Movies like Friday the 13th are popular for a reason. They’re thrilling, suspenseful, and downright scary at times. If you’re looking for a good scare or want to enjoy a well-made thriller, these movies are definitely for you. Here are some of our favorites, each sure to send chills down your spine.
Slasher Films
A slasher film is a movie genre that typically features a killer who stalks and murders his victims. These films are often bloody and violent and often feature suspenseful chase scenes. Friday the 13th is one of the most famous slasher films and is an excellent example of this genre.
If you’re looking for a good scare, check out some of our other favorite films. We’ve listed some of our favorites below, each one sure to send chills down your spine.
Scream (1996)
The 1997 release of Scream, written by Wes Craven, proved that a great horror movie could make fun of all the campy horror tropes and go on to create a very successful franchise. They even used the classic location of Crystal Lake. Another great reference to classic horror was the film’s star, Drew Barrymore, who is killed in typical slasher fashion. Her friends find her dead at the movie’s beginning, just like in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho.
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
The Cabin in the Woods is a love letter to the slasher genre, and it’s also a unique concept. The movie follows a group of friends who travel to a remote cabin for a vacation, only to find that they are being stalked by a psychotic killer. A horror movie that’s also a comedy, The Cabin in the Woods is a must-watch for any fan of the genre. High school students are disappearing from a small town in Maine, and the only thing that stands in the way of their escape is a masked killer with a serious grudge.
Holiday Horror Movie
Holiday-themed horror films or holiday horror are a subgenre of horror films set during holidays. The subgenre often overlaps with slasher films, as many holiday horror films feature elements of the slasher serial subgenre. Holiday horror films can be presented in a variety of different ways, but they all share one common goal: to instill fear in the viewer during what is typically considered to be a happy time of year. The horror movie loves nothing more than to take our favorite holidays and turn them into nightmare fuel.
Halloween (1978)
Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees have a lot in common. Both wear masks while they kill people with no real explanation or motive. There’s something oddly compelling about these men who seem so laser-focused on their murderous intentions, with the exception of killing teenagers who probably wouldn’t put up much of a fight anyway. Despite numerous sequels and complicated chronology, Halloween is still popular, despite the fact that Michael is slain frequently. Only time will tell what happens next.
Halloween is a 1978 American independent film directed and produced by John Carpenter, co-written with producer Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut. The film tells the story of serial killer Michael Myers as he stalks and kills teenage babysitters on Halloween night.
If we had to pick one of the most similar movies, this would be it the Halloween franchise has influenced an entire horror genre. The film is credited with originating many of the tropes associated with the slasher movie genre, including the final girl trope and being the first film to depict a killer wearing a featureless mask. The horror movies that followed in its wake would owe a huge debt to Halloween, as it set the template for the genre.
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck.
The film tells the story of a group of young adults who are terrorized by a miner seeking revenge for the death of his friends in a mining accident.
My Bloody Valentine was one of the first slasher films to be released in 3D, which was used to enhance the film’s gory violence.
While it was not a major box office success upon its initial release, the film has since become a cult classic, with many fans considering it one of the best slasher films ever made.
Scary Villain
We all know that one of the key ingredients to a good horror movie is a scary villain. And in the Friday the 13th franchise, that villain is definitely Jason Voorhees. He’s a masked killer who seems to be impossible to stop, and he’s responsible for some of the most iconic death scenes in all of horror movie history. Here we wanted to look at two films that are known to be two of the scariest because the villains are almost as legendary as Jason Voorhees.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare On Elm Street is another classic slasher movie, and it also features a very iconic villain in Freddy Krueger. Like Jason, Freddy is also responsible for some truly gruesome death scenes. But what makes Freddy even more terrifying is the fact that he can kill you in your dreams. There’s no escape from him, and he’s always lurking around every corner. If you’re looking for a good scare, then this is definitely the movie for you.
Child’s Play
Child’s Play is a horror movie with a very popular scary villain. It features a very eerie and creepy doll named Chucky, who comes to life and starts killing people. It’s a truly suspenseful and scary movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you’re looking for a good scare, this is definitely the movie for you. The doll is horrifying, and it’s a wonder that this movie is not more well-known. It’s definitely one of the most underrated horror movies out there.
Low-budget film
A low-budget or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no money. Low-budget films are often used as a launching pad for the careers of first-time directors or actors who cannot secure funding for more expensive projects. Independent film companies also make many low-budget films on a shoestring budget.
Some low-budget films have achieved cult status, while others have been critical and commercial successes.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a 1986 American psychological horror crime film directed and co-written by John McNaughton, starring Michael Rooker as the eponymous Henry. The film is based on the real-life crimes of Henry Lee Lucas, with additional material based on the confession of Ottis Toole. It stars Michael Rooker in his breakout role as the eponymous serial killer, Henry. Henry was filmed in 1985 but had difficulty finding a distributor.
Hush (2016)
We wanted to include this movie in the list because we feel it’s an often missed low-budget classic. Hush was directed by Mike Flanagan, who co-wrote the story with his girlfriend and lead actress starring, Kate Siegel. The same elements as Friday the 13th influenced the film. Silence can be a killer is the tag line and features a masked young man with dark secrets who goes on a killing spree. This is about a deaf woman trapped in an isolated cabin who doesn’t have five friends. The horror is amplified because she is alone.
Serial Killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons, with the murders occurring over more than a month and including a significant time between them. The FBI defines serial killing as “a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone”.
While crimes are often committed in passion, serial killings generally involve much premeditation and planning.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American horror-thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Scott Glenn. Adapted by Ted Tally from Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel of the same name, it follows Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who seeks the advice of the imprisoned Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist, and cannibalistic serial killer, to catch another serial killer, known only as “Buffalo Bill”.
Seven (1995)
Seven (stylized as SE7EN) is a 1995 American neo-noir crime thriller directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, and R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey. Andrew Kevin Walker wrote the screenplay, and Arnold Kopelson produced the film.
The plot revolves around two detectives, David Mills (Pitt) and William Somerset (Freeman), hunting a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. The film’s title refers to the seven sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, lust, pride and wrath.
How many Friday the 13th Installments are there?
If you are a fan of Jason Voorhees, the character has been played by eight different actors. There are currently 12 movies, plus the Freddy vs Jason film. The films have grossed over $468 million at the box office worldwide and was the top grossing franchise until the last installment from the Halloween films.
Will there be another Friday 13 movie?
Currently, there is an ongoing legal debacle between original Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller and director Sean Cunningham have put the series on. While the lawsuit was settled, the two parties needed to come to some kind of agreement before a new movie could be filmed.
Other similar horror movies.
Be sure to catch Norman Bates as a homicidal maniac in Psycho. Also, take a look at Urban Legend, which probably belongs on the list. We were careful not to include any paranormal investigators movies in the list, but we do highly recommend the third installment filmed decades ago. We know that a new generation will be afraid to go to sleepaway camp at camp crystal lake after watching these films. If they go, we hope they don’t meet a friend like Tommy Jarvis. Are our nightmares caused by a supernatural entity or slasher movies at a summer camp with a young girl getting attacked by a sadistic killer on a killing spree?
Most of all, we regret leaving Texas Chainsaw Massacre off our list, which is another great story featuring high school students trapped inside a house being chased by a masked figure who will ultimately murder his victims.