Halloween (1978) was said to be the slasher film that fulled all horror films in the 80’s. Some say it was the first slasher film to hit our screens and others say it was Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) which started the slasher genre. I researched 5 slashers films including Psycho and Halloween and found techniques that had been duplicated over the film decades but also how the slasher genre has evolved. The other slasher films I watched were, Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997) and Black Xmas (2006) the re-make. I researched these 5 particular films because there release date varied which allowed me to easily compare the change in slasher films.

Many of the 1960s horror movies were filled with breath-holding suspense rather than bloody scenes. Among the most-watched horror films of all times is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Psycho was an extremely low-budget film, like most of the slasher films at this time, but amazingly made millions and the director’s figured that the less money they spent on the production of the film, the more money they made which consequently meant the more profit they would make. As the film was on a low-budget, the equipment available to them wasn’t as developed or accessible and this is visible in the film; for example, the camera is often unstable and looks extremely shaky, even when a hand-held technique is not meant. Compared to later movies, Psycho and Halloween has fewer murders. In modern slasher movies, there are more deaths because of the audiences wants, they want to see more murders and gore because it’s entertainment.

Michael Myers- The Killer from Halloween (1978)


Almost twenty years after Psycho released, Halloween was made and was said to be the film that fueled the slasher films in the 1980’s. What had changed between 1960 and 1978 was the horror and terror that is built up, it was much more fast paced and audiences prefered this. The scenes that are shot are much more confined for example, houses, because it is harder for the victims to escape confined spaces and a small number of characters were a typical convention that was interested around this period of slasher genre. Another change was the harmony of the movie. Slasher films starting from Halloween, began with disharmony rather than harmony which is unusual but shows the audience from the beginning that something is wrong. However, one thing that has stayed the same is the motive; especially for the killer because it’s to murder civilians.

After Halloween, murders in slasher films seemed to be based on karma. Often the saying is if ‘you have sex you die’. In Halloween, Michael Myers’ sister has sex and she dies minutes later, and it’s the same later on in the film with another young couple. Most American slasher films are based around, sex, drugs and alcohol anyway, so this can be found in these particular films.

Twenty years later, in 1997, Wes Craven’s Scream was released and was said to be the starting point again for the slasher genre.  The plot to the film is still similar, a killer murders innocent civilians normally with no real motivation. Compared to earlier films such as Psycho, Halloween and Black Christmas etc. there is a lot more blood and gore only because the public like this and producers want to meet the audiences needs, considering their the people who watch the finished product. It is also makes the film seem much more realistic; more is better. As this is a later slasher film to be released, producers and the director were able to research earlier slasher films and learn from them. In the movie, Scream, they have used references to other slasher films and tells us what not to do in a horror film. Because we have experienced slasher films over the years, we’re familiar with the techniques and conventions and plots.

In Scream 2 which was released a year later (1998), slasher movies had evolved dramatically, the killer was female which was almost completely unknown in films of this genre. There is also a lot more characters in modern slasher films than older movies like Psycho who had only a small number.

Scream 2- Telephone Scene

I noticed that, when a movie is made into a sequel, like Scream 2, the storyline is very similar and the plot is exactly the same. Black Christmas (2006) was the fifth slasher film I watched and researched, which was the re-make to the original one from 1974. The storyline was almost duplicate but like most modern films, there was a lot more gore and terror. The original Black Christmas went out of circulation quickly, and the public never compared slasher films to it, only cult mainstream movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th. What the public didn’t realise was that it inforced Halloween and the audience only credits the re-make of Black Christmas.

A few conventions of the slasher genre that I had noticed hadn’t changed over the decades was the location, the setting in slasher films is always a quiet suburban town and you now associate these small towns with slasher films. I also noticed that these films began with disharmony rather than harmony in other genres like comedy etc. It is common for a civilian to be killed in the opening scenes of a slasher film, so the audience has an idea of what to expect.

The characters in a slasher film are picked carefully but are often duplicate to all films in this genre. There is always a strong, brave man who tries to look out for the dependant, weak girl but unfortunately gets killed by the killer leaving the girl alone and helpless. It is this girl who often becomes the ‘final girl’. The final girl is common in almost every slasher film. She is the character who has to do a final fight with the killer and either defeats him/her or is the final character to be murdered. More than often if the killer is the only remaining person alive, remakes of the film will be made.

Final Girl- Halloween: Jamie Lee Curtis played the final girl,

Laurie Strode

The themes in slasher films are duplicated also. It is always Good vs. Evil, the Civilians vs. Killer and Male vs. Female, unless the killer is female or the civilian is male. Films contain both visual and sound images. In slasher films I noticed that monotone drones and zingers are used in almost every scene to create more impact or tension and it works because it frightens the audience which is the job of a slasher/horror film. Psycho and Halloween also had their own theme music which also adds to the tension. When you hear the theme music, you know something will happen, it acts as a signifier.

Horror movies have changed in many ways over the years. New technology provides opportunity for special effects that were not possible in previous decades. The films contain much more gore, terror, tension and number of deaths. However this all being considered, there are still some great classics out there which remain favorites with viewers today, it’s the audiences wants and needs in a slasher film that have evolved.