With Halloween around the corner, it's the best time to delve into spine-chilling horror/slasher flicks. One such movie synonymous with Halloween is the Friday the 13th series.
The movie was then epic in horror film history, particularly when it synched its slasher aspects with a rich summer camp backdrop. Such success ushered a film wave to replicate the formula of a project about masked killers and unsuspecting victims, often with suspenseful plots.
From campsites to loner cabins, these films borrow themes and tropes established by Friday the 13th and give the audience something extremely familiar yet exciting.
These are ten movies you can watch this spooky season that emulate the essence of the legendary franchise while getting into some exciting twists in the slasher horror genre.
1) The Forest (1982)
The Forest is a low-budget horror film that keeps track of the escapades of a group of friends who go off into a secluded forest for a weekend, where they become victims of mysterious killings with a dreadful past.
The film is typical of most slasher movies as it employs what would be termed the old ripe theme, including eerie settings and suspenseful build-ups plus themes of isolation—all reminiscent of Friday the 13th.
Although the budget on this was limited, The Forest captures all the feel of the horror movies of the early '80s, making it a notable addition to the slasher genre.
2) Camp Cold Brook (2018)
Camp Cold Brook is a documentary that captures the whole investigative work that is going on in a summer camp terrorized by a famous mass murderer. During their dark investigations of the camp's past, the killer's evil spirit somehow gets awakened.
Trying to capture the spirit behind Friday the 13th-an-all-out killer that stalks unsuspecting campers—the film has found footage with traditional horror elements. The otherworldly atmosphere and stressful situations work well for a camp-based horror homage.
3) The Night Sitter (2018)
This horror-comedy film revolves around a babysitter who has to face a masked killer while sitting for two kids on Halloween night. This mix of slasher tropes and humor creates a fun yet terrifying atmosphere and reminds one of the classic slasher flicks.
As the babysitter tries her best to care for the children throughout the night, she learns it is full of supernatural twists and elements. It could be the movie so skillfully interlaced frights with laughs that horror fans and light-minded viewers could enjoy it.
4) Fresh (2022)
Fresh is a darkly funny horror, targeting the travails of modern dating. The protagonist meets a charming and handsome guy who turns out to have a darker secret: he's a cannibal.
Even if it tips closer to psychological horror, all those suspenseful moments and the theme of being hunted are marked by slasher tension. Much fear and deceit occur in this movie—a little like the thrills from the Friday the 13th series but with a modern twist.
5) The Resort (2021)
Some friends go to an abandoned long resort that legend deems infamous and essentially haunted. As curiosity improves, they begin experiencing supernatural powers with a killer who does not seem to stop killing.
It is a good blend of horror films, with slasher and supernatural horror elements portending evil and apprehension. The group's isolation and survival struggle will make the viewers feel like they're watching a movie from the Friday the 13th series.
6) Slasher Party (2019)
The movie tells the story of a clique of friends who went over for a party but whose stay was severely marred by a killer. While desperately trying to discover the identity of their masked persecutor, the movie plays with conventional slasher conventions like the ancient "Who Will Live?" gimmick.
Well, there are great horror moments, and dark humor helps give it a self-aware approach in some places. The movie incorporates its self-aware take on slasher flicks. Thus, it caters to the horror fan's pleasure at subverting expectations and playing with genre clichés.
7) There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021)
This teen horror film would thus revolve around stalking a clique of high school friends by a masked killer. The murderer first digs into dark secrets in his victims, and this would make the friends remember their pasts and fight for survival.
Since this is a conventional slasher film, the movie reinstates and revisits the concepts of peer pressure and hidden identities. It brings fresh life to the genre for the modern audience but pays respect to its origins in this sense of psychological tension and good slasher thrills.
8) Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Sleepaway Camp is a cult classic slasher with a plot surrounding the young girl, Angela, who spends her summer at camp with her cousin. The movie unfolds successively through mysterious murders that signal suspicion about one of the campers, Angela, being behind those barbaric acts.
The twist at the end and the final experiment into identity, gender, and trauma mark this film. Ultimately, combining suspense and dark humor, Sleepaway Camp houses all typical slasher elements: a secluded setting and a vengeful killer. It is sure enough to etch a mark into the history of horror.
9) Vicious Fun (2020)
This is a horror comedy where a film critic stumbles into a support group for serial killers, and things go darkly funny and excellent from there. The film cleverly plays off the conventions of the slasher genre as it explores the quirkiness and motivations that work for its characters.
With the protagonist trying to find his way out, the tension builds with suspense and humor. This blends elements of the slasher and an unusual premise, making it something new for the genre and some laughs and chills.
10) X (2022)
X, set against the 1970s backdrop, is a horror movie where a group of filmmakers go to shoot an adult film out at some farmhouse, with a masked killer on the loose.
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The movie employs shocking suspense techniques to create tension but combines slasher tropes with a critique of the adult film industry as the characters meet with deadly consequences.
It pays homage to classic horror flicks while exploring themes of desire and mortality. Although it has a retro look and some shocking moments, it combines elements of the classic slasher movie and new ones.
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