THE GREATEST VILLAINS IN SLASHER HORROR

Canal Cultura POP
Jun 5
5 min read

Updated: Jun 6

In our first exclusive horror post, we will remember the greatest killers of the slasher genre, which became popular in the 1980s, bringing a lot of information about the characters and their importance to the genre.

(THE GREATEST VILLAINS IN SLASHER HORROR)

Jason Voorhees

Jason, the main protagonist of the "Friday the 13th" saga, is probably the greatest character in the slasher series, and one of the greatest characters in cinema, becoming a true popular icon.

Jason emerged amidst the great wave of slasher films of the 80s, starting with Halloween in 1978, and ended up becoming one of the greatest icons of global pop culture.

Jason was a disabled young man who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake, which led the boy's mother, Pamela Voorhees, to carry out a massacre there in revenge. However, the woman ended up being killed by a surviving camper named Alice Hardy, which resulted in Jason's inexplicable return. From then on, he would kill anyone who set foot in the camp, starting with his mother's murderer.

The character of Jason had two very distinct moments during the 12 films of the franchise. In parts 2-4, we see the human version of the killer, while in parts 6-12, we see a zombie version of the character, after he is accidentally resurrected by Tommy Jarvis, explaining his apparent immortality and super strength. And in addition to his solo films, Jason also confronted Freddy Krueger in a crossover in 2003, where he emerged victorious, in a fight that was heavily manipulated by the script.

Michael Myers

The precursor of the slasher killers, along with Leatherface, Michael Myers, the great villain of the "Halloween" saga, has become an icon of horror, where the killer is portrayed as evil incarnate, and with a great aura of mystery. Where we do not know if he is a human or a supernatural being. Michael began his life of crime at the age of 6, when he killed his sister on Halloween night, and was admitted to the Smith Grove Sanatorium. Myers was under the care of Dr. Samuel Loomis, who stated that the young man was evil in person, and there was no salvation for him. 15 years later, Michael escapes from the sanatorium and begins a wave of murders in his hometown (Handofield), in order to kill the young woman, Laurie Strode. And from these stories, 3 continuities were created.

However, this is not the only origin of the character, because in 2007, a remake of the franchise was released, directed by Rob Zombie. The character's origin is explained through a traumatic childhood and a broken family, where Michael kills his sister and stepfather, and ends up being institutionalized by his mother. Loomis tries everything to save Michael, but the boy sinks deeper and deeper, until he ends up attacking a nurse in front of his mother, causing the woman to take her own life. And obviously, when he reaches adulthood, Myers proposes a massacre at the sanatorium, and returns to Handonfield.

Chucky

Created in 1989 by Don Mancini and Tom Holland (Not Spider-Man) for the film "Child's Play", Chucky or Charles Lee Ray is one of the most innovative killers in cinema, being a killer doll, something that would be copied in many films in the following years.

Charles Lee Ray was a serial killer known as the "Lakeshore Strangler". One night, he was abandoned by his partner during an escape from the police, and ended up being shot by Detective Mike Norris, but managed to hide in a toy store. Before dying, Ray transferred his soul to a doll from the Good Guy line and managed to escape.

Shortly after, Chucky ended up falling into the hands of the boy Andy Barclay, and saw in the boy the opportunity to get a new body. After making several victims, Chucky was finally confronted by Andy and his mother, who with the help of Detective Norris, managed to eliminate the Child's Play.

Like the entire Slasher franchise, Child's Play had several sequels, with Chucky appearing in 8 films, and some specials. Despite the caricatured proposal, Chucky left his mark on horror cinema, with his unique personality, with a lot of morbid humor and aggressiveness, bringing a special essence to the character.

In 2023, the Killer Doll received his own series, which already has three seasons, where the villain acts in a more humorous way, almost completely abandoning the seriousness that the series intended to have in its beginnings.

Leatherface

Leatherface was created in 1974, in the horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", one of the first slasher films in history, which, along with Halloween, founded the genre in cinema.

The masked killer was inspired by some real killers, such as the monstrous Ed Gein, who also served as the basis for Norman Bates. Leatherface and his family live in an isolated house in Texas, setting traps on the roads to attract victims to feed themselves, or even make furniture and clothes with parts of their bodies.

The "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" franchise is quite irregular, with a 12-year gap between the first and second films. The saga has a total of 9 films, with the last one being released by Netflix in 2022. All the films except the original received very negative reviews, which ends up distancing the franchise from the other great slasher sagas.

Ghostface

Created in 1996, Ghostface was the main villain of the Scream franchise, created by Wes Craven.

Ghostface has had several identities, which change in each film, which makes it difficult to analyze him individually, so we will do a more general analysis.

The character was created as a kind of caricature of other slasher killers (mainly Michael Myers), playing with the clichés of the genre, and creating a completely innovative character.

The Scream saga is quite regular, with none of its 5 films being considered a disaster, and always keeping the main actors in the cast.

Freddy Krueger

Created by Wes Craven in 1984, Freddy Krueger was one of the most innovative horror characters, born amidst a slasher avalanche in the 80s. With the Friday franchise reaching its fourth film, and Halloween reaching its third.

Freddy Krueger was a child killer in the city of Springwood, who after being burned alive by the townspeople, performs a ritual with dream demons, thus becoming one of them. In the following years, Freddy would spread terror among the children of the people who burned him, torturing them in their dreams, until finally killing them. His most famous victim was the young Nancy Thompson, who managed to defeat Freddy in the first film, but was murdered by the serial killer in the third film.

Unlike other horror franchises, the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' saga was much more consistent than its competitors, both in terms of audience and critics, reaching 7 films, and a remake in 2007.

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