What was the First Ever Slasher Movie?
When it comes to slasher movies, people tend to think of a masked indivudal hunting down teenagers one by one, until the "final girl" either escapes from their wrath, or kills the slasher. These tropes were popularized by the abundant amount of slasher movies coming out in the 1980's, but when was the first actual slasher movie? It actually depends on what you view as a slasher. Peeping Tom (1960) and Pyscho (1960) were released the same year, and they are the earliest films depicting a human killer going around murdering people. Although those movies gave idea to later slasher movies, neither are considered a full-fledged slaser movie. The first movie that released that hits all the beats for a slasher movie was Black Christmas (1974). It featured an unknown creepy killer stalking and killing young girls in a sorority house. It had the first final girl in history, being Jess Bradford played by Olivia Hussey.
How Slashers Evolved into the 80's
Slasher movies boomed in the 80's. John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) kicked off the slasher craze. Two years later, Friday the 13th (1980) would release. These movies and their seemingly endless amount of sequels popularized the genre. More hits came out, such as Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Child's Play (1988). These movies became cult classics, especially with such iconic characters, with Michael Meyers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Chucky. The 80's were slashers in their prime. Many modern day movies or cartoon reference scenes, lines, characters, and much more from these movies. The 1980's acts as the meat of a hamburger. There will likely not be another big surge of popularity for slashers again, but that doesn't mean that they haven't evolved. They definitely have. Moving forward into the 90's, Slashers were changed forever when Scream released in 1996.