mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 3,297
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Post by mgmarshall on Dec 23, 2021 10:13:06 GMT
I'm sure a thread like this has been done before, but I was curious. Keeping it strictly to the definition of a movie where a killer (or killers) picks off a series of victims in a variety of ways, and largely excluding giallos, which I think constitute their own separate genre (though I will count A Bay of Blood, because its influence on the genre is just too obvious to be ignored), what are your favorites? Mine would go:
1. Halloween (1978)
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
3. A Bay of Blood
4. Black Christmas (1974)
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
6. Theatre of Blood
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
8. Alone in the Dark (1982)
9. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
10. Friday the 13th (1980)
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Post by Captain Spencer on Dec 23, 2021 16:58:02 GMT
Friday The 13th
Friday the 13th Part 2
Halloween (1978)
Halloween II (1981)
The Burning
Black Christmas (1974)
Happy Birthday To Me
Scream
Candyman (1992)
Sleepaway Camp
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 23, 2021 23:59:19 GMT
Psycho
Scream
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Black Christmas
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Halloween
Peeping Tom
Cabin in the Woods
You're Next
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 24, 2021 2:51:13 GMT
Problem for me is, does something like And Then There Were None (’45) count? It has “a killer (or killers) [who] picks off a series of victims in a variety of ways,” including gruesome ways (offscreen, but one character has his head axed open!). I think I’d count it, though it’s not usually considered a slasher.
Other than ATTWN, my list would include (no particular order)
Halloween (’78)
Psycho (’60)
Dressed to Kill (’80)
April Fool’s Day (’86)
Happy Death Day
Scream 2
Murders in the Zoo
The Spiral Staircase (’46)
The Leopard Man
I really did consider Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, but that seems a little far afield of subgenre even for me. Surprised I included only one De Palma… Sisters and Body Double would probably make a Top 15.
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Post by forca84 on Dec 24, 2021 18:03:21 GMT
Not too different from most people's
lists...
F13
Edge of the Axe
Night of the Demons
My bloody Valentine (and reboot)
Black Christmas (and 2006 Xmas)
The Forest
Don't go into the Woods alone!
X-Ray
Silent night (and 2012 version)
Bezerker
Bodycount
Prom night series
Just before Dawn
Halloween franchise
Suspiria (og and reimagening)
The Burning
Sleepaway Camp series
Wrong Turn series
Don't go into the House
Intruder
Pieces
Wishcraft
Cherry Falls
Valentine
Urban Legends & part 2
Happy Birthday to me
The Prowler
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 3,297
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Post by mgmarshall on Dec 24, 2021 18:09:32 GMT
Problem for me is, does something like And Then There Were None (’45) count? It has “a killer (or killers) [who] picks off a series of victims in a variety of ways,” including gruesome ways (offscreen, but one character has his head axed open!). I think I’d count it, though it’s not usually considered a slasher. Other than ATTWN, my list would include (no particular order) Halloween (’78) Psycho (’60) Dressed to Kill (’80) April Fool’s Day (’86) Happy Death DayScream 2Murders in the ZooThe Spiral Staircase (’46) The Leopard ManI really did consider Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, but that seems a little far afield of subgenre even for me. Surprised I included only one De Palma… Sisters and Body Double would probably make a Top 15. Gee, that's a good question about And Then There Were None. I've seen some people go all the way back to referring to The Cat and the Canary and The Old Dark House as proto-slashers before, though. |
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Post by politicidal on Dec 24, 2021 18:32:08 GMT
Psycho (1960)
Candyman (1992)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Scream (1996)
Black Christmas (1974)
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Post by Ass_E9 on Dec 24, 2021 19:32:20 GMT
Alone in the Dark Don't Open Till Christmas
Fade to Black
Friday the 13th Part 2 Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter Graduation Day Halloween II (1981)
New Year's Evil
Pieces Popcorn
Prom Night (1980)
Savage Weekend Tourist Trap
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Post by James on Dec 25, 2021 4:46:53 GMT
Top 20:
Halloween (1978)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Curse of Chucky
Child's Play (1988)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Psycho (1960)
Scream
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Friday the 13th Part III
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Child's Play 2
Candyman (1992)
Black Christmas (1974)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Friday the 13th (1980)
Sleepaway Camp
Happy Death Day
And yes, I know that there are multiple entries from multiple franchises, but those are the ones I tend to look back on the most fondly when it comes to the slasher genre.
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 25, 2021 17:33:30 GMT
Gee, that's a good question about And Then There Were None. I've seen some people go all the way back to referring to The Cat and the Canary and The Old Dark House as proto-slashers before, though. Maybe the distinction is one of emphasis? As in, yes, ATTWN (and Charlie Chan at Treasure Island) has a killer picking off a series of victims in a variety of ways, some gruesome, but the emphasis is on solving the mystery, not on the horror of the situation. Friday the 13th is kinda-sorta a mystery—at least, the audience doesn’t know the killer’s identity until the end—but the mystery aspect, the “whosdoingit,” isn’t what the filmmakers (and, presumably, the audience members) focus on. Maybe? If that’s true, though, it opens up a whole ’nother can of worms, though, and requires me to rework my list. And it raises other questions: What about April Fool’s Day, an ATTWN knockoff?
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 25, 2021 21:19:43 GMT
Problem for me is, does something like And Then There Were None (’45) count? It has “a killer (or killers) [who] picks off a series of victims in a variety of ways,” including gruesome ways (offscreen, but one character has his head axed open!). I think I’d count it, though it’s not usually considered a slasher. Other than ATTWN, my list would include (no particular order) Halloween (’78) Psycho (’60) Dressed to Kill (’80) April Fool’s Day (’86) Happy Death DayScream 2Murders in the ZooThe Spiral Staircase (’46) The Leopard ManI really did consider Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, but that seems a little far afield of subgenre even for me. Surprised I included only one De Palma… Sisters and Body Double would probably make a Top 15. ATTWN has always been cited as a big influence on the genre. I might just leave it at "influence", though. I haven't seen any of the movies, but the book didn't really feel like Horror, which is a pretty key ingredient. |
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Post by lostinlimbo on Dec 25, 2021 22:15:41 GMT
20 favourites, in no particular order.
Black Christmas ‘74
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Candyman ‘92
Just Before Dawn
The Burning
Hell Night
Sleepaway Camp
Friday the 13th Part 2
Maniac ‘80
He Knows You’re Alone
Halloween ‘78
My Bloody Valentine ‘81
Eyes of a Stranger
Slumber Party Massacre ‘82
Night School
Child’s Play ‘88
A Nightmare on Elm Street ‘84
Scream 2
Intruder
The House on Sorority Row ‘82
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 26, 2021 3:44:13 GMT
Problem for me is, does something like And Then There Were None (’45) count? It has “a killer (or killers) [who] picks off a series of victims in a variety of ways,” including gruesome ways (offscreen, but one character has his head axed open!). I think I’d count it, though it’s not usually considered a slasher. Other than ATTWN, my list would include (no particular order) Halloween (’78) Psycho (’60) Dressed to Kill (’80) April Fool’s Day (’86) Happy Death DayScream 2Murders in the ZooThe Spiral Staircase (’46) The Leopard ManI really did consider Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, but that seems a little far afield of subgenre even for me. Surprised I included only one De Palma… Sisters and Body Double would probably make a Top 15. ATTWN has always been cited as a big influence on the genre. I might just leave it at "influence", though. I haven't seen any of the movies, but the book didn't really feel like Horror, which is a pretty key ingredient. To me, though, that’s the point: “Horror” is as hard to describe, as a genre, as “slasher.” My problem with leaving ATTWN off the list—and, if included, it’d probably top my list by a wide margin—is that I can’t see all that much that distinguishes it from April Fool’s Day, which (I think) we’d all agree is a slasher. ATTWN, the ’45 version, contains far more bloodshed than April Fool’s Day, funnily enough. I’d go so far as to say it’s creepier, what with the spooky dark hallways (the scene building up to the judge’s murder has more tension, for me, than anything in Friday the 13th, which I pretty much found boring), the multiple murders, and the mad killer at the end. But I’m willing to consider not including it as a slasher if we say the distinction is one of emphasis, as far as we can determine it. But even that is so hard to determine. After all, as someone pointed out to me once upon a time, Dracula ’31 came out on Valentine’s Day and was partially advertised as a romance!
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Post by jonesjxd on Dec 27, 2021 11:13:40 GMT
Decided not to include multiple series entries in ranking. Only one sequel and two remakes made list.
1. Halloween
2. Black Christmas
3. Candyman
4. Psycho
5. Texas Chain Saw Massacre
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street
7. Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
8. Intruder
9. Scream
10. Silent Night, Deadly Night
11. Prom Night
12. Terror Train
13. My Bloody Valentine 3D
14. Madman
15. House of Wax '05
16. Unhinged
17. The Burning
18. Valentine
19. April Fools Day
20. All The Boys Love Mandy Lane
21. Urban Legend
22. I Know What You Did Last Summer
23. Happy Birthday To Me
24. The Prowler
25. Happy Death Day
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simest
Sophomore
@simest
Posts: 243
Likes: 222
 
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Post by simest on Dec 29, 2021 23:15:51 GMT
HALLOWEEN (1978)
PSYCHO (1960)
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
TORSO (1973)
HALLOWEEN II (1981)
A BAY OF BLOOD
DRESSED TO KILL
THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE
BLOOD AND BLACK LACE
THE BURNING
TENEBRAE
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1977)
FRIDAY 13TH PART 3
MY BLOODY VALENTINE (2009)
THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS
STRAIT-JACKET
STRANGE BEHAVIOUR
HOMOCIDAL
BLOODY BIRTHDAY
THE FAN (1981)
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Post by Marv on Dec 29, 2021 23:58:56 GMT
Most of the ones Id consider my faves have already been mentioned.
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