Psycho and Peeping Tom set the stage for the slasher subgenre in 1960, but it wasn’t for about another decade and a half until any true foundation was laid. Specifically, with Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974 and John Carpenter’s Halloween in 1978. After the latter, the floodgates were well and truly opened, and the ’80s slasher boom was born. Of course, when so many films of a notoriously simple subgenre come out in such a relatively limited amount of time, some are bound to be better than others. Way better than others, in fact. This goes for originals just as much as it goes for sequels to the big four, two of which are the aforementioned Leatherface and Michael Myers debuts.
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Between 1980 and 1989, there were a few down years, but even in those down years there was at least one addition to the subgenre that was truly important. Let’s unpack the whole decade.
10) Friday the 13th (1980)
Halloween showed how to make a man in a mask movie terrifying without showing hardly anything. Friday the 13th showed how to make a similarly effective film without such subtlety.
It may have been loathed by critics at the time, but Friday the 13th is a masterwork, seemingly an accidental one considering it’s the one film Sean S. Cunningham directed that was even slightly above average. But the music, the barebones cinematography, the performances that make the “teens” seem like real “teens,” the inventiveness of the kills, it all works. Fade to Black, Prom Night, Terror Train, and He Knows You’re Alone all have their merits, but 1980 was Friday the 13th‘s all the way.
Stream Friday the 13th on Peacock.
9) My Bloody Valentine (1981)
1981 had the thickest competition of any year of the decade. The Burning, Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing, Friday the 13th Part 2, The Funhouse, Halloween II, Happy Birthday to Me, and Just Before Dawn are all either, classics, minor classics, or underappreciated gems of the slasher subgenre. But it had to be My Bloody Valentine, the best ’80s slasher film outside of any franchise-starter.
With a lovely small-town ambiance that is very swiftly flipped on its Canadian head and a group of mostly likable characters (one of whom is more than he seems to be), My Bloody Valentine is a masterpiece of its kind. And, thanks to the efforts to piece together the footage ordered excised by the MPA, it has some of the most viscerally memorable death scenes of the decade.
Stream My Bloody Valentine for free on Kanopy.
8) Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
The first four Friday the 13th films were the franchise at its peak. It’s the only time the saga ever came close to being legitimately scary. And, of those four, Friday the 13th Part III is the weakest. However, ironically, it’s the most important of the original four. It’s the one where Jason got his mask.
If all of that sounds like us saying Friday the 13th Part III is bad, it isn’t. It’s just not as good as the original or the films that bookend it. But even considering its step-down in quality, it’s better than Pieces, Slumber Party Massacre, or the forgettable Madman.
Stream Friday the 13th Part III on Paramount+.
7) Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Does the ending of Sleepaway Camp play as transphobic in the 2020s? Undoubtedly. After all, the killer is standing there growling like an uncaged wild animal. But it does still work as a shocker of a conclusion, and it’s fortunately nowhere near as uncomfortable as the twist and the characters’ reaction to it in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which…yikes.
Even up to that point Sleepaway Camp works. It feels like an amateur film because that’s exactly what it is, with odd choices like having men in their ’30s with short shorts face off against 12-year-olds in a game of baseball for an absurdly long time. It’s just charming front to back and loaded with a plethora of genuinely creative kills. There were two competitors for the 1983 spot, Curtains and the impressive Psycho II, but Sleepaway Camp more than eked out the win.
Stream Sleepaway Camp on Prime Video.
6) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Like with 1980, 1984 was always going to go to one film and that’s Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Highly inventive, truly scary in spots, and the film that introduced the world to Freddy Krueger, this is without a doubt tied for first as the most important slasher film of the decade.
That said, it wasn’t the only slasher of the year that was noteworthy. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is widely considered the best sequel of that particular saga and the unpleasant Silent Night, Deadly Night has its fans. But, come on, this spot is Freddy’s.
Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street on HBO Max.
5) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
Several classic horror films were released in 1985. Romero’s Day of the Dead, Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead, all within the same calendar year. But when it comes to slashers, this was the ’80s’ down year without a doubt.
We got The Mutilator and two widely dismissed entries in major horror franchises. Those would be A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Freddy’s Revenge is the de facto winner because at least it had something to say and didn’t play like a blood-soaked sex tape in the woods.
Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge on HBO Max.
4) Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
There were three very good to great slasher movies in 1986 and all three of them played with the subgenre’s conventions. The most impressive of the three was Tom McLoughlin’s Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, which was so good it managed to even win over the critics who had absolutely despised the five entries that preceded it.
The other two solid comedic slashers were The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and April Fool’s Day, which really only works on watch number one, and even then, its ending is likely to alienate or aggravate most viewers. As for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, it’s fantastic and has seen its fanbase rightly increase over the years, but the edge goes to Jason Lives.
Stream Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives on Paramount+.
3) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Few films do as fantastic a job of expanding the lore of a classic as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. This is truly the Terminator 2: Judgment Day of the slasher subgenre, with new characters who make an impact, larger set pieces, and a slight personality change in the antagonist (okay, Judgment Day had a big personality change in its former antagonist).
This is the definitive slasher sequel. Blood Rage, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (admittedly also an inventive sequel), and the underrated Stage Fright never stood a chance.
Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors on HBO Max.
2) Child’s Play (1988)
1988 may have seen the major slasher franchises nearing their shark jumping points, but for the most part it was a really good year for established IPs. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers‘ is many fans’ pick for the second-best installment of the franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a slasher with a ton of ambition and wide appeal, and Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers is a comedic wild ride with just as many inventive kills as its predecessor. Even Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, which had its impact butchered by the MPA, introduced Kane Hodder as Jason (and has what is almost certainly the best Jason design of the entire series).
But points go to originality, and original is exactly what Child’s Play and its awful little tyrant Chucky were. Child’s Play 2 (1990) may be a bit more breezily paced, entertaining, and gives Brad Dourif the opportunity to really grow into the role, but Chucky was never scarier than he was the first time out the gate.
Stream Child’s Play on Peacock.
1) Intruder (1989)
Intruder has the style and comedic bite of a Sam Raimi film, but it is not, in fact a Sam Raimi film. However, it does have both Sam and his brother Ted in small roles and was written and directed by their longtime friend Scott Spiegel, so that explains why it’s such a perfect companion piece to The Evil Dead, even if it features a simple man with a knife (in a convenience store, an effectively unique choice) instead of Deadites. It’s a very underrated slasher.
1989 saw the slasher subgenre very much on its way out. Jason, Freddy, and Michael all had dud films added to their cinematic legacy. Respectively, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (which is nonetheless one of the definitive “so bad it’s good” movies), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. The latter two were particularly disappointing considering they were coming off of far superior installments.
Stream Intruder on Shudder.
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