Scream (The grand daddy of slasher films...terrifying...hilarious...shocking...intense...unpredictable...bloody...brutal...brilliant) ***** / 5
Scream 2 (Hands down, no arugment - this film features the best, most exciting and most well staged 'action'/suspense/chase sequences of any slasher film to date - in this respect it exceeds the original Scream - the opening alone is one of the most powerful and brilliant sequences in any film I've seen, period - making it all the more chilling are recent events involving Dark Knight Rises)
****1/2 / 5
A Perfect Getaway (one of the best thrillers EVER...one of those films that is impossible not to offer new dynamics with each repeat viewing...the plot manipulation is expertly handled and does not cheat though some would disagree. This film is brilliant...I pick up on something new every single time I watch it and I've watched it many times - one of the most expertly structured plots ever conceived...something also has to be said for the gorgeous cinematography and innovative camera tricks during the 3rd act...this film has one of the best 3rd acts of any film I've seen...the pay-off is well worth the unusually long build-up that precedes it)
***** / 5
Scream 4 (w/alternate opening, aftermath/crime scene, and a select few other deleted scenes subbed in appropriately. The alternate opening is just so damned clever and shocking...it's a shame they didn't stick to their guns. So, back to the film...what it lacks in suspense and chase scenes - it makes up for in sheer entertainment value and intellect - you wouldn't think a slasher film could have so much subtext - probably the best fourth effort in any horror franchise to date - mind you, it does have it flaws, but it is just so much fun - notable for: 1) one of the best and most shocking killer reveals in quite some time, especially the notorious 'self-mutilation' scene that occurs after the reveal - 2) an unforgettably hilarious and clever opening sequence *especially with the alternate 3rd segment - 3) Sid has never been more bad ass, more often running at the killer than away from him - 4) there is also a harrowing sequence toward the finale in which the killer 'remakes' the famous sequence involving the original and Drew Barrymore desperately trying to save her boyfriend from a gruesome fate during a horror movie trivia game via telephone as she watches on helplessly from inside the house as he is duct taped to a patio chair. some say this film was unnecessary because it doesn't tie into the original trilogy however its remake theme ties brilliantly into modern society's fame and social media obsessed culture... and the remake theme was also the last thing to be explored by the franchise. Original, sequel, trilogy, remake....and there we have the perfect meta-slasher franchise... with slight exception of Scream 3 which just doesn't satisfy in the thrills and wit department in comparison to 1, 2 and 4) **** / 5
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (highly unique slasher/psychological thriller/teen drama hybrid - the fact that this film never got the theatrical run it deserved is one of the worst crimes Hollywood as ever committed in my opinion - it is genre-defying, expectation-thwarting and diabolically twisted - notable for stunning and gorgeous cinematography, a killer soundtrack (no pun intended), and it is also an unparalleled, razor sharp examination of the brutality and cruelty that goes with navigating modern day teenage life in American suburbia) **** / 5
Final Destination 5 (some don't consider these to be slasher flicks but I do - this one has one of the best storylines, pace, suspense and overall excitement factor of all the FD films - especially that gut punch of an ending - LOVED the ending) *** / 5
Final Destination 3 (my favorite of the FD films - total guilty pleasure - utterly hilarious if you view it on the level of dark comedy - yet it's horrifying at the same time - by far the goriest of the films - Mary Elizabeth Winstead's lead performance is arguably the best lead FD performance, Devon Sawa 's lead role is the only one that comes close to or is just as good as MEW's) *** / 5
Sorority Row (2009) (notable for a lovely and loveable pack of girls, as obnoxious as they may be...you can't help but root for these spunky ladies - boasts some clever and symbolic death sequences...short on suspenseful chase scenes but loaded with style, sass and numerous stomach-churning assaults on the human body) *** / 5
Vacancy (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson provide top notch acting that pull you into the story and make you care about them and completely afraid for their lives - notable for its focus on true suspense and chills in favor of blood and gore - some weren't too fond of the *slightly* ambiguous ending but I think they make it pretty clear what went down - not everything needs to spelled out in big capital letters)
*** / 5
House of Wax (2005) (boasts some of the most stomach-churning gore and kills in any slasher film - and some expertly staged suspense/chase/stalk sequences that few slashers can top)
**1/2 / 5
I would list The Last House on the Left (2009) but I don't think it's a slasher film in true form. I would refer to it as a suspense thriller / emotional horror film / almost psychological in its table turning and sympathy-manipulating tactics. Out of all the remakes that have come out over the past 10-15 years - this one stands high above the crop. It is beautifully shot, scored and unbearably intense - even if it doesn't quite match up to the original film's subtext. It's still there...not as prominent...but it's still a frightening study of parental instincts and human nature that hits uncomfortably close to home...always begging the audience the question "What would you do?" It definitely makes you question your morality and will keep your gears turning long after the credits have rolled. In that respect it is truly one of the best and most thought provoking thrillers ever made. The theatrical version is the best way to go...all the unrated version provides is an extended rape sequence...the theatrical rape scene already borders on being too long... you get the hint after you a see a man thrusting into someone from a far the first 25 times. They didn't need to make things anymore clearer than that.
"If bad people hurt someone you love...how far would you go to hurt them back"
**** / 5
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) is also a film that defies the slasher genre a bit...I find it to be a sort of hybrid of slasher film, extreme horror/torture porn and adrenaline soaked survival thriller. Has some of the same themes present in Last House on the Left 09 and The Descent 05...sometimes people are forced to become the monsters, or become even more monstrous, than the evil that they are fighting, in order to survive.
***1/2 / 5
The original Saw isn't really a slasher, more of a grisly psychological thriller. The sequels are all pretty expendable. If you've seen the original, you've seen them all... the original is the classiest and scariest. The sequels are all really trashy. The second one has some potential but by III all credibility goes out the window as the narrative becomes a desperate attempt to simply string a bunch of gratuitious and virtually unwatchable torture sequences together to form a lame attempt at a story.
*** / 5
Wolf Creek also touches on the slasher genre but is more of an extreme/suvivalist/torture porn thriller. It is an effective horror film, though, in that it truly disturbs and disgusts, more so by what is implied than what is shown. It left me upset for quite a few days when I first saw it back in 2006. I've seen it a few times since then... its only real flaw is its reliance on cliches and contrivances, ie. moments when you want to strangle the characters for not taking the opportunity to injure and/or kill their opponent when they had the chance... but it does say something for the state of panic in humans and how it can cloud your ability to think rationally. It is bleak, uncompromising, and I guarantee you will not be able to predict who - if any of them - will make it to the end. Scary, scary stuff. Highly unsettling. It manages to find a perfect, unsettling balance of showing enough of the gore to assault your senses while leaving enough to the imagination to make one uncomfortable for a long time after the credits have rolled.
**** / 5
Hostel and Hostel: Part II - while not strictly slasher films - are also actually very good. Most people dismiss these films as torture porn and nothing more but they actually have quite a surprising amount of depth and thought put into them. The second film is just as good as the first - I love how the material is explored in a completely different light the second time around.
Hostel *** / 5
Hostel: Part II *** / 5
The Strangers (extended version) is notable for a few VERRRY chilly moments and beautiful, haunting cinematography. But its minimalistic approach sometimes detracts from the narrative... at times you just want the villians to get on with it...they spend way too much time pounding on windows, knocking on doors, making scary noises, and appearing and disappearing... I don't see how a chase scene would have been possible in their isolated location and one story house but the film would have benefitted from more action. Vacancy excels in action where The Strangers drags on a bit. The Strangers boasts a very non traditional ending for typical Hollywood horror films - which is refreshing but the ending also comes off as somewhat unsatisfying and anticlimactic... I wish the two main characters had gone down with more of a fight. The extended cut offers a deleted scene toward the end that - as short as it is - would have given the film an extra punch. The scene is where Liv Tyler drags herself down the hardwood floor toward a cell phone, in her wedding dress, drenched in blood, with the strangely beautiful light of morning providing a juxtaposition for the horrific scene that is occuring simultaneously. Without this scene...this film doesn't feel complete for some reason. This scene also provides the image for the best of the film's posters and arguably one of the best horror film posters of all time. One of the film's biggest flaws is the frustrating behavior of the characters. In one sequence... after it has been established that the killers are obviously entering and leaving the house whenver they feel like it.. and the female counterpart has an injury to her hand .. the male counterpart decides to leave her alone in the house. Granted he wants to find a hidden spot to aim his shotgun at the killers - but still - you NEVER split up in a situation like that where you are outnumbered. If he hadn't done that - and if they had only stayed baraccaded in that bedroom after he accidentally shot his brother - there would have been nothing the killers could have done to attack them, while the male had a shot gun aimed directly at the door way - but that would have made for a boring movie I suppose.
**1/2 / 5
Halloween (2007) - theatrical
this is the most stylish and intense of all the Halloween films, for sure, though it is missing the subtle creepiness and less-is-more approach of the original. I didn't like all the exposition...Michael is so much scarier without all the underlying psychological trauma and family issues.. the scenes with his family in the beginning are almost embarassing to watch.. the acting is forced and the conflict between the family is totally contrived. The film excels when it is being scary and ferocious instead of exploring the WHY and the HOW of Michael coming to be the way he is. The last 45 minutes are literally ablaze with fury and intensity and the opening murder sequence, when considered separetely from the hokey dysfunctional family crap, is brutal and terrifying. This remake also contains the best, most chilling revamping of the original's socre. It is harsh... like metal against metal, frenetic, and pulsating. Sometimes you can't tell if its the score or if your heart is pounding in your head with anxiety.
**1/2 / 5
My money is on the theatrical version. The unrated version features a totally pointless rape scene that does not move the plot forward in any way, shape or form. I dunno what Rob Zombie was thinking when he wrote that in to the script.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (this one is a contender for one of the best chase sequences ever filmed with Sarah Michelle Gellar's character...it's a decent little slasher film if you are willing to throw logic aside and just go along for the ride)
**1/2 / 5
Scream
Scream 2
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
A Perfect Getaway (NR)
Scream 4
Sorority Row (2009)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006 NR)
The Last House on the Left (2009)
Wolf Creek (NR)
Final Destination 3
Final Destination 5
House of Wax (2005)
Halloween (2007)
Vacancy
Hostel (NR)
Hostel: Part II (NR)
The Strangers (NR)
Saw
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Also worth mentioning: Halloween H2O *** / 5
Somewhat worth mentioning: Valentine (features a nifty twist ending and some gorgeous set pieces and stalk/chase sequences - the hot tub scene with Denise Richards is absolutely terrifying and the kills are very creative)
**1/2 / 5
Top 5 (vintage):
Halloween (1978) ***** / 5
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) ***** / 5
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) ***** / 5
Prom Night (1980) *** / 5
Wes Craven's New Nightmare **** / 5
I haven't seen the original Black Christmas (1974) but I hear it's also one of the best....I've seen the remake (2006) which is nothing more than a guilty pleasure. So bad it's good kind of thing. Definitely has its moments and plays, if anything, like dark comedy. In that respect - it's a total hoot. Silly, nonsensical, but a lot of fun, quite intense at times, hilarious in its complete and utter disrespect for anything sacred, innocent and dare I say holy about the Christmas holiday. And damn it... to this day I really wanted to see that deleted scene of Dana being dragged into a thresher by colorful christmas lights!! The people behind the marketing and advertising for this film were complete scum bags. So many scenes shot just for the trailer that would have given this film the punch it needed. Shame. Also features some of the most silly and entertaining female characters in any slasher film to date - Sorority Row (2009) being the only other film whose saving grace is its quirky, gorgeous women)
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jaynobody
11 years ago
"Scream (The grand daddy of slasher films."
I think you mean grand son. One of the last good slashers though.
1) Halloween
2) Terror Train
3) Silent Night Deadly Night
4) The Funhouse
5)Slumber Party Massacre
I wish it was top 11 because I would add
Pieces
Friday the 13th, Part 2
April Fool's day
Madman
Black Christmas
Happy Birthday to me
Did not like Maniac, The Prowler
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