My 50 favorite slashers
by greg_movies | created - 03 Aug 2014 | updated - 27 Oct 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 717,458 | Gross: $32.00M
2. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,495 | Gross: $47.00M
3. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,295 | Gross: $4.05M
4. Scream (1996)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich
Votes: 387,914 | Gross: $103.05M
5. Maniac (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Director: Franck Khalfoun | Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo, Megan Duffy
Votes: 40,310 | Gross: $0.02M
6. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,256 | Gross: $39.75M
7. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,304 | Gross: $30.86M
8. Humongous (1982)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Romance
"Humongous" tells the tale of when the monstrous offspring of a violent criminal grow up in seclusion on a remote island. Then year later, a boat-full of teens become shipwrecked on the island, unaware of what is lurking in the woods.
Director: Paul Lynch | Stars: Janet Julian, David Wysocki, John Wildman, Janit Baldwin
Votes: 2,182
9. Just Before Dawn (1981)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
Five young people venture into the backwoods of Oregon to claim a property, and find themselves being stalked by a hulking, machete-wielding psychopath.
Director: Jeff Lieberman | Stars: George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Chris Lemmon, Gregg Henry
Votes: 7,123
10. Tourist Trap (1979)
PG | 90 min | Horror
A group of young friends stranded at a secluded roadside museum are stalked by a masked assailant who uses his telekinetic powers to control the attraction's mannequins.
Director: David Schmoeller | Stars: Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood
Votes: 12,826
11. A Bay of Blood (1971)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Anna Maria Rosati
Votes: 12,676
12. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
In 1961, a divorced Catholic couple's life is turned upside-down when one of their two adolescent daughters is suspected of her younger sister's brutal murder during her First Holy Communion and a series of subsequent stabbings.
Director: Alfred Sole | Stars: Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula E. Sheppard, Niles McMaster
Votes: 12,923
13. Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
R | 95 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who have just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage, Richard Brooker, Terry Ballard
Votes: 60,315 | Gross: $36.69M
14. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
R | 97 min | Mystery, Thriller
A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.
Director: Fred Walton | Stars: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Rutanya Alda, Carmen Argenziano
Votes: 14,296 | Gross: $21.41M
15. Maniac (1980)
18+ | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton, Kelly Piper
Votes: 20,179
16. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Kimberly Beck
Votes: 59,063 | Gross: $32.98M
17. Halloween II (1981)
R | 92 min | Horror
While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer
Votes: 101,612 | Gross: $25.53M
18. The Silent Scream (1979)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During her first semester at college, a co-ed finds housing at a seaside mansion where, following the death of a fellow-student, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery surrounding the property and its secretive tenants.
Director: Denny Harris | Stars: Rebecca Balding, Cameron Mitchell, Avery Schreiber, Barbara Steele
Votes: 2,085
19. The Grim Reaper (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror
A group of friends and a hitchhiker become stranded on a tourist island where they are stalked by a disfigured cannibalistic killer who is prowling the island after killing its residents.
Director: Joe D'Amato | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi, Margaret Mazzantini
Votes: 6,955
20. The Comeback (1978)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A singer holes up at a sinister estate to write new songs for his act. The ghost of his murdered wife begins to haunt him, then the person who actually killed her shows up at the mansion.
Director: Pete Walker | Stars: Jack Jones, Pamela Stephenson, David Doyle, Bill Owen
Votes: 1,302
21. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
R | 98 min | Horror
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding loon and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
Director: Marcus Nispel | Stars: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Andrew Bryniarski, Erica Leerhsen
Votes: 152,283 | Gross: $80.57M
22. High Tension (2003)
R | 91 min | Horror
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun
Votes: 77,772 | Gross: $3.68M
23. Slaughter High (1986)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
Eight people are invited to their alma mater for their 10-year reunion, where a fellow former student, disfigured from a prank gone wrong, is out to seek revenge.
Directors: George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Mackenzie Litten | Stars: Caroline Munro, Simon Scuddamore, Carmine Iannaccone, Donna Yeager
Votes: 6,994
24. The Prowler (1981)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Farley Granger
Votes: 12,976
25. Nightmare (1981)
R | 97 min | Horror
A mental patient embarks on a murder spree upon escaping from an institution.
Director: Romano Scavolini | Stars: Baird Stafford, Sharon Smith, C.J. Cooke, Mik Cribben
Votes: 4,425
26. Terror Train (1980)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Three years after a prank went terribly awry, the six college students responsible are targeted by a masked killer at a New Year's Eve party aboard a moving train.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield
Votes: 13,831
27. Reeker (2005)
Unrated | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Strangers trapped at an eerie travel oasis in the desert must unravel the mystery behind their visions of dying people while they are preyed upon by a decaying creature.
Director: Dave Payne | Stars: Devon Gummersall, Derek Richardson, Tina Illman, Scott Whyte
Votes: 10,829
28. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
Director: Dwight H. Little | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, George P. Wilbur
Votes: 58,599 | Gross: $17.77M
29. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
Tommy Jarvis exhumes Jason Voorhees to cremate his corpse, but inadvertently brings him back to life instead. The newly revived killer seeks revenge, and Tommy may be the only one who can stop him.
Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Kerry Noonan
Votes: 51,152 | Gross: $19.47M
30. Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees is accidentally freed from his watery prison by a telekinetic teenager. Now, only she can stop him.
Director: John Carl Buechler | Stars: Terry Kiser, Jennifer Banko, John Otrin, Susan Blu
Votes: 42,300 | Gross: $19.17M
31. April Fool's Day (1986)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery
Nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems.
Director: Fred Walton | Stars: Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, Clayton Rohner, Jay Baker
Votes: 18,350 | Gross: $12.95M
32. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 77,633 | Gross: $21.72M
33. Unhinged (1982)
Unrated | 79 min | Horror
Three young women who crash their car during a rainstorm are taken in by a bizarre family at their large, rural estate.
Director: Don Gronquist | Stars: Laurel Munson, Janet Penner, Sara Ansley, Virginia Settle
Votes: 1,971
34. House of Wax (2005)
R | 113 min | Horror, Thriller
A group of teens are unwittingly stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra | Stars: Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Elisha Cuthbert, Brian Van Holt
Votes: 133,861 | Gross: $32.06M
35. Child's Play (1988)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Votes: 116,557 | Gross: $33.24M
36. Scream 2 (1997)
R | 120 min | Horror, Mystery
Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jada Pinkett Smith
Votes: 209,476 | Gross: $101.36M
37. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery
Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.
Director: Jim Gillespie | Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anne Heche, Ryan Phillippe
Votes: 157,990 | Gross: $72.59M
38. Return to Horror High (1987)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Horror
In the early 1980s, a series of gruesome murders occurred at Crippen High School. A few years later, a film crew uses the now-abandoned Crippen High as the set for a film. But an uninvited guest makes an appearance on the set.
Director: Bill Froehlich | Stars: Lori Lethin, Brendan Hughes, Alex Rocco, Scott Jacoby
Votes: 3,804 | Gross: $1.19M
39. StageFright (1987)
Unrated | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
A group of stage actors lock themselves in the theater for a rehearsal of their upcoming musical production, unaware that an escaped psychopath has sneaked into the theater with them.
Director: Michele Soavi | Stars: David Brandon, Richard Barkeley, Barbara Cupisti, Domenico Fiore
Votes: 9,263
40. Anatomy (2000)
R | 103 min | Horror, Thriller
A cute med student starts a summer course at Heidelberg University. David's on her dissection table. She met him the day before on the train. Something's wrong.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky | Stars: Franka Potente, Benno Fürmann, Anna Loos, Sebastian Blomberg
Votes: 14,021 | Gross: $0.01M
41. American Gothic (1987)
R | 90 min | Horror
A group of travellers make emergency landing on an island in the Pacific Northwest after their seaplane malfunctioned, and stumble across an isolated and psychopathic family.
Director: John Hough | Stars: Sarah Torgov, Terence Kelly, Mark Erickson, Caroline Barclay
Votes: 4,529
42. The Funhouse (1981)
R | 96 min | Horror
Four teenagers visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon discover that nothing there is innocent or amusing.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin, Jack McDermott
Votes: 16,257 | Gross: $7.89M
43. My Bloody Valentine (1981)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.
Director: George Mihalka | Stars: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Keith Knight
Votes: 25,066 | Gross: $5.67M
44. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
One year after the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), the Shape returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now-mute niece.
Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr
Votes: 47,037 | Gross: $11.64M
45. Bloody Moon (1981)
Not Rated | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Girls are killed at a language-school in Spain.
Director: Jesús Franco | Stars: Olivia Pascal, Christoph Moosbrugger, Nadja Gerganoff, Jasmin Losensky
Votes: 2,782
46. Amsterdamned (1988)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Horror
A hard-boiled police detective sets out to capture a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the canals of Amsterdam.
Director: Dick Maas | Stars: Huub Stapel, Monique van de Ven, Serge-Henri Valcke, Hidde Maas
Votes: 9,460
47. Cold Prey (2006)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
5 young Norwegians head up to the mountains to snowboard. One breaks his leg and it's getting dark soon, so they spend the night in a big, abandoned hotel, closed 30 years ago. They are not alone.
Director: Roar Uthaug | Stars: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Endre Martin Midtstigen
Votes: 19,604
48. Madman (1981)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
A legendary psychopathic murderer stalks a summer camp.
Director: Joe Giannone | Stars: Gaylen Ross, Tony Nunziata, Harriet Bass, Seth Jones
Votes: 6,716
Tell Your Friends