What is Slasher Genre? 5 elements that defines Slasher Genre.

What is slasher movie

Horror is one the most popular genres.

But there is a particular subgenre in horror which is wildly popular.

Yes, that’s slasher.

With constant remakes of 80’s slashers and newly thought-out slashers, we know that – this genre is not dying any soon.

So, we come to the question:

What is exactly a slasher movie? What defines the slasher genre?

In simple terms, a slasher is a movie which involves a killer who murders a number of people.

I know it sounds insane.

But this genre is packed with suspense, action and gore.

And that’s why many of us love it.

So, what makes a slasher a slasher?

Are slasher and horror the same? What’s the difference?

To answer your questions, here is a list of elements which a slasher movie contains:

1. Serial killer

Serial Killer in Slasher movies
[Michael Myers in Halloween]

A serial killer is not far from reality.

We’ve seen many real-life cases where people have committed heinous crimes against people.

Be it Ted Bundy or any other killers, they’ve done terrible deeds.

As opposed to these criminals, serials killers in slashers looks more mysterious and scarier.

They wear mask, at times they don’t speak, and they possess sharp objects.

But there are also some slashers where the killer doesn’t wear a mask. For example, Jackie in ‘What Keeps you Alive’. She doesn’t wear a mask but still her presence is unsettling.

2. Number of Killings

There's Someone Inside Your House
[Image from There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021)]

How many people get killed in slashers?

It depends.

In majority of the slashers, a group of people gets threatened by the killer.

One by one all these people get killed by the killer.

But now days there are slasher which feature just one character.

Let’s take example of ‘Hush’. Hush revolves around an author who is deaf. While she is writing her new novel in the middle of dense forest, a killer attacks her. The movie shows how the lady will survive. Or will she?

3. Sharp Tools

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
[Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre]

This is one of the most important factors which make the slashers interesting.

While majorly the villains kill using their sharp knives and blades, there are slashers which uses other tools like arrows, hammer, bat.

There is one slasher where the killer uses a chainsaw. Yes, the movie’s name is ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. The thought of people getting killed by a chainsaw is terrifying in itself.

4. Blood and Gore

You're Next
[Image from You’re Next (2011)]

This is the part which makes the slasher a sub-genre of horror.

It is very uneasy and queasy to watch people bleeding. I myself, feel uneasy to even look at a cut.

You’re Next (2011) and Ready or Not (2019) have very gory scenes. These scenes are hard to watch and they definitely increase the tension.

5. Final Girl/Boy

The Final Girls 2015
[Image from Final Girls (2015)]

A well-known horror movie trope is the ‘final girls’ trope.

In this, at the end of the movie a person survives the killer.

In most cases it’s the girls.

This trope is responsible for making the movie kind of suspenseful; as we need to know who will survive at the end.

These are the five elements which I feel make up a slasher movie.

Am I missing anything? Do let me know your thoughts in the comments.

And also tell me the first slasher you watched?

Now, if you are searching to watch more slasher movies, then you can check out these posts:

You’ll get ample of recommendations in these lists.

See you in the next post 🙂