A good horror movie is nothing without a terrifying killer, and a good slasher is nothing without a sharp killer. The killer stalking the protagonists is what creates the action and urgency of the movie. Anticipation created by the antagonist is what keeps the audience entertained, captivated, and on the edge of their seats.
While there are a lot of famous slasher killers, the women are the underappreciated villains. There have been a lot more women-centered horror movies coming out as of late, all of them creating new takes and interesting antagonists for audiences to see. There's a wide variety of styles to see despite the fact that most slasher films have a pretty straight-forward formula. The movies with female killers are always interesting to see, as they can range from just entertaining insane women to powerful leads with twisted feminist ideals. There's a lot to be explored through these slashers, and here are just a few of those films that are crowd favorites.
This film stars a talented and diverse cast, with Octavia Spencer in the lead as the unsettling titular Ma. The story centers around a group of high school students that meet Ma when they ask her to buy alcohol for them, and soon enough she starts doing other favors and inviting them to party in her house. It's clear to the audience that Ma has some sinister ideas in store for the teenagers, as she quickly becomes unable to leave them alone. While she first comes off as unassuming and tries to play herself as a "cool mom" type of role for the kids, things devolve in the kids' lives as Ma's plan begins to unwind, leading to death and disaster.
For those looking for a slasher with a little more substance, you might take a look at this movie. This film has all the read elements of murder and mayhem to keep viewers entertained, but it also has aspects of urban legends woven throughout. The characters are plagued by a hooded killer who comes after them one by one. When the killer reveals herself, she divulges her motivations are rooted in a sense of vengeful justice for her fiancé, who died in a car crash the main characters caused. But as the audience follows the turmoil of the characters and makes it to the end, they realize they were being told an urban legend the entire time. The film follows a great slasher recipe while also making it its own unique take on the style. It's enticing and has chilling twists and turns throughout and right up until the end.
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Everyone loves the movies that are based on or take place in the '80s, and there has been a surge in that media over the past few years. This movie centers around three girls that bring home a group of guys after a heavy metal concert. A game of never have I ever turns sinister when the trio drugs the boys and tells them their plan to kill them and make it look like they were satanic sacrifices. The fun twist of this movie is that these punk rock looking girls are actually part of an extremist church setting up scenes to make the public afraid of "sinful" things that lead to satanism. This movie becomes a cat and mouse game between the girls and their captives as they try to hunt down the boys. It's full of twisted morals and fun punk aesthetics with wild lady killers.
The Scream movies are a cultural phenomenon and a slasher classic; it even got a spinoff series and had a new installment in the movie franchise release back in March. Audiences can't get enough of the movies. The second and fourth movies in the series are some of the more exciting ones, and both feature a woman as the killer. In both movies the killer Ghostface is revealed to be a malicious duo working together, each tag-team featuring a cunning woman. The female Ghostfaces helped to plan and execute all the murders that happen within the story - all of them happening in a variety of ways, which makes for a grim yet intriguing plot for the audience to watch unfold.
Then there's the semi-recent Netflix hit The Babysitter, which has a wild cast that includes members like Robbie Amell and Samara Weaving. This slasher has a classic fun setup of a sexy babysitter causing trouble, except in this film the trouble is that she's using the blood of the kid she babysits for a cult ritual. Everything turns upside down when the young boy sees his hot babysitter and her friends kill someone for their ritual and tries to expose them. As he tries to escape and outwit the killers, the audience gets to witness a bizarre yet perfectly executed combination of comedy, death, and mayhem.
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This morbidly funny and fast-paced film has a talented young cast that includes Alexandra Shipp alongside Brianna Hildebrand, both supported by 2010's heartthrob Josh Hutcherson. Shipp and Hildebrand play two best friends who run a true crime blog but yearn for more popularity and followers. The two girls decide their best course of action is to murder people to create enticing viral stories for their blog. The movie is funny and clever and extremely entertaining to watch, and contains intriguing themes of friendship and strength in a world centered around morbid curiosity and social media.
The first installment in this famous film series doesn't actually center around the infamous Jason Voorhees - instead, it centers around a killer that is revealed to be his mother. She is after revenge for the tragedy that happened to her son at the camp and wreaks havoc on the counselors. She is a calculating and vindictive killer with a plan as sharp as her weapons. Mrs Voorhees uses a variety of methods to kill everybody off, making for an entertaining viewing since the audience doesn't know what to expect. Not only do the murders keep audiences on the edge of their seats, but the final twist is really what seals the deal for making this an iconic movie. Even the younger generations watching for the first time would be expecting Jason Voorhees to come back for revenge- but the surprise of Mrs Voorhees, driven insane by motherly love and grief, makes the film even more dynamic.