10 American made 1980s slashers

Anyone who's known me for more than a few minutes knows that I'm a horror movie freak.  In honor of Halloween, I've decided to make a list of my favorite films from my favorite sub genre, the slasher film.  Compiling this list proved to be exceedingly difficult, so I narrowed the choices down to only American made movies made in the 1980s, when the slasher craze was in full force.  As a result, films such as Halloween and Black Christmas will not appear here.  I also tried to give some love to lesser known slashers.

Friday The 13th (1980)
A Halloween rip-off which spawned an endless litany of sequels and imitators, this summer camp slasher still holds up well.  What it lacks in character development, it makes up for with inventive death sequences, a simplistic but creepy score, and a great twist ending for first-time viewers.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Twenty years after a deranged miner vowed to go on another killing spree should his small town hold another Valentine's dance, said small town decides to - you guessed it - hold a Valentine's dance.  Bloodshed ensues.  The miner's garb is perfect for masking the killer's identity, the underground mine is dark and claustrophobic, and the death scenes are brutal (at least in the uncut version; stay away from the censored original release), making this one of the best holiday slashers.

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
A madman with an electric drill unleashes his fury on a group of teenage girls at a sleepover.  It might not sound like anything special, but feminist Rita Mae Brown wrote the script as a parody of the slasher genre, and director Amy Holden Jones played it straight.  As a result, Massacre adheres to some established genre rules, while subverting others.  The film boasts a sharply satirical sense of humor, a high body count, and, of course, lots of nudity.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Director Wes Craven added a supernatural element to the slasher film in the form of Fred Krueger, who has the ability to stalk and kill teenagers in their dreams.  This makes for a scary premise - these kids aren't safe even while they sleep - and allows Craven to masterfully blur the line between dreams and reality, so the audience is never quite sure which is which.  Although the sequels would turn Freddy into the wisecracking hero of the piece, here he lurks in the shadows and is completely menacing.  This is without a doubt my favorite slasher.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
One of a handful of Christmas slashers, this was also one of the most controversial films of the decade, condemned by parents, critics (including Leonard Maltin), and Mickey Rooney (who would go on to star in Silent Night, Deadly Night 5).  Interestingly enough, Christmas Evil, which was released four years earlier, also featured a killer in a Santa suit, but no one made a fuss over that.  It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's absurd and perverse, and a fine antidote to the usual sickeningly sweet holiday fare.

The Stepfather (1987)
I don't normally consider this a slasher, but it does feature a homicidal maniac killing a bunch of people in gruesome ways, so I guess it qualifies.  Terry O'Quinn makes this movie, turning in an unnervingly convincing performance as an insane man on the hunt for the perfect family.  O'Quinn uses facial expressions and mannerisms to indicate that something is not quite right beneath his character's calm and placid surface.

Child's Play (1988)
The killer isn't just a doll, but the soul of human serial killer Charles Lee Ray transplanted into the doll.  Director Tom Holland manages some creepy moments, Brad Dourif has a lot of fun voicing Chucky, and Chris Sarandon does a masterful job of controlling a motor vehicle while a killer doll is trying to stab him between the legs.

Hide and Go Shriek (1988)
Okay, this really isn't a good movie, but it is a perfect example of '80s cheese at its finest.  Bad fashion (dinosaur earrings, multi-colored button-down shirts layered over penguin T-shirts), bad music (synth-rock instrumental version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way"), and bad dialogue (“You're STUPID, JERK-face") abound in this tale of a group of self-proclaimed "fabulous friends who got through high school and are going to do great things" camping out at a furniture store which is inexplicably overrun with mannequins – and a killer who dresses in his victims' clothing. 

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)
Sure, the original has one of the craziest endings out there, but the rest of the film wasn't particularly memorable.  It also took itself far too seriously, playing out as a murder mystery when the murderer's identity was obvious.  Unhappy Campers, on the other hand, makes no such attempt at mystery, focusing instead on gratuitous nudity, inventive kills (battery acid, a guitar string, and a giant toilet are employed as weapons), and cheesy one-liners delivered by a ridiculously perky and bubbly murderer.

Cutting Class (1989)
The death scenes are disappointingly tame, but Jill Schoelen is an appealing heroine, and the film has a healthy dose of campy humor.  Plus, we get to see Brad Pitt (in his film debut) deliver the line, "Your dad's a little bigger than I am.  But not where it counts!"  What more could you ask for?