#04 Slasher Flicks, the Final Girl, and the Meta Slasher that Changed Horror Forever
Buckle up, folks, this is a long one.
The Horror Film Timeline
Horror films have evolved significantly over the history of cinema, each era characterized by distinct themes and monsters. The 1920’s and 30’s brought us classic monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein. The 1950’s shifted towards science fiction horror, with films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The 1980’s saw the slasher craze reach its peak, while the 1990’s introduced “meta”, or self-aware horror, revolutionizing the genre with a more reflective and ironic approach.
About Slasher Films
Slasher films are a horror subgenre that involve a killer(or several) who stalks and murders a group of people, using sharp or bladed weapons. Early influences for slasher films include Italian giallo films as well as psychological thrillers like Peeping Tom (1960) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). The golden age of slasher flicks spanned from 1974 to 1984, with iconic movies such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (‘74), Halloween (‘78), Friday the 13th (‘80), and A Nightmare On Elm Street (‘84).
Other notable slasher films include Child’s Play, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Valentine. The slasher subgenre can be divided into three eras: the “Classical” era (1974-1993), the “Self-Referential” era (1994-2000), and the “Neo Slasher Cycle” (2001-2013). The slasher “revival” period occurred between 1996 and 2002, during which the genre saw renewed interest and innovation.
The Slasher Movie Formula
Typical slasher film formula involves a past wrongful action that leads to severe trauma for the villain. The trauma is then commemorated or marked by an anniversary, reactivating or inspiring the killer. Slasher films are built around stalk-and-slash sequences and draw on the audience’s feelings of catharsis(purification and purging of emotions by way of expression), recreation(killing as a leisure activity), and displacement(substituting new aims or objects for things that originally felt scary or dangerous) as related to intimacy.
Slasher villains are human killers whose actions are objectively evil because they are supposed to be bound by human morality- these movies prey on the fear of monsters walking among us, similar to real-life killers like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Boiled down to the simplest terms, slasher films feature a crazed killer with a sharp weapon on the hunt for blood.
10 Key Elements of Slasher Films
A Psychopathic Killer: The killer is often strong, and feels impossible to beat- they get knocked down, and then rise again to continue their prowl, unfazed. They stalk victims and find pleasure in killing, often wearing a mask or having a face only a mother could love, á la Freddy Krueger.
The Killer’s Backstory Revealed: The backstory of the villain is shown at some point in the film, explaining how they became the monster they are at present. This can happen at the beginning(as in Halloween), in the middle(Friday the 13th), or towards the end(Scream).
Isolated Locations: Slashers typically take place in isolated settings such as far-out summer camps(Friday the 13th) or creepy stranded homes(Cabin in the Woods). Exceptions do exist, such as in Halloween, which is set in a suburban neighborhood but maintains a sense of isolation.
A Weapon of Choice: The villain often takes up a weapon that becomes synonymous with their character, such as Leatherface’s chainsaw, Ghostface’s modified Buck120, and Harry Warden’s pickaxe.
Multiple Victims: The victims are typically teenagers, often found at parties, on vacations, or on trips. The killer exploits the group’s vulnerabilities and distractions, ensuring multiple victims alongside constantly rising threat levels.
Characters Split Up: Single characters or dynamic duos often split from the group, making them easier targets for the killer. This allows for good pacing and unique methods for each victim, even though the weapon remains the same.
Stranded Signals: Communication is disabled or non-existent, heightening tension and focusing the audience’s attention on the isolation with the killer.
Illogical Thinking: Characters become unable to think straight due to shock and turmoil. Logic goes directly out the window, and characters wind up making bad decisions that give the killer an upper hand.
Killer Resurrects: After characters believe they have defeated the beast once and for all, the killer often comes back for one final jump-scare.
The Final Girl: Usually the protagonist and often the sole survivor, the Final Girl has the skills and traits to aid in her survival. She goes head-to-head with the killer in the final showdown- and wins, or at leasts lives to tell the tale. Classic examples include Laurie Strode from Halloween, Sidney Prescott from Scream, and Nancy Thompson from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The Rules of Surviving a Slasher Movie
What, you don’t know the rules? As a famous Kennedy(that is, Jamie) once said, there are certain rules one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie, for instance-
You can never have sex: Sex equals death. Big no-no.
Never drink or do drugs: It’s the sin factor! It’s an extension of rule number one.
Never, ever, EVER, under any circumstance, say “I’ll be right back”: Because you won’t be back.
See, you push the laws, and you end up dead. The most important part of surviving a slasher film, however, is knowing that you’re in one. The genre is riddled with rules and clichés required to survive or kill the seemingly invincible monster that stalks in the night. While not iron-clad, these rules do exist and are often bent or broken. The rules are meant to be bent or broken. The Final Girl, in particular, is a good girl. She abstains from sex, drugs, and drinking. That’s just not who she is. She’s typically the most down-to-earth and relatable character for the audience, representing both morality and resilience.
Take Laurie Strode from Halloween as example- her friends spend their evening smoking pot and canoodling with boys, and are swiftly and thoroughly punished by the pointy end of Michael Myers’ blade. Slasher killers are moral extremists, clearly, who cannot stand to tolerate such teenaged debauchery, so the Final Girl’s purity and resourcefulness often make her the only survivor.
The Final Girl Trope
Definition and Origin
The term “Final Girl” was coined by film analyst Carol J. Clover in her 1987 article, “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film”- the Final Girl is the last woman left alive to confront the killer, the sole survivor who lives to tell the story. To quote Clover, “she is the one who encounters the mutilated bodies of her friends and perceives the full extent of the preceding horror and of her own peril; who is chased, wounded; whom we see scream, stagger, fall, rise, and scream again.” Clover suggests that viewers start a slasher film sharing the perspective of the killer, but shift their identification to the Final Girl as the film progresses. Originally, Clover’s definition was quite narrow, describing the Final Girl as a woman who survives due to her implied moral superiority.
Evolution of the Final Girl
Early Final Girls were often “damsels in distress” saved by a man. They didn’t always have to be victorious heroines; many films ended ambiguously, with the Final Girl merely surviving. Modern Final Girls, however, are more likely to survive due to their own capabilities rather than being saved by a male character. Film scholars have observed that Final Girls often survive only to be killed off at the beginning of the sequel- film analyst Derek Soles argues that this represents a patriarchal society’s need to contain or destroy capable, independent women.
Clover notes that Final Girls typically share several characteristics:
Sexual unavailability or virginity
Avoidance of vices like smoking, drinking, or drugs
Often unisex names, such as Chris, Avery, or Sidney
Occasionally, a shared history with the killer(s)
She is the “investigating conscience” of the film, driving the narrative forward with her curiosity, intelligence, and resilience.
Clover’s theory also argues that the audience identification in slasher films is fluid across gender lines- during the final showdown with the killer, the Final Girl becomes masculinized through “phallic appropriation”, taking up a weapon such as a chainsaw or blade against the villain. This forces male viewers to identify with a young female character in a male-dominated genre typically associated with sadistic voyeurism, raising questions about the nature of slasher films and their relationship with feminism. Clover also posits that the protagonist must be female because she needs to experience abject terror- many viewers would reject a film portraying such terror through a male character. This terror has a purpose, for the woman- if she does survive, this fear is necessary for her to be “purged” of undesirable characteristics.
Noteworthy Final Girls
Sally Hardesty (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974): Considered the earliest true example of the Final Girl trope.
Sue Snell (Carrie, 1976): Sole survivor of Carrie's telekinetic temper tantrum.
Ginny Field (Friday the 13th, 1981): Adopts Mrs. Voorhees’ authoritarian role to survive.
Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984): Devises a plan to end Freddy’s terror by luring him into the real world.
Sidney Prescott (Scream, 1996): Iconic Final Girl who makes the conscious decision to fight back.
Gale Weathers (Scream, 1996): Survives multiple attacks and becomes a journalism star.
Julie James (I Know What You Did Last Summer, 1997): Survives with her boyfriend Ray.
Dana Polk (Cabin In the Woods, 2011): Explicitly discussed as a part of a ritual involving the sacrifice of teen archetypes, Dana survived anyway.
Samantha Carpenter (Scream, 2022): Portrayed as a complex, flawed woman who uses her past trauma and inner Loomis(literally) to overcome the killers.
The “Victim to Villain” Pipeline
Traditionally reserved for revenge horror, the Final Girl to Villain pipeline has become more common in modern Slasher flicks. The Final Girl is a woman who goes through hell and emerges stronger, standing on her own two feet. This evolution sees Final Girls making the decision to be just as ruthless as their pursuers, if not more so- we see the on-screen transition of Erin in 2011’s You’re Next, where she goes from terrified victim to dangerous fighter who wins her survival by brutal, lethal force. Modern films like Ready or Not, Evil Dead(2013), and Crawl feature heroines who make the decision to become just as monstrous as the villain, fighting back and fighting hard.
Even the 2018 Halloween sequel re-imagines Laurie Strode as a woman who’s fed up with running. That scared teen girl hiding in the closet and begging for her life is a distant memory of the girl she was; she’s now ready and eager to stand her ground, gun in hand, and face her demon head-on.
Another example is American Horror Story: 1984, where Billie Lourd’s character, Montana Duke, is revealed to be the Nightstalker’s blood-lusty girlfriend. Though not a traditional Final Girl, Montana embodies the (seemingly) innocent-turned-killer character.
The Meta Slasher that Changed the Horror Genre Forever
It may be hard to fathom for younger readers, but there was a time during the 1990’s when the horror genre as a whole was as dead as a horny teenager at Camp Crystal Lake. There were still horror films being produced of course, but they saw little excitement at the theaters- those that did make an impact were quickly recategorized into the thriller or crime genres to combat the tepid box office returns.
Following A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, horror budgets ballooned while audience interest waned. The subgenre saw a swift decline post-Krueger, and had become niche- soon, slashers were relegated to little more than scary VHS covers at BlockBuster that your parents would never, ever let you rent.
Major studios at the time were burning off their existing horror films, dumping new scary movies direct-to-video, and trying to sneak them into theaters under the guise of other genres. Box offices of the 90s were always chasing the next big hit- the next Batman, the next Jurassic Park, or the next City Slickers. The majority of big studios stayed far, far away from slasher movies due to their controversial gore and questionable morals.
The Revival of the Slasher
Slashers desperately needed a facelift. A significant change for a new era. Above all else, they needed to figure out how to be cool again. In 1996, one “Meta Slasher” film accomplished all three goals, single handedly kicking off the revival of the slasher flick. The subgenre came to be through an amalgamation of nearly a century of cinema- but one film in particular deserves the credit for bringing it back to life: Wes Craven’s Scream.
You already know that Wes Craven’s 1996 slashterpiece, and its subsequent sequels, Scream 2 and Scream 3, have gained a cult following over the last nearly 30 years. These films are celebrated as some of the best horror movies ever made- fundamentally transforming horror films, reviving a stagnant subgenre, and setting a new standard for slasher flicks and horror in general.
Craven had already experimented with a similar meta-textual horror theme with his 1984 release, New Nightmare- but where his failed Freddy film flopped, Scream opened its wings, and soared. Studios were initially unsure whether the film would see success- early reviews were mixed, with Variety saying that the “underlying mockish tone” would be a turnoff for diehard slasher fans. They predicted that the film would see “modest commercial returns and a fast theatrical playoff.” Well, Variety, I guess hindsight really is 20/20.
Despite mixed reviews upon release, Scream became a sleeper hit, opening at #4 in the box office but gaining serious momentum in the weeks following its release, from positive word-of-mouth reviews. Ultimately, it grossed $173 million against a $14 million budget. Adjusted for inflation, the original Scream trilogy actually outsells 2018’s Halloween sequel, making it one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all time.
The Little Spec Script That Could
Screenwriter Kevin Williamson found himself spooked, but creatively inspired by the chilling Gainesville Ripper murders- he developed a short story script titled “Scary Movie”(not to be confused with the later spoofs of the same name), a short story about a murderous home-invader. The screenplay, featuring self-aware characters created a massive buzz in Hollywood, leading to a bidding war that was ultimately won by Dimension Films.
Wes Craven, who at the time was considering distancing himself from horror, initially turned down the offer to direct the film. However, with Drew Barrymore’s influence and suggestions, Craven eventually took on the project that would solidify him as a monolith of a director in the horror genre. What began as a short story about a blood-thirsty, home-invading stalker evolved into one of the most impactful horror films in history. Scream transformed the landscape by blending genuine scares with witty commentary, appealing to both horror enthusiasts and mainstream audiences alike.
Analyzing the Success
Scream cleverly deconstructed tired horror genre tropes and clichés, injecting self-awareness, whodunit suspense, and sharp pop culture humor. Its fresh approach revitalized not just slasher and horror genres, but also influenced teen movies and, of course, parody films such as the Scary Movie franchise and one-off SHRIEK! If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th. The success of Scream breathed new life into genres that had been headed for a long walk off a short plank, facing audience fatigue and declining popularity.
What made the film such a hit with actors, directors, and producers was its willingness- and eagerness- to explore and play off of horror clichés in a way that was respectful while still acknowledging the ridiculousness of the situations. To quote the book, Style and Form in the Hollywood Slasher Film, “Scream’s intertexts and interimages do not operate only in humorous ways, but to synergistically serve to intensify its horror aspects.”
Scream was successful because it was funny, smart, and most importantly, fresh. It played with the tired tropes of the genre while still delivering the scares and slaughter sought by slasher fanatics. In its wake, the floodgates opened up for a new wave of successful slasher films- I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, and of course, Scream 2 and Scream 3.
Star Power and One Woman’s Genius
Older slashers were typically b-movies that featured no-name or up-and-coming actors. Meanwhile, Scream boasted a star-studded cast with plenty of emblematic figures of 1990s pop culture, including Drew Barrymore, who was one of the hottest stars at that time. Neve Campbell had just finished up The Craft, and Courtney Cox was a star from the most beloved 90s sitcom, Friends. Matthew Lillard’s presence added to the ensemble’s appeal, drawing attention from a broad audience eager for something new.
Drew Barrymore’s involvement in Scream is absolutely legendary. Initially set to play protagonist Sidney, she suggested that she step into the role of another character- Casey Becker. This switch, inspired by Psycho and When a Stranger Calls, was a publicity stunt that subverted audience expectations. By centering Barrymore in the film’s promotion and then killing her character almost immediately, the film delivered a shock factor that was unprecedented. Barrymore had stated that her biggest pet peeve with horror was the predictability of the protagonist surviving the opening chase- so, she worked with Craven directly and insisted that she die first to set the tone that “all bets are off”. This decision paid respect to classic horror while simultaneously breaking new ground.
Well-Developed Characters and 90s Media Saturation
Classic slashers portrayed flat, one dimensional trope-based characters who were only written to be killed off. Scream features a fully-fleshed main cast, with dreams, desires, and complicated pasts- think Melrose Place by way of Elm Street. The characters are well-developed, but are cynical and detached- the first generation of teens to be raised entirely in the era of VCRs and syndication.
Scream explored the intersection of media consumption and personal safety. The characters come from a time when one could consume media so religiously that the media texts themselves became integral to their personalities- every major character in the film makes at least one reference to some other text over the course of the movie. The result of this is that the characters have no other reference to process the world they’re in. Real life situations involving sex and intimacy, being a highschool student, and, yes, being stalked by a knife wielding maniac, are entirely mediated. Billy Loomis sums it up best when he says, “it’s all just one great big movie.”
What’s the most surprising about this aspect is that the film doesn’t treat its characters' media-centered personalities as a deficit. These teens aren’t lovable idiots who are poisoned by the media cesspool like we’ve seen in other films and pearl-clutching articles from that time. These characters are savvy about their situations, and more sophisticated than their predecessors… at least intellectually.
Scream was one of if not the first major film to treat knowledge of pop culture like a dialect. Media is the language that their generational group uses to communicate within itself, and the film doesn’t treat the characters or audience like they’re doing something wrong by consuming so much of it. Baby boomer iterations of this narrative would have complained about too many movies rotting their brains- but Scream rewards its characters for being saturated in pop culture.
Untethering the Killer and Lack of Privacy
Scream was released in that strange, narrow twilight zone between analog and digital worlds- Web 1.0 was still in its infancy at the time of release. Like the majorly successful Halloween, part of the film’s success can be traced back to commentary on the tension of moving from a culture where privacy is taken for granted, to one where it was basically non-existent. Just a decade earlier, a “creepy caller” movie would have been held back by the small number of places that a killer could both see his victim and make a call from. The movie was the first horror film that had the luxury of untethering the killer thanks to the advent of cellular telephones. Meaning, that the killer who once was bound by a landline or a phone booth around the corner could now be literally anywhere at any time.
In direct correlation, the characters feel constantly under surveillance- unlike many 80s slasher flicks where victims didn’t even realize murders were happening until the killer was upon them, the characters know about Casey and Steve’s demise the morning following the killings. The killer attacking Sidney later in the film just confirms to everyone that there is a serial killer who’s targeting people from their highschool; this causes the characters themselves to consistently react as if they’re being actively watched by the killer. This pervasive sense of voyeurism added a new layer of tension and realism to the movie’s narrative.
This film isn’t just a horror story, no- it's a horror story inside the panopticon- and of course, the radical deconstruction of tropes, omnipresent media, and relentless surveillance are established in the first ten minutes of the movie during the opening scene. The slasher’s iconic opening sequence exemplified its narrative prowess. From the innocuous phone call to the escalating terror, the scene deftly juxtaposed familiarity with dread, setting a tone that perfectly balanced homage with innovation. Casey’s demise mirrored Marion Crane’s fate in Psycho, showcasing the movie’s willingness to dismantle expectations and elevate horror into thoughtful commentary.
The first few minutes of the film set up a modern-for-its-time take on the slasher genre, with a generation’s worth of technology and culture shifting the way its characters reacted to the events of the narrative. It's these aspects that helped Craven, Williamson, and the talented cast capture lightning in a bottle, and turn what could have been a forgettable horror movie into an all-time slasher classic.
Deconstructing Horror Tropes
Scream ingeniously dismantled and subverted established horror tropes from films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Craven’s own A Nightmare on Elm Street. Characters aren’t just victims, but self-aware participants in a media saturated world, where horror movie knowledge became a survival tool. This meta-textual approach rewarded audiences with familiar slasher film conventions, enriching their viewing experience.
One of the major themes throughout the film is what we glimpse in the opening- Casey becoming like one of the victims in her favorite horror movies. We see her fall into the same women-in-peril tropes that so many characters she watched in those films did. This occurs several times throughout the movies, where we see characters set themselves up to imitate those same tropes they’re so well-versed in.
The most notable(and hilarious) example of this is Sidney, on why she doesn’t watch horror movies. “They’re all the same”, she tells the killer on the other end of the line. “Just some big breasted girl who can’t act, who’s always running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door,” and finally, she remarks, “it’s insulting,” only minutes before she runs up the damn stairs, fulfilling the trope she literally just finished complaining about.
Beyond the Mask: Real-World Impact and Influence in Pop Culture
Scream resonated deeply with audiences, especially in an era marked by real-world violence in schools. Billy Loomis explains, “movies don’t make psychopaths, movies make psychopaths more creative,” underscoring the film’s engagement with contemporary societal issues. Following its release, the use of caller ID reportedly tripled, reflecting the film’s impact on popular culture and its ability to instill fear even in everyday technology. The film also won MTVs Best Movie Award in 1997, highlighting its appeal among young audiences and its recognition as a standout in the horror genre. The franchise also proved that a cohesive trilogy format could captivate audiences while maintaining narrative integrity across multiple films- something that hadn’t been majorly successful within the slasher industry up to that point. Sequels are one thing, but trilogies? Close to none.
Scream completely revamped horror and slasher films, and left a lasting impact. Hollywood wasted zero time beating the new take on horror directly into the ground, and soon, there were a myriad of Scream imitators with the same sardonic, self-aware energy, the same TRL approved “teens”, and even the same poster design. Even the most iconic slasher franchises tried to hop on the hot new bandwagon, with varying degrees of success. Halloween H20 did a great job at slapping on a Scream colored coat of paint onto an aging franchise. Bride of Chuckie also leaned heavily into the weird, meta aspect of it all. Don’t fret though- the cult favorite villains turned out just fine.
The major problem within the slasher industry following Scream was that it failed to produce new slasher stars. That Five and Dime costume became the final ruler in a horror era dominated by fatal kings with creepy masks- the definitive slasher villain of the 90s, overshadowing any attempts to create new horror icons. Ghostface became the end-all, be-all for iconic on-screen killers from the genre. Be honest- who are some actual enduring slasher villains of the 90s? Go on, I’ll wait.
There are none. But why? By copycatting Scream and focusing more on the victims and their backstories, most writers kept their villain’s identity a total mystery. Because of that, it was difficult for any one killer to make a lasting impression post-Scream. Older films did the opposite, focusing more on the killer than the victims, creating lasting icons- when you see a hockey mask, it’s Jason Voorhees. When you see Leatherface, it's Gunnar Hansen. When you see Ghostface… it’s Billy Loomis and Stu Macher. Fatigue and a lack of new faces played a large part in the downturn of slasher flicks after the release of Scream.
Legacy and Lasting Influence
Scream’s legacy continues to resonate, inspiring countless imitators and spawning additional sequels past the original trilogy. This film set a precedent around how horror movies can and should simultaneously entertain, terrify, and subvert expectations. Its impact on popular culture and the film industry remains a subject of discussion and admiration, emphasizing its enduring relevance and place in cinematic history.
Scream didn’t just revive the slasher genre; it redefined it for a new era. By celebrating and critiquing its own genre roots, the film inspired a plethora of imitators and successors, yet none could match its impeccable blend of wit, suspense, and cultural relevance. Its lasting impact on horror storytelling and pop culture continues to this day, solidifying Scream as a timeless classic and a pivotal moment in cinematic horror history.