History Main / StockSlasher

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s Slim Shady character is sometimes presented as one of these, with a HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, especially on ''Relapse''. But he deviates from the template in a few significant ways -- he's small-framed with a [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon cuteness]] to him, and he also combines a few more [[Film/{{Psycho}} Hitchcockian]] traits like his horrible OedipusComplex and his ability to [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse appear disarming and normal]] until it's time to murder his victims.

* Ghostface from ''Franchise/{{Scream}}'' deconstructs the trope. When first appearing in ''Film/Scream1996'', initially, it's played straight: a single, presumably male figure in a black costume with a screaming mask who implacably hunts, stalks, and carves up his prey. It's also the only film in the franchise with [[spoiler:two male killers.]] However, when unmasked, it's revealed that [[spoiler:part of the reason for Ghostface's ubiquity is that there are actually two killers, switching out when time allows, and that both are actually covered in bruises and cuts from where their victims fought back.]] Later films twist the NighInvulnerable immortality that many iconic killers have by turning Ghostface into a LegacyCharacter, being a symbol that numerous people don, granting a degree of pseudo-immortality to the killer.

* In ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', the protagonists are [[TrappedInTVLand trapped in a B-list Horror]] that's effectively a knockoff of Friday the 13th and are forced to contend with Billy Murphy, who's effectively Jason in all all the ways that matter. The protagonists are forced to use their knowledge of horror movie genres to contend with Billy, who as a movie character [[ContractulGenreBlindness is still subject to the conventions of the genre]] including only being able to be killed by the FinalGirl.

See also HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, which is the result of this trope getting a ShallowParody, and SackheadSlasher, which frequently (but not always) overlaps with this trope. Compare and contrast with OurSlashersAreDifferent, which offers a bigger variety of monsters that technically fall within the moniker of "slasher".

See also HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, which is the result of this trope getting a ShallowParody, and SackheadSlasher, which frequently (but not always) overlaps with this trope. Compare and contrast with OurSlashersAreDifferent, which offers a bigger variety of slashers.

See also HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, which is the result of this trope getting a ShallowParody, and SackheadSlasher, which frequently (but not always) overlaps with this trope. Compare and contrast with OurSlashersAreDifferent.

* They are usually [[EvilIsBigger tall]], towering their victims. They are also very robust, [[MadeOfIron major injuries are like itches to them]], sometimes justifed by the fact that they possess paranormal attributes, but more often than not, they just [[BadassNormal appear to be human]].
* [[MenAreTough Because of the above]], they are usually male. They are also very often Caucasian by virtue of being [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of such characters. However [[CyclicTrope this trope has been subverted so many times that it is bound to not be the standard anymore]].
* They wear a mask - bonus point if the mask is [[WhiteMaskOfDoom white]] or a [[SackheadSlasher burlap]] - or they have a disformed face. Often they have both.
* They usually [[DoesntLikeGuns don't like using guns]] and prefer using mundane tools as their WeaponOfChoice. Said tools will be a knife, a machette or a chainsaw. They may use a variety of weapons but one of them is more recurring than the others.
* They [[SilentAntagonist rarely talk if at all]]. For additional creepiness, they may have a [[VaderBreath loud raspy breath]].

See also HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, which is the result of this trope getting a ShallowParody, which frequently (but not always) overlaps with this trope. Compare and contrast with OurSlashersAreDifferent.

* ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'': While the game does feature various gang members dressing as slasher killers (The Skinz, a white nationalist gang, wear hockey masks, the Babyfaces, a gang of pedophilic child murderers, wear white featureless masks, and the Smileys, a gang composed of insane asylum inmates, wear yellow masks). Piggsy is the straightest example of this as he wears nothing but the severed head of a pig as a mask while carrying a chainsaw, his dialogue appears disorganized and mixed with pig squeals, and he's the cannibalistic star of a snuff film franchise. [[spoiler: He only appears in ''Deliverance'' and Cash is locked in the attic with him and scavenge for weapons before Piggsy finds him.]]

* They usaully [[DoesntLikeGuns don't like using guns]] and would rather use mundane tools as their WeaponOfChoice. Said tools will be a knife, a machette or a chainsaw. They may use a variety of weapons but one of them is more recurring than the others.

* [[MenAreTough Because of the above]], they are usually male. They are also very often Caucasian by virtue of being [[Expy Expies]] of such characters. However [[CyclicTrope this trope has been subverted so many times that it is bound to not be the standard anymore]].

* They usaully [[DoesntLikeGun don't like using guns]] and would rather use mundane tools as their WeaponOfChoice. Said tools will be a knife, a machette or a chainsaw. They may use a variety of weapons but one of them is more recurring than the others.

Your average character of the stock slasher archetype will usually exhibit the following characteristics:
* They will be a [[TheBrute hulking, imposing]] ImplacableMan who's [[MadeOfIron incredibly hard to put down]]; in some cases, they will be [[NighInvulnerable supernaturally tough]] or even [[TheUndead undead]]. Despite this, they're often [[LightningBruiser faster than you'd expect]]. [[MenAreTough For obvious reasons]], this trope is AlwaysMale.
* Their face will be either covered, usually with a [[MalevolentMaskedMen unique mask]], or [[RedRightHand severely deformed]] -- often both. Bonus point if the mask is [[WhiteMaskOfDoom white]].
* They wield a [[WeaponOfChoice distinctive]], often [[{{BFS}} oversized]] or [[ImprobableWeaponUser improbable]] weapon. In parodies, this will almost always be [[HockeyMaskAndChainsaw a chainsaw]]. They usually [[DoesntLikeGuns don't like using guns]].
* They [[SilentAntagonist rarely, if ever]] speak, letting their body language do all the communicating their victims need.

See also HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, which is the result of this trope getting a ShallowParody, and SackheadSlasher, which frequently (but not always) overlaps with this trope. Compare and contrast with OurSlashersAreDifferent.

* Their face will be either covered, usually with a [[MalevolentMaskedMen unique mask]], or [[RedRightHand severely deformed]] -- often both!
* They wield a [[WeaponOfChoice distinctive]], often [[{{BFS}} oversized]] or [[ImprobableWeaponUser improbable]] weapon. In parodies, this will almost always be [[HockeyMaskAndChainsaw a chainsaw]].
* They [[TheQuietOne rarely]], [[TheVoiceless if ever]] speak, letting their body language do all the communicating their victims need.

* Averted in ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'', despite its heavy influence from ''Halloween'', as the killer turns out to be the ordinary woman Pamela Voorhees. Subsequent films in [[Franchise/FridayThe13th the franchise]] would begin to play into the trope with the introduction of her son Jason as the primary antagonist, though he wouldn't get his iconic mask until ''Film/FridayThe13thPartIII''.

* ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'' features "the Psycho," a tall, bulky man in coveralls who wears a clown (or zombie) mask and occasionally wields a machete. Despite his appearance, he prefers complex traps with {{Sadistic Choice}}s over mindless brute force, which makes him closer to [[Franchise/{{Saw}} Jigsaw]]. He's implied to be a disgruntled employee of the Washington family. [[spoiler: Turns out, however, that he's actually Josh Washington playing an elaborate (and exceptionally cruel) prank on his friends as revenge for them indirectly getting his sisters killed. The slasher elements are a deliberate homage InUniverse.]]

* ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'' features "the Psycho," a tall, bulky man in coveralls who wears a clown mask and occasionally wields a machete. Despite his appearance, he prefers complex traps with {{Sadistic Choice}}s over mindless brute force, which makes him closer to [[Franchise/{{Saw}} Jigsaw]]. He's implied to be a disgruntled employee of the Washington family. [[spoiler: Turns out, however, that he's actually Josh Washington playing an elaborate (and exceptionally cruel) prank on his friends as revenge for them indirectly getting his sisters killed. The slasher elements are a deliberate homage InUniverse.]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]

* Averted with ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'', despite its heavy influence from ''Halloween'', [[spoiler:as the killer is the ordinary woman Pamela Voorhees]]; subsequent films in [[Franchise/FridayThe13th the franchise]] would play into this trope more with the introduction of Jason as the primary antagonist, though he wouldn't get his iconic mask until ''Film/FridayThe13thPartIII''.

* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'': Recurring playable character and SeriesMascot Needles Kane is a serial killer who wears makeup (or a mask, depending on the game) resembling a MonsterClown. His signature weapon a is serrated machete, but he's better known for Sweet Tooth, a heavily modified ice cream van (to the extent that [[IAmNotShazam he's often known as Sweet Tooth]] himself).

* ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'': While the game does feature various gang members dressing as slasher killers (The Skinz, a white nationalist gang, wear hockey masks, the Babyfaces, a gang of pedophilic child murderers, wear white featureless masks, and the Smileys, a gang composed of insane asylum inmates, wear yellow masks). Piggsy is the straightest example of this as he wears nothing but the severed head of a pig as a mask while carrying a chainsaw, his dialogue appears disorganized and mixed with pig squeals. [[spoiler: He only appears in ''Deliverance'' and Cash is locked in the attic with him and scavenge for weapons before Piggsy finds him.]]

* Deconstructed, as with so many horror film tropes, in ''Film/Scream1996''. Initially, it's played straight: a single, presumably male figure in a black costume with a screaming mask who implacably hunts, stalks, and carves up his prey. It's also the only film in the franchise with [[spoiler:two male killers.]] However, when unmasked, it's revealed that [[spoiler:part of the reason for Ghostface's ubiquity is that there are actually two killers, switching out when time allows, and that both are actually covered in bruises and cuts from where their victims fought back.]]