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Do you feel like you’re being watched? Does gruesome death follow you everywhere? Do you have a masked stalker? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, there is a good chance you are in a slasher movie.
This is a pretty unfavorable situation, but, luckily, most of the best horror movies under this subgenre are unified by similar plot details and story beats. Here are some of the things you might expect to happen if you exist in a slasher movie…
Your Group May Consist Of Two Couples And One Or Two Single Friends
We hope, in your situation, that you are not alone and, if so, we imagine you are joined by your significant other, your best friend and their partner, and another friend or two looking for love — similar to some of the main original Scream cast members. If you are the single person, however, good for you because you might have the best chance of surviving… but more on that later.
Local Citizens Will Hate You
If it’s a campout or a road trip bringing your group together, it is not just the killer you have to worry about because, wherever you stop, the townspeople may not take kindly to outsiders. In fact, they might be murderers themselves, such as Sheriff Hoyt (the late R. Lee Ermey) from 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
One Local Will Warn You Are Doomed
The one local stranger who creeps you out the most with his/her sinister admonition could be your best friend out there. Had Camp Crystal Lake’s staff listened to Crazy Ralph’s (Walt Gorney) cautionary advice in the first of the Friday the 13th movies, things might have turned out better for them.
You Might Find A Written Warning… In Blood
Some killers have the courtesy to personally let you know what you are in for by spelling it all out in a substance that may appear to be ketchup, but, trust us, it’s not. The masked assassins in the 2013 home invasion thriller, You’re Next, provided one victim with such a warning — and the film’s title — this way.
You Might Receive A Threatening Or Foreboding Phone Call
Some killers like to warn victims — or mess with them — by more modern communication methods, like in the opening phone call scene from Scream, in which Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) encounters the voice of Ghostface (Roger Jackson). On other occasions, you might hear nothing on the other end — save heavy breathing, perhaps — like when Michael Myers dials an unwitting Laurie Strode (Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis) in 1978’s Halloween.
Your Phone Won’t Work Exactly When You Need It To
If and when the killer does call you, that might be the only time you have a chance to use your cellphone. Countless 21st Century horror movies have resorted to throwing reliable technology out of the picture by taking place in locations with little to no reception or having characters lose/forget their chargers somehow.
If You Are In A House/Cabin, You May Suddenly Lose Electricity
Depending on your location, you could call help on a landline like other ‘80s slasher movie characters, but hopefully that phone doesn’t rely on the house’s electricity, which may be cut off by the villain. Subjecting their prey to darkness is a classic technique used to intimidate and, more importantly, avoid detection.
The Killer Will Likely Strike In An Isolated Area
Cutting the power might not even be necessary because the killer has already targeted you where safety is hard to come by. A remote camp ground or empty cabin (like in many summer horror movies) or the side of a desert road (like in Downrange — available with a Shudder subscription) are a few examples of places to be wary of.
A Rainstorm Could Break Out Randomly
Nature might even be against you, particularly if a storm occurs — like in the A24 horror flick, Bodies Bodies Bodies. A torrential downpour significantly lowers chances of escape by impairing vision, making the ground slippery, and, essentially, trapping you in your environment.
You Could Have To Fight Off More Than One Killer
We pray you only have one assailant to contend with, because some are not so lucky, such as in the aforementioned You’re Next and 2008’s loosely fact-based horror film, The Strangers. Plus, with the exception of Scream 3, multiple villains wear the Ghostface mask in each installment of the franchise.
The Killer Might Work On Holidays
If it’s October 31st, look out for the Halloween movies’ boogeyman Michael Myers, or Art the Clown from the Terrifier movies or even Sam from the anthology horror classic, Trick ‘r Treat. However, the time of year doesn’t really matter because you’re bound to find a holiday some killer prefers, like in My Bloody Valentine, or April Fool’s Day, or most Christmas horror movies. We’ll also count Jason Voorhees’ appearances on Friday the 13th.
The Killer Likes To Use Puns
Many of these classic horror movie villains make it clear they enjoy what they do by spouting one-liners, which have accompanied many kills by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) in the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Chucky from the Child’s Play franchise is also known for having a sense of humor about having a doll’s body.
Sometimes The Killer Does Not Say Anything
You might get “lucky” and be stalked by a killer like Jason or Michael who doesn’t joke around and, in fact, never speaks at all. Consequently, their quiet, emotionless demeanor makes them more difficult to detect and, above all, creepier.
The Killer’s Weapon Will Make A Sound Anytime It Moves
Even some of these silent killers have the disadvantage of an inexplicably noisy weapon. Most notably, you can hear what basically sounds like Ghostface’s knife scraping across concrete during any of the Scream movies’ best kills, whether the villain is stabbing a victim, wiping off the blade, or waving it in the air.
If You’re Lucky, A Stabbing Won’t Have Much Of An Effect On You
If you do meet the edge of your assailant’s blade, don’t panic so soon because it could be nothing more than a temporary setback, if that. In fact, some stabbings in slasher movies have proved to be completely inconsequential, such as when Jenna Ortega’s Tara takes a knife in the back in Scream VI, most recently.
The Killer Might Prefer Death Traps Over Handheld Weaponry
Be extra careful if your killer is anything like the bad guys from You’re Next or the titular villain from 2009’s The Collector, who like setting up elaborate traps a la Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister. Not sure if we can count the deadly challenges from the Saw movies since Jigsaw is, technically, not a slasher, but we might count all the insane deaths from the Final Destination franchise, courtesy of Death itself.
A Person Who Promises They’ll Be Right Back Will Not Return
You may start to really notice something is afoot when a friend who said they would only be gone for a moment is absent for a concerning amount of time. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) articulated this trope best when presenting horror movie survival rules in Scream.
You May Find The Victims Placed In Some Elaborate, Theatrical Pose
It will become most apparent a killer is on the loose when bodies start piling up around you, but you might not find your friends’ corpses just lying around. Some killers are more playfully showy about their work, such as when Michael Myers places the strangled Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) on a bed in front his own sister’s tombstone.
The Killer Can Seemingly, Instantly Transport Themselves Between Places
Be prepared for a mind-boggling occurrence in which you think you have outrun the killer by even a mile only to see them pop up right in front of you seconds later. There is no other explanation we can think of for this than teleportation — an ability Jason Voorhees has been suspected of having and which the Friday the 13th video game allows players to access as the character.
You’ll Be Suspicious Of Your Loved Ones
Evidence might force you to confront the harsh possibility that someone you know personally is behind all the carnage. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) learned this the hard way in Scream, as did Tree (Jessica Rothe) — while trapped in a time-loop — in Happy Death Day and the characters from Urban Legend.
Some Might Fatally Mistake A Loved One For The Killer
One way you could rule out potential suspects, but with devastating results, is attacking someone you assume is the killer, only to learn you accidentally killed a member of your group. For instance, in the 2007 French Extremism classic, Inside, pregnant Sarah (Alysson Paradis) prepares to stab the woman invading her home (Béatrice Dalle) only to find her mother on the other side of the door after already fatally wounding her.
There is also the more shocking possibility that, while you may not know the killer personally, they know you as if you’re their family member, because you are. The most famous example of this — before it was retconned in the 2018 requel — is when Laurie Strode discovers Michael Myers is her brother in Halloween II — a plot twist John Carpenter regrets.
The Killer Could Be Seeking Revenge Against You
Was there ever a time you really upset someone or made a seemingly fatal mistake? Because that could be why all this is happening. For instance, most of the Scream movies are basically revenge stories, as is 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is getting a sequel again.
The Killer Has Serious Mommy Issues
Family tends to be a pretty common motivation for murder, like how Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) killed in the name of (and while dressed as) his dead mother in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. In a reversal, one of the best female horror movie villains, Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), killed in the name of her dead son, Jason, before he was resurrected to kill in her name in the Friday the 13th sequels.
The Killer Might Not Be In Control Of Their Actions
We would never advocate for murderer empathy, but should point out the possibility that all this might not actually be their fault. For instance, the multiple killers in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday are possessed by Jason Voorhees’ spirit — similar to the supernatural compulsion from the aptly titled You Might Be the Killer or the demons that turn normal Fear Street trilogy characters into killers. A more grounded cause is mental illness that makes them unaware of their crimes, like in Alexandre Aja’s High Tension.
Authority Figures Won’t Believe You Are In Danger
Especially if you are a teen or college student, even if you were to get a cop or adult’s attention, I would not expect them to be much help. Much like neighbors ignoring Laurie’s pleading cries in Halloween or even Nancy Thompson’s (Heather Langenkamp) own lieutenant father (John Saxon) from A Nightmare on Elm Street, they may assume you are a prankster or delusional.
You Could Encounter The Killer’s Own Archenemy
If you do run into an adult who comes to your aid, they might have their own personal vendetta against the killer or responsibility to keep them in captivity, much like Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) in Halloween. This very trope was homaged with a role by Robert Englund (playing a good guy for once) in 2006’s mockumentary-style slasher deconstruction, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
You Will Try To Hide When You Should Be Running
Not to be presumptuous about how you might handle yourself here, but we have seen enough people regretfully attempt to outwit a killer with a hiding spot that we feel it is important to mention why running as fast and far away as possible is ALWAYS the better option. Even Laurie Strode — one of horror cinema’s best characters — realized taking refuge in a coat closet was no match against Michael a little too late.
Your Vehicle Will Not Work Exactly When You Need It To
Even when you have the chance to get ahold of a car, running might still be the better option because, in your particular case, motor vehicles tend to crap out or might not even start. This could be more bad luck or the killer’s own doing, like in 2005’s House of Wax.
Celibacy And Sobriety May Protect You
Perhaps our best tip for surviving the night in a slasher movie is to avoid drugs, alcohol, or sexual activity. You may assume this is because killers detest debauchery — which is true in Jason Voorhees’ case — but it has more do with these vices being a potential distraction from lurking danger, which John Carpenter explained is how Laurie manages to survive by the end of Halloween.
You Could Survive To The End If You Are A Woman
Laurie Strode is just one of many female characters — also including Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) from Friday the 13th or Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley in Alien — who have contributed to the “Final Girl” trope by being a horror movie’s last woman standing. So, while there are some exceptions to the rule and not really any guarantees, if you are a woman, you might get out of this alive.
The Killer Might Be Immortal
Even if you do survive the night, don’t be too quick to celebrate as this might not be the last you see of your attacker, who — despite everything you might have done to defeat them — could still come back, over and over and over again. Some horror films have actually attempted to address their villains’ immortality, such as Michael Myers being a satanic cult’s chosen one at birth in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers or Jason X mentioning the hockey-masked killer’s “unique ability to regenerate lost and damaged tissue.”
Hopefully we have provided you with enough tips and scenarios to ensure a safe ending to your slasher movie experience. If so, maybe we’ll see you in the sequel!