Your Best Movie Monster Ever Revealed, Plus Vote Here on the Greatest Slasher

With Halloween right around the corner, and everyone having mainlined horror movies all month leading up to this ghoulish night, it’s time to settle, once and for all, the question of “who is the greatest slasher in all of horror cinema?”

Since Haddonfield’s heinous bogeyman, Michael Myers, kicked off the slasher genre of the the late ’70s/early ’80s in John Carpenter’s Halloween, he’s an obvious top choice. Then there’s Springwood’s nefarious nightmare man, Freddy Krueger, who can creep inside your dreams and murder you after you’ve dozed off watching Netflix. And let’s not forget Chucky, the killer doll who’s been terrorizing kids and grownups alike for over 30 years. And last but not least there’s the Crystal Lake Killer, hockey-masked maniac Jason Voorhees. This is the brawl to settle it all.

There are some fun videos for y’all to check out below that plead our case, followed by a poll where you can cast your official vote for the best scary movie murderer of all time!

And then be sure to also check out the results of our Movie Monster Face Off, where the slashers went against all manner of ghosts, ghouls, and grotesqueries and you, the IGN voter, chose the best!

friday1Are you the outdoorsy type? Do you thrive in nature? Or are you like us and scream “what the f*** was that?” every time a leaf gently brushes against a twig?

Castles have Draculas, remote science outposts have Things, the sewers have ITs (*whispers* and maybe CHUDS), the hills have eyes, and the woods…the woods have Jasons.

That’s right, as we all know, forests are filled with Jasons. Just hacking and slashing their way through campers, hikers, paintballers, skinny dippers, and anyone who’s ever said “Hey, you know what’s fun? Being cold and vulnerable near some trees!”

Jason Voorhees is the People’s Slasher, if you will. The uncrowned champion of indoor kids everywhere. In the realm of horror, Jason is the main event. The headliner. The marquee monster. With his effortlessly famous look — which includes a hockey mask and a machete and sometimes maybe hair — Jason is known all over the world – even to non-horror fans. Show someone a hockey mask and they’re not going to say “that reminds me of olympic gold medalist goalie Jim Craig.” They’re going to say “Oh, that’s the swampy guy who kills all the teenagers. We love him. Specifically because of the teenager killing.”

The Friday the 13th movies didn’t always feature Jason (sometimes it was his mom, occasionally an imposter), but when this backwoods brute got to shine, either as a horror hillbilly or (eventually) an undead zombie, he was the one you rooted for in his movies. He’s battled a telekinetic girl, went on a cruise, visited Times Square, got blown up by the FBI, killed virtual teens in a spaceship holodeck, and clashed with Freddy Krueger. Yes, Jason is the Tintin book series of slasher cinema.

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Follow your dreams, they tell you. Dream big, they say. A dream is a wish your heart makes, Cinderella sang. Well Cinderella and “they” were full of s*** because Freddy Krueger, the infamous Springwood Slasher, can kill you in those freakin’ dreams of yours.

Yes, once upon a time, a cruel and vicious child murderer – that’s right, child murderer – had horror fans eating out of the palm of his knife hand because he ruled over the dreamscape and could turn his victims into puppets, pizza toppings, cockroaches and – er – side-scrolling platformers.

Also, let’s face it – dude had jokes. Watch the video above to hear why you should consider Freddy Krueger as your choice for Greatest Horror Movie Slasher of All Time!

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In the late ‘80s, slasher movies took on a more supernatural feel and Chucky, the creepy doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer from Child’s Play, has been menacing moviegoers ever since. And Chucky was an instant hit because no matter what generation you’re from, there was a toy you simply had to get your rotten mitts on. You know, those must-have gifts that caused all of your parents to hate you.

What? You don’t believe Chucky belongs on Mount Slashmore? You think guys like Freddy and Jason and Michael Myers tower over him? Well, you’re right about that last part, of course, because he ver smol, but Chucky’s been killing it for decades and all seven Chucky movies (not counting the 2019 Child’s Play remake) take place in one timeline. That’s right, there’s no break in continuity. That’s rare for horror (especially Halloween, which is just a multiverse at this point). Watch the silly video above to hear our pitch for why Chucky’s one of the all-time greats!

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In 1978, John Carpenter straight-up scared the s*** out of audiences with Halloween – the story of a mute maniac, Michael Myers, who returns to his hometown after escaping a nearby mental hospital where he’d spent the previous 15 years terrifying his court-appointed psychiatrist. So much that the poor man now thought Michael was nothing but a creepy husk covering pure evil.

Halloween single-knifedly gave birth to the slasher boom of the era. The film’s iconic score, kick-ass final girl (Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode), and instantly mesmerizing maniac made for an unexpected box office smash, launching an entire wave of horror movies that would dominate theaters for the next five years. And of all the maniacs mentioned on this list, Michael is the most relevant today given 2018’s hit rebootquel and the two other films — Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends — that are on the horizon. Anyhow, check out our Michael Myers video above to hear our proud plea as to why “The Shape” is the sinister slasher to beat.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.