Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is out in the world now. Though it doesn’t lean into frights, it does explore in vivid detail the power of slasher movies—especially for audiences who obsess over even the sillier aspects of their horrors.
While Camp Miasma offers a particularly frisky example of what happens when you rearrange all the tropes slasher movies have become known for, it’s not the first subversive flick to emerge from the genre. There are nearly as many meta slashers as there are straightforward ones at this point—a natural outcome when the often predictable source material is so easily poked fun at. Here are 10 other standouts.
Scream
Obviously. Wes Craven’s 1996 franchise-starter looked the audience in the eye and said, “We know you know what happens in these movies, and so do the guys in the Ghostface mask.” And for anyone who didn’t know that slasher movies have specific rules, the Randy character appears at just the right moment with a hilariously accurate rundown on them.
In a Violent Nature
While we didn’t love everything about In a Violent Nature, there’s no denying it’s powered by a clever concept, telling its story from the point of view of a silent killing machine as he awakens and starts adding to his body count. Imagine a Friday the 13th sequel from Jason’s point of view, with some ferocious gore as a bonus.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Maybe the scary guys you and your cute friends spot on your weekend getaway aren’t actually plotting to break into your cabin and murder you. Maybe they’re actually kind, respectful best friends who’re just a little socially awkward. And when you think about it, there are lots of horrifying accidents that could happen in the forest! There’s no reason your mind should go straight to Texas Chain Saw Massacre every time you see a stranger in the wilderness.
Cabin in the Woods
However, you might want to consider this: your woodsy vacation spot could actually be a front for a group appeasing elder gods who require regular sacrifices performed by creatures and killers plucked from an array of horror villains, not just slashers. Your best bet is avoiding the basement and refraining from reading aloud anything resembling an incantation.
Student Bodies
Student Bodies was released in 1981, which was so early in the first wave of slashers it actually predates many of them. Still, 1981 was enough time since Halloween and Friday the 13th for the formula to be imprinted on pop culture, and this high-school set horror comedy takes full advantage of all the parody opportunities.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Styled as a mockumentary, Behind the Mask introduces us to an aspiring serial killer learning his craft from slasher movies, including selecting a “final girl” who he believes will ultimately be his downfall. There’s also some in-joke casting to look out for, including horror luminaries Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, and Zelda Rubenstein. It was announced earlier this year that The Return of Leslie Vernon was in the works. Because every slasher needs a sequel!
Happy Death Day and Freaky
Director Christopher Landon directed both of these slasher send-ups. The first features a Groundhog Day-style time loop as a college student gets multiple do-overs to stop a killer from ending her on her birthday; the second is a body-swap tale in which a bullied high-schooler switches places with a middle-aged serial killer. Both prove that you can apply the slasher formula to just about any genre; for a third example, there’s Totally Killer, which is not a Landon film but layers slasher elements over a Back to the Future-style time-travel tale.
The Final Girls
Picking up some of the themes of the films mentioned above, The Final Girls follows a teen and her friends as they’re unwittingly transported into Camp Bloodbath—the ‘80s horror movie that made her late mother a scream queen. And not only are they stuck in a slasher flick, they’re also in a time loop and must play by the rules of the genre if they want to avoid becoming victims themselves.
You Might Be the Killer
A camp counselor realizes there’s a masked murderer picking people off around him, so he phones his horror movie-obsessed friend and asks her what to do. Turns out there’s a lot more to the story than he realizes—and specifically a lot more to that mask—and the truth slowly reveals itself. You Might Be the Killer is one of very few movies to be based on a Twitter exchange, proving you can sometimes find a fresh way of looking at the familiar in very unexpected places.
Honorable Mention: Widow’s Bay
Yes, it’s a TV show. But the Boogeyman, who totally did go to Patricia’s house when she was in high school and resurfaced several decades later to torment her again, is a note-perfect take on every slasher saga ever. And final girls everywhere could learn from Patricia’s shotgun-powered method of making sure he won’t come back a third time.
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