Editing Slasher film (section)

==1978–1984: Golden Age==
Jumpstarted by the massive success of [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978), the era commonly cited as the Golden Age of slasher films is 1978–1984, with some scholars citing over 100 similar films released over the six-year period.<ref name="Golden"/><ref name="Vera Dika" />{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Despite most films receiving negative reviews, many Golden Age slasher films were extremely profitable and have established [[cult following]]s.<ref name="Film School Rejects-2017" /> Many films reused ''Halloween''<nowiki/>'s template of a murderous figure stalking teens, though they escalated the gore and nudity from Carpenter's restrained film. Golden Age slasher films exploited dangers lurking in American institutions such as high schools, colleges, summer camps, and hospitals.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=70–71}}

===1978===
Cashing in on the [[drive-in]] success of ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974), ''[[The Toolbox Murders]]'' was quickly and cheaply shot but did not generate the interest of the former films. Exploitative ''Killer's Delight'' is a San Francisco-set serial killer story claiming to take inspiration from [[Ted Bundy]] and the [[Zodiac Killer]].{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p=80}} Leading up to ''Halloween''<nowiki/>'s October release were August's ''gialli''-inspired ''[[Eyes of Laura Mars]]'' (written by John Carpenter) and September's "[[The babysitter and the man upstairs|babysitter in peril]]" TV Movie ''[[Are You in the House Alone?]]'' Of them, ''The'' ''Eyes of Laura Mars'' grossed $20&nbsp;million against a $7&nbsp;million budget.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=eyesoflauramars.htm|title=Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref>

Influenced by the [[French New Wave]]'s ''[[Eyes Without a Face (film)|Eyes Without a Face]]'' (1960), science fiction thriller ''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]'' (1973) and ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974), ''Halloween'' was directed, composed and co-written by Carpenter, and produced and co-written by [[Debra Hill]] on a budget of $300,000 provided by Syrian-American producer [[Moustapha Akkad]]. To minimize costs, locations were reduced and time took place over a brief period.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=72–80}} [[Jamie Lee Curtis]], daughter of [[Janet Leigh]], was cast as the heroine [[Laurie Strode]] while veteran actor [[Donald Pleasence]] was cast as [[Samuel Loomis|Dr. Sam Loomis]], an homage to [[John Gavin]]'s character in ''Psycho''.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=72–80}} ''Halloween''<nowiki/>'s opening tracks a six-year-old's point-of-view as he kills his older sister, a scene emulated in numerous films such as ''[[Blow Out]]'' (1981) and ''[[The Funhouse]]'' (1981). Carpenter and Hill deny writing sexually active teens to be victims in favor of a virginal "[[final girl]]" survivor, though subsequent filmmakers copied what appeared to be a "sex-equals-death" mantra.<ref name="E">{{cite web |last1=Hosney |first1=Jim |title=Writer-Producer Debra Hill on Jamie Lee, Body Counts and Horror in Suburbia |url=http://www.eonline.com/Features/Live/Filmschool/Notes/Halloween/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040308021741/http://www.eonline.com/Features/Live/Filmschool/Notes/Halloween/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-03-08 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=Film School: Horror 101 |publisher=E Online}}</ref>

When shown an early cut of ''Halloween'' without a musical score, all major American studios declined to distribute it, one executive even remarking that it was not scary. Carpenter added music himself, and the film was distributed locally in four Kansas City theaters through Akkad's [[Compass International Pictures]] in October 1978. [[Word-of-mouth marketing|Word-of-mouth]] made the movie a [[sleeper hit]] that was selected to screen at the November 1978 Chicago Film Festival, where the country's major critics acclaimed it. ''Halloween'' grew into a major box office success, grossing over $70&nbsp;million worldwide and selling over 20&nbsp;million tickets in North America, becoming the most profitable independent film until being surpassed by [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)|''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'']] (1990).{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=72–80}}

===1979===
Though the [[Psychokinesis|telekinesis]]-themed slasher ''[[Tourist Trap (film)|Tourist Trap]]'' was initially unsuccessful, it has undergone a reappraisal by fans. 1979's most successful slasher was [[Fred Walton (director)|Fred Walton]]'s ''[[When a Stranger Calls (1979 film)|When a Stranger Calls]]'', which sold 8.5 million tickets in North America. Its success has largely been credited to its opening scene, in which a babysitter ([[Carol Kane]]) is taunted by a caller who repeatedly asks, "Have you checked the children?"{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=82–83}} Less successful were [[Ray Dennis Steckler]]'s [[burlesque]] slasher ''The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher'' and [[Abel Ferrara]]'s ''[[The Driller Killer]]'', both of which featured gratuitous on-screen violence against vagrant people.

===1980===
The election of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States drew in a new age of conservatism that ushered concern of rising violence on film.<ref name="Clayton-2015"/>{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} The slasher film, at the height of its commercial power, also became the center of a political and cultural maelstrom. [[Sean S. Cunningham]]'s sleeper hit ''[[Friday the 13th (1980 film)|Friday the 13th]]'' was the year's most commercially successful slasher film, grossing more than $59.7&nbsp;million and selling nearly 15&nbsp;million tickets in North America.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Friday the 13th (1980) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friday13th.htm |website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> Despite a financial success, distributor [[Paramount Pictures]] was criticized for "lowering" itself to release a violent exploitation film, with [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]] famously despising the film.<ref>[https://siskelebert.org/?p=6650 Extreme Violence Directed at Women, 1980 - Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews]</ref> Siskel, in his ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' review, revealed the identity and fate of the film's killer in an attempt to hurt its box office, and provided the address of the chairman of Paramount Pictures for viewers to complain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com/2012/06/gene-siskels-original-friday-13th-mini.html |title=Gene Siskel's Original Friday The 13th Mini Review For The Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 15, 2014}}</ref> The [[Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] was criticized for allowing ''Friday the 13th'' an R rating, but its violence would inspire gorier films to follow, as it set a new bar for acceptable levels of on-screen violence. The criticisms that began with ''Friday the 13th'' would lead to the genre's eventual decline in subsequent years.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=89–90}}

The small-budget thrillers ''[[Silent Scream (1979 film)|Silent Scream]]'' and ''[[Prom Night (1980 film)|Prom Night]]'' were box office hits with 3.2 and 5.5&nbsp;million admissions, respectively.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Jamie Lee Curtis starred in the independent ''Prom Night'', as well studio films ''[[Terror Train]]'' and ''[[The Fog]]'' to earn her "scream queen" title.<ref name="Grant-2009" /> [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]'s the ''Halloween''-clone ''[[He Knows You're Alone]]'' sold nearly 2&nbsp;million tickets, though [[Paramount Pictures]] [[John Huston]]-directed ''[[Phobia (1980 film)|Phobia]]'' only sold an estimated 22,000 tickets.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Two high-profile slasher-thrillers were met with protest, [[William Friedkin]]'s ''[[Cruising (film)|Cruising]]'' and [[Gordon Willis]]' ''[[Windows (film)|Windows]]'', both of which equate homosexuality with [[psychosis]]. ''Cruising'' drew protests from gay rights groups, and though it pre-dates the [[AIDS pandemic|AIDS crisis]], the film's portrayal of the gay community fueled subsequent backlash once the virus became an epidemic.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}<ref>{{Cite web |author=Chelsea McCracken|date=April 14, 2017 |title=The Controversy of CRUISING |website=Cinematheque |url=http://cinema.wisc.edu/blog/2017/04/14/controversy-cruising |access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref>

Low budget exploitative films ''[[New Year's Evil (film)|New Year's Evil]]'', ''[[Don't Go in the House]]'' and ''[[Don't Answer the Phone!]]'' were called-out for [[misogyny]] that dwelled on the suffering of females exclusively.<ref name="Clover-1987" /> Acclaimed filmmaker [[Brian De Palma]]'s ''Psycho''-homage ''[[Dressed to Kill (1980 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' drew a wave of protest from the [[National Organization for Women]] (NOW), who picketed the film's screening on the University of Iowa campus.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=87–88, 93}} The year's most controversial slasher was [[William Lustig]]'s ''[[Maniac (1980 film)|Maniac]]'', about a schizophrenic serial killer in New York. ''Maniac'' was maligned by critics. [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' said that watching the film was like "watching someone else throw up."<ref>{{Cite news|title=HOMICIDAL MANIAC|last=Canby|first=Vincent |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 31, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/31/movies/homicidal-maniac.html|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> Lustig released the film unrated on American screens, sidestepping the [[MPAA]] to still sell 2.2&nbsp;million tickets at the box office.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p=100}}{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

Alfred Hitchcock's ''Psycho''<nowiki/>'s influence was felt two decades later in ''[[Cries in the Night]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://crypticrock.com/whats-in-the-basement-funeral-home-30-years-later/ |title=What's In The Basement – Funeral Home 30 Years Later|website=Cryptic Rock|access-date=May 14, 2018|author=Jon Wamsley|date=December 9, 2015}}</ref> and [[The Unseen (1980 film)|''The Unseen'']].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/56713|title=The Unseen (1981) |website=AFI Catalog|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> [[Joe D'Amato]]'s gruesome Italian horror film ''[[Antropophagus]]'' and the Australian slasher ''[[Nightmares (1980 film)|Nightmares]]'' showed that the genre was spreading internationally.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=86–100}}

===1981===
Slasher films reached a saturation point in 1981, as heavily promoted movies like ''[[My Bloody Valentine (film)|My Bloody Valentine]]'' and ''[[The Burning (1981 film)|The Burning]]'' were box office failures.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}<ref name="Vera Dika" />{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} After the success of ''Friday the 13th'', [[Paramount Pictures]] picked up ''[[My Bloody Valentine (film)|My Bloody Valentine]]'' with hopes to achieve similar success. The film became the subject of intense scrutiny in the wake of [[murder of John Lennon|John Lennon's murder]], and was released heavily edited; lacking the draw of gore, ''My Bloody Valentine'' barely sold 2&nbsp;million tickets in North America, much less than the 15&nbsp;million sold by ''Friday the 13th'' the year beforehand.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Thematically similar to ''My Bloody Valentine'', ''[[The Prowler (1981 film)|The Prowler]]'' hoped to lure an audience with gore effects by ''Friday the 13th''<nowiki/>'s [[Tom Savini]] but large [[Motion Picture Association|MPAA]] edits contributed to its failure to find a nationwide distributor.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Suffering similar censorship was ''The Burning'', which also employed Savini's special effects, though it does mark the feature film debuts of [[Brad Grey]], [[Holly Hunter]], [[Jason Alexander]], [[Fisher Stevens]], [[Bob Weinstein]] and [[Harvey Weinstein]].

Profits of ''Halloween'' and ''Friday the 13th'' drew studio interest, to varying success. [[Warner Bros.]]'s ''[[Eyes of a Stranger (1981 film)|Eyes of a Stranger]]'' (402,386 admissions)<ref>{{cite web |title=Eyes of a Stranger |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0082352/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> and ''[[Night School (1981 film)|Night School]]'' (420,818 admission),<ref>{{cite web |title=Night School |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0082812/?ref_=bo_se_r_2 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>[[Paramount Pictures]]' '' [[The Fan (1981 film)|The Fan]]'' (1.1 million admissions),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fan |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0082362/?ref_=bo_se_r_2 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> [[Universal Pictures]] ''[[The Funhouse]]'' (2.8 million admissions),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Funhouse |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0082427/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> and [[Columbia Pictures]] ''[[Happy Birthday to Me (film)|Happy Birthday to Me]]'' (3.8 million admissions).{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} [[CBS]]' TV movie, ''[[Dark Night of the Scarecrow]]'' brought the genre to the small screen.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Two sequels had bigger body counts and more gore than their predecessors, but not higher box office intakes. ''[[Friday the 13th Part 2]]'' sold 7.8&nbsp;million tickets and ''[[Halloween II (1981 film)|Halloween II]]'' sold 9.2 million. Both sequels sold under half of their original film's tickets, though they were still very popular (''Halloween II'' was the second highest-grossing horror film of the year behind ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'').{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

Independent companies churned out slasher films ''[[Final Exam (1981 film)|Final Exam]]'', ''[[Bloody Birthday]]'', ''[[Hell Night]]'', ''[[Don't Go in the Woods (1981 film)|Don't Go in the Woods... Alone!]]'', [[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[Deadly Blessing]]'' and ''[[Graduation Day (film)|Graduation Day]]''.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Fantasy and sci-fi genres continued to blend with the slasher film in ''[[Strange Behavior]]'', ''[[Ghostkeeper]]'' and ''[[Evilspeak]]''. The international market found Italy's ''[[Absurd (film)|Absurd]]'' and ''[[Madhouse (1981 film)|Madhouse]]'' and Germany's ''[[Bloody Moon]]''.

===1982===
[[Straight-to-video]] productions cut costs to maximize profit. The independent horror film ''[[Madman (1982 film)|Madman]]'' opened in New York City's top 10, according to ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]],'' but soon fell out of theaters for a much healthier life on home video.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} ''[[The Dorm That Dripped Blood]]'' and ''Honeymoon Horror'', each made for between $50–90,000, became successful in the early days of [[VHS]].{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Because of this change, independent productions began having difficulties finding theatrical distribution. ''[[Girls Nite Out (1982 film)|Girls Nite Out]]'' had a very limited release in 1982 but was re-released in 1983 in more theaters until finally finding a home on VHS. [[Paul Lynch (director)|Paul Lynch]]'s ''[[Humongous (1982 film)|Humongous]]'' was released through [[AVCO Embassy Pictures]], but a change in management severely limited the film's theatrical release. Films such as ''[[Hospital Massacre]]'' and ''[[Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker|Night Warning]]'' enjoyed strong home rentals from video stores, though ''[[Dark Sanity]]'', ''[[The Forest (1982 film)|The Forest]]'', ''[[Unhinged (1982 film)|Unhinged]]'', ''[[Trick or Treats (1982 film)|Trick or Treats]]'', and ''Island of Blood'' fell into obscurity with little theatrical releases and only sub-par video transfers.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=118–130}}

Supernatural slasher films continued to build in popularity with ''[[The Slayer (film)|The Slayer]]'', ''[[The Incubus (film)|The Incubus]]'', ''[[Blood Song]]'', ''[[Don't Go to Sleep]]'' and ''[[Superstition (1980s film)|Superstition]]'' (the supernatural-themed ''[[Halloween III: Season of the Witch]]'', though part of the [[Halloween (franchise)|''Halloween'' franchise]], does not adhere to the slasher film formula). ''[[Alone in the Dark (1982 film)|Alone in the Dark]]'' was [[New Line Cinema]]'s first feature film, released to little revenue and initially dismissed by critics, though the film has gained critical reappraisal. Director [[Amy Holden Jones]] and writer [[Rita Mae Brown]] gender-swapped to showcase exploitative violence against men in ''[[The Slumber Party Massacre]],''{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=118–130}} while ''[[Visiting Hours (film)|Visiting Hours]]'' pitted liberal feminism against macho right-wing bigotry with exploitative results.

''[[Friday the 13th Part III]]'', the first slasher trilogy, was an enormous success, selling 12&nbsp;million tickets and dethroning ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial]]'' from the top of the box office.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} The film's iconic [[hockey mask]] has grown to [[Popular culture|pop-culture]] [[iconography]]. [[Universal Pictures]] had a tiny release for ''[[Death Valley (1982 film)|Death Valley]]'', while [[Columbia Pictures]] found modest success with ''[[Silent Rage]]''. Independent distributor [[Embassy Pictures]] released ''[[The Seduction (film)|The Seduction]]'' to a surprising 3.9&nbsp;million admissions, making a hit erotic slasher-thriller that predates [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbusters]] ''[[Fatal Attraction]]'' (1987) and ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' (1992) by several years.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

Internationally, Australia released ''[[Next of Kin (1982 film)|Next of Kin]]'' while Puerto Rico's ''[[Pieces (film)|Pieces]]'' was filmed in [[Boston]] and [[Madrid]] by an Italian-American producer with a Spanish director. Italian ''gialli'' saw slasher film influences in their releases for [[Sergio Martino]]'s ''[[The Scorpion with Two Tails]]'', [[Lucio Fulci]]'s ''[[The New York Ripper]]'' and [[Dario Argento]]'s ''[[Tenebrae (film)|Tenebrae]]''.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=118–130}}

===1983===
Traditional slasher films saw less frequent output. ''[[The House on Sorority Row]]'' followed the same general plot as ''Prom Night'' (1980) with guilty teens stalked and punished for a terrible secret. ''[[The Final Terror]]'' borrows visual and thematic elements from ''[[Just Before Dawn (1981 film)|Just Before Dawn]]'' (1981), as ''[[Sweet Sixteen (1983 film)|Sweet Sixteen]]'' borrows from ''[[Happy Birthday to Me (film)|Happy Birthday to Me]]'' (1981). The most successful slasher of the year was ''[[Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'', which sold over 11&nbsp;million theatrical admissions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Psycho II |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0086154/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> The film also reunited original ''Psycho'' (1960) cast members [[Anthony Perkins]] and [[Vera Miles]].{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} ''[[10 to Midnight]],'' inspired by the real-life crimes of [[Richard Speck]], promoted star [[Charles Bronson]]'s justice-for-all character above its horror themes.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} [[Robert Hiltzik]]'s ''[[Sleepaway Camp]]'' was a home video hit, being unique for its [[Puberty|pubescent]] victims and themes of [[paedophilia]] and [[transvestism]]. ''Sleepaway Camp'' featured homosexual scenes, which were taboo at the time.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/02/the-sexual-politics-of-sleepaway-camp/|title=The Sexual Politics of Sleepaway Camp|last=Seibold|first=Witney|date=Feb 13, 2017|website=New Beverly Cinema|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=2018-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112230/http://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/02/the-sexual-politics-of-sleepaway-camp/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Canada, [[whodunit]] ''[[Curtains (1983 film)|Curtains]]'' had a brief theatrical life before finding new life on VHS, while criticism toward ''[[American Nightmare (film)|American Nightmare]]'''s portrayal of prostitutes, drug addicts, and [[Pornography addiction|pornography addicts]] hurt its video rentals.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} ''[[Sledgehammer (film)|Sledgehammer]]'' was shot-on-video for just $40,000, with a gender-reversal climax showing ''[[Playgirl]]'' model [[Ted Prior (actor)|Ted Prior]] as a "final guy."{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Other home video slashers from the year include ''[[Bloodbeat|Blood Beat]],'' ''[[Double Exposure (1982 film)|Double Exposure]]'', and ''[[Scalps (1983 film)|Scalps]]'', the latter claiming to be one of the most censored films in history.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=132–144}} Releases began to distance from the genre. The poster for ''[[Mortuary (1983 American film)|Mortuary]]'' features a hand bursting from the grave, though the undead have nothing to do with the film. Distributors were aware of fading box office profits, and they were attempting to hoodwink audiences into thinking long-shelved releases like ''Mortuary'' were different.

===1984===
The public had largely lost interest in theatrically released slashers, drawing a close to the Golden Age.<ref name="Clayton-2015"/><ref name="Harper04"/> Production rates plummeted and major studios all but abandoned the genre that, only a few years earlier, had been very profitable. Many 1984 slasher films with brief theatrical runs found varying degrees of success on home video, such as ''[[Splatter University]]'', ''[[Satan's Blade]]'', ''[[Blood Theatre]]'', ''[[Rocktober Blood]]'' and ''[[Fatal Games]]''. Movies like ''[[The Prey (1984 film)|The Prey]]'' and ''Evil Judgement'' were filmed years prior and finally were given small theatrical releases. ''[[Silent Madness]]'' used [[3D film|3D]] to ride the success of ''[[Friday the 13th Part III]]'' (1982), though the effect did not translate to the [[VHS]] format.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

''[[Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter]]'' brought the saga of [[Jason Voorhees]] to a close, with his demise the main marketing tool. It worked, with ''The Final Chapter'' selling 10&nbsp;million tickets in North America, hinting the series would continue even if Jason's demise marked a shift in the genre.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

This shift was emphasized by the controversy from ''[[Silent Night, Deadly Night]]'' (1984): Unlike the recent appearance of other [[Christmas horror]] films, including the same year's ''[[Don't Open till Christmas]]'', promotional material for ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' pictured a killer Santa with the tagline: "He knows when you've been naughty!" According to ''[[Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film]]'', a 2006 documentary, the movie "became the flashpoint, igniting protests across the nation".<ref>{{cite AV media |url= |title=[[Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film]] |date=2006 |type= |language= |publisher= |trans-title= |location= |time=49:54 |access-date= |format= |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= |people=}}</ref> Protesters picketed theaters playing the film with placards reading, "Deck the hall with holly&nbsp;– not bodies!"{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=142–152}}{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Released in November 1984 by [[TriStar Pictures]], persistent [[Caroling|carol]]-singers forced one [[Bronx, New York|Bronx]] cinema to pull ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' a week into its run. The widespread outrage led to the film's removal, with only 741,500 tickets sold.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=142–152}}{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

As interest in the Golden Age slasher waned, [[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' revitalized the genre by mixing fantasy and the supernatural in a cost-effective way. Craven had toyed with slasher films before in ''[[Deadly Blessing]]'' (1981), though he was frustrated that the genre he had helped create with ''[[The Last House on the Left (1972 film)|The Last House on the Left]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'' (1977) had not benefited him financially. Developing ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' since 1981, Craven recognized time running out due to declining revenues from theatrical slasher film releases.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tribecafilm.com/stories/wes-craven-obituary-tribute-last-house-on-left-nightmare-on-elm-street-scream|title=Master Class: How Wes Craven Reinvented the Horror Genre Three Decades in a Row|work=Tribeca|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=2016-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314060038/https://tribecafilm.com/stories/wes-craven-obituary-tribute-last-house-on-left-nightmare-on-elm-street-scream|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and especially its villain [[Freddy Krueger]] ([[Robert Englund]]) became cultural phenomenons.<ref name="Rolling Stone-2014">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/making-of-nightmare-on-elm-street-10-best-scenes-20141030|title=Behind the 10 Most Shocking 'Nightmare on Elm Street' Scenes|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 14, 2018|date=October 30, 2014}}</ref> On a budget of just $1.8&nbsp;million, the film was a commercial success, grossing more than $25.5 million (7.6 million admissions) in North America and launched one of the most successful film series in history.{{sfn|Nowell|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}<ref name="Rolling Stone-2014" /> ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' provided the success that [[New Line Cinema]] needed to become a major Hollywood company. To this day, New Line is referred to as "The House That Freddy Built".<ref>{{Cite news|title=How New Line Cinema Is Making a Killing in Horror|work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-new-line-cinema-is-912458|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> The final slasher film released during the Golden Age, ''[[The Initiation (film)|The Initiation]]'', was greatly overshadowed by ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (though both films feature dreams as plot points and a horribly burned "nightmare man").{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} The success of ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' welcomed in a new wave of horror films that relied on special effects, almost completely silencing the smaller low-budget Golden Age features.<ref name="Clayton-2015"/>{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pages=150–152}}