attic-shadow murders, and the original shag-carpet scream queen.
8. Maniac (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWIbJWfFoFc
New York nightmares where a disturbed doll-lover scalps victims for his macabre art.
9. April Fool’s Day (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sklBpEaIwH4
A holiday on an island full of practical jokes turns into bloodshed and a legendary twist ending.
10. The Burning (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvr0SJQ_WM
Camp caretaker Cropsy returns with garden shears; early roles for Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter.
11. Terror Train (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUnXVqQaPag
Jamie Lee Curtis boards a New Year’s Eve train; every carriage holds a new disguise for the killer.
12. The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NzLJ0tDSm8
Teens + pizza + power drill; feminist satire hidden in pure 80s gore.
13. Prom Night (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-DPfBAOEhg
High school revenge explodes on the dance floor; disco balls and decapitations go hand in hand.
14. The House on Sorority Row (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ldHJHXY8KA
A deadly prank unravels during graduation party; guilt and secrets pile up.
15. The Prowler (1981)
hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiaDGxv0DHw
Pitchfork-wielding killer in WWII gear stalks students; Tom Savini’s practical FX steal the show.
16. Sleepaway Camp (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vImv6yxkxJE
Time to rewrite the camp rules: infamous twist ending, gender horror, and hollowed-out childhood trauma.
17. Pieces (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cnjEAZOjk
“You don’t need to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre” — Madrid campus meets body-puzzle insanity.
18. Happy Death Day (2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NTaDm3atkc
Groundhog Day mixed with Ghostface: student Tree relives her murder until she unmasks the killer.
19. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNBJfv5pIdY
Santa with an axe: childhood trauma under the tree leads to a holiday full of festive screams.
20. Tourist Trap (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDpxEdIxxg4
Stalled car, deserted doll museum, telekinetic murders: pure clunky 70s–80s horror atmosphere.
