10 Slasher Movies To Watch If You Loved Halloween Ends
Warning: The below article contains spoilers for "Halloween Ends."
"Halloween Ends" is finally here. Fans are already taking to their keyboards to debate their conflicting takes on what feels like the most divisive film entry in the franchise since "Halloween III: Season of the Witch." The film takes some big swings and plays with genre expectations, sidelining Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) to focus on his apprentice-copycat killer, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). There are themes of evil infecting Corey and the town, and intriguing supernatural elements teased but left purposefully vague. Will this final chapter earn cult classic status over time or remain a source of fan outrage? Only time will tell. Whether you loved this movie or were disappointed and looking for something to hit the reset button, we've got ten killer slashers you should check out next.
We've based our list on movies with similar themes, concepts, and vibes. Some feature wild supernatural elements — like Jason's spirit possessing people in "Jason Goes to Hell" — while others are fan-favorite reboots like 2003's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." If you need something with a bit more humor, we have tongue-in-cheek genre takedowns like "The Final Girls," as well as the first time Michael (Chris Durand) and Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) had their "final" showdown in "Halloween H20," and more! We guarantee this list will make you scream and laugh with ghoulish delight.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
One of the criticisms of "Halloween Ends" is that the film benches Michael Myers for too long. But this isn't the first time a famous cinematic villain has taken the backseat to a younger man. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" starts with the Walsh family moving into Nancy's home from the original film. Soon after, their teenage son, Jesse (Mark Patton), begins having nightmares featuring Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). These visions bleed into the real world (pun intended) when Freddy gains the ability to possess Jesse. Fans were upset at the focus on Jesse, similar to Corey taking center stage in "Halloween Ends," but this sequel has become a cult classic over time.
While gory moments are few and far between in "Freddy's Revenge," some of the film's stand-out sequences involve Freddy ripping his way out of Jesse's body, and Freddy's pool party rampage. There is a decent amount of blood and guts throughout its runtime. Notably, there was a lot of controversial gay subtext and text weaved into the film (see: "Scream Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street" documentary for Patton's point-of-view). The movie features the only male lead in the franchise, making him what many call the first male scream queen. As Decider once stated, the film was initially "maligned as a cheap sequel (but), it has achieved cult status for its deliciously campy queer subtext."
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
"Jason Goes to Hell" opens with Jason (Kane Hodder) being lured into the woods by a scantily clad co-ed, only to find it's a trap set by the FBI. Bullets bombard him, and eventually, he's blown to smithereens via airstrike. Even for a slasher film, it's a gratuitously bonkers opening. That's it! Jason's dead! Or is he? While the coroner (Richard Gant) examines Jason's still-beating heart, he becomes entranced and eats it, which allows Jason's soul to take the driver's seat. From there, Jason possesses multiple people in increasingly grotesque ways — all on a path to possess his niece and be reborn.
"Jason Goes to Hell" is by no means what critics call a good film, but it's a lot of fun. As the ninth film in the franchise, it makes sense that this one needed to be unique — especially considering the lukewarm reception of "Jason Takes Manhattan." If you loved Michael Myers casting an evil spell on Corey, look no further! This film melds that with elements from Denzel Washington's psychological horror film, "Fallen," and the extra gross detail of people spewing out Jason's heart! Notably, it features one of the best final film images, eventually leading to an inevitable versus film years later.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
"Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" features the first time Michael and Laurie had their final showdown. Twenty years after "the night he came home," Laurie is living under the new name Keri Tate with her son John (Josh Hartnett). She works as the Headmistress of Hillcrest Academy in Northern California. However, the Shape that haunted her 20 years ago in Haddonfield still lingers in her mind. Michael Myers figures out her new identity and heads to the campus to finish the job.
The "Halloween" franchise has become like a choose-your-own-adventure book, with multiple timelines and two bleak and bloody reimaginings courtesy of Rob Zombie. You can either follow the current timeline, going from 1978's "Halloween" to the 2018 release, then "Halloween Kills" and "Ends." Or, let's say you want a more '90s vibe to your hack-and-slash. You can marathon parts one through six, then finish with "H20" to witness a multiverse version of Laurie vs. Michael. The pacing is similar to the '78 original, building suspense throughout the first two acts, sprinkling in a few kills, then unleashing a breathless chase sequence with our favorite final girl facing off with Michael. Technically, "Halloween: Resurrection" is the eighth film in this timeline, but we recommend pretending it doesn't exist. (However, it does feature Busta Rhymes roundhouse-kicking Michael Myers at one point, so there's that?)
Ti West's X
If you loved the indie, arthouse moments of David Gordon Green's movie, then we have the perfect slasher for you to watch next. Ti West's "X" follows a group of independent adult filmmakers who rent a barn in the sticks to film their next seductive opus, "The Farmer's Daughter." However, they soon fall victim to a genuinely twisted elderly couple — Pearl (Mia Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure). This slasher features steamy scenes, buckets of blood, and an intriguing twist to the killer's motives that West further explores in the nightmarish technicolor prequel, "Pearl."
Imagine a slasher that is equal parts "Boogie Nights" and "Texas Chain Saw Massacre." You've got the basic idea of what you're getting into with Ti West's critically acclaimed "X." This movie lulls you into a groovy '70s vibe, with hints of the horror to come — approaching what sounds like the plot of an exploitation film with surprisingly sex-positive messaging as well as a tragic examination of the unfair nature of aging. Subverting expectations constantly, "X" delivers some of the most violent kills in 2022's horror movie lineup. The fact that you can watch this and immediately check out the prequel "Pearl" only further enriches the experience. The less you know about both, the better. Just seek them out and enjoy the ride.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The early 2000s saw filmmakers attempt to breathe new life into "Friday the 13th," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and several classic horror films to mixed results (see: Kirby's speech in "Scream 4"). However, 2003's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has carved its place as a respectable reboot amongst horror fandom. Paying homage to the original and keeping its '70s vibe alive while updating the pacing and brutality that serves as a precursor to the gore we expect from a brutal era of post-"Saw" horror flicks.
Modern jump scares and the severe mental and physical torture these characters go through makes this movie fire on all cylinders for a mayhem-filled remake. The gore is some of the most realistic and jaw-dropping in the franchise. Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) is bigger and badder than ever. His towering presence (hulking at 6' 5") adds to his terror. The film also feels grimy, like you could get tetanus just from watching it and we mean that as a compliment! As /Film's Jeremy Herbert described the film, "This is the "Massacre" that looks most like a massacre, and Leatherface has never been scarier."
The Cabin in the Woods
If you're looking for a lighter horror film that's subversive, hilarious, and brings plenty of monsters and blood, look no further than Drew Goddard's "The Cabin in the Woods." Five friends gather to unwittingly portray known horror film archetypes — the stoner, jock, party girl, the virgin, the scholar. They soon arrive at a cabin in the woods for a weekend of partying. However, festivities take a turn when all sorts of things that go bump in the night show up. We can guarantee you'll never guess where this movie goes from here, but it's one of the wildest endings in recent memory.
Following the success of "Scream," there were a lot of meta-horror movies. Most felt like faded copies of the original, but "The Cabin in the Woods" takes the self-aware nature of a horror script that leans into every imaginable trope and gives these rules and roles a reason for existing. Overall, it's a celebration of horror movie history. The characters have far more depth than your typical slasher, and the mythology built around the cabin and its supernatural elements perfectly fit. This movie rewards fans with multiple viewings as they'll notice more easter eggs in this expertly crafted love letter to the best and silliest aspects of horror cinema. Another movie where the less you know about the plot, the better!
The Final Girls
Another addition to the lighter side of our list is the hilarious, suspenseful, and heartfelt horror-comedy "The Final Girls." The plot follows Max (Taissa Farmiga) three years after the death of her mother, Amanda (Malin Åkerman), a famous scream queen and star of the in-movie horror classic "Camp Bloodbath." Max and her friends go to an anniversary screening, and the movie theater catches fire. Max cuts a hole in the screen for them to escape, which accidentally sucks them into the movie. The group must work together to survive multiple horror tropes and break the 92-minute time loop that restarts as soon as the movie's credits roll.
"The Final Girls" is a sincere love letter to fans and scream queens while also being a touching exploration of grief. Director Todd Strauss-Schulson told /Film about his personal experience of losing his father. He wanted "to tell a story about grief and loss and mourning in the middle of a genre that treats those things very frivolously." For him, "it seemed like a clever cinematic concept to treat it like those things have weight and give a ripple effect in the middle of a genre where it's all fun and games." He succeeds in this mission statement, crafting a movie that's clever, scary, and may make you cry. The cast, writing, and direction are excellent, and its PG-13 rating doesn't hinder the horror fun. If anything, it opens the movie up to share with younger fans.
Candyman (2021)
2021's "Candyman" explores the social commentary the 1992 film scraped the surface of with its bee-covered hook. The sequel follows artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) in dire need of inspiration. The adage "be careful what you wish for" has never been more true than when Anthony finds his creative spark in the urban legends surrounding Cabrini-Green's tales of Candyman. Several characters meet a gruesome fate after uttering his name. Still, Anthony receives arguably a worse fate when he notices his body changing as his mental state deteriorates.
Produced by Jordan Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta, this film weaves themes of gentrification, police brutality, systemic oppression, and cultural discrimination together to explore how those traumas manifest in a community. While that may sound a bit heavy-handed, DaCosta handles this balancing act of commentary and horror expertly. At no point does she sacrifice the scares for the all-too-real-life themes — making the film's horror more realistic and relevant. There's also a fair amount of levity and a chilling score that burrows a sense of dread deep under your skin. As /Film's reviewer Chris Evangelista explores in his 2021's "Candyman" review, "A dark, ominous undercurrent runs through 'Candyman,' signaling Nia DaCosta as a filmmaker with a firm, unique grasp on the genre."
You're Next
The home invasion sub-genre ranges from the politically charged like "The Purge" to based on true events bone-chillers like "The Strangers." But few are quite like the pitch-black horror-comedy "You're Next." The movie plays its proceedings dry and serious to start, so you'll have to wait for (and trust) the humor to arise. The plot starts with Erin (Sharni Vinson) and her boyfriend, Crispin (AJ Bowen), attending his family reunion in their sprawling, secluded vacation home. A typical dysfunctional family dinner gets cut short when an arrow flies through the window and kills one of the guests. Invaders in creepy animal masks descend upon the remaining family, but they're unaware of Erin's survivalist past.
Horror comedies are often considered a tough sell, so we get why it was marketed more like a home-invasion-slasher. But this movie is anything but typical. It takes every cliche and shoves it in a blender (literally). Adam Wingard's deft balance of tension, comedy, and action in this movie shows why he's continued to direct genre entries like the criminally underrated "The Guest," 2016's "Blair Witch," and tackling behemoth franchises like "Godzilla vs. Kong." If you're a fan of Laurie and Michael's showdown, then we think you'll love the many beatdowns Sharni Vinson unleashes on these masked marauders.
Haunt
If the gorier moments of "Halloween Ends," like DJ Willy's de-tonguing, were your favorite bits, then 2019's "Haunt" will not disappoint. Co-written and co-directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (the writers behind "A Quiet Place"), "Haunt" is a psychological slasher that oozes Halloween nastiness all over the screen. The film follows a group of friends attending a sketchy extreme haunt event, hoping to get the ultimate adrenaline rush. Of course, they find something far more terrifying.
Haunting.net is a website that compiles a list of the scariest extreme haunts, and they explain the "extreme haunt" concept as: "a physically intense experience born from a haunted house — often with a focus on enduring or surviving the experience across various intensity levels." Beck and Woods take that idea and ask, "What if there were real killers in one of these experiences?"
What unfolds from this simple premise is a scary roller coaster ride that keeps you guessing what's real and who you can trust. If you thought the masks were creepy, wait till you see what these murderers look like underneath. This movie is bleak and unrelenting, but there's also macabre fun in taking the nature of "extreme" haunts to the next level. If you need a more comedic chaser after watching this, check out "The Funhouse Massacre," a horror-comedy love letter to '80s and '90s slashers with a similar premise and Halloween vibe.