What was the first slasher movie?

[Batman1980]

I think it was Texas Chainsaw Massacre, anyone else?

[koontz1973]

Depends on your definition of slasher film.

Psycho
Peeping Tom
Last house on the left 1972
Here is 3 preceding TCM, but yours will probably be known as the sickest, perverse, sadistic, masochistic, bloodiest piece of film making it the forerunner to today's ones, Halloween, Friday 13, Nightmare.

[Lord_Stewie]

i am going for Chucky (Child's Play) scared the crap out of me since it was a movie about nutjob doll. I had take my Thundercats action figures to another room just to be able to sleep.

[GORT]

Psycho is considerd the grandaddy of the slasher genre

[AKORIS]

PSYCHO, one of the greatest films of all time was essentially about a knife
wielding maniac--- seems like that would make it the first slasher movie....

[koontz1973]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

PSYCHO, one of the greatest films of all time was essentially about a knife
wielding maniac--- seems like that would make it the first slasher movie....

Ah,. but Peeping Tom has the same premise and dates Psycho by a decade. This makes it the great granddaddy.

[Batman1980]

A tie between Halloween and Psycho? Makes me wish Psycho was already on blu-ray! Here's hoping the tie will break soon!

[Call_Me_Megatron]

I read a book one time called "Going to Pieces" and it detailed the history of the slasher film. I read it back in 2006, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think the author touched on Psycho and TCM, but place the start date of the slasher genre as October 25th, 1978, with the theatrical release of John Carpenter's Halloween. For anyone interested in slasher films it is a great read and I highly recommend it.

[TripAcez]

Originally Posted by shadblz

i am going for Chucky (Child's Play) scared the crap out of me since it was a movie about nutjob doll. I had take my Thundercats action figures to another room just to be able to sleep.

me too

[Batman1980]

I will say this, that scene where the parents come home and everyone's dead and Michael's just standing there with a blank expression and a knife in his hand...wow. One of the most moving scenes ever in a horror movie.

[BluIsGold]

I say Psycho, then the original Black Christmas. Halloween was the one that certainly sent the genre into high gear though.

[Blu Myers]

Originally Posted by BluIsGold

I say Psycho, then the original Black Christmas. Halloween was the one that certainly sent the genre into high gear though.

Indeed!

[adh56]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

PSYCHO, one of the greatest films of all time

Big +1 on that. Warner announced North by Northwest now when's Universal gonna get the ball rolling?

[adh56]

I think we have Halloween to thank/blame. Kidding aside, although some of the other movies obviously came first, I think Halloween is the first "slasher".

[BluIsGold]

Originally Posted by adh56

I think we have Halloween to thank/blame. Kidding aside, although some of the other movies obviously came first, I think Halloween is the first "slasher".

I watched a documentary somewhere (perhaps on the Halloween blu) where it was pointed out that the final shot - where a supposedly dead Michael Myers got up and walked away - was completely responsible for all of the horror movie sequels to this date. Ya know, the old "He's dead, but not really" trick.

[MaCruz]

I'm not sure which one was the original, but Friday the 13th is my favorite of the series.

[Fors*]

Psycho

[GLaDOS]

I wanted to watch Psycho, but instead I got stuck with "When A Stranger Calls".

[deckardp]

Originally Posted by BluIsGold

I say Psycho, then the original Black Christmas. Halloween was the one that certainly sent the genre into high gear though.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Lucy Diamond]

Black Christmas