In a post-Scream landscape, the expectations for slasher movies have never been higher. Audiences are no longer content with great kills and a cool-looking killer. Now, slashers have to bring something different. They need to be about something, have a strong cinematic point of view, twists and turns, or push audiences in ways they could not expect.  Or all of the above. They also begin to blend genres. The most important aspect of a neo-slasher is subverting expectations.

Because time is short, and I could easily stretch “The Year of Slashers” into “The Decade of Slashers” if I’m not careful, I wanted to call out a few neo-slashers that I think are worthwhile, but I wouldn’t get to them otherwise. These are not in any particular order.

In A Violent Nature

Ah Yoga Girl, 2024 made you famous. Well, in death anyway.  From the plot summary, fresh audiences could assume that In a Violent Nature is a pretty by-the-book slasher. After his grave is disturbed, a violent spirit, Johnny, resurrects to seek vengeance on some campers.  In execution, however, it is anything but standard.  The reviews for this one are all over the place, which makes this one super fascinating to me.  

This is a 100% love-it or hate-it movie. It follows the killer’s perspective through most of it, which sounds like it could be fascinating. Most of what Johnny does however, is slowly walk through the woods, slowly. I mean slowly. It’s a walking simulator with some murder. It’s also innovative and contains strong elements of satire and nods to the genre standards.  It’s campers in the woods. If you didn’t see them referencing Jason, you haven’t been paying attention.

The killer’s P.O.V. is also not an entirely new idea. It’s one of the many genre standards for a slasher. This particular iteration does feel new and fresh. However, the pacing and plot surrounding it may not work for everyone. 

It’s not without some issues.  Focusing on the killer takes time away from our victims, who don’t have great personalities to being with. This is 100% a bait movie.  As impressive as the effects of the kills are, since we don’t know these characters and don’t care about them in the end, it’s just a nice practical effects showcase. This is a reoccurring problem with modern slashers, but we’ll circle back to that in the future. 

You’re Next

Can a home invasion movie be a slasher? It can be if the final girl is also the most dangerous person in the house. Sorry, I have to spoil this one to talk about how it’s great, but also what makes it a slasher.  

You have your usual masked killers coming to kill off a hapless family out in the middle of nowhere. The twist, at least one of them, is that visiting the family is one of the son’s girlfriend, Erin. Erin just happened to be raised in a survivalist cult compound. When her life is danger, she has no problem turning the tables on the quite frankly outmatched home invaders. You’re Next is morbidly funny, gory, and smart.  Erin makes all the right decisions and gets some of the better kills in the movie, including a particularly clever and vicious blender move. 

In addition to its trope-defying characters, You’re Next stretched the expectations and definition of what a slasher can be. This trend will continue with other equally entertaining variations on this theme.  Ready or Not is thematically adjacent, although I’m not sure it entirely delivers on the wedding dress and shotgun combo promised with the marketing. 

In any case, these movies symbolize a change in the final girl found frequently in neo-slashers. She is no longer sitting around waiting for rescue, or content to run and hide. We now have proactive heroines and heroes.  

We also have more comedy horror and other style mashups. Ready or Not was by no means the first. Slashers have always been a little bit funny. This has only increased in a post-Scream landscape. This year alone saw Heart Eyes, a horror rom/com, a YA comedy slasher, legacy sequels, and whatever the hell Fear Street: Prom Queen was. There were very few straightforward horror movies on that list. 

Neo-slashers aren’t just more willing to play with the tropes and expectations. They have to in order to keep audiences interested. 

X

Or do they? X by Ti West is a pretty straightforward slasher. It just happens to be extremely well-done, with engaging characters, great cinematography, and a grotesque but sympathetic killer. X puts character first without sacrificing kills. West also captures the gritty feeling of late ‘70s porn.  West would follow it up with the psychological horror movie focusing on the origin of the killer, Pearl. Pearl is not a slasher, although she is an unhinged killer. Together, these two films create an examination of desperation and loneliness. 

X is more focused on outward beauty, aging, and self-worth. Pearl as a villain is horrifying and made to appear as outwardly grotesque as possible. But her point of view is clear and understandable.  I fear and pity her at the same time, partially because I do not want to become her.

Ok, confession time. X is brilliant. But I like the prequel Pearl better. A large part of this has to do with a manic energy Mia Goth brings to the role.  If you are going to watch them, watch them in the order they were filmed. 

In the middle of telling a brilliant story with clear themes and well-developed characters, X put its references on full display. It willingly acknowledges the slashers that came before it and contributes to its narrative. 

Ti West recognized that slashers have to be about something important to stay relevant, and he chose to tackle heavy themes. While other modern horror movies have followed this, it would be nice if more slashers would as well.

Terrifier 

I’ve covered Terrifier 3 and when it comes out, I will cover Terrifier 4. Probably. The first Terrifier is not my favorite movie. I prefer films with stronger themes and narrative arcs. In spite of my criticism of the films, I do admire them.  

Damien Leone has committed to pushing the audience beyond its comfort zone using effects and gore.  Hot take: audiences for a horror movie should be uncomfortable. 

Terrifier broke all kinds of norms. It was a low budget indie film that made a crap ton of money and defied expectations. Yes, it capitalized on controversy, but it did it well. There is a lot we could dig into about the storylines, but I suspect that ground has been covered already. What matters is Art upped the ante for kills in slashers.  Like it or not, the outrageous, stomach-churning set pieces in Terrifier changed the game. 

Classic slashers excelled at delivering on a formula, even if they never really established that formula in the first place (Black Christmas). Neo-slashers are about defying audience expectations.  They subvert tropes while paying homage to what came before. 

This is appropriate, since it’s a subgenre made out of love of the classics. Very few filmmakers make a slasher to make the next great American movie, or multimillion dollar-making blockbuster. They do it because it’s what they grew up on. Now, they’re making sure that the next generation has the same experience. 

Final Thoughts

I’m never going to stop covering slashers. It’s my favorite subgenre after all, and there are so many important topics I never got into. For example, how the time period the movie was made in affects the subject matter. There are significant movies I didn’t cover, Candyman for example. This was on my list until Tony Todd died, and then it just didn’t feel like a good time.  

Slashers may rise and fall in popularity, but the core elements, an unstoppable killer, isolation, and tragedy, will always strike a chord in us.