Best Slasher Movies » Classics

Halloween II (1981)

slasherella — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:06:30 +0000

Michael Myers is back and still hunting poor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis reprises the role she did such a fantastic job playing) in Halloween II and this time, it’s bloodier. The gore and mess missing from its predecessor is out in full force and blood-lusters couldn’t be happier.

While Halloween II maybe not be as good as the first, but damned if it isn’t close. The movie picks up where the first left off. Laurie is being taken to a hospital while the police search for Michael. One need not think too hard to figure out that he’s going to show up to finish what he started with poor Laurie. We’d have a pretty boring movie if he didn’t. What happens from there is slasher movie brilliance.

Quick Review: One of the best slasher movies of all time. No question.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Halloween II

Buy the Halloween 30th Anniversay Box Set:

Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set

Buy the Rob Zombie Remake on DVD:

Halloween II (Unrated Director’s Cut)

Buy the Rob Zombie Remake on Blu-Ray

Halloween II (Unrated Director’s Cut) [Blu-ray]

Halloween (1978)

slasherella — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:41:23 +0000

This is the movie that started it all… the one and only original Halloween. It’s not a remake. It’s not a sequel but the movie that spawned this legendary series and introduced the masses to Jamie Lee Curtis.

Although Halloween was made in 1978 for only $300, 000, it’s scare factor definitely stands the test of time. There isn’t as much blood and gore when compared to today’s slasher films, but Halloween doesn’t need it. It relies on music, mood and camera work to truly scare the bejesus out of its audience. It takes its time to build characters and make them likable. You really care if Laurie Strode lives or dies. You’re rooting for her to win, even if secretly there’s a part of you that wants to see Michael win too.

Quick Review: If you haven’t seen this classic slasher movie, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. A must see example of slasher movie perfection!

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Halloween

Blu-Ray

Halloween [Blu-ray]

Buy the 30th Anniversary Box Set!

Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set

Buy the Rob Zombie remake on DVD:

Halloween – Unrated Director’s Cut (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Buy the Rob Zombie remake on Blu-Ray

Halloween (2-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

Hellraiser (1987)

slasherella — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:54:51 +0000

Hellraiser is legendary. It’s unique, original and honestly shocking. It perfectly marries sex, violence and gore without going overboard or relying to heavily on any of those elements. Clive Barker is a man that knows horror (see Candyman for further proof of this). With Hellraiser he has created a horror movie for the ages and a truly evil and horrifying movie icon in Pinhead.

Although Hellraiser is more than gore, there is enough carnage to satisfy even the most depraved blood-luster – and it isn’t your typical, run-of-the-mill, slash with a knife gore. The killing, like the movie itself, is creative.

Quick Review: All that said, it’s hard to shock an audience these days and sometimes even Hellraiser – which was rated X when it was first released – seems a bit tame. Other times, it’s the time of movie that will make you break out in goosebumps all over and raise the hair on the back of your neck. In closing, Hellraiser is without a doubt one of the best slasher movies of all time.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Hellraiser

Blu-Ray

Hellraiser [Blu-ray]

Buy the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD

Hellraiser: 20th Anniversary Edition

Buy the 3-Disc Box Set of the first 3 Hellraiser Movies:

Hellraiser: Boxed Set

Child’s Play 2: Chucky’s Back (1990)

slasherella — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:39:13 +0000

As the title says, Chucky’s back and more evil than ever.

In Child’s Play 2: Chucky’s Back, the spirit of serial killer and voodoo artist Charles Lee Ray is desperate to get out of the doll – Chucky – that has been his home for two years. The carnage that ensues as legendary!

What Child’s Play lacked in gore Child’s Play 2: Chucky’s Back makes up for in buckets. Some argue there are too many plot holes and blah blah blah, but c’mon, people. You’re ready way too far into it. It’s a movie about a serial killer’s spirit possessing a children’s toy which then becomes a serial killer. I don’t think I need to say more about plot holes. It’s just a fun, gory movie. Enjoy it.

Quick Review: If you’re looking for cinematic brilliance watch Vanilla Sky or I’m Not There cuz you’re not gonna find it here. If you’re looking for a good slash and gash gore-fest you won’t be disappointed.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Child’s Play 2

Buy Chucky: The Killer DVD Collection (Child’s Play 2, Child’s Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, bonus features and commentary)

Chucky – The Killer DVD Collection

Child’s Play (1988)

slasherella — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:37:42 +0000

Child’s Play gave the world Chucky and for that, horror fans everywhere are grateful. Although we don’t see much gore in Chucky’s maiden voyage it is a wonderfully twisted and frightening introduction to the demented doll that would entertain us over the course of five movies.

Child’s Play takes place back when Chucky was just Chucky. He wasn’t a husband. He wasn’t a father. He was just a doll – a doll inhabited by the spirit of a murderer. He liked to kill and just generally be a little badass. That’s why we loved him.

Child’s play ins a genuinely frightening movie even if it does go a little light on the blood. Chucky is a horror movie icon and when you watch this movie, you understand why.

Quick Review: Child’s Play is a must see series for any slasher movie fan and this is the movie that started it all. Gore fans don’t despair; it gets bloodier with every sequel.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Child’s Play (Chucky’s 20th Birthday Edition)

Blu-Ray

Child’s Play [Blu-ray]

Buy Chucky: The Killer DVD Collection (Child’s Play 2, Child’s Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, bonus features and commentary)

Chucky – The Killer DVD Collection

Christine (1983)

slasherella — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:39:19 +0000

Sure there isn’t a lot of gore in Christine, but it’s a genuinely scary movie with at least two instances of graphic blood shed. I think the scene (near the end of the movie) that involved a rather large piece of glass in someone’s stomach is particularly good as well as the burning corpse we see earlier on.

With Christine, Stephen King takes what sounds like a ludicrous idea and turns into horror gold. There’s a reason this man is referred to as the King of Horror. He may not be the King of Gore, but he knows had to write a good horror story and Bill Phillips translates King’s novel into a very faithful screenplay which makes a truly frightening movie.

Quick Review: Christine might not be a gore-fest like many of the other movies on this site, but it is a classic and great for a scare.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Christine (Special Edition)

Buy Christine in the John Carpenter Collection (Triple Feature: Christine, Vampires and Starman)

John Carpenter

Want more from the King of Horror? Check out these great box sets!

Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers, The Stand, Golden Years)
Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers / The Stand / Golden Years)

Stephen King: 4 Film Favorites (Dreamcatcher, Dolores Claiborne, Cat’s Eye, Creepshow)
Stephen King: 4 Film Favorites (Dreamcatcher/Dolores Claiborne/Cat’s Eye/Creepshow)

Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery, The Dark Half, Needful Things, Carrie)
Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery / The Dark Half / Needful Things / Carrie)

Stephen King Thriller Collection (Dreamcatcher, The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining)
Stephen King Thriller Collection (3pc) (Slim)

The Shining (1980)

slasherella — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:52:42 +0000

The Shining, based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, is horror at its finest. Sure it’s got it’s token blood, but it doesn’t rely on the red stuff to shock and terrify. The power of The Shining is its subtle intensity. There is little violence because the movie just doesn’t need it. The whole film smacks of menace and all things sinister.

The real heat of The Shining – what really makes it work – is the combination of Jack Nicholson’s performance as Jack Torrance and Stanley Kubrick’s expert direction. The music only serves to further the intense mood of the film; cued absolutely perfectly to heighten every scene.

Quick Review: Just watch the movie. Seriously. If you haven’t seen it yet, you won’t be disappointed, and if you have, you know what I’m talking about. Near perfect.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

The Shining

Two Disc Special Edition:
The Shining (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Blu-Ray

The Shining [Blu-ray]

Get The Shining as Part of the Stanley Kubrick Collection (2001 A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, A Life in Pictures)
Stanley Kubrick: Warner Home Video Directors Series (2001 A Space Odyssey / A Clockwork Orange / Eyes Wide Shut unrated / Full Metal Jacket / The Shining / A Life in Pictures)

Want more from the King of Horror? Check out these great box sets!

Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers, The Stand, Golden Years)
Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers / The Stand / Golden Years)

Stephen King: 4 Film Favorites (Dreamcatcher, Dolores Claiborne, Cat’s Eye, Creepshow)
Stephen King: 4 Film Favorites (Dreamcatcher/Dolores Claiborne/Cat’s Eye/Creepshow)

Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery, The Dark Half, Needful Things, Carrie)
Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery / The Dark Half / Needful Things / Carrie)

Stephen King Thriller Collection (Dreamcatcher, The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining)
Stephen King Thriller Collection (3pc) (Slim)

Army of Darkness (1992)

slasherella — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:22:34 +0000

I really had to mull over whether or not to include Army of Darkness on this site or not. Its a great movie – one of my favorites – but it isn’t really a slasher flick. The gore from the first two movies (Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn) is more or less gone and there is little ‘horror movie’ about it, but I decided it belongs here in interest of completing the series. Besides, it’s an awesome movie and worth watching for Bruce Campbell alone. It’s cheesy and over the top, but it is an evil dead movie, so what else would you expect.

Quick Review: A fitting end (?) to the Evil Dead trilogy, this movie is comedy horror at its best – even if it is a little light on the horror.

Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)

slasherella — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:56:52 +0000

Bruce Campbell reprises his role of Ash – zombie slayer extraordinaire – in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn; the comedy/horror sequel to the brilliant The Evil Dead.

I’ve heard Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn referred to as a horror masterpiece and I agree wholeheartedly. It has everything – some sincerely scary scenes, gore, evil zombies, an ass kicking hero and lots of laughs.

This isn’t a movie that’s meant to be taken seriously. I’m sure that goes without saying (see Ash fighting his own possessed hand) but I think that’s the problem a lot of people had with this movie, and this series in general. The Evil Dead movies are just a bloody good time. Keeping that in mind, I can’t see how anyone couldn’t love this movie. Top notch. A true classic.

Quick Review: Required watching for any blood lusting gore-hound.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Army of Darkness

Blu-Ray

Army of Darkness (Screwhead Edition) [Blu-ray]

The Evil Dead (1982)

slasherella — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:08:06 +0000

The Evil Dead… what can you say about a classic?

Here we have the movie that started it all. Made on a $50, 000 budget, The Evil Dead doesn’t rely on special effects and CGI to scare its audience. Sam Raimi’s makes the best of the budget and achieves his goal – to scare the living daylights out of his eager audience.

What you see is what you get with this movie. I’m sure I don’t have to mention that Bruce Campbell as Ash may be one of the best performances in any zombie movie ever made.

There is plenty of disturbing gore and that’s what makes it the horror classic it is. And it is a classic. Legendary. I compel anyone who disagrees to find one gore-hound that hasn’t heard of the ‘tree rape’ scene.

Quick Review: Don’t think too much into this one, folks. The Evil Dead wasn’t made to make you think, it was made to make you scream and it accomplishes its task at every turn. Long live Ash! The zombie hero slasher flicks deserve.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Evil Dead II

Blu-Ray

Evil Dead II: Kiss Your Nerves Goodbye [Blu-ray]

Check out the incredible Evil Dead 2: Book of the Dead limited edition DVD set

The Evil Dead 2 (Book Of The Dead Limited Edition)