The Best Slasher Movies to Watch This Halloween

There are so many different categories of scary movies. There are slasher movies, ghost stories, home invasions, creepy monsters, and so much more. Although I love all of these categories, one of my absolute favorites is slasher movies. These are classic, I always need to make sure I schedule a slasher movie marathon into my October plans.

I remember watching Scream for the first time. I was curled up in my Mom’s bed, alone, and it was dark outside. Not the best combination for a scary movie marathon. But, I distinctly remember the plot twist at the end of the movie, which I won’t spoil here. It was epic, I was not expecting it whatsoever, and it made me fall in love with this sub-genre of Horror films. I was absolutely terrified.

I think what scares me the most about slasher movies is how real it all feels. Yes, a lot of these movies are cheesy and unrealistic, but I can’t help but start to imagine that it could all happen to me. Violence against other humans happens all the time, unfortunately, and it scares me to think that it could happen to anyone, anywhere.

Warning before I get started: These movies have a lot of gore, blood, and violence. So definitely check any trigger/content warnings before jumping in!

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What is a Slasher Film?

First, let’s definite what a slasher movie actually is. Slasher films are a category of horror, where the plot of the movie is the murder of people by one person or a group of people. That’s pretty vague, but that is the simplest way to describe the sub-genre. There is usually a lot of blood, a lot of gore, and a lot of murder.

Slasher Movie Recommendations

1. The Scream Series

Of course, I am going to start with the first slasher movies I ever watched, and by far the best. Before I had even seen these movies, I remember being in elementary school and kids coming on Halloween dressed up as the villain, wearing the scream mask. I didn’t know anything about the movie, but I was completely horrified by the creepy face mask with the long mouth and hollow eyes. By now, I have been so desensitized to that mask because it is so commonplace during Halloween, but I still get a little scared anytime I see one.

Flash forward to high school when I finally sat down and watched the movies. I finally understood what they were all about. Like I said at the beginning of this post, the plot twist at the end of the first movie was incredible. 10/10, the creators of that film were geniuses.

I watch these movies every year during the week of Halloween. They are my all-time favorite slasher horror films.

2. The Strangers 2: Prey at Night

I follow a content creator on Tik Tok who recommended the first movie in this series, The Strangers, as the pinnacle of home invasion movies. For the life of me, I can’t find the name of the creator right now, but I will update this post if I figure it out. But they were completely correct. This movie follows all the classic tropes of a home invasion film.

But when you get the sequel, it becomes a slasher movie. A family is terrorized by a group of murders at an abandoned trailer park. This movie has a lot of murder, and a lot of tension, which made it so gripping. Like all slasher movies, the family is picked off one by one, and any attempt to find help quickly fails. I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this film.

3. The Babysitter series

This one is a new favorite of mine. I was scrolling through Netflix when I came across this movie. I wasn’t expecting much, because I am not a huge fan of comedy/horror, but I gave it a shot and I am so glad I did. This has quickly moved to the top spot on my list of horror movies.

This movie gives viewers a look at what babysitters do after their charges fall asleep. It isn’t always what you think. One of the reasons I loved both the first movie and the sequel so much is because it is so easy to root for the main character, Cole. He is an underdog. Who doesn’t love an underdog? This movie was a fantastic mix between humor and terror, with all the elements you need to make a great slasher movie.

The ending of the sequel leads me to believe there will be a third movie. I certainly hope so!

4. Fear Street Series

I first watched Fear Street this summer, when it was first released on Netflix, because a coworker recommended it to me, and they were absolutely wonderful. These movies are set in three different time periods, all surrounding the same curse. The actors were so talented, the cinematography was gripping, and the plotlines of each movie were intriguing.

This is another set of movies where I actually cared about the characters and cared about the outcome of the films. These movies also added a spin to the slasher genre by adding a paranormal twist. Most slasher movies are about real humans murdering other real humans, but with the supernatural curse in Fear Street, there was a little more excitement and mystery into why the killings were happening.

5. Halloween the series

Sometimes you have to go back to the classics with movies like Halloween. I haven’t watched all of this horror movie series, but the first one is one of the best slasher movies out there. They are still adding to this film franchise, with movies coming out next year, in 2022.

Michel Meyers is a classic villain, and I find something so creepy about the simple white mask that he wears. I think it has something to do with the valley of uncanny, the same fear that happens with dolls. Too similar to humanity, but also so different at the same time. This is another Halloween mask I remember seeing all the time as a kid, and never understanding what it was from until I watched the movie.

6. Friday the 13th

Of course, another classic slasher movie that I had to add to this list, is the Friday the 13th franchise. This one also has a ton of sequels and spin-offs, you could make entire movie marathons based on this one franchise.

Jason in the hockey mask holding a bloody knife is one of the most iconic and recognizable images of the slasher movie subgenre. These movies are so fun and so full of murder and tension. I love watching the older slasher movies, with all their basic tropes that newer films now make fun of. But you always need to know the classics to enjoy those subtle jokes!

7. Psycho

There is something so inherently creepy about a motel in the middle of nowhere. Does that creepy feeling come from the location, or is it all ingrained in society after the release of the movie Psycho? This movie is another classic. Everything about it is terrifying, I always make sure I watch this every Halloween.

I especially love the TV series, Bates Motel, which was on a couple of years ago. It gave such a different perspective to the character of Norman Bates, I found it fascinating.

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This list of slasher movies includes some of my all-time favorite Halloween movies. Although the blood splatter and brain matter aren’t my favorite things to watch, I still have so much fun watching these films. It is so classically Halloween to sit down with some candy or a hot drink, shut the lights off, and watch these movies, while all wrapped up in a warm and safe blanket.

If these moves aren’t your thing, check out my list of family-friendly Halloween movies! Or if you need something to watch to “cleanse your pallet” before bed so you don’t get bad dreams, that list is also super helpful.