MACABRE
Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Stamboel (2009)

This insanely gory film from The Mo Brothers has been called a response to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And just like the film from “Leatherface”, it starts with a group of friends on their way to Jakarta where they come across a stranger, cannibals and a chainsaw, among other weapons.

Very precise in its direction, this one is an extremely violent film but with a great exhibition of subversive imagery that works with a delightful atmospheric treatment. A highly enjoyable experience that isn’t suitable for those with sensitive stomachs

MANIAC
Franck Khalfoun (2012)

Frank lives alone and he is traumatized since the death of his mother. To console himself, he decides to seek out young women at night. He has an obsessive fixation on mannequins and this makes him pluck the hair and steal the clothes of his victims. Bizarre and disturbing. 

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
Lars Von Trier (2018)

Probably the bloodiest work of the fantastic director Lars Von Trier. This movie is an endurance test but to those who open themselves to these limits, will experience a dark possible masterpiece.

In five episodes, failed architect and vicious sociopath Jack recounts his elaborately orchestrated murders, each, as he views them, a towering work of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest.

HIGH TENSION
Alexandre Aja (2003)

There is no other movie whose name so aptly does it justice as High Tension. This movie will have your nerves on edge until the climax of the film. 

Marie decides to spend a few days at the house of her best friend Alex, who lives on an isolated farm surrounded by cornfields. The two young women want to find peace in order to study, but they didn’t expect a serial killer to be just around the corner ready to assault the farm.

From the same director as The Hills Have Eyes, Alexandre Aja, brings us another classic slasher that you will never forget.

TERRIFIER
Damien Leone (2016)

There’s a new clown in town; Art, a psychopathic without pity or dialogue. He terrorizes two girls on the night of Halloween, killing all those who stand in his way. 

The scenery, creepy imagery and the overall tone and sounds of the movie are awesome. There’s a killer clown at large. What else do you need?

YOU ARE NEXT
Adam Wingard (2011)

The retired Davidson couple decide to celebrate their wedding anniversary with their four children and closest friends. For the occasion, they decide to take a weekend getaway to their vacation home, located on the outskirts of the city. While their sole purpose is to enjoy their time, a series of sinister incidents completely changes their expectations. 

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES
Rob Zombie (2003)

Rob Zombie made his directorial debut with House of 1000 Corpses, a title that made him a cult director among horror fans. This is in essence a family story; a cast of twisted individuals who with each throat cut or chest stab, add bodies to their collection of sick human animals. Another classic of horror, from the squad of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

NON HO SONNO 
Dario Argento (2001)

Seventeen years after the investigation of a series of gruesome murders was concluded, for which a sadistic dwarf was blamed; new bodies of recently murdered women appear savagely in a methodical manner. Next to their corpses, a paper figure representing an animal is found.

A fantastic movie all accompanied by the amazing visuals of legendary director, Dario Argento.

THE DEVIL’S REJECTS
Rob Zombie (2005)

The continuation of House of 1000 Corpses from director Rob Zombie. A story of murder, madness and revenge. The Fireflies, a family of murderers, undertake a bloody escape from a sheriff with a thirst for revenge. For the right audience, this movie: full of violence, cursing and gushing blood is like music from the heavens. 

CARL
Greg Daniel (2012)

Without an interesting or deep plot, Carl is just creepy. A big boy who lives with his traumatized mother goes hunting humans for fun. A psychological thriller depicting a forest family with a dark secret. 

CANDYMAN
Bernard Rose (1992)

Urban legends dive into our deepest fears and because of that they are the perfect core for a slasher piece. 

First showing in 1992, Candyman introduces us to a supernatural being ready to enter a dreamlike world of slashing razorblades and candy. Adapted from Clive Barker’s short story The Forbidden, Bernard Rose created a tense, gloomy, sordid and haunting narrative where reality and fantasy walk together.

One of the best horror movies of the 90s with a shocking undertone of racist references. 

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
Wes Craven (1972)

The whole legacy of Wes Craven in the horror film genre started with this one. A controversial one and notoriously brutal for its time. The Last house on the Left is the ultimate Vietnam allegory, but with no peace in sight. It tells the story of two teenage girls heading to a rock concert and on the way while trying to score some pot they bump into a gang of psycho convicts.

Compared to modern standards it may not seem so shocking but it’s still a difficult watch. Not the finest Craven’s piece but an ode to a dehumanized generation pushing puritanic buttons in the middle of the woods.

THE HILLS HAVE EYES
Alexandre Aja (2006)

One of the best slasher/thrillers you can watch. The film begins with a family outing to California, where they have to pass through an isolated mountainous area, however they end up getting stuck in New Mexico.

Far away from the world, they soon realize they are not alone; ​​the hills are home to a line of bloodthirsty mutants, the result of the army's continuous nuclear tests. Mutants who will not hesitate to annihilate the Carters in the most horrifying ways.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN
Ryûhei Kitamura (2008)

The Midnight Meat Train is a real butcher shop in which a serial killer rides late night subway trains in search of victims. If you really like horror movies and can vicariously inject yourself into the movie, you should love this fascinating horror film.

It is reminiscent of Lovecraft in its style of horror- an imaginary time where shocking things happen. 

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Tobe Hooper (1974)

If we talk about slasher movies, we need to talk about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Inspired by the story of serial killer Ed Gein, Tobe Hooper’s film from 1974 has everything we can ask for from a slasher flick. Starting with a group of friends traveling in a van through rural Texas, a chainsaw and a psycho as “Leatherface”; iconic.

Not as gory as other slashers from the 70s, this piece scares you from the inside out. Filmed in a gritty low-budget almost documentary style; the realness and rawness makes you feel like you’re watching a real story. A brutal story, lacking sentimentality which has inspired a cult following that more than 40 years later can still make you wet your pants. 

DRESSED TO KILL
Brian De Palma (1980)

This erotic thrilller from Brian De Palma, probably falls into a bunch of stereotypes and misconceptions that are no longer valid in 2020.

Despite containing some major narrative weaknesses, this peace is beautifully directed, producing a masterclass of style. Brian De Palma uses parody and satire to tell a story of a mysterious blonde woman and several murders. A kinky film that feels closer to an expressionistic giallo, rather than a traditional Hitchcokian thriller.

BLACK CHRISTMAS
Bob Clark (1974)

One of the most important Canadian horror films ever made and a must for those who love low budget classics that helped build the modern big budget slashers.

Largely free of gore, Clark’s film is more about atmosphere than its body count. 

The most notable difference with this one is its lack of a moralizing plot. Instead of teens being punished for having sex the heroine is pregnant and planning an abortion. A very refreshing change from the usual standards in American horror.

HALLOWEEN
John Carpenter (1978)

The ULTIMATE slasher movie. No doubt John Carpenter was the one who distilled the formula and established the template of what we understand now as a slasher.

The movie is a masterpiece made with exuberant elegance in which its star is not like other movie killers. He never speaks, he walks steadily, he is a monster in the middle of suburban life. A timeless psycho, perfect being who lives happily ever after as the king of  the sub-genre.

Alongside its star, a very young Jamie Lee Curtis brings to life the character of Laurie Strode, mirroring her mother, Jane Leigh from Hitchcock’s Psycho. Also it was an extremely intelligent move on the part of Carpenter to create the root of its numerous sequels: the message that teenages having sex or smoking pot is always a bad idea in a slasher. 

FRIDAY THE 13TH
Sean S.Cunningham (1980)

‘Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake. Est 1935.’

Released in 1980, Cunningham’s film didn’t receive a very warm welcome from the critics but indeed seduced its teenage target audience, turning it into a phenomenon.

Violent, nasty, sexually explicit and with a jaw-dropper ending , this movie boiled the elements of the slasher sub-genre, slaughtering teenagers with a young Kevin Bacon among them. Probably unremarkable and unmemorable as a movie and created under the shadow of John Carpenter’s Halloween, the film’s reaching impact developed a franchise of numerous sequels and was the birth of Jason Vorhees, one of the greatest villains of all time and a pop culture icon.

HUSH
Mike Flanagan (2016)

Hush is a quet movie but terrifying. It tells the story of a young writer who became deaf in her teens and lives isolated in a house in the middle of the forest. One night she begins to be harassed by a mysterious masked man. Without the possibility of asking for help, she has to manage by herself and find a way to get away from her stalker.

Curated by Marta Espinosa, Aki Kurasaki, SAMO