The term “slasher film” was common parlance by the mid–1980s but the horror subgenre it describes was at least a decade old by then—formerly referred to as “stalker,” “psycho” or “slice-’em-up.” Examining 74 movies—from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) to Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)—the author identifies the characteristic elements of the subgenre while tracing changes in narrative patterns over the decades. The slasher canon is divided into three eras: the classical (1974–1993), the self-referential (1994–2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000–2013).
| Acknowledgments |
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| Introduction |
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1 | (4) |
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1 A Theoretical and Historical Approach to Slasher Films |
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5 | (42) |
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Slasher Films: A Horror Subgenre |
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5 | (13) |
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The Semantic/Syntactic Elements of Slasher Films |
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18 | (16) |
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The Cycles of the Slasher Film Subgenre |
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34 | (11) |
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An Epilog to the Theoretical and Historical Approach |
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45 | (2) |
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2 The Classical Cycle of Slasher Films |
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47 | (20) |
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The Normality of the Classical Cycle |
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48 | (7) |
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The Other of the Classical Cycle |
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55 | (5) |
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The Final Survivors of the Classical Cycle |
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60 | (4) |
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The Victims of the Classical Cycle |
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64 | (1) |
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An Epilog on the Classical Cycle |
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65 | (2) |
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3 The Self-Referential Cycle of Slasher Films |
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67 | (22) |
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The Normality of the Self-Referential Cycle |
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69 | (5) |
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The Other of the Self-Referential Cycle |
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74 | (5) |
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The Final Survivors of the Self-Referential Cycle |
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79 | (5) |
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The Victims of the Self-Referential Cycle |
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84 | (3) |
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An Epilog on the Self-Referential Cycle |
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87 | (2) |
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4 The Neoslasher Cycle of Slasher Films |
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89 | (41) |
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The Normality of the Neoslasher Cycle |
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90 | (15) |
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The Other of the Neoslasher Cycle |
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105 | (7) |
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The Final Survivors of the Neoslasher Cycle |
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112 | (10) |
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The Victims of the Neoslasher Cycle |
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122 | (6) |
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An Epilog on the Neoslasher Cycle |
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128 | (2) |
| Conclusions |
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130 | (5) |
| Appendix A Films Referenced |
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135 | (6) |
| Appendix B Semantic Elements |
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141 | (4) |
| Chapter Notes |
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145 | (10) |
| Filmography |
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155 | (4) |
| Bibliography |
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159 | (8) |
| Index |
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167 | |
Sotiris Petridis is an adjunct professor at Hellenic Open University, Greece. His research interests are about film and television genres, audiovisual horror, screenwriting theory and practice, viral marketing, and the new ways of film and television promotion and has written academic books and articles on cinema and audiovisual narrative. He is a member of the European Film Academy and the Greek Film Academy.
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