One of the most popular types of horror movies is undoubtedly the slasher. Films released in the 1970s — like Mario Bava's Bay of Blood and John Carpenter and Debra Hill's Halloween — laid the foundation for the subgenre, but experts agree the term "slasher" became popular following the 1980 release of Friday the 13th.

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The slasher genre enjoyed its heyday between 1978 and 1984. That is not to say slashers ceased to exist after 1984; they remained in favor with audiences throughout the remainder of the decade. But for every Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, there are a number of similar movies that flew under the radar. Let's check out ten slasher movies you have never heard of.

Unhinged (1983)

Three women on their way to a concert have a terrible car accident. They wake up in a remote mansion where a man and his unseen mother care for them all. The longer the guests stay, though, the more they realize something is very off about their host.

Unhinged moves at a slow pace like other slashers from this same time period, but even more so because the cast is, after all, considerably small. However, there is ample atmosphere in this unhurried mystery. There is even a twist ending that will catch you off guard. For anyone who is interested, there is an in-name-only remake that was released in 2017.

To All a Goodnight (1980)

At a women's college, the stragglers at one dorm invite some men over during the Christmas break rather than going home for the holidays. This is when someone dressed as Santa Claus stalks and kills everyone in the house.

To All a Goodnight hardly feels yuletide with its warm and sunny aesthetic. If it wasn't for the Santa-suited killer, you would never think this is set at Christmastime. Actor and soundtrack musician David Hess has only directed one movie, and after seeing To All a Goodnight, you might understand why. That being said, this film is an amusing holiday horror because of its flaws.

Rush Week (1988)

A student reporter named Toni is looking for a story that will help launch her career. As she investigates a series of disappearances on campus, she uncovers the dark secrets tied to the school as well as a local fraternity.

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Rush Week is one slasher that missed its window by a few years. On top of that, it lacks any of the red stuff, something the target audience would be looking for in the first place. Shortcomings notwithstanding, Rush Week is an affable return to a simpler kind of slasher movie.

The House on Tombstone Hill (1991)

When a group of friends visit an old house one of them bought recently, they accidentally awaken the corpse of a previous tenant — an old woman who murdered her husband back in the 1940s. Now, the homicidal senior kills those who step into her former house.

Also known as Dead Dudes in the House and The Dead Come Home, The House on Tombstone Hill is a Troma Entertainment slasher. Anyone familiar with Troma's work knows to expect some cheesiness. But much to viewers' surprise, Tombstone Hill is a cut above its contemporaries.

Trapped Alive (1988)

A pair of friends and two escaped convicts all end up in an abandoned mine, and are then hunted by a cannibal.

Although Trapped Alive (whose working title was Forever Mine) premiered in Los Angeles, California in 1988, it did not reach home video until 1991. And the video art depicts a very different kind of movie. Anyone who watches Trapped Alive will grasp why it was shelved for three years. That being said, the film has a great setting, and the villain — who looks more like Santa Claus than a cannibal — is worth the wait to see him finally appear on screen. This slasher has been saved from obscurity as it's finally on Blu-ray today.

Love Massacre (1981)

A college student named Ivy believes she is being stalked, but no one believes her. Not even her boyfriend. Are her concerns warranted? Or is she imagining all of this?

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Due to its lack of preservation, finding a clean and proper copy of Patrick Tam's Love Massacre is next to impossible. The only copy available on official home video is a washed-out print with unreadable, irremovable English subtitles. This news saddens many lovers of Chinese New Wave cinema. Minimalist psycho-drama Love Massacre is a coup for Tam as it's a melding of genres while also a departure from the humor unique to other Hong Kong movies at the time. If you do any research on this film, avoid any synopses, as they dish out a major spoiler without warning.

Night of the Scarecrow (1995)

Long ago, a community made a deal with a warlock to ensure it would have a successful harvest. But when the townsfolk learned the warlock was preying on women, they executed him. As they buried his bones, his spirit inhabited a scarecrow. Today, the warlock's ghost is no longer dormant. He finally uses his scarecrow form to help him take revenge on those who sentenced him to death.

Night of the Scarecrow — not to be confused with the TV-movie Dark Night of the Scarecrow — is similar to other slasher films like Superstition and Final Destination where the killer is not human. This dark horror movie has some gruesome practical effects that set it apart from other straight-to-video titles coming out in the mid-1990s.

Wishcraft (2002)

One day, a nerdy high school student named Brett receives an anonymous gift — a totem made from a bull. With this object, the young man is granted three wishes. Unfortunately, every wish has dreadful consequences.

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Wishcraft is a teen-aimed reinterpretation of the classic W.W. Jacobs story "The Monkey's Paw." The movie enters slasher territory when, in connection to the wishes, a cloaked killer picks off the protagonist's classmates. With its imaginative story and wry humor, Wishcraft effectively attempts to differentiate itself from the other slashers that appeared in Scream's wake.

The Outing (1987)

A museum comes across an ancient oil lamp found at a crime scene. When the curator's daughter comes in contact with it, she is possessed by the entity within the lamp. Later, the teenager invites her friends to stay after hours at the museum. Unbeknownst to the teens, they are about to fall victim to a monstrous genie.

The Outing (also known as The Lamp) applies slasher tropes to a supernatural hack-'em-up about a wicked jinn. Shot primarily in Houston and Galveston, Texas, this obscurity was filmed at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

The Comeback (1978)

Following a painful divorce, a musician decides to make a comeback. He stays at an isolated house in London to record his new album, unaware that someone has just murdered his ex-wife back in the United States. As the musician attempts to move on, an unknown killer wearing a hag mask attacks everyone around him.

The death count in The Comeback (also known as Encore and The Day the Screaming Stopped) is lower compared to modern horror movies, but that was a standard trait of slashers back then. The mask that the killer wears here is possibly the inspiration behind the iconic hag mask in the 1983 whodunit Curtains.

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