Slasher villains in horror movies date back to 1960, although the slasher horror genre didn't exist under that name until the 1970s. The earliest movie that many consider to be the grandfather of slasher movies was the Alfred Hitchcock horror movie Psycho, but it wasn't until the 70s that movies like Black Christmas and Halloween created the genre. One of the key elements to a successful entry into the genre is having a truly great slasher villain.

Slasher villains are the ones who mercilessly hunt the victims of the story, generating scares and collecting high body counts. As with the slasher genre itself, these villains can be seen in a variety of different ways. There are the classic masked killers, like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. There are the killers whose identities are left a mystery until the end. There are even some slasher villains who can also be considered horror movie monsters. However, only the very best of the genre truly stand out.

35 The Collector

The Collector (2009)

While some see him as a lesser version of Jigsaw from the Saw movies, The Collector has still amassed a lot of fans despite only appearing in a pair of low-budget movies. The Collector is a slasher villain whose motivation seems to simply be that he enjoys torturing and mutilating people, with his lack of reasoning adding to his creepiness.

The Collector wears a leather mask with only his unsettling beady eyes being shown underneath. However, he is not the typical kind of slasher villain who continuously attacks and overpowers his victims in one-on-one confrontations. Instead, he sets up traps and watches them painfully work their way through his sadistic maze. He is another villain who has little to say and even his presence is not as noticeable. However, the pain he inflicts on his targets for the sheer thrill of it makes him a memorable addition to the genre.

34 John Carver

Thanksgiving (2023)

Setting slasher movies around holidays has been a staple of the genre for years and something that Eli Roth poked fun at with a fake Thanksgiving trailer he made for Grindhouse. However, like Machete, the fake Thanksgiving trailer eventually grew to the point where Roth decided it deserved to be a feature-length movie of its own, complete with its own slasher movie villain. Fitting for the holiday in question, the killer wears a John Carver mask and a pilgrim costume while wielding an ax.

John Carver makes for a memorable and more recent addition to the long history of slasher villains and draws from many of the iconic villains of the genre. He is somewhere in between a throwback homage and a new fun take on the trope. The costume is amusing, but the movie is not as goofy as the original Death Proof fake trailer suggested. He is a formidable killer who scores a number of memorable kills.

33 The Urban Legend Killer

Urban Legend (1998)

Part of what makes a slasher villain memorable is the gimmick they use in dispatching their victims. The Urban Legend Killer gets one of the most unique and exciting approaches as they target people in ways that are based on famous urban legends. This includes memorable sequences like a killer hiding in the backseat of a car and another based on the supposed lethal combination of pop rocks and soda.

While the gimmick is somewhat stretched thin even over the course of the first movie, it does provide some great moments and a fresh take in one of the most underrated post-Scream slasher movies. The killer is also memorable with the hooded figure reminiscent of the ominous figure from the iconic poster of John Carpenter's The Thing. It also lends itself well to another slasher villain whose identity is kept a secret until the third-act reveal.

32 Johnny

In A Violent Nature (2024)

In a Violent Nature is another recent slasher movie, and the Canadian horror movie finds an innovative new approach to the typical slasher villain concept. Johnny is a throwback to classic stripped-down and gritty slasher movie villains with Jason Voorhees being the most obvious reference point. He is a ruthless and relentless force of nature who rises from the dead to find his mother's stolen necklace and kill anyone he comes across.

While the premise behind Johnny is relatively straightforward and the idea of his chasing victims through the forest is nothing new for the genre, In a Violent Nature does something that no other slasher movie has done with its villain, which is to tell the movie from their perspective. The movie follows Johnny as he rises from the grave and sets out on his bloody mission. It makes for an intriguing look at such a brutal character who is responsible for some of the most shocking horror movie deaths in recent memory.

31 Death

Final Destination (2000)

Death might be a controversial choice for a slasher villain, but it fits with all the tropes and aspects of a typical slasher villain, with the only exception being that it is a villain the audience never actually sees. However, instead of discounting that from this collection, it only solidifies that Death is a stand-out example of such characters. The premise of the Final Destination movies is that a group of people manage to escape certain death only to be stalked by Death itself so it cannot be cheated.

With no physical appearance in the movie, Death still manages to have a presence that he always felt. There is the ominous threat that it could strike at any moment with Death setting up elaborate scenarios to take out its victims in gruesome ways. This clever approach makes the Final Destination movies some of the most entertaining when it comes to inventive kills.

30 Mr. Slausen

Tourist Trap (1979)

A lesser-known early slasher, Tourist Trap is a weirdly charming, or perhaps just charmingly weird take on the classic setup. Mr. Slausen runs the titular tourist trap that the carefree and soon-to-be-dead young people of the movie stumble into and appears as a kind and folksy presence who only wants to protect the kids from his evil brother. But it turns out that Slausen doesn't have a brother, and he's been toying with his victims the whole time.

Nevertheless, the charm of actor Chuck Connors (Lucas McCain from The Rifleman) shines through, even if his sad backstory is likely all a lie. The movie shares an inspiration with more surreal projects by directors like Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) and Luis Buñuel (Un Chien Andalou). This was also an early attempt at making the slasher villain supernatural, as Mr. Slausen has psychokinetic powers. The movie was a cult favorite but was never big enough for a sequel.

29 Billy

Black Christmas (1974)

Billy may be one of the most significant killers in the development of the horror genre. Black Christmas served as a source of inspiration for John Carpenter's Halloween and all that followed it. This was the first slasher movie for many, especially if they don't count Psycho as part of the genre. However, what keeps Billy from matching up with other slasher killers is that he is never really seen in the original movie, adding to the sense of unease. He is mostly just heard through the obscene phone calls he places to the victims.

Whatever Billy's precise hangups are, they seem deeply rooted in misogyny, and what little the audience knows makes him disturbing. The movie's slasher villain is also iconic as he sets the table for the future antagonists who hide in houses, remain unseen, and only come out when it is time to kill a new young victim. Billy was the precursor for Jason, Michael Myers, and many more to come.

28 The Creeper

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers is a slasher movie franchise that had an amazing first movie, but lackluster follow-ups since then. The killer in these movies was simply known as the Creeper, an ancient demonic serial killer that goes on a rampage every 23 years and kills and eats people for 23 days. Unlike many slasher killers, the Creeper also blends in with the monster horror movie subgenre thanks to its appearance and supernatural powers, including flight and superhuman strength. The first two movies take place over 23 days and there were two other sequels.

What keeps the Creeper down is its lack of memorable moments. The movie franchise looked destined for greatness when Victor Salva directed the first movie, but he put the series on hold after the first sequel due to outside reasons, and by the time he returned to it in 2017, most people had forgotten about The Creeper, so whatever magic the monster once had was lost forever.

27 Gabriel

Malignant (2021)

Gabriel is one of the newest slasher villains in Hollywood, the killer from Malignant. The movie itself is about a woman named Madison Mitchell who finds herself haunted by nightmares and real-life murders that seem to paint her as the killer without her understanding what is going on. The big twist here is that Gabriel is unlike almost any other slasher killer. He is the parasitic twin of Madison, coned at the brain, who was left to die after separating from Madison.

However, he not only survived but was able to get Madison to kill for him, trying to eventually get to their mother as well. This was one of the most creative slasher villains in any horror movie, with the connotations and background trauma that goes along with his creation. There is always a good chance he could return, although it might lack some of the creativity of the first movie since his origin is now known. Even so, with 48 kills in one movie, Gabriel has a high murder count even if Malignant 2 never happens.

26 Maniac Cop, Of Matt Cordell

Maniac Cop (1988)

In the original Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell is an NYPD officer who's put in prison, mutilated in an attack by inmates, and then left for dead. So, naturally, he's more than a little vengeful himself, and it's easy to see what his motivation for his rampaging is. However, one of the reasons that Cordell was put in prison in the first place was police brutality, which his behavior as a slasher villain seems to confirm quite emphatically.

He could just take revenge against those who wronged him, but he instead attacks people seemingly at random at times, striking fear into the heart of the city that he swore to protect. There were three movies in the Maniac Cop franchise, but the first movie (with Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell in lead roles) remains a true cult classic and shows everything that is great about this iconic slasher villain. The rest of the franchise had him as an undead monster, which lessened the effect.