Running head: THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 1

The Inevitable Evolution of Slasher Horror

Seth L. Loverich

South Lyon High School

Film as Literature

Ms. Fillar

Due Date here

THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 2

Abstract

Slasher horror is a genre that has been changing and evolving since the 60’s. Ever since the

release of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) the genre of horror had been changed forever. He

introduced the horror genre known as slasher horror which affected pop culture in a way no one

saw coming. Since the release of Psycho the slasher genre has evolved into an elaborate and

involved story with notable characteristics. These characteristics are what make up most, if not

all of modern day slasher horror movies. These movies include Texas Chainsaw Massacre

(1974), Halloween (1978), Child's play (1988), Scream (1996), and more modern adaptations

such as Curse of Chucky (2013) and the reboots of the old ones like the more recent Halloween

trilogy. The research that went into this paper was relatively simple, but challenging as finding

the necessary information came across as difficult. As a result of this research, I have found

some of the most important movies in the subgenre that molded the future of horror. This paper

will dive deep into the cultural influence of Halloween and Scream (2022). The genre of slasher

has evolved and formed into a genre of its own because of current technological advancements

and continuations of notable movies with returning or newly aspiring directors.

Word count: 212

THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 3

The inevitable evolution of slasher horror

Introduction

Everything in the world is evolving and changing, the world changes, the constitution is

amended, and the continents move. What about pop culture? How does pop culture change? How

does a movie change over time? How do movies evolve? How does a slasher movie evolve and

adapt over time? All these questions are ambiguous, but with evidence become simple answers.

Within the world of cinema people have adapted and issued new interpretations of others' work.

This in turn led to sub-genres' transformation into a genre of its own. With fundamental

characteristics, deep-rooted history, and literal changes the slasher genre has become one of the

most evolved genres in cinema history.

Fundamental Characteristics of Slasher Horror

Although most slasher horror movies have different plots and different killers they all

hold true to some set of characteristics that can be found in most if not all slasher horror films.

These characteristics are what make the movies enjoyable to watch and what make them

different from normal horror movies. Slasher horror doesn’t have any of the overly exaggerated

jump scares or super creepy principles; instead, it has a masked maniac/psychopath killer who

hunts down a group of unsuspecting teens with usually a bladed or blunt weapon while killing

them in specific and strange ways. In an article found on the University of Kentucky’s website

the author writes, “Slasher films are a genre of horror most popular from the late 50s to the early

90s, defined by its use of a generally masked killer harassing and murdering groups of people”

(“Research”, n.d., para. 1). This is true for almost all horror movies with few exceptions; in

Halloween (1978) the plot follows a killer by the name of The Shape or as most know him as

Micheal Myers. Micheal is known for wearing a mask and hunting teens with a kitchen knife.
THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 4

Micheal is an unstable irrational killer with absurd motives. He is especially known for hunting

Laurie Strode who is played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Another example of the killer using a bladed

weapon and wearing a mask is in the movie Scream (1996). Scream follows a simple slasher

ruleset but is still amazing. Scream has two killers who are known as ghostface because of his

ghost-like mask and dark dreadful robes. Their motives are relatively simple, yet with a kitchen

knife in hand they become very threatening. In both of these movies the victims are teenagers,

young adults, or those closely related to the teenagers.

Young victims is another very common characteristic found in slasher movies. Slashers

consist of basic sets of rules that create a format for the movies. One of the biggest rules is that

the characters are often found to be young adults or teenagers all of which are very overly

sexualized and stereotyped. In the first Section of an article the author writes “The film typically

follows one of two story patterns: 1. Teenagers or young adults (either as couples or groups) who

are stalked at a summer camp, school or somewhere else isolated by someone with a motive of

revenge” (Matt, 2022). This stays true for just about all slasher horror movies new or old. In

Halloween the group of teens is followed by Micheal Myers in their hometown of Haddonfield,

Illinois; In Friday the 13th (1980) the group of teens are hunted in the summer camp known as

Camp Crystal Lake. These similarities are what make the movies special, they surprise the

audience when they change things up. Although many things are similar in slasher movies one of

the biggest constant differences is the choice of weapon.

The choice of weapon that the killer uses remains constantly different in all the different

big named titles. There is always a killer related to a weapon like Leather face and his chainsaw,

or Jason and his machete. In the 2nd paragraph of an article named What is a Slasher Film, the

author writes, “The term ‘slasher’ refers to the way in which the killer slashes at his or her
THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 5

victims with an often bladed weapon” (Matt, 2022). This is true for most killers in movies; it

stands out as one of the biggest characteristics and constant of the genre. The killer will almost

always have a weapon in hand and if not then their actual hands are the weapon. The weapon of

the killer becomes their trademark in a way. It defines the killer and sets a standard for future

movies. These weapons lead to another very notable characteristic of the movies and that is the

actual kills the killer does. These kills became another standard for the movies, rooted way back

to even the first Halloween. Hornyak writes, “Slashers also approached a new level of brutality

with very defined kills, that are usually applauded on how creative or brutal they are” (2023,

Para. 2). These kinds of kills can be seen in Figure 1, the sadistic nature of them leave audiences

sometimes appalled or filled with distaste.

Figure 1. Micheal Myers stands and stares at his victim sadistically after stabbing him and hanging him up with his knife.

History of the Slasher Genre

The history of the slasher genre has come a long way since the beginning of its debut.

One of the first slasher horror movies was called Psycho (1960). This movie was seen as the

beginning of the slasher genre by just about everybody. As stated by Hornyak, “What’s

considered the first ‘real’ slasher is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, featuring his level of suspense

and thriller injected into a horror movie. It was the first horror with explicit violence and where

the killer is a main character, has a complete backstory and motive” (2023, para. 1). The genre
THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 6

itself was started roughly in the 1950’s and has gone up until present day, although, the

excitement and creativity has diminished over time and most slashers have become sequels or

remakes due to the lack of originality.

Even though the genre is slowly dwindling as the spark has died out; the golden age of

slasher horror brought about some of the best, most notable movies of all time. As stated by

Hornyak in an article called Evolution of the Slasher, he writes, “This is the beginning of the

golden era of slashers: after Halloween, many imitators followed creating some of the most

recognizable franchises to this day. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Child’s Play

all debuted in this decade“ (2023, Para. 5). This age of horror was one of the greatest because of

the originality of the characters and stories. Every movie was a hit and most only failed because

they were put through the test of time. With every new movie came a less notable situation or

killer. Even though the movies were made by the same people a noticeable lack of creativity left

the golden age of slasher horror behind after 1984.

While the genre itself had almost died out it didn't stop David Gordan Green (director of

the present day Halloween movies). He tried to relight the fire of the Halloween series, by

making the movies be a direct sequel to the original Halloween. He even brought back the most

notable actor in the movie (excluding Micheal Myers) Jamie Lee Curtis who played Laurie

Strode in the original. Although these movies did alright at the box office, the future of the genre

is still unknown.

Changes in the Slasher Genre

Ever since the release of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in 1960 the world of slasher genre

was born. Then with the success of Psycho came many other slasher movies with rising

popularity. John Carpenter’s Halloween became a giant success in 1978 starting a string of
THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 7

movies that changed pop culture completely. John Carpenter changed the way people saw slasher

horror. He created something that was threatening realistically and a situation that was very

possible and feared at that time. As stated in a buzzsaw magazine article:

The next huge step in evolution for the slasher genre was the classic 1978 John Carpenter

directed Halloween. This movie was one of the first that created the plot structure for a

slasher, where the first half is usually during the day, full of tension and showed the killer

throughout the movie saving most scares until the second half. (Hornyak, 2023, para. 4)

John Carpenter was one of if not the reason as to why the slasher horror genre is where it is

today. He created a film that's main focus is to create a plot and follow the main killer for the rest

of the movie. Allowing the watchers to see the kills on screen and watch people die. Although

cruel, this was one of the first times a movie was based purely on the horror and killer element.

John Carpenter changed the way the genre was seen and many big names followed his originality

of the movie to create other notable movies.

The genre itself was blooming but as more movies were being created less newer ideas

were being born; The slasher genre has not stood the test of time. Hornyak writes

“But eventually, it had to end. Sequel after sequel was released sometimes yearly for

franchises (due to low cost and easy production that could be streamlined), causing a lot

of big franchises to go off the rails due to running out of ideas. By 1989, Halloween and

Nightmare on Elm Street had five entries, and Friday the 13th had eight”. (2023, para. 6)

With most directors having little creativity in the remakes and sequels, the slasher genre had

changed into an unimaginative mess of movies. Each movie being released led to more

disappointment and disasters for the franchises as a whole. Most big names have multiple entries

with continuity that hardly makes sense between them. The lack of ideas led to most of the
THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 8

franchises breaking off into multiple different timelines with hardly believable ideas. Some

franchises dove into cult or supernatural origins while others kept to the basic storyline and rules

of the genre.

Conclusion

As time moves forward the slasher genre will continue to change and adapt to society,

with new directors and younger more sensitive audiences the future of the genre is unknown.

With technological advancements the genre may see new light as stories could get more

interesting and involved. The slasher genre is a genre that has gone through many changes and

experienced many ups and downs, but it will continue to move forward and maybe in the future

the spark may be rekindled by a newer director.

THE INEVITABLE EVOLUTION OF SLASHER HORROR 9

References

Bsu Dlr. (2017, March 28). The slasher: Evolution. The Digital Literature Review.
Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2017/03/28/the-slasher-evolution/.
Carpenter, J. (Director). (1978). Halloween [Film]. Compass international pictures.

Hornyak, written by M., & Hornyak, M. (2023, March 10). Evolution of the slasher.
Buzzsaw Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://buzzsawmag.org/2022/11/20/evolution-of-the-slasher/

Liebesman, J. (Director). (2006). Texas Chainsaw Massacre [Film]. Next entertainment

platinum dunes

Matt. (2022, July 28). What is a slasher film? the definitive guide [with examples] •
filmmaking lifestyle. Filmmaking Lifestyle. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from
https://filmlifestyle.com/what-is-a-slasher-film/#:~:text=Slasher%20films%20are%
20a%20subgenre,as%20being%20motivated%20by%20revenge.

Nyfa. (2022, November 16). The first horror movie & the history of the horror genre.
NYFA. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/how-horror-movies-have-changed-since-
their-beginning/

Research guides: Horror film: Slasher films. Slasher Films - Horror Film - Research
Guides at University of Kentucky. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://libguides.uky.edu/horrorfilms/slasher