Slasher films involve a mysterious psychopathic killer stalking and murdering a sequence of young, weak, and vulnerable victims. Key early influential slasher films include Halloween (1978), which popularized the masked killer, and Friday the 13th (1980), which brought graphic violence and a sequential murder countdown to mainstream audiences. Slasher films typically feature stock characters like the final girl hero who fights the killer, and victims who are often female teens killed after sexual activity. The genre became popular in the 1970s influenced by earlier psychological horror films and continues with remakes and sequels today.

1. A Slasher film is a subgenre of horror film and at times thriller . Slasher films include a
mysterious psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims who are young
weak and vulnerable . Although the term slasher maybe used as a generic term for any
horror movie involving graphic acts of murder.

2. Origins and Influences on slasher films
The earliest slasher film is Thirteen Women ( 1932) .
John Carpenters Halloween ( 1978) and Sean S.
Cunningham's , Friday the 13th (1980) both of which
had remakes of there films .
Halloween was the first film to reinforce the idea of a
masked killing machine and the first for the killer being
seemingly indestructible evil force . Halloween is
considered to be the film responsible for the
influences and proliferation of the slasher trend. Also
popularizing what became key elements in the genre.
Friday the 13th is known to be the first slasher film
with pure graphic violence to achieve mainstream
popularity and to also bring together the idea of
murder characters with the sequential murder
countdown.

3. Typical Character
conventions and
stereotypes
The Hero – Also known as a protagonist. Whenever one of
their friends goes missing they are always the first to
notice and take action first. The hero is usually aware of
the killer while the other friends are busy having too
much fun . Its typical of the hero to fight of the killer
because the last two or three friends near the end of the
film are already dead . However not all slasher films lets
the hero win
The killer – The killer in the slasher film is usually a male
. His identity if often but not always unknown or hid
away by a mask , however his identity can be concealed
for a while with the use of shots , example Halloween in
the middle of the film mid-shots are used to conceal
the identity of the killer . The killer is very strong and
his background includes a childhood trauma which links
to why he behaves in such manner. Throughout t most
Slasher film franchises the killers are usually kept the
same , Michael Myers , Freddy Krueger ,Jason Voorhees
and chucky are notable examples , the killer is rarely a
women .
The victim tends to be young attractive in high
school or college , sometimes even adolescent .
Violence often takes place during or after sexual
activity . The victims are always females , the
last remaining female is known ad the final girl .

4. Slasher films in the 1970s were largely
influenced by the emergence in the
previous decade of the psychological horror
films and became very popular as the years
went on

5. 1960- Peeping Tom and Psycho
Known to be two great films which were released by
amazing filmmakers that can equally be credited with
the birth of the slasher genre . Both Michael Powell's –
Peeping Tom and Alfred Hitchcock's were the three
people who created the instrumental that creates great
tension and style in slasher horror films , these
instruments are well known and used today frequently
1996- Scream .Wes craven the man who created A
Nightmare On Elm Street and other horror films has
rejuvenated the slasher genre . Scream is a very good
and unique horror /slasher movie which pays homage to
slasher movies but also it includes characters talking
about them and getting inspiration and motivation from
them .

6. Slasher films being created today are
parts of endless sequels of already
released slasher/ horror films for example
like Saw or are a remake . The slasher
genre has been very creative which has
given it a wide audience world wide .
Every single slasher film released has its
own originality that people can relate to
and enjoy .