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Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees... Sound familiar? In the 1980's these monstrous characters were as popular as Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman had been in the ’30's. But they were different. Not the stuff of ancient myths or classic literature, Krueger and Co. were monsters from the backyard of American suburbia - the landscape of slasher movies such as Halloween (1979), Friday the 13th (1980) and the Nightmare on Elm Street series.

Slasher movies took horror to new heights of graphic violence while, in some cases, simultaneously plumbing new depths of camp self-referentiality. They have nonetheless had a lasting impact - from ‘respectable’ studio pictures such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Single White Female (1992), to the new breed of teen movies such as The Faculty and The Scream franchise, which play knowingly with the conventions of the slasher.

In this Pocket Essential guide you'll find an introductory essay, an in-depth discussion of all the major films, a consideration of the influences on the genre and a checklist of the stars who got their big break being slashed!