Slashers and serial killers: The bloodiest movies to stream

Slasher movies don’t know when to die and for some reason we just can’t shake the most notorious serial killers from our collective conscience. At this point, even Rasputin is probably rolling his eyes at the number of times Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and the Ghost-faced killer have managed to “come back from the grave”.

Halloween and Scream revivals aside, it now seems as though there’s an unofficial competition between some of the most infamous serial killers of all time to see who can inspire the most posthumous films, series or documentaries. While we can breathe easily knowing that Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer are dead-dead… let’s just hope they stay buried!

Counting down to Halloween, here are 7 slasher and serial killer horror movies to make sure you watch before Death comes knocking… asking trick-or-treat questions like “what’s your favourite scary movie?”.

Scream

Scream revived the concept of a slasher movie by poking fun at the subgenre’s most predictable elements. Pro tip: if you ever do find yourself in a typical slasher movie, you’ll have a much better chance of making it out alive if you never have sex, do drugs or say “I’ll be right back”.

Credited with A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes and Scream, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett must have relished the opportunity to reboot Scream with a “25 years later” requel and tribute to renowned horror luminary, Wes Craven. Blooding a fresh new cast who all know better after watching the Stab movies, fan favourites Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette return to the sleepless town of Woodsboro, California.

Malignant (from 17 October)

James Wan has proven he’s one of the best and most imaginative horror filmmakers working today, directing and co-creating The Conjuring, Insidious and Saw universes. His latest horror Malignant births yet another eerie horror universe as Madison discovers her waking dreams of a shadowy killer are in fact terrifying realities.

Malignant blends the interdimensional dreamscape of a boogeyman with the terror of a masked serial killer’s relentless pursuit. A fun, gory and suspenseful horror thriller, Malignant toys with the idea of childhood imaginary friends and serves as a wonderful throwback to Italian horror and 80s classics. Baffling detectives as the dark, twisted, anonymous slasher draws closer through a string of grisly murders, it’ll keep you guessing with enough twists-and-turns to make your head spin.

Freaky

In a back-stabbing twist on the Freaky Friday body-swapping formula comes Freaky, a slasher movie where a deranged serial killer and a nice 17-year-old high schooler switch places. Just as Millie’s getting a handle on her senior year, fate intervenes, giving her 24 hours to ditch her “dad bod” or risk living out the rest of her days looking like a middle-aged madman. Not ideal.

Starring Vince Vaughan and Kathryn Newton, this deliciously dark and wildly funny slasher comes from the director of Happy Death Day, Chrisopher Landon. Vaughan’s a natural born entertainer turned infamous killer in this scarlarious horror comedy thriller. Racking up a good body count with some heinous murders, Freaky pits bloodcurdling horror against howls of laughter with Vaughan’s prissy schoolgirl performance and Newton’s maniacal bloodlust.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil

Zac Efron’s clean-cut Disney image has made him a Hollywood darling… a label he’s been trying to slash for over a decade. Swinging from college humour to crime drama, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil finds him playing the devil incarnate in Ted Bundy. Offering an intensely innocent-till-proven-guilty perspective on Bundy, a single mother discovers “the man of her dreams” may be linked to a spate of kidnappings and murders.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil reframes one of America’s most infamous serial killers as a charmer who just got caught up in a few killings. Essentially a fast-paced chronicle (as if Bundy deserved an origin story), the surprising choice to cast Efron pays off with a solid performance. Grappling with Bundy’s showmanship over his monstrosity, authentic production design and styling transport audiences back in time.

The Little Things

Denzel Washington (Fallen, The Bone Collector) was primed to star in the Little Things when it was set in motion in the early 90s before a little crime thriller called Se7en delayed their carefully laid plans. Now after a quarter of a century, the Little Things is back with an Oscar calibre cast including Rami Malek and Jared Leto with Denzel Washington coming full circle.

An atmospheric, dark and eerie crime drama based on a true crime story, The Little Things has a number of parallels with David Fincher’s serial killer movie about seven deadly sins that inspired so many films in its wake. Featuring three immensely talented actors who cherish their shared scenes, this dank cat-and-mouse thriller recalls the slow-creeping dread and heft of Se7en while pushing in an entirely new direction.

Alone

Being alone in the dark or the wilderness is what some people fear most. Blending both in Alone, a recently widowed woman escapes from a serial killer’s clutches only to contend with the perils of being hunted in the wild. Alone is a minimalist slasher mystery horror thriller from John Hyams that journeys with a lone traveller who becomes the target of a deranged stalker.

This gritty, suspenseful and visceral slasher turned survivalist thriller gets by on the bare essentials. An entertaining, pulsating and pure slasher flick, Alone is powered by two excellent performances from Jules Willcox and Marc Menchaca. This sinister kidnap horror thriller expertly seesaws between its “helpless” victim, morphing from a vulnerable and stranger into a hulking monster, and its transformative villain.

The Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar for a mere sixteen minutes of screen time in The Silence of the Lambs. Best known for his role as Hannibal Lecter, his skin-crawling performance is so keenly felt throughout the crime mystery thriller that his evil overarching presence stains every scene. Led by Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best serial killer films out there – bleeding into pop culture.

While there’s no official word on how Lecter has affected the sale of fava beans and Chianti, especially when bought as a combo, there’s no doubting the landmark thriller’s far-reaching influence. Watch it for a masterclass in method acting, to find out why Buffalo Bill’s “it puts the lotion on its skin” is actually misquoted or because quite frankly you’ve just never had the guts to see it.