What Was the First Slasher Movie? (No, it Wasn’t Halloween)
Halloween (1978) was the first slasher to earn popular mainstream success. It’s one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Because of this, people could be forgiven for thinking that it’s the first slasher movie. But the first (of anything) to popularize a genre is rarely the first overall. If not Halloween, what was the first slasher movie?
Well, that’s a surprisingly challenging question to answer. It depends on how you define ‘slasher’. Here’s five recurring slasher tropes:
-Young victims – typically high school or college age
-A masked killer that slashes victims with a sharp weapon. He (sometimes she) typically wears a mask or some sort of disguise.
-A final girl who eventually defeats the killer, or at least escapes from him/her.
-The identity of the killer is a mystery until the end (true of many original slashers, less true for sequels of course)
-The villain’s rampage occurs in an area that’s thought by victims to be safe – a school, a summer camp, their hometown, or even their house.
Let’s took a look back at the beginnings of the slasher subgenre. Here are five candidates that are worthy contenders for the title of first slasher movie. I’ll give you my opinion of the best choice at the end.
Warning: Spoilers Below!
Peeping Tom (1960)
Mark (Carl Boehm), a disturbed photographer, kills women using a blade that protrudes from his camera. He photographs their faces as they die, effectively creating a snuff film of serial killings.
He becomes infatuated with his beautiful neighbor, Helen (Anna Massey). Mark is tempted to change his evil ways to be with her, but she’s dangerously close to discovering his secret.
Argument For: A psychopathic madman who kills people with a sharp object is common slasher fare. Helen is somewhat similar to a final girl.
Argument Against: The identity of Peeping Tom‘s killer is known from the beginning, and he doesn’t wear a disguise.
Psycho (1960)
After embezzling money from her boss, a young woman hides out at an isolated motel, only to meet a shocking death at the hands of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the motel’s disturbed owner. As more people become suspicious of him, Bates’s fragile mental state declines into total madness.
Argument For: Norman does plenty of slashing with his knife. He doesn’t wear a mask, but he does don a disturbing disguise.
Argument Against: Psycho‘s plot is far from what later become the conventional slasher setup. There’s no final girl. Also, most slashers have a villain who invades the victims’ territory, not the other way around.
Blood and Black Lace (1963)
A group of beautiful models working at a fashion house in Rome are knocked off one by one by a mysterious man wearing a white mask, trench coat, and top hat. The maniac is desperate to locate a salacious diary that’s hidden somewhere inside, and he’ll kill as often as necessary to get his hands on it.
Blood and Black Lace is one of the earliest giallo films. It has the characteristic colorful cinematography, and stylish directing, that giallo is known for. Director Mario Bava started his ascent to giallo royalty with this brilliant and bloody film. Does it deserve to be called the first slasher movie?
Related: 10 Awesome Giallo Films Every Horror Fan Must Watch
Argument For: Masked mystery killer (I love the killer’s costume, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen), young victims, seemingly safe location.
Argument Against: It doesn’t have a final girl in the conventional sense. Also, the killer’s motivation is based on a Macguffin (the diary). This is extremely unusual for a slasher film. Slasher villains are typically motivated by revenge and/or avenging a traumatic incident from their past.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
A family of cannibals terrorizes and butcher a group of young friends deep in the heart of rural Texas. Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw wielding madman who wears a mask made of human skin, wants to serve the group for dinner. After her friends and brother perish, Sally (Marilyn Burns) escapes and flees for her life, with the cannibals in hot pursuit.
Argument For: Young victims? Check. Masked villain armed with sharp weapon? Check. Final girl? Check. In fact, I consider Sally the first true final girl in horror history. Is she enough to make this the first slasher movie?
Argument Against: Slasher movies generally involve killers who invades a seemingly safe location, for example a school campus, summer camp, or quiet small town. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the victims are in the killers’ home territory, not the other way around. The Sawyers have homefield advantage, so to speak.
Black Christmas (1974)
A group of sorority sisters are creeped out by a series of perverted and bizarre phone calls. The girls vanish one by one. No prize for guessing if the mysterious caller is responsible.
Olivia Hussey portrays pregnant sorority sister Jess, one of the most underrated final girls in history. Black Christmas is among the earliest movies to use the now hackneyed “calls are coming from inside the house” trope.
Argument For: Most of the slasher elements congealed here. This one has college-aged victims, a mystery killer, a final girl, and a seemingly safe location.
Black Christmas is clearly influenced by giallo films, but it puts an American (well, Canadian) spin on their formula. Bright colors are replaced by somber hues, and stylishness is supplanted by straightforward sadism.
Argument Against: The villain doesn’t wear a mask. Also, this movie technically doesn’t have a climactic final confrontation between the killer and final girl.
And now…The Winner!
So, what was the first slasher movie? In my opinion, it’s Black Christmas! Out of the five candidates, this is the movie with the most elements and tropes listed above. Of course, this movie stands on the shoulders of giants. It wouldn’t exist without some of the other movies in this list.
I strongly considered Blood and Black Lace and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the #1 spot. Here’s how I rank the movies in terms of their candidacy. All of them are quality films (ironically, Black Christmas is the weakest of the five, but still very good) and I would strongly recommend checking all of them out if you’re interested in slasher history.
- Black Christmas
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Blood and Black Lace
- Peeping Tom
- Psycho
I can see a counterargument. None of these movies fit perfectly into all five tropes I listed in the introduction. So, why couldn’t Halloween be considered the first slasher movie?
Well, Halloween doesn’t fit them all, either. There’s no mystery as to the identity of the killer. Also, although final girl Laurie puts up a great fight, she doesn’t defeat Michael at the end. Myers is on the verge of killing her before he gets shot by Loomis.
In fact, the first major slasher film that truly has all five elements is probably Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981). One might quibble with the mystery killer aspect, but the victims don’t know for sure that Jason’s the culprit until they find his cabin near the end.
It takes time for genres to develop into solid formulas, and slashers are no different. I hope you enjoyed this trip down slasher memory lane. The origins of the genre go back much farther than people think!
