For my sins I am a self-professed '80s slasher completest, I've somehow convinced my brain that I must watch/collect every one of these godforsaken monstrosities. The worst part is, I actually enjoy every last-minute of it. For me, these movies helped play an integral part in forming my addiction to watching and collecting horror movies. It was my desire to taste the forbidden fruits of the slasher genre that first led me on the path to being a horror film-fanatic. Through my teens my nightly viewing usually consisted of a masked maniac performing ungodly acts upon screaming co-eds. If I were to look deeply into my love of this genre and its icons, it might raise a number of unsettling questions about my own state of mind, with the most important being: Do these movies act as some sort of catharsis to quench ones own homicidal urges? Even as my cinematic tastes have widened and varied, I always find myself returning to the genre that I love and cherish.
As it stands I have seen close to 200 '80s slashers - see the complete list here - with more being viewed each month. Looking at the titles I have yet to view, I think it's safe to say I have reached a point where I have knocked off enough classics to compile a pretty solid list. As the remaining movies I have yet to view, fall into the categories of very obscure, ridiculously low-budget, or just plain horrible. So I think this lists order, and its entries, will probably remain pretty solid for quite sometime. As with any list of this nature it's obviously going to be biased by its creator, so instead of naming what I think is the absolute best, greatest, masterpieces of the slasher genre, here instead are my personal favourites. These are the movies I get the most enjoyment out of, the ones I continually find myself revisiting, time and again. The movies that remind me why I watch these delicious pieces of trash in the first place. Behold my ten favourite golden-age slashers:
The Crawford Top 10
10: Sweet Sixteen (1983)
Favourite Bit:
The ending song, played over the devastated, freeze-frame image of 'Final Girl' Melissa, is a haunting end to the film.
This is another movie that has grown exponentially in my estimation since first watching it on DVD over a decade ago. It was with the release of Scream Factory's excellent Blu-ray, that I started to see this fun little sequel in a new light. While not as dementedly, brilliant as the original, 'Unhappy Campers' is actually the most enjoyable of the series. All the characters are just fantastic, be it the perverted twins who collect tit shots, Alison Queen bitch - who has the best pair of breasts ever by the way - and especially Pamela Springsteen, as the grown incarnation of killer transvestite, Angela. The next entry suffered greatly by losing the bright, fun tone of this one, and replacing it with a dark, ominous, almost depressive colour pallet. Since 'Sleepaway Camp' 2 and 3 were shot back to back, it's clear everyone was wrecked by the time they staring shooting the third film.
Favourite Bit:
The Shit Sisters mocking Angela's Happy Camper's song:
"Oh, I'm a happy camper, I love the clear blue sky, but only when I'm shitfaced, so everyone get high! Oh, I'm a happy camper, I love to drink and fuck, and if you pay me money, on my titties you can suck"
"Oh, I'm a happy camper, I love the clear blue sky, but only when I'm shitfaced, so everyone get high! Oh, I'm a happy camper, I love to drink and fuck, and if you pay me money, on my titties you can suck"
8: Maniac Cop (1988)
You know how people have certain movies that invoke a sense of childhood nostalgia? Be it the candy coloured world of 'Willy Wonka', or the fantastical musical numbers of 'The Wizard of Oz', well for me it's 'Maniac Cop'. A personal favourite of my early horror addicted youth, 'Maniac Cop' and its sequels became well-worn friends of my VHS childhood. While admittedly nothing more than an enjoyably trashy late '80s slasher, it does have a certain charm and competence missing from other movies of the time, and Hell, just look at the sheer abundance of cult actors populating the film. From 'Evil Dead' star Bruce Campbell, to 'Halloween 3', 'Night Of The Creeps' lead Tom Atkins, and 'Shaft' himself, Richard Roundtree. For some, a forgettable, silly little horror title, but for me, and its small devoted fans, this is a movie that brings back fond memories of the good old days when horror was at it's best.
Favourite Bit:
The haunting flashback scene, scored with one the most unnerving musical cues I have heard in a horror film. Matt is attacked by a gang of criminals in the prison showers, although he makes a valiant effort against his ferocious foes, unfortunately he's completely outnumbered. They savagely beat him to the ground, before slashing his face with a jagged shiv. A brutal scene, masterfully handled by director Lustig and star Z'Dar.
7: Friday The 13th (1980)
The haunting flashback scene, scored with one the most unnerving musical cues I have heard in a horror film. Matt is attacked by a gang of criminals in the prison showers, although he makes a valiant effort against his ferocious foes, unfortunately he's completely outnumbered. They savagely beat him to the ground, before slashing his face with a jagged shiv. A brutal scene, masterfully handled by director Lustig and star Z'Dar.
7: Friday The 13th (1980)
The first 'Friday', like that of the original 'Halloween', laid down the rules that the rest of the series would emulate on repeat. From the pre-credits kill, to the horny teen cast that all fall into specific character stereotypes: The funny one; the horny one; the virginal one; and so on. Becoming a horror mainstay throughout the '80s, 'Friday the 13th' would go on to be one of the most successful series of the decade. The first eight films in-particular work perfectly as a sort of madcap tequila shot of storytelling, with each entry rehashing the other, while adding its own brand of strange to Jason's legend. As a kid I would just randomly put this flick on, it was awesome then, and it's awesome now. The original and best.
6: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Freddy was a breath of fresh air when he was first unleashed on audiences in 1984, at the time the slasher genre had sliced and diced its teen cast in hundreds of ways, and was starting to run out of ideas. In comes Wes Craven with his own unique, dream slaying bogeyman, who attacks his victims when they are at their most vulnerable, while they sleep. It's strange now to watch the first 'Nightmare' and see just how restrained the character of Freddy is, it is easy to forget just how menacing he can be. There are no quips really, he is even hardly seen in-fact, I think the later movies revealed far too much, as by the sixth movie he had literally become a cartoon of himself.
Freddy's foe, Nancy, might just be the most savvy heroine in horror, she is smart, capable, along with being beautiful. The fact her presence turned an okay sequel 'Dream Warriors' into a fan favourite is testament to how vital she is to the franchise. Having suffered through the remake, and the later entries, I go back sometimes to remind myself of how great that first trip to the boiler room was. Those first notes of Freddy's iconic theme, and the scraping of his blade on steel make it evident that the magic is still there with this horror classic.
Favourite Bit:
Tina is chased throughout the dream world, all the way back to her bedroom by Freddy. As her boyfriend watches in horror, she is dragged onto the ceiling by her spectral attacker, who uses his razor sharp claws to slice across her stomach, erupting a wave of crimson onto the walls and bed.
'Sorority house Massacre' is probably my favourite straight-up 'Halloween' clone. You might think that all '80s slashers are imitators of Carpenter's classic, but that's a common misconception, they ripped off a lot of other movies too. You see first you had the 'Halloween' clones, then the 'Friday the 13th' knock offs, and finally the 'Elm Street', dream slashers. Sometimes you even had all three movies being exploited within the same movie, hence a title like 'Sorority House', which lifts scenes shamelessly from 'Halloween' and other horrors ('Amityville'), while also taking the dream scares from 'Nightmare On Elm Street'.
This is a strange one for me, I'm not going to defend it, I know it's terrible, but...there is just something so nostalgic and innocent about it. There is very little blood, maybe only three locations in all, and the teens are so nice and quaint you really don't want to see them die. I also love Angela O'Neill final girl Beth, she's so lost and dreamy throughout the whole movie, like a frightened little kitten. 'Sorority' has my undying love like 'Curtains' and 'Prom Night', this is another slicer that for inexplicable reasons I absolutely adore.
Favourite Bit:
Well that would have to be the extended trying on clothes scene, and it's not even for the reasons you might think. This moment is everything I love about '80s horror movies, happily distilled into a one minute montage of awesomeness, as the girls try on an assortment of dodgy fashions, while laughing incessantly.
4: The Burning (1981)
I might be a bit biased as my love for '80s slashers runs deep, but as Hollywood continues to mine this fruitful period, it’s hard not to argue that maybe things were just that bit better back then. For me I found the '90s to an almost total wasteland for quality horror save for a few ('Candyman', 'Blair Witch'), and it’s looking ever more slight as this new decade lumbers on. Classics like 'Halloween', 'Friday the 13th' and 'The Burning' will continue to draw fans, as they are well made, interesting films, with characters that are more than just machete fodder. Hopefully Hollywood will one day get that it doesn’t matter how cool the kill is, or how polished the direction, sometimes all you need is the right tone, a few interesting creative people trying something different, and a killer, ORIGINAL, idea.
Favourite Bit:
The brutal and bloody raft scene.
3: Prom Night (1980)
Favourite Bit:
Over the years I have revisited 'Curtains' a number of times, the movie seems to hold a strange, unnerving grip over me, it’s a movie that commands my attention like no other slasher. There are just so many elements I love, the snowbound location, the cast, Zaza's score, John Vernon's towering performance, I just can't get enough of 'Curtains'.
Favourite Bit:
The ice skating murder is the stuff of slasher legends.
1: Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Favourite Bit:
This might be a bold statement, but I think 'The Burning' might be the best slasher to grace the golden-age. While obviously some of its elements have dated, I still find it vastly superior to anything released in the mid '90s revival - yes even the over hyped 'Scream'. Although it was designed to be a purely commercial endeavour by the Weinstein Brothers to launch their new studio, the level of craftsmanship and creativity can’t be denied. Just look at the fantastic direction by Tony Maylam, or what about Rick Wakeman’s much imitated, atmospheric score (finally granted a release in 2007). 'The Burning' also has some of the most gruesomely inventive kills ever conceived by effects master Tom Savini, who if you remember turned down 'Friday the 13th' 2 for this.
The brutal and bloody raft scene.
3: Prom Night (1980)
I first heard of this slasher during ‘Scream’ (1996), when film geek Randy was making one of his crazed meta speeches on old slasher movies. As a challenge I set myself the task to find and watch as many titles that had been referenced as possible, with 'Prom Night' being top of my list. The actual experience of watching the movie was never going to meet my feverishly high expectations, I do remember liking it at the time, but also feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the lack of violence, and slow, plodding nature of the story. It felt more like a made for TV special, based on some obscure out of print mystery novel.
Having since revisited the movie a number of times, I find my fondness growing with each viewing, and am pleasantly surprised just how watchable it remains. Although a lot of the movies elements have dated horribly - the squirm inducing disco scenes - you would think these elements would ruin the film, but the more I watch ‘Prom Night’, the more I’ve grown to love those cheesy, oh so ‘80s trapping. Maybe it's Jamie Lee, or Paul Zaza's icy score, whatever it is, I just love 'Prom Night'.
Having since revisited the movie a number of times, I find my fondness growing with each viewing, and am pleasantly surprised just how watchable it remains. Although a lot of the movies elements have dated horribly - the squirm inducing disco scenes - you would think these elements would ruin the film, but the more I watch ‘Prom Night’, the more I’ve grown to love those cheesy, oh so ‘80s trapping. Maybe it's Jamie Lee, or Paul Zaza's icy score, whatever it is, I just love 'Prom Night'.
The creepy calls the killer makes, his silhouette ominously cast on the wall, as he phones his intended victims.
2: Curtains (1983)
2: Curtains (1983)
Unlike the popular slashers of the time, 'Curtains' strays from the clichéd traits that where already cemented into the genre. Instead of the bland cast of 'bubble-headed' blondes, or 'air-head' jocks, getting carved up, the characters in 'Curtains' are adults, with genuine deep-seated, emotional problems. Be it envy, obsession or good old-fashioned revenge, 'Curtains' has, as they say, more proverbial meat on its bones than just some bland maniac in a mask movie.
Favourite Bit:
The ice skating murder is the stuff of slasher legends.
1: Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Oh 'Sleepaway Camp', you crazy maelstrom of madness, how I love thee? Let me count the ways: I love how bitchy and mean the kids are, I love how much everybody swears all the time, I adore the creepy kid bothering cook, and what about that ending?
To me this is the ultimate summer slasher, this movie perfectly captures the hazy, chaotic fun of being away from home, surrounded by strangers, some friends, others foes. Just amazing.
To me this is the ultimate summer slasher, this movie perfectly captures the hazy, chaotic fun of being away from home, surrounded by strangers, some friends, others foes. Just amazing.
Favourite Bit:
That final reveal.
How Many Have You Seen?