Slasher Movies | POPSUGAR Entertainment

Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees — just reading those names can send a shiver down the spine. That’s the power of a truly great slasher film: they create memorable villains and enduring heroes to keep us coming back for more (even when that means watching the bloody, gory action through our fingers). When it comes to horror movies, slashers are a category all their own. Maybe it’s because the violence is so visceral, the villains so terrible, the the screams so real. Or maybe it’s because movie franchises can be notorious at waving away stab wounds, letting these movies return for plenty of sequels (and yes, we’re talking about you, “Scream” movies).

One of the very first slasher movies is also one of the genre’s best — Alfred Hitchcock’s menacing “Psycho,” released in 1960. When Anthony Perkins’s Norman Bates stabs Marion (Janet Leigh) in the shower, Hitchcock and his crew created a slasher killing that is often imitated but rarely surpassed. And fun fact — Leigh’s daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, would also become a slasher icon, bringing Laurie Strode to life in the “Halloween” films.

Read on for slasher movies that will satisfy your most gruesome horror cravings.