The slasher movies legacy began all the way back in 1960 with the work of acclaimed director Alfred Hitchcock, the movie... Psycho. On a hot summers day Marion Crane makes off from her workplace with a heavy stash of cash, in search of retreat she finds herself in The Bates Motel, where she falls foul of a vicious killer.

While the entry level to the slasher movie it's probably best to regard Psycho as a very basic slasher, there is no great abundance of deaths as followed in future slasher offerings. One thing Psycho did however was blazed its way into the history books as one of the most notorious horror movies of all time; despite its killing, Psycho features no blood whatsoever.

The slasher movie picked up speed in 1964 in Italy, director Mario Bava told a terrific tale of a masked killer stalking models in a high profile fashion house in the movie Blood And Black Lace. The movie not only reasonably sits in the category of slasher, but also falls into another genre, the Giallo movie. Six years later the most important entry in the slasher movie history appears again an Italian movie by Mario Bava, this movie was Bay Of Blood (Twitch Of The Death Nerve). Bay Of Blood was an inspiration on the American breed of slasher movie, with notorious horror directors John Carpenter, Tom Savini, and Wes Craven all acknowledging its incredible influence. Bay Of Blood follows a group of despicable individuals as they turn to the most extreme methods in order to inherit the bay of the movie's title.

In 1972 a little known director by the name of Wes Craven teamed up with producer Sean C. Cunningham to make the movie Last House On The Left, a movie that shocks audiences even today. The premise of Cravens movie takes shape on the 17th birthday of Mari Collingwood, Mari and her friend Phyllis head off from her rural location to the city to see a popular rock band of the day. A quest for some weed leads the friend to Junior, a young man turned into a drug addict by his own father. Junior is part of a gang of thugs and the girls are soon in their lair, where over a period of time they are raped and assaulted by all members (except Junior) before being murdered, but this is only where the story begins. Last House On The Left was banned or censored across the world, and until 2008 could not be seen in an uncut form in the United Kingdom.

In 1974 Canadian movie Black Christmas saw a vicious killer stalk a house of young women at the most festive of times. But the passion of this movie was overshadowed by another seasonal offering in 1978. Having scored success with Dark Star and Assault On Precinct 13, John Carpenters next movie is a keystone in the history of the slasher movie.

Halloween is arguably john Carpenters most successful movie, and one of the most famous horror movies of all time. Taking the element of fear already instilled in the hearts of Americans in respect of Halloween, Carpenters story follows vicious killer Michael Myers as he escapes from a mental institution and rips terror into the community of Haddonfield as he hunts down relative Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Halloween was a naturally acted movie that showed an innocent babysitters life turned upside down, to the viewing public it was all just so plausible.

Where Halloween stopped, Friday The 13th (1980) picked up. Taking the feel of Halloween's horror from a community to an isolated location, in this case Camp Crystal lake. Nicknamed Camp Blood after a terrible series of events back in the 1950's the plan is to turn Crystal Lake into a summer camp for kids, and the unlucky victims of Friday The 13th's killer are the summer camp guides, one of which was future star Kevin Bacon. What made Friday The 13th so special was that it was a low budget movie offered by producers Paramount to a major audience, it knocked Oscar winning movie Kramer Vs Kramer off the top of the charts, and at that point became of the most profitable movies of all time.

The same year a similar tale The Burning appeared, this was far more extreme that Friday The 13th, where as there was 7 victims in Friday, in The Burning the body count was in double figures, and that was in just one attack by the movies killer Cropsy. Like Friday The 13th the movie was set in a summer camp, and had future Hollywood stars Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. Notorious for its rowing massacre The Burning unlike Friday The 13th was censored across the world. The Burning rather interestingly bought about one of the most successful movie houses of modern times, Miramax.

Having released Halloween, and Friday The 13th the next few years saw lots of date themed movies, Happy Birthday To Me, My Bloody Valentine, Don't Open Till Christmas, New Years Evil, and returns for both Halloween and Friday The 13th. But 1980 was not done with the slasher movie, Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielson starred in the movie Prom Night in which a killer with a grudge stalked celebrating teens. A young Tom Hanks starred in the brilliantly suspenseful He Knows Your Alone, a young bride to be comes face to face with a brutal killer that is of course after he has despatched all of her friends. Maniac saw a New York man going to pieces while stealing parts from ladies of the city; and Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the horror genre again for Terror Train.

In 1982 journalist Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) becomes stalked by a nutcase (played by Michael Ironside) in the movie Visiting Hours. Banned in the UK television channel ITV made the terrible mistake of showing the movie uncut, the result was expensive for the network.

Another legend was born in 1983, but it was so "out there" that until recent years it was forgotten. The movie Sleepaway Camp featured the most shocking final revelation of any of the slasher movies, taking a nod and a wink from Friday The 13th the movies finale left people completely gobsmacked.

The next big landmark in the genre was in 1984 when another legend was born, Freddy Kruger stalked the dreams of the kids in the picturesque location of Elm Street in the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street. Freddy Kruger was a child abuser burned to death by the residents of Elm Street many years prior to the original movie, but the vengeful Kruger returned to haunt the dreams of teens, if Kruger killed his prey in their dreams they also died in real life.

As the 1980's continued more Friday The 13th's, Elm Street's and Halloweens saturated the slasher genre. But it was the cleverly scripted April Fools Day in 1986 that put the death nail in the coffin of the slasher movie until ten years later. April Fool's Day had a pretty bizarre ending that was both loved and hated by horror movie enthusiasts, some went as far as to say they had been cheated. Whatever the case the movie ended the run of slasher movies, and until 1996 horror movies became just a dirty word.

For the third time Wes Craven caused a stir in 1996, having mortified audiences with Last House On The Left, and caused a whirlwind with The Nightmare On Elm Street movies, Wes Craven returned with the movie Scream. This new breed of slasher movie mixed graphic horror and comedy together and shook it up vigorously. Scream re-energised the horror movie genre, and proved there was still life in the slasher genre. While it charged up the slasher genre, it was only Scream and its two sequels that occupied the slasher mantel of the 90's into the early 2000's.

In 2007 having caused controversy with his movies House of A 1000 Corpses, and the Devil's Rejects, maverick director/musician Rob Zombie remade Halloween. This movie delivered something far more terrifying than the original and insured the way for a series of movie remakes, Friday The 13th, My Bloody Valentine, and Terror Train are all in production to bring the slasher movie to a whole new generation.

Silence of the Lambs

I'm always shy about saying this is a horror movie because it doesn't remind me of the other, cheesier movies.  This is a good, scary movie though with plenty of creepy moments.  For instance, imagine being locked in a storage garage and you stumble upon a head in a jar.  I might mess myself, just to be honest.  And let's not lie, there's one memorable moment that doesn't get mentioned often in reviews.  Wondering which one?  Remember the line, "Look, a blonde!"?

The Blair Witch Project

This is not my favorite 90s horror movie, but it was extremely popular.  I watched the entire movie and was actually really bored.  Then I went home that night and couldn't erase the last images of the movie from my head.  I slept with the lights on that night, and I was 21.  Did I feel like a nerd?  You bet!

Seven

Let me start by saying that Kevin Spacey makes the best villain ever.  Nearly shaved head, intense look and completely soft spoken; I'd be scared of him if I met him on the city bus (and especially so if he threw up on me due to the banality of my chatter).  This movie has some very shocking images, including a man (monsterish in appearance) thought to be dead that coughs at the last second.  This movie is also full of quotable lines, such as Brad Pitt's famous line, "What's in the box?".

Scream

A movie that turned the genre on it's head.  Scream took all the conventions of Horror Movies and used them in a clever way.  There's actually a character that avoids dying simply because he's a virgin.  Don't believe sex leads to murder in horror movies?  Watch Friday the 13th.  If nothing else, Scream has the best opening scene of any 90s horror movie.  Forget seeing Drew Berrymore naked, you get to see right through her.

Candyman

I don't care how cheesy anyone thinks this movie is, I still can't say "candyman" in front of a mirror.  This movie is fun and freaky on many different levels, but my favorite part is the lead character's response to fear.  Helen Lyle, a graduate student, is confronted several times by Candyman.  During most of the confrontations, she stares at him as if in a trance and cries quietly.  I can respect any approach that's not the normal "Scream Queen" approach.

The People Under The Stairs

This movie was originally creepy just because it's a creepy story: two siblings are entangled in an incestuous affair, and they also like to kidnap and imprison children in their basement.  Of course it's creepy.  I never thought anything like this would be possible until a few months ago when a man in Austria was arrested for similar crimes.  I will probably never watch this movie again for that reason, but it was a great cheesy, horror flick when I was a teenager.

Tremors

One of the cheesiest, funniest, and grossest horror movies produced in the 90s.  Any movie that has the dad from Family Ties as a gun toting radical makes me happy.  Mix in Kevin Bacon and Dune-like worms intent on demolishing everything that moves, and you have a winner in my book!

Misery

Annie Wilkes will live in infamy in my mind forever.  A Plain-Jane, girthy appearance hides one of the most evil characters ever to appear on the silver screen.  Her masochistic abduction of writer Paul Sheldon is nothing short of cruel.  Here's a hint for this movie, when you see the sledgehammer, cover your eyes.

The Prophecy

Who doesn't love Christopher Walken?  In this movie, God doesn't.  When asked why Christopher, playing the angel Gabriel, doesn't just speak to God about his woes, he replies, "He doesn't talk to me anymore."  For years after seeing this I would insist on trying to knock people out by raising one hand to them and making the "shhh" sign with the other.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you haven't watched the movie.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare

This is the only sequel that has made it onto this list.  I generally don't give sequels much credit but this one is special.  The reason this one makes the list is that it breaks through the traditional sequel mold and takes a look at the Nightmare on Elm Street movies from the perspective of filmmakers.  What would happen if Freddy became real and entered into the real world?  Watch the movie and find out.

Whilst choosing to disregard anything to do with the “Newborn” creature and “Ripley 8” in Alien Resurrection as being a worthy addition to the franchise, and its attempt to outline a bond between human and Xenomorph; I prefer to investigate the connection between antagonist and protagonist beginning with the first movie.

H.R. Giger's refinement of the surreal Necronom IV lithograph, with the help of director Ridley Scott, portrayed the beauty and sexual overtones of the creature within the first film. It's loud hissing, provocative grin, and drooling fluids, had significant cultural impact upon its human predecessors.

Ripley's personal encounters with the alien, particularly towards the climax of the first movie, are almost erotic in places. As the viewer sees the protagonist strip down to her underwear, it is at that moment that the seemingly neglected alien creature springs out of hiding to intimidate Ripley further. The slow building tension between the female human and Xenomorph during this scene are evident when Ripley's respiratory levels increase, and her violent screams result from the advance off the alien towards her.

The alien's combination of sexually evocative physical and behavioral characteristics are guilty of being seductive when in the presence of the human being. Indeed, much of the Alien's looks and life cycle can be seen as a perverse sexual metaphor. The snapping metallic teeth are almost like the castrating vagina dentata, according to critic Ximena Gollardo, and are deliberate in design for creating an organic killing machine.

During the famous scene, where the chestburster explodes through Kane's ribcage on Nostromo, there is a distinct connection between sex and death. On first contact with the species, Kane had been subdued and made pregnant by the facehugger from the egg, and later on the embryo had developed and escaped via its host. It is a nightmare for the viewer to see the male gender desemated via the birth of another species in such a fashion. Indeed, when the ovomorph succeeded in planting the embryo, it was via the method of sexual assault.

Undoubtably, there is a blurring of human sexual dichotomy here. At the time Alien was released, Sigourney Weaver, who played Ripley, was a little known actress, and it was somewhat surprising for a film audience to see such a horrifying plot develop, with Ripley being the last remaining (female) character. Contrasting to Dallas, who was the more familiar lead role of the film, yet becomes one of the early captures of the Xenomorph along with Kane; then is later seen cocooned and helpess, being used as a host for the implantation process within the nest of the alien.

In this sense Ripley's role is challenging the ideology of gender stereotypes: she is the only (female) survivor of the Nostromo crew, and overhauls the threat of the Xenomorph and its propagation, ultimately by herself.

The breakthrough feminist themes about women in combat made Sigourney Weaver a cinematic icon. The “Female Action Hero” was a rare title given to actresses in the days of Alien, and it wasn't till the reprisal of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, that Ellen Ripley had any serious (human) competition.

The Iconic lone figure with a flame-thrower has been accepted and celebrated as pure cinematic magic, where Ripley, the heroine, triumphs over the alien species. Her strength and will to carry on through the suffering of her deceased crew makes her worthwhile to the female gender, yet truly iconic to the human race.

Furthermore, Ripley's character role is made significant by challenging the ideals of science with a human angle: it is her common sense, emotion, and will to survive that relates her to the best of us.

If only the crew would've listened to Ripley citing quarantine protocol; there would have been no knowledge of the extraterrestrial life form, and humanity would be safe from its threat (at least for the time being). Her attempts at persuading Science Office Ash and Dallas to get rid of the facehugger were also blatantly ignored.
The casting of Jones, the cat, is notable for influencing further Ripley's personality on screen. Despite being stalked by the alien, and with the self-destruct sequence of Nostromo rapidly counting down, Ripley is still desperate to get Jones out of there, under her wing, safely, after the crew has been completely diminished.

It is such characteristics that allow Ripley's role to overshadow even that of the alien, which is quite extraordinary, especially given that the title of the movie refers to the antagonist. Although the alien is most certainly billed as the “Perfect Organism”, leaving the audience intrigued to find out more about this highly aggressive, unfamiliar, extraterrestrial life form, it is the story of Ellen Ripley that keeps faith in human existence, and inspires further installments of the franchise.

Admittedly, I've had numerous nightmares of the chestburster ripping through my own rib cage, and I remain quite cynical when I hear about humanity's attempts to explore other species in space. I'm not paranoid (much), but you have to remember that “Science-Fiction” is an oxymoron, and a contradiction within itself.

Giger's obscene; insectoid form was not a result of evolution, but deliberate design. The vaguely human features of the Xenomorph, with its skeletal, biomechanical appearance, may well be the most perfectly formed organism we've have ever seen. Its erotic nature of reproduction- "an interspecies rape" according to O'Bannon -has haunted audiences for years, whilst the term "We are not alone" has rung through many of our minds.
Ripley not only installs pride within women, but gives faith to the whole of humanity's explorations, on film. In fact, it isn't till the 3rd instalment in the franchise that we learn Ripley has finally been “caught'”, and impregnated by the aliens; even then she was asleep when the attack took place.

Ripley fully deserves her rank as the 8th greatest hero in American Cinema History, at the very least; while Scott's Alien masterpiece must remain as one of the most significant sci-fi films of all time; with the award for the most grotesque surrealist artist going to H.R. Giger. Undoubtedly.

When she's talking to the killer, she locks the same door in her house twice.

Where was Steve's killer?

When Casey got her question wrong, the killer killed Steve. The only problem was, the killer wasn't there when Casey turned on the light. The killer didn't have enough time to get away so she should have been able to see the killer.

Casey can be heard screaming

When Casey is running away from the killer, the killer puts a hand on her mouth. You can still hear her screaming even though her mouth is covered.

Casey had blood on her back

The killer stabbed Casey in the front (chest or shoulder area), but when she tried to call out to her mother, she had blood on the back of her sweater.

Sydney's father knocked

When Billy snuck in Sydney's room, he made a lot of noise. Her father clearly knocked on the door which was why she wanted Billy to leave, yet when she opened the door, she asked him “Can you knock?”

Reporters at school

Why were the reporters at the school when Casey and Steve were killed at Casey's house? Why did they assume that their murders were related to someone at the school. Their deaths could have been random killings.

When Sydney fought the killer

When the killer revealed himself/herself in her house, they got into a fight. You could clearly tell that Sydney was a stunt double.

Why did the killer let Sydney sleep?

Sydney fell asleep while she was waiting for her friend Tatum to pick her up at her house. Sydney walked around her house and there was no sign of life in the house. However, when the killer called her, he/she jumped out at her from the closet. My problem with this is that if he/she were already in the house, why didn't the killer get her while she was asleep?

Gale was always around

How did Gale always know to be around whenever something happened? Unless she got tipped off by the killer/killers, she shouldn't have known to be around whenever something happened.

The killer changed outfits

When Sydney was in the bathroom, the killer was in there. There was a camera shot of the killer's pants, but they weren't the same color as the paints the killer wore earlier. It was still the same day so when did the killer change?

The killer wasn't spotted

The killer was outside in broad daylight dressed in the costume, but no one saw him/her.

Stores closed for curfew

The police issued a nine o'clock curfew for the town, but the people were closing up the stores before sunset.

Dewey allowed the kids to drink

When Dewey went to the party, he saw a teenager with a beer. He jokingly told him that he was under age. Why would a cop allow teenagers to drink?

Tatum went out the cat door

When Tatum tried to escape from the killer through the cat door, a stunt double was used. Tatum's hair kept changing so you could tell it wasn't the same actress.

The batteries fell out

Just before Randy goes over the movie rules, he pauses the tape. When he picks up the remote to pause the tape, you can see red batteries fall out of the remote.

Sydney stayed on the property

The killer wasn't after her anymore while she was at Stu's house, yet she chose to stay there instead of running away from the house.

SPOILER WARNING

Sydney should have known that Randy wasn't the killer

When She's in the news van with Kenny, they see a footage of what's going on in Stu's house. Gale put a camera in the house so she and Kenny could see what was going on. Sydney saw how the killer was going after Randy so she should have known that he was innocent.

Randy's limp

Gale hit Randy on the head with her phone when he walked up to her news van. For some reason, he ended up limping when he wasn't hit in the leg.

SPOILER WARNING

Why did the killers keep stabbing each other?

When they were talking to Sydney about their plan to set up her father, they stabbed each other. How did they expect to kill Sydney and her father if they were wounded from all of the stabbing?