13 Slasher Films to Enjoy This Friday the 13th

      In honor of the upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, here are 12 slasher films we've ever witnessed.

      **Psycho (1960)**

      Paramount – Credit: C/O

      Slasher films are typically characterized as a horror subgenre where a killer (or killers) hunts down victims one by one, often employing a sharp weapon.

      Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is frequently referred to as the first slasher film, despite not beginning as one—it unfolds as a tense relationship drama about a young woman (Janet Leigh) who steals $40,000 from her employer to begin anew with her boyfriend. However, her stay at an ill-fated hotel and a shower scene lead to a significant shift in the film's genre.

      The landscape of film was changed forever.

      **Black Christmas (1974)**

      Warner Bros. – Credit: C/O

      How fitting: A quintessential slasher film for both Friday the 13th and the holiday season.

      Some claim that the Canadian slasher Black Christmas was the first North American slasher, but we disagree: Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre preceded it. (The latter was released just in time for Halloween, while Black Christmas debuted right before Christmas.)

      Nonetheless, Bob Clark's film—whose diverse filmography would later feature Porky’s, A Christmas Story, and Baby Geniuses—introduced North American viewers to the now-familiar scenario of a group of young women, often in college or participating in sports or cheerleading, being targeted by a mysterious stranger.

      What sets Black Christmas apart from its peers is its impressive cast, including Margot Kidder (who would later portray Lois Lane in the Superman series), Keir Dullea (who starred in 2001: A Space Odyssey six years earlier), and Olivia Hussey (who appeared in Romeo and Juliet in 1968, the same year Dullea was in 2001).

      **Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)**

      Bryanston Distributing Company – Credit: C/O

      We hesitate to label the Texas Chainsaw Massacre solely as a slasher, as the term suggests a knife, but we'll classify it here since chainsaws have blades—very fast ones.

      The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper, explored interesting parallels between human victims and farm animals, and it was one of the first slasher films to incorporate social commentary. It can be interpreted as a critique against meat consumption, although we view it as commentary on the Vietnam War.

      The various interpretations of the film highlight its strength.

      **Halloween (1978)**

      Sony Pictures – Credit: C/O

      This John Carpenter film, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Janet Leigh), initiated both Curtis’ remarkable career and the slasher craze of the 1980s. Carpenter, along with the co-writer/producer, ingeniously began Halloween with a killer’s perspective, making the audience unwitting accomplices to Michael Myers’ murderous rampage.

      Despite its artistry, many of Halloween's followers were more focused on achieving a higher body count than on innovative filmmaking techniques. The film’s allure lies in how it meticulously establishes the world of Haddonfield, Illinois (named after the charming New Jersey town where Hill grew up) and its consistently eerie atmosphere.

      **Friday the 13th (1980)**

      Paramount – Credit: C/O

      Riding on the success of Halloween, Friday the 13th created dark, murky, and dreamlike scenes of horrific violence against unsuspecting campers who often made poor decisions.

      While the franchise is famously tied to Jason, the hockey-mask-wearing killer, he isn’t the actual murderer in the original Friday the 13th, as Drew Barrymore’s character was brutally reminded in an opening scene of another film on this list.

      For better or worse, this film stands out as one of the first that comes to mind when people think of slasher movies. It also introduced us to Kevin Bacon, who is just one connection away from Jeannine Taylor in the picture above.

      **Slumber Party Massacre (1980)**

      New World Pictures – Credit: C/O

      We acknowledge that the title of this film doesn’t exactly scream “Criterion Collection.” Yet, it was recently featured on the Criterion Channel for what they call a “smart, subversive, and lightly satirical take on the 1980s slasher formula.”

      Slasher films often face accusations of misogyny—Carol J. Clover’s aptly titled book Men, Women and Chainsaws provides extensive insights on this theme—but Criterion points out that Slumber Party Massacre, directed by Amy Holden Jones and written by lesbian feminist author Rita Mae Brown, offers an intriguing perspective.

      It's a unique slasher film that, while containing many gratuitous elements, seems to be highly aware of how it employs them. It's also a thrilling and well-crafted movie—right up to all the slaughtering.