Halloween (1978)
What most consider to be the first of the slasher craze even though Black Christmas and others preceded it, it’s one of the most beloved of the genre and for good reason, great acting, great suspense, and a young Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut.
Black Christmas (1974)
One of the earliest movies that could make up the slasher genre, it was the first to use the key ingredients: masked/unseen killer, holiday setting, and the killing of promiscuous teens. Directed by Bob Clark who went on to make the sex teen comedy Porky’s and later another holiday classic, the family oriented A Christmas Story
Christmas Evil aka You Better Watch Out (1980)
A true hidden gem, and another set via the Christmas season. the story centers on a factory worker who starts to believe he is Santa Claus, and has a lesson for bad boys and girls, with a great ending that not many would see coming. Also features an early film role of Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale on The Walking Dead)
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Not the best movie in the list, but it’s still considered a classic and far better than the sequels that followed. The film focuses on a young boy who, after witnessing his parents’ brutal murder at the hands of a maniac dressed in a Santa suit on Christmas, grows up tumultuously in a Catholic orphanage and eventually snaps and decides to take his revenge. The film caused an uproar when released in 1984 during the holiday season, and has developed a cult following.
Friday the 13th (1980)
The first in the popular series, and one of only 2 that Jason Voorhees isn’t the main antagonist. It was made originally with nothing more than a title to go off of in order to obtain financing, it was one of the most successful and better of the Halloween knock offs that soon followed. In my mind a great date movie too
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Another of the slashers that followed in Halloween’s success. This one is set in Canada in a mining community and tells the story of a town that hasn’t celebrated Valentines Day in many a year due to a deranged miner having a murder spree many years before. When released originally it featured many cuts due to the MPAA cracking down on horror movies in general due to what many believe was the death of John Lennon the previous year.
Halloween III
Though initially not very successful due to the backlash of not including Michael Meyers, the movie was supposed to jump-start a new series of movies all set around the Halloween holiday, it delves into the origin of Halloween. Starring the genre great Tom Atkins, it’s another one that’s pure fun.
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