The Best Slasher Movies Of The 1980s

In this iconic horror film, audiences are introduced to the monstrous character of Freddy Krueger, a vengeful spirit who terrorizes and kills teenagers in their dreams. The story revolves around Nancy Thompson, played by Heather Langenkamp, as she and her friends begin experiencing nightmares featuring the disfigured killer armed with a glove of razor-sharp blades. As their friends begin dying one by one, Nancy must unravel the mystery behind Krueger's origins and find a way to defeat him before it is too late.

The first film in one of horror's most iconic franchises follows a group of young camp counselors as they prepare to open Camp Crystal Lake for the summer season. Unfortunately for them, a vengeful killer with ties to past tragedy wreaks havoc on their plans and hunts them down with relentless brutality. Establishing many tropes now typical for slasher films, this masterpiece set the stage for countless imitators and spawned a long-lasting series that still resonates today.

Following directly from events depicted in John Carpenter's original Halloween masterpiece, this sequel once again pits Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) against Michael Myers after surviving his attack four years prior. As Myers returns to Haddonfield on Halloween night seeking revenge on Laurie and anyone else who stands in his way, Dr. Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) continues his pursuit to stop Myers for good.

Following the success of the first film, this sequel introduces Jason Voorhees as the primary antagonist after his mother's death in the original movie. As a new group of counselors arrives at Camp Crystal Lake to open a training facility, they find themselves being hunted down by Jason one by one. Much like its predecessor, this slasher offers numerous inventive kills that only heighten the suspense and terror throughout.

Despite its title, this movie is actually only the fourth entry in the long-running Friday the 13th series. It continues to follow the murderous rampage of Jason Voorhees at Camp Crystal Lake as he brutally dispatches a new group of unsuspecting young people. The film introduces Tommy Jarvis, played by Corey Feldman, who becomes instrumental in stopping Jason's reign of terror throughout subsequent movies in the franchise.

This cult classic Canadian horror film takes place in a small mining town where an accident years prior has left residents wary about celebrating Valentine's Day due to a deranged miner killing those he deemed responsible for his comrades' deaths during festivities back then. When a group of young adults decide to hold a party despite local legends warning not to celebrate February 14th anymore, they soon realize that someone dressed as a miner is stalking and killing them in gruesome ways.