Horror television series can be hard to come by. There are a good amount of crime thrillers out there, many scary science fiction series, but a real slasher that leans heavily into the horror elements isn't one of the most popular genres. MTV's Scream series, as well as Ryan Murphy works like Scream Queens and of course American Horror Story have all made their mark, but it still feels like a rare find.
With horror fans looking for some gory TV shows to watch, one Canadian show took on the task of filling that hole. It's an anthology series, structured similarly to American Horror Story in the sense that every season has the same actors playing different characters in a totally new story that viewers can get immersed in. The show is called Slasher, and it certainly lives up to its name. While it may not necessarily be a "good" show, it nails its horror elements making for a really fun viewing experience.
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Slasher consists of three full seasons which premiered on Netflix, and a fourth one that has just premiered its first batch of episodes on Shudder in USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Each of them follows some pretty typical slasher story structures, with one unknown masked killer attacking a group of interconnected people in a single setting. The show typically leaves the unmasking of the killer as a fun surprise towards the end, and always has plenty of creative and gory kills.
As a whole, the writing and acting of these series are pretty bad. It can be a little awkward and more than a little cheesy. Where Slasher excels though is the creativity in executing its horror elements, as well as its inclusivity. The game of guessing who the killer is is always fun, and the motives have been interesting. The kills are also extremely creative, and extremely graphic. Some people might not see that as a positive to the series, but many horror fans will.
All seasons of the show have focused on a single killer, who is secretly a main character of the show. While the unveiling of these villains has been hit or miss in terms of their motives and reasoning, and how much of a surprise they are, people love to make a game out of their television series. People who enjoy crime thrillers with shocking endings will love the game that they can make out of Slasher. Picking up on clues and trying to piece things together always adds a good element to a television series, and it's a great talking point. It's also often a key element in a traditional slasher, which fans of the genre will appreciate.
The kills here are also absolutely fantastic. They're creative and brutal and often haven't been seen before. Nothing seems to be off-limits with the amount of gore, and the ways that people can use normal objects to kill people. Slasher has been incredibly brave when it comes to portraying the violence it does and many fans of the genre will appreciate that. It's a little reminiscent of torture works like Saw in that sense, but there's clearly different intention. Horror fans want to see people push the boundaries of horror and what can be done and shown. It's a sense of excitement and danger, but with no risk at all. Showing something incredibly gory, that does have well-done special effects and cinematography, is one of the best ways to achieve that in a work of horror. Especially, a slasher.
A great aspect of this show that doesn't really have anything to do with its horror elements and is often overlooked, is its inclusivity. Consistently, especially in its third and fourth seasons, Slasher has been inclusive in portraying people of a variety of religions, races, social classes, and genders. And it's done in a respectful and realistic way, not in a way that feels like tokenism. Horror is a genre that has been used a lot to make commentary on things like politics and societal issues, and Slasher doesn't really do that. It does sometimes, but often the characters are just characters and not there to serve some sort of commentary purpose. Even if other aspects of the show need to be fixed to make it just technically better, uplifting a show with diversity is something most people will find important.
As a whole, Slasher is three seasons of good fun and a lot of blood and guts. Season four hasn't been fully released yet, but the first few episodes are out on Shudder in America as well as Australia & New Zealand. The rest of the world is meant to get it soon, but with no concrete dates yet. Hopefully, they continue to excel in their strengths and work on improving their flaws. With some changes, this show could really stand out and go down as a horror classic.
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