The new "Fear Street" trilogy, which brings R.L. Stine's chilling teen novels to the screen
for the first time, is a thrilling tribute to slasher films.
So, in the spirit of the "Fear Street" trilogy's unique celebration of slasher cinema, here's
a look at how this genre has evolved over time.
It's not easy to pin down which film qualifies as the very first slasher pic, but Germany's
"krimi" films and Italy's giallo pics are some of the earliest examples of cinema that
paired crime stories with the bloodshed that became a slasher genre staple.
Many of the "krimi" films, short for "kriminalfilm," or "crime film," of the late '50s and '60s
are based on the works of British novelist Edgar Wallace, and like modern slasher films,
often focus on elusive masked villains.
In fact, in these films, the bad guys are so important that they often appear in the
movies' titles, as with 1959's "Face of the Frog" and 1967's "Creature with the Blue Hand."
In addition, these movies also tend to feature stock casts that parallel those of slashers:
there's usually a female protagonist, a comedic relief character, a police officer who's central
to the case, and a group of victims who get picked off one by one.
Though the "krimi" movies weren't beholden to a specific genre, they were highly influential
in the development of the slasher.
The Italian giallo films of the '60s and '70s, for example, were directly influenced by the
"krimi" pics.
In fact, some of these movies are actually partly German productions, like 1972's "What
Have You Done To Solange?"
Like the "krimi" pictures, giallo films often focus on a murder investigation featuring
a masked killer, but they ratchet the gore and sensuality up significantly, creating
a distinct new vein of horror film.
Mario Bava's films in particular are essential giallo fare, along with those of Dario Argento,
who earned the nickname "Master of the Thrill" with gory films like "Deep Red" and "Opera,"
which is considered one of the best slasher movies ever made.
With gorgeous cinematography and a plot thick with mystery, blood, and unnerving imagery,
"Opera" captured everything that makes slasher films so appealing.
In the U.S., Hollywood's horror history began all the way back in the late 19th Century
with the three-minute silent film "The House of the Devil."
Horror has been a popular genre ever since, and throughout the early 20th century, many
classics emerged, most of which focused on a classic monster or some sort of supernatural
scare.
The year 1960 in particular is often pointed to as the real starting point of the modern-day
slasher, thanks to the premiere of both Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" and Alfred Hitchcock's
"Psycho."
Both of these films centered on male murderers -- Norman Bates and Mark Lewis -- whose psychopathic
tendencies stem from their relationships with their parents, and who take their worst impulses
out on unsuspecting women.
While "Psycho" is especially famous for its unforgettable shower sequence, the focus on
the voyeuristic nature of the villain in "Peeping Tom" is equally as unsettling.
Although both films are also categorized as psychological thrillers, they helped establish
the concept of a murderous villain as a central character.
No longer did killers need to be mythical creatures or barely-seen mystery men.
After Norman and Mark, films were officially free to let their villains -- and their weapons
of choice -- take center stage.
Between these movies and the growing popularity of gruesome giallo films overseas, slasher
films as we know them were on the rise by the early '70s.
For many horror fans, the 1970s mark the true start of the slasher subgenre.
Movies in this era were clearly influenced by the style and the story structure seen
in the classic "krimi" and giallo films.
And the way that "Psycho" and "Peeping Tom" put a lens on their villains is clearly seen
in the horror films that followed.
In fact, one of the things that made the '70s such a significant decade for slashers is
how films of that time period introduced so many lasting horror villains.
The decade also saw its slasher pics establishing new norms for the genre, including the rise
of holiday horror.
Both 1972's "Silent Night, Bloody Night" and 1974's "Black Christmas" are early examples
of horror films that turned holiday celebrations into bloodbaths.
"Black Christmas" proved to be particularly influential.
It's based on a long-standing urban legend, showing the plight of college coeds who are
stalked by a killer who makes phone calls from inside their sorority house.
That basic concept was also used in the 1979 mystery-thriller "When a Stranger Calls,"
but because of the sheer volume of its viciousness, "Black Christmas" is the movie that's widely
regarded as one of the first true slasher pics.
The same year that "Black Christmas" was released, Tobe Hooper's classic "The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre" came along and redefined fright films forever.
The film's villain, Leatherface, was merciless and relentless, and "Texas Chain Saw" was
also one of the first films to use the "final girl" trope, in which a young girl emerges
as the serial killer's sole survivor.
"Black Christmas" also directly inspired another one of the most significant slashers of all
time, John Carpenter's 1978 classic "Halloween."
But even though "Halloween" is a descendant of "Black Christmas," Carpenter's film still
stands on its own, coupling the trend of a holiday-gone-wrong with a masked killer in
the vein of Leatherface.
The film introduced audiences to its tireless killer Michael Myers, who terrorizes babysitters
with his kitchen knife in the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois.
"Okay, Linda.
Come on out."
Like Leatherface before him, Michael Myers is ruthless and determined and very hard to
kill, and he served as second in a succession of new masked murderers who spawned decades-long
horror film franchises.
After the '70s brought slashers into the mainstream, the '80s and early '90s became a heyday for
the horror subgenre.
With names like Leatherface and Michael Myers inspiring true terror throughout the film-watching
world, the era of creative villains taking center stage was at a peak, and soon several
other vicious baddies began haunting everyone's nightmares.
In 1980, producer Sean S. Cunningham took note of the success of "Halloween" and offered
up his own killer concept with "Friday the 13th."
Like "Halloween," "Friday the 13th" is about a group of teens terrorized by a mysterious
killer, and it marked the start of a full-on franchise centered around its masked maniac,
Jason Voorhees.
Both "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" spawned a series of sequels that came out in quick
succession, making both franchises box-office mainstays.
The "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" films also brought giallo-like sexiness to slashers,
and helped establish slasher films’ twisted moral codes, in which promiscuous characters
are those most likely to be targeted by the villain.
Soon after, writer-director Wes Craven earned the nickname "Master of Horror" with the release
of 1984's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and its instantly iconic villain, Freddy Kreuger.
Far from the silent, shadowy villains of "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween," Kreuger had a sense
of humor and loved to taunt his victims.
And yet, Freddy is just as scary as the rest of them.
In fact, the very concept of "Nightmare on Elm Street" widened the playing field in ways
that literally gave audiences nightmares.
While Leatherface was confined to his remote Texas town, Michael Myers tended to lurk near
his sister, and Jason Voorhees usually waited for his unfortunate marks to head to Camp
Crystal Lake, Freddy stalked his victims in the dream world, giving him unlimited access
to his targets.
After all, they couldn't avoid sleep forever.
The concept of a playful but terrifying killer like Freddy Krueger gave rise to other villains
with cheeky personas, like the psychotic doll Chucky from 1988's "Child's Play."
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" also made Wes Craven's reputation as a slasher maestro,
opening the door for the writer-director to kick off a new horror subgenre about a decade
later.
After 1987's "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," Wes Craven temporarily stepped
away from the franchise.
When Craven did return to "Nightmare"-land, he was equipped with a very different vision.
In 1994's "Wes Craven's New Nightmare," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" actress Heather Langenkamp
plays a fictional version of herself who's tormented by a supernatural version of Freddy
Krueger.
"I thought you killed Freddy off."
"Well, we did, but the fans, God bless them, they're clamoring for more."
For help, she has to turn to Craven himself, as well as actor Robert Englund, who portrayed
Freddy in the prior films.
This novel narrative marked the start of a self-aware era of slashers that Craven himself
continued with his 1996 hit, "Scream."
"Scream" breathed new life into the slasher genre and brought a new generation of horror
fans into the fold by embracing -- and consciously subverting -- slasher movie tropes.
Throughout the movie and its many sequels, Craven layers a running commentary about the
so-called "rules" of slasher flicks, like the sex-equals-death trope and the "never
assume the killer is dead" jump scare tactic, on top of the action itself.
The victims in "Scream" have seen slasher movies before and react accordingly, while
the villains are horror film buffs who are trying to subvert the genre's built-in expectations.
"Mmm, Nightmare on Elm Street."
"Is that the one where the guy had knives for fingers?"
"Yeah, Freddy Kreuger."
"Freddy, that's right.
I liked that movie.
It was scary."
Thanks to "Scream," teen slashers were suddenly all the rage again.
1997's "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which was written by "Scream" scribe Kevin
Williamson and inspired by '80s slashers like "Prom Night" and "The House on Sorority Row,"
was a slumber party favorite that played with horror tropes.
The 1998 pic "Urban Legend" was another movie that was in on its own joke, modeling its
series of scares after urban legends of old.
Nowadays, the slasher subgenre has become a bit more flexible.
A few recent slasher movies defy the tradition of a single blade-wielding baddie, and many
incorporate tropes from other subgenres, often with great success.
2008's "The Strangers," for example, is a tense home invasion story that also recalls
vintage slasher films like "Black Christmas" and "Halloween."
The same can be said for the 2016 pic "Hush," which takes the concept of a woman being terrorized
by a masked killer in her home and gives it an exhilarating new twist.
Other brilliant recent slashers that play with a classic structure include 2014's "The
Guest," 2011's "You're Next," and 2016's "Terrifier."
There's even been a second wave of self-referential -- and, sometimes , straight-out comedic -- slasher
films, including "Happy Death Day," "Freaky," and "The Babysitter," all of which infuse
some levity into a familiar story structure.
"So, you want a head start?"
"Come on, you're the quarterback."
"Life's not fair dude."
"You guys suck."
"You just blew up Sonja."
The new "Fear Street" films follow in this newfound tradition.
They're completely terrifying and filled with vicious killers, but they also add some humorous
commentary about the slasher subgenre.
As the thrills continue with the second and third installments of "Fear Street," the trilogy
ratchets up the scares and surprises even further, while also honoring slasher history
in its own unique way.
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