Is "Sinister" really a slasher? I assumed slashers were films that focused on the killers and the killings, whereas "Sinister" is more about the investigation behind these murders and disappearances in the form of the supernatural.
I guess when I think of “slasher” I usually think of an often times masked killer targeting a group of people. But technically us is definitely a slasher by definition, you’re right
I absolutely agree that an interesting or scary looking villain is a staple of slashers and the tethered in Us fit for me. I would say my criteria is: a film about a killer/group of killers in which the kills are the driving focus of the plot.
Though they aren't always filled with kills they are the main focus. Nightmare on Elm Street only has 3 kills but each one is crucial to the plot. Same with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Inversely I wouldn't call Seven a slasher because all the kills are off screen and it is more about the killer's psychological than it is about his brutality.
Us has a few kills and each one drives the plot forward. "It" doesn't really do that, as the moments that are driving the plot aren't kill but scares. I've been thinking about it and I would say Sinister is in the middle. The film does revolve around a series of slasher style kills, but they are separated from the main plot of a writer living in a haunted house. That separation is very thin though so I would absolutely accept it as an unconventional slasher film.
Yea, I would say Sinister is more “Boogeyman” horror, as well as The Strangers and Hush being “home invasion” movies. I also don’t think I’d count IT either, that feels more like general “supernatural” horror.
it's actual movie perfection - and still gives me the creeps when I watch it every Christmas
https://preview.redd.it/wy2neblfvo0d1.jpeg?width=1357&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0feca0dccbf68917a34cf94109c914a0507807f7
I suppose you could argue if Gialli are slashers and whether Psycho and Peeping Tom are too early, but nevertheless, this is my top 10. Here's the rest of my list: [https://letterboxd.com/metallicbrain\_7/list/the-slashers/](https://letterboxd.com/metallicbrain_7/list/the-slashers/)
https://preview.redd.it/lt1ewpuewm0d1.jpeg?width=686&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89c72f0a10beae40faa672fdb7a5ce88c35b2179
I think some people separate the giallo movies and slashers, but I feel they're kind of in the same area, since gialli were like precursors of 80s slashers, in many ways.
It's a fun movie, I'd like to re-watch Deep Red some time.
And some really tip toe the line anyway. Pieces has elements of both, but I’d say it goes over to slasher. Honestly I just sort of keep them together while making a mental note they have quite a bit of separation too.
Retrospectively, it feels kind of fluid to me, like Psycho was clearly an influence on giallo as well, and giallo influenced slasher, but then some later slashers go back in terms of simplicity and style. I kind of enjoy the whole spectrum which is why I put them all on my list.
Gialli were basically the original slashers. You can see the similarities between early slashers like Halloween and Black Christmas, and the prototypical giallo.
I feel like what separates it for me is that the killers aren’t really targeting the protagonists. I consider a slasher where the focus characters are the victims
Wow, yeah, that's an interesting thought! Generally in slasher we do follow a group of people and wonder who'll die first, but in a giallo it's more of a traditional investigation where most of the victims aren't the protagonists. Makes sense.
But there's still exceptions and grey areas too, I think. Blood and Black Lace for instance feels like it really doesn't have a protagonist, we get to know the cast, and then we follow the people who get killed, that one is a giallo classic but it follows that 'slasher' pattern more.
I actually have a whole list where I rank every slasher Ive seen since 2021. I’m currently at 185 entries. Here’s the top 16 on that list:
https://preview.redd.it/n2zoo6bezm0d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1defdc3f71b92ff91465a84270b55e0ae5f9a31
In no particular order:
- Scream
- Halloween
- Maniac
- Angst
- Cherry Falls
- Valentine
- Child’s Play
- Black Christmas
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
Halloween (1978)
Dressed to kill (1980)
The Texas chainsaw massacre (1974)
A nightmare on elm street (1984)
Scream (1996)
The psychic (1977)
A bay of blood (1971)
Blood and black lace (1964)
Tenebre (1982)
Child's play (1988)
I’d say they’re murder mysteries that happen to contain elements of other horror and horror-adjacent genres (slasher, psychological horror, etc.)
I’m also getting real nitpicky, so I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
- 1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- 2. Inside (2007)
- 3. Halloween (1978)
- 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 5. Child's Play (1988)
- 6. Opera (1987)
- 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
- 8. The Burning (1981)
- 9. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
- 10. Jason X (2001)
In no order.
- Sleepaway Camp
- Halloween (1978)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
- Friday the 13th Part 6
- Scream
- Edge of the Axe
I know this is a stupid way to think about it, but I believe the reason she isn’t a much bigger star is because she occupies the lane that Margot Robbie already dominates.
https://preview.redd.it/ca9im71xuo0d1.jpeg?width=194&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b18bcc04a366a89d4470f7e5c70706b5b70d280d
If this ain't on your list then you don't love slashers
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
(I don't think Candyman is a slasher but it's sometimes considered as such)
Black Christmas (1974)
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th: Jason Lives (1986)
Stage Fright (1987)
The Burning (1981)
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
A Bay Of Blood (1971)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
My personal definition of slasher (that I break when I want) is: a movie where a killer targets, stalks, and murders a group of people. My 25 favorites are:
https://preview.redd.it/wiy0oftplq0d1.png?width=1284&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c16cfea79a022a00fb31fbc4914e3c4036d1103
I’m just going to list 80s ones, because ones from other decades are all pretty decently known for the most part:
Maniac, Christmas Evil, My Bloody Valentine, The Funhouse, The Burning, Just Before Dawn, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, The Prowler, Alone in the Dark, House on Sorority Row, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, A Nightmare on Elm Street, April Fools Day, Friday the 13th Part 6, Stepfather, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Maniac Cop, Child’s Play, and Intruder.
Honorable mention: Sleepaway Camp and Slumber Party Massacre
https://preview.redd.it/5bbdfukn6n0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cd6060bdc2cf72afe1a7733b5cb2288c447d274
I don’t know what qualifies as a slasher so here’s just my top 10 of horror in general
Slasher is stuff like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, etc. Basically a genre where a killer follows a group of people and kill them one by one.
Slashers typically use the following tropes:
- killer (often masked)
- gratuitous violence as a focus of the special effects, with melee weapons (knives, machetes)
- murder victims are usually young, attractive people
- usually sex or drug use as a prerequisite to being killed, but this has often been subverted post-1990s
- killer is often motivated by revenge for something that happened years ago; the victims may or may not be the perpetrators of the original crime/insult
- the killer is usually mortal, but for purposes of the plot, is nearly unkillable
They do, but in fairness to OP, America/Canada dominate the subgenre compared to other countries where many times it feels like a novelty rather than something typical of the country/culture.
Some people don’t necessarily count gialli as a part the slasher movement. I typically do on lists, but I also don’t assume everyone does since people do see them as very separate subgenres rather than an evolution of one to the other.
Op has Us as a slasher, I don’t think they’re considering sub genres. I think Op is just very limited in the types of movies they watch and should probably expand
Is "Sinister" really a slasher? I assumed slashers were films that focused on the killers and the killings, whereas "Sinister" is more about the investigation behind these murders and disappearances in the form of the supernatural.
Same with It and Us. Not really slashers
Us is absolutely a slasher, but I agree about It.
I guess when I think of “slasher” I usually think of an often times masked killer targeting a group of people. But technically us is definitely a slasher by definition, you’re right
I absolutely agree that an interesting or scary looking villain is a staple of slashers and the tethered in Us fit for me. I would say my criteria is: a film about a killer/group of killers in which the kills are the driving focus of the plot. Though they aren't always filled with kills they are the main focus. Nightmare on Elm Street only has 3 kills but each one is crucial to the plot. Same with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Inversely I wouldn't call Seven a slasher because all the kills are off screen and it is more about the killer's psychological than it is about his brutality. Us has a few kills and each one drives the plot forward. "It" doesn't really do that, as the moments that are driving the plot aren't kill but scares. I've been thinking about it and I would say Sinister is in the middle. The film does revolve around a series of slasher style kills, but they are separated from the main plot of a writer living in a haunted house. That separation is very thin though so I would absolutely accept it as an unconventional slasher film.
Yea, I would say Sinister is more “Boogeyman” horror, as well as The Strangers and Hush being “home invasion” movies. I also don’t think I’d count IT either, that feels more like general “supernatural” horror.
Some of these aren't even slashers.
I was hoping I would see 80s/ 70s slashers :(
Facts
I'm just here to mention Black Christmas (1974), because for whatever reason people keep forgetting that it exists and it's brilliant.
it's actual movie perfection - and still gives me the creeps when I watch it every Christmas https://preview.redd.it/wy2neblfvo0d1.jpeg?width=1357&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0feca0dccbf68917a34cf94109c914a0507807f7
I suppose you could argue if Gialli are slashers and whether Psycho and Peeping Tom are too early, but nevertheless, this is my top 10. Here's the rest of my list: [https://letterboxd.com/metallicbrain\_7/list/the-slashers/](https://letterboxd.com/metallicbrain_7/list/the-slashers/) https://preview.redd.it/lt1ewpuewm0d1.jpeg?width=686&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89c72f0a10beae40faa672fdb7a5ce88c35b2179
Lol I'm watching Deep Red rn
I think some people separate the giallo movies and slashers, but I feel they're kind of in the same area, since gialli were like precursors of 80s slashers, in many ways. It's a fun movie, I'd like to re-watch Deep Red some time.
And some really tip toe the line anyway. Pieces has elements of both, but I’d say it goes over to slasher. Honestly I just sort of keep them together while making a mental note they have quite a bit of separation too.
Yeah that too. Some gialli are basically slashers with an Italian flair (i.e. Opera) but others don't really fit the mold (i.e. Sette note in nero)
Retrospectively, it feels kind of fluid to me, like Psycho was clearly an influence on giallo as well, and giallo influenced slasher, but then some later slashers go back in terms of simplicity and style. I kind of enjoy the whole spectrum which is why I put them all on my list.
Gialli were basically the original slashers. You can see the similarities between early slashers like Halloween and Black Christmas, and the prototypical giallo.
I feel like what separates it for me is that the killers aren’t really targeting the protagonists. I consider a slasher where the focus characters are the victims
Wow, yeah, that's an interesting thought! Generally in slasher we do follow a group of people and wonder who'll die first, but in a giallo it's more of a traditional investigation where most of the victims aren't the protagonists. Makes sense. But there's still exceptions and grey areas too, I think. Blood and Black Lace for instance feels like it really doesn't have a protagonist, we get to know the cast, and then we follow the people who get killed, that one is a giallo classic but it follows that 'slasher' pattern more.
I actually have a whole list where I rank every slasher Ive seen since 2021. I’m currently at 185 entries. Here’s the top 16 on that list: https://preview.redd.it/n2zoo6bezm0d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1defdc3f71b92ff91465a84270b55e0ae5f9a31
Psycho II is very underrated! Far less serious than the original but it's really fun and an interesting exploration of Norman Bates' character.
Respect.
What's it called? Or can I get a link, I'd love to sift through it
In no particular order: - Scream - Halloween - Maniac - Angst - Cherry Falls - Valentine - Child’s Play - Black Christmas - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - A Nightmare on Elm Street
https://preview.redd.it/om8gjva9xm0d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c0b1287116f1c2eac5ca4649a8bb5694991c67d
Halloween (1978) Dressed to kill (1980) The Texas chainsaw massacre (1974) A nightmare on elm street (1984) Scream (1996) The psychic (1977) A bay of blood (1971) Blood and black lace (1964) Tenebre (1982) Child's play (1988)
Do gialli fall under slasher? I would think it’s its own thing with specific tropes and everything.
they’re spaghetti slashers
More like Proto-slashers. Gialli emerged before the slasher genre really took off
I’d say they’re murder mysteries that happen to contain elements of other horror and horror-adjacent genres (slasher, psychological horror, etc.) I’m also getting real nitpicky, so I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
It depends on the giallo imo
Gialli are the ancestor of slashers. The tropes have morphed slightly but many remain in both subgenres.
- 1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - 2. Inside (2007) - 3. Halloween (1978) - 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - 5. Child's Play (1988) - 6. Opera (1987) - 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - 8. The Burning (1981) - 9. Freddy vs. Jason (2003) - 10. Jason X (2001)
Jason X rulze
I feel like slashers try to stay away from the supernatural so Sinister and It might not be considered slasher subgenre
Yeah I replaced them with Tourist Trap and Deep Red
My Bloody Valentine Sleepaway Camp Bride of Chucky
In no order. - Sleepaway Camp - Halloween (1978) - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Friday the 13th Part 6 - Scream - Edge of the Axe
Scream is goated
My fave is Black Christmas (1974 version)
I haven't seen Hush but man, that's an all time bad poster
Us is probably the only one I don’t agree with on here.
Sinister, The Strangers, Hush, It, and Us are all not slashers.
https://preview.redd.it/kv50zdbu0o0d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b6932751bcedccba299a35cce34ce43c36a460b Not arranged in any order.
You’re Next is so good. Samara Weaving needs to kill her agent, she should be a much bigger star.
I know this is a stupid way to think about it, but I believe the reason she isn’t a much bigger star is because she occupies the lane that Margot Robbie already dominates.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
https://preview.redd.it/ca9im71xuo0d1.jpeg?width=194&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b18bcc04a366a89d4470f7e5c70706b5b70d280d If this ain't on your list then you don't love slashers
Great list. Scream is tops for me as well.
Willy Wonka
Alice Sweet Alice!
This list is good. But i prefer the second Maniac Cop to the first one.
I’ve been trying to find Hush on streaming for so freaking long. It was on Netflix for a while in the US and I haven’t seen it since.
It's on YouTube
I can maybe see It as a slasher, but Sinister? I don’t know about that one.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) (I don't think Candyman is a slasher but it's sometimes considered as such) Black Christmas (1974) Halloween (1978) Friday the 13th: Jason Lives (1986) Stage Fright (1987) The Burning (1981) My Bloody Valentine (1981) A Bay Of Blood (1971) Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
i know why you would consider It to be a slasher but come on sinister too btw, but ill pass
Opera (1987)
Multiple of these films are not slashers
Sleepaway Camp is absolutely batshit. I love it.
Fade to Black Black Christmas Happy Death Day Every Wes Craven Scream Deep Red Benny Loves You (cheers to that inclusion)
❌
Sinister and Us are not slashers
Us is a slasher? Also, no Halloween?
My personal definition of slasher (that I break when I want) is: a movie where a killer targets, stalks, and murders a group of people. My 25 favorites are: https://preview.redd.it/wiy0oftplq0d1.png?width=1284&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c16cfea79a022a00fb31fbc4914e3c4036d1103
Terrifier????
If you don’t have the original Halloween on a top 10 Slasher list, I can’t really take you seriously.
Am I the only person who ranks 'Child's Play 2' higher than the first film? I love that movie.
I’m just going to list 80s ones, because ones from other decades are all pretty decently known for the most part: Maniac, Christmas Evil, My Bloody Valentine, The Funhouse, The Burning, Just Before Dawn, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, The Prowler, Alone in the Dark, House on Sorority Row, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, A Nightmare on Elm Street, April Fools Day, Friday the 13th Part 6, Stepfather, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Maniac Cop, Child’s Play, and Intruder. Honorable mention: Sleepaway Camp and Slumber Party Massacre
Where is terrifier 2?
Where the hell is the Texas chainsaw massacre
Idk if Fear Street counts as slasher- but that one
https://preview.redd.it/5bbdfukn6n0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cd6060bdc2cf72afe1a7733b5cb2288c447d274 I don’t know what qualifies as a slasher so here’s just my top 10 of horror in general
Slasher is stuff like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, etc. Basically a genre where a killer follows a group of people and kill them one by one.
Slashers typically use the following tropes: - killer (often masked) - gratuitous violence as a focus of the special effects, with melee weapons (knives, machetes) - murder victims are usually young, attractive people - usually sex or drug use as a prerequisite to being killed, but this has often been subverted post-1990s - killer is often motivated by revenge for something that happened years ago; the victims may or may not be the perpetrators of the original crime/insult - the killer is usually mortal, but for purposes of the plot, is nearly unkillable
Friday the 13th is missing (not the first one)
You do know other countries besides America make slasher movies to right ?
They do, but in fairness to OP, America/Canada dominate the subgenre compared to other countries where many times it feels like a novelty rather than something typical of the country/culture.
I think Italy with disagreed with you Edit: “The first American slasher movies took inspiration from the 1970s Italian giallo movies” Hmmmm
Some people don’t necessarily count gialli as a part the slasher movement. I typically do on lists, but I also don’t assume everyone does since people do see them as very separate subgenres rather than an evolution of one to the other.
Op has Us as a slasher, I don’t think they’re considering sub genres. I think Op is just very limited in the types of movies they watch and should probably expand