With its largest surge in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the slasher subgenre produced many iconic villains that carried franchises for multiple decades, even up until today. These included the likes of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Chucky the killer doll, and so much more.
As a result, slashers became overly abundant, leading to other villains fading into obscurity or barely surviving as cult gems. While the superstar slasher killers have earned their spotlight, there are others who deserve credit for their body counts and how scary they were in their respective films.
The Intruder - Intruder (1989)
Mixing horror and comedy, Intruder features a well-used concept of a killer stalking the overnight crew of a local supermarket. Like any good slasher, his presence is mainly kept in the shadows, with his identity being a mystery. The titular villain takes full advantage of the setting, killing with machines and other items found in the supermarket.
The intruder is also one of the few villains that can say that they killed Bruce Campbell in a movie. Unfortunately, the intruder lost a lot of the scare factor once he is revealed hence why he's ranked lower.
Frank Zito - Maniac (2012)
In this American remake of the French horror film of the same name, Maniac tells the story of a mannequin store owner killing women across the city. Frank Zito, who is played by Elijah Wood, suffered emotional and mental trauma as a child at the hands of his mother, and it turns him into a serial killer.
What makes Frank Zito so scary is that the audience sees everything through his perspective. The whole film is shot from his eyesight and the audience can see his hallucinations and thought process alongside the brutal killings. This also allows the viewers to feel sympathy for Frank, as he also displays genuine kindness and doesn't seem to want to kill but is compelled to.
Leslie Vernon - Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (2006)
In a world where killers like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees are real and have become legends, an aspiring young man wishes to become an iconic slasher like them. Leslie Vernon takes a film crew on a journey, showing how a slasher operates and plans out a night of the killing.
Behind The Mask acts as a tribute and parody to the slasher subgenre, even featuring many familiar faces that horror fans will love. What makes the movie work the most, however, is Leslie himself and his meticulous attention to detail in planning how he traps and kills innocents. For every scene that shows his humorous side, Leslie is also a genuinely threatening slasher.
Mahogany - The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Every night after most of the passengers leave the late-night subway train, a mysterious man known simply as Mahogany murders the surviving passengers in brutal ways. The Midnight Meat Train is based on Clive Barker's novella, and it shows via the horrific gore that can make even the most hardcore horror fans cringe.
Mahogany himself is a treat of a villain, managing to be imposing and intriguing despite having zero dialogue. This is thanks to Vinnie Jones' stone-cold performance combined with the villain's inhuman strength, murder methods, and a twist towards the end that will catch most viewers off guard.
The Clöyne - Clown (2014)
It is often frowned upon to kill kids, even in horror movies. But, Jon Watts created a film where that's nearly all that the slasher villain kills in 2014's Clown. This villain is a more tragic one, as he's a father trying to make his son happy by wearing an old clown costume for his son's birthday. Unfortunately, the costume slowly transforms him into one of the creepiest movie clowns of all time.
The Clöyne requires a number of children to eat before the cursed costume can be removed. That is the only thing the demon craves, so Kent is never full unless he eats children. Combined with body horror as Kent slowly transforms into a demon clown, the Clöyne's mutilation of children is graphic and disturbing.
Pumpkinhead - Pumpkinhead (1988)
The origins and portrayal of Pumpkinhead sadly change with each subsequent film, leading to confusing continuity. However, the original Pumpkinhead remains an eery villain because he's not just some mindless monster slaughtering young adults, he's a conniving demon that enjoys killing.
Pumpkinhead is the result of a grieving father making a deal with a witch to get revenge for the accidental death of his son. Pumpkinhead was designed and directed by Stan Winston himself, which is why the practical effects are still impressive. To make him scarier is the fact that nothing can kill this monster except for the one who made the deal that allowed it to rise.
Harry Warden - My Bloody Valentine (1981/2009)
Both the original and the remake of My Bloody Valentine feature a miner named Harry Warden that kills throughout a town during the Valentine's Day season. Without spoiling, a large part of what makes Harry Warden stand out is the twists both versions feature.
That doesn't mean Harry lacks on kills, as he excels with his signature pickaxe. In the unrated cut of the 1981 version, Warden kills people in ways that made Friday The 13th films at the time seem tame. Hidden behind a miner's mask, Harry Warden was in many ways ahead of his time, and his 2009 counterpart manages to be equally memorable despite the tacky 3D gimmick.
Billy - Black Christmas (1974)
Before even Michael Myers debuted, another slasher villain came and went, and coincidentally attacked on a holiday. Black Christmas is one of the most famous holiday horror movies; it saw a sorority being stalked and picked off by a mysterious serial killer.
With several gruesome kills in the original Black Christmas, the Call Killer was far ahead of his time but unlike Michael or Jason, the identity of the killer is never revealed other than the alias Billy. The only clear view of the killer is a shot of his eye which makes him even scarier. Nobody knows who he is or what he looks like other than his dead victims.
The Masked Man - Hush (2016)
Though he features one of the smaller body counts, John Gallagher Jr.'s masked killer from Hush, one of many fantastic horror projects by Mike Flanagan, makes up for it in creep factor. With the protagonist being deaf, he decides to use that and torment her in a creepy game of cat and mouse as he tries to break in.
Gallagher Jr. brings charisma to the slasher, always chatting with his victim in eerie ways. Unlike most slashers, the Masked Man reveals his face early on, but it never diminishes his creep factor, as Gallagher's performance is arguably even stronger without it. His kill methods are not exactly the most original but they are effective, showcasing his ruthlessness.
The Collector - The Collector Series (2009-2012)
Imagine if Michael Myers and Jigsaw merged together. The result would be the sinister and enigmatic slasher known as the Collector. What he does is rig houses with deadly traps that rival Jigsaw's inventions, killing off the people in twisted ways until one remains, and that person becomes one of the Collection. Only one person has managed to beat this killer, and that is the surprisingly heroic Arkin.
Spanning across The Collector, The Collection, and with the third film in development hell, the Collector has black eyes, wears a hard leather mask, and is deadly with both his bare hands and his mind. The traps he creates are arguably worse than Jigsaw since they are not designed to be overcome, but he also isn't afraid to wield a menagerie of blades, guns, and other weapons alongside his enslaved dogs and zombie-like servants.