The slasher villain is one of horror's most popular and frequent figures in the genre. They can be smart, they can be funny, they can be a lumbering monster wielding a large weapon chasing down several frisky teenagers hanging out in the place they shouldn't be.
Whatever flavor they come in, one can assume that they will be a deadly force of fear to be reckoned with. With that all in mind, educated horror aficionados have noticed the characters coming in a series of common forms. While the genre of horror might have evolved since the days of Alfred Hitchcock, the slasher still fits into one of several molds.
10 The Self-Aware Slasher
Although this is one of the most recent creations in the genre, several slashers in recent years have become self-aware of their position. While it is not always the recommended route, many horror greats have chosen this method.
Arguably starting and exploding in popularity with Wes Craven's Scream and evolving into the likes of Leslie Vernon from Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, the self-aware killer gives their movie a tongue-in-cheek meta-commentary while actively toying with both victims' and audience's expectations. Even killers like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees have gone down the primrose path of parody, acknowledging that they do in fact star in cheesy slasher romps from a bygone decade.
9 The Avenger
Shortly after the dawn of the slasher craze, the villains started getting more complex. A killer in the woods with an ax and a scary mask is one thing, but what if they were given a motive? Killing out of vengeance or justice is way more interesting than just mindless massacring.
Enter characters like Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th), Carrie White, and the Fisherman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), killers who had more of a logical reason to do the vile acts they commit. Doesn't make it right, but it does make for better movies.
8 The Evil Entity
There are dozens and dozens of evil entities and malicious manifestations that inhabit the horror genre. Spirits, demons, and otherworldly beings from other dimensions might not be the most realistic on the list, but they sure keep many viewers up at night.
Characters like Pinhead and the Cenobites from Hellraiser, the Wishmaster, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown or It show what kind of range these unholy terrors can wreak on their slew of victims using a bit of that old black magic.
7 The Tiny Terror
One of the most beloved frequent breeds of horror characters, nothing entertains and terrified audiences quite like the miniature monsters and maniacs.
While some are quick to think of demonic dolls, puppets, and terrifying toys, the genre would be nothing without the likes of Gremlins, Munchies, Ghoulies, and other pint-sized critters that deal a lot of damage. Tiny but mighty, certain few might be dangerous alone, but get enough of them together and panic soon arises.
6 The Misunderstood Monster
A mark of a well-thought and complex villain is whether or not the audience can sympathize with them. Some simply want to be left alone, others do what they do against their will, and of course there are those who are simply pawns used by a larger force of evil.
The Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein's monster are two that certainly come to mind, but one can go a bit farther and include characters like Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface and Toulon's Puppets from Puppet Master into the mix.
5 The Strange Creature
This next breed of brute covers a great many fields but when everything's said and done, a great number of monsters fall into this category. While there is a difference between monster movies and slasher movies, it's quite surprising how much the two actually overlap in both style and themes.
Think of monsters like the Xenomorph from Alien, Pumpkinhead, the Predator, the Blob, and the Killer Klowns from outer space. They are all monsters that pick off their prey one by one to satisfy some horrific and instinctive hunger or desire, embodying a cosmic dread rather than a fear of other people.
4 The Romantic Vampire
Speaking of hunger and desire, vampires cannot be left out by any means. One might think the various bloodsuckers that populate the genre should be left off, or even put into their own sub-genre of film, but consider movies like The Lost Boys, Interview with the Vampire, and Bram Stoker's Dracula.
These vampires range from enchanting to horrific, sometimes in the same film. Not counting them as sinister slashers would be grossly unfair.
3 The Sensitive Psychopath
This harkens back to the misunderstood monster but gives the character in question a more human appearance. The best sociopathic characters know how to manipulate in motion and feeling, making them scarier than some of the others on the list.
Think of men like Norman Bates, Patrick Bateman, and Hannibal Lecter; all of them are charming, intelligent, disarming, and one hundred percent deadly. One of them even eats his victims for dinner! At the end of the day, they are pure evil in a charismatic human shell.
2 The Supernatural Stalker
This type of slasher is more complex than one might think. They might fall into the category of the aforementioned Evil Entity, but usually these killers get assistance from said being.
Whether they are mortal maniacs granted supernatural abilities or people brought back from the dead with an ax to grind, they aren't the everyday psychopath. Usually, these killers are urban legends who were supposedly brought back from the grave by an ancient evil. While the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street star Freddy Kruger, the Candyman, and Victor Crowley from Hatchet aren't the evil deities themselves, they still definitely have an unfair advantage over their victims.
1 The Masked Maniac
This is a horror trope as old as the slasher genre itself and arguably the one that started it all. Playing on the audience's fear of the unknown, the mysterious masked maniac will forever be the go-to archetype for the classic horror villain. After all, the simplest answer is sometimes the best one.
Beginning in the late '70s with Michael Myers from the granddaddy of slasher films -- John Carpenter's Halloween -- then blossoming into a full-on sub-genre with characters like Friday the 13th poster boy Jason Voorhees, the Prowler, Harry Warden from My Bloody Valentine, and as of recently the Strangers, the mask plus any bladed weapon is a look that never goes out of style.
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