proto-slasher
38 movies and shows
Psycho
Wed, 22 Jun 1960
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
A Bay of Blood
Wed, 08 Sep 1971
An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.
Deep Red
Fri, 07 Mar 1975
An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal murder of his psychic neighbor. With the help of a tenacious young reporter, he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods. The two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia and violence.
Alice, Sweet Alice
Sat, 13 Nov 1976
Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?
Peeping Tom
Mon, 16 May 1960
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
House of Wax
Thu, 16 Apr 1953
A New York sculptor who opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures runs into trouble with his business partner, who demands that the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
The Spiral Staircase
Sat, 26 Jan 1946
On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.
A Bucket of Blood
Wed, 21 Oct 1959
Nerdy Walter Paisley, a maladroit busboy at a beatnik café who doesn't fit in with the cool scene around him, attempts to woo his beautiful co-worker, Carla, by making a bust of her. When his klutziness results in the death of his landlady's cat, he panics and hides its body under a layer of plaster. But when Carla and her friends enthuse over the resulting artwork, Walter decides to create some bigger and more elaborate pieces using the same artistic process.
Dementia 13
Wed, 25 Sep 1963
A widow deceives her late husband's mother and brothers into thinking he's still alive when she attends the yearly memorial to his drowned sister, hoping to secure his inheritance, but her cunning is no match for the demented, axe-wielding thing roaming the grounds of the family's Irish estate.
Strait-Jacket
Sun, 19 Jan 1964
After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.
The Bat
Sun, 14 Mar 1926
A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
The Severed Arm
Fri, 02 Nov 1973
Trapped in a cave, five men cut the arm off of another companion in order to ward off starvation. After they are saved, their victim seeks revenge on them one by one.
Scream Bloody Murder
Tue, 20 Feb 1973
A disturbed boy kills his father with his farm tractor and his arm is mangled in the process. He's taken to a mental hospital where he's outfitted with a hook to replace his lost hand and, years later, he's eventually released from the asylum. He returns home to find his mother has remarried, which sets him off on a murderous rampage.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Fri, 24 Dec 1976
When two young lovers are savagely beaten and tortured on a back country road in Texarkana, local police are baffled and must find "the Phantom Killer" before he can kill again.
The Leopard Man
Wed, 19 May 1943
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Corruption
Fri, 19 Jul 1968
A surgeon discovers that he can restore the beauty to his girlfriend's scarred face by murdering other women and extracting fluids from their pituitary gland. However, the effects only last for a short time, so he has to kill more and more women. It is ultimately a killing spree which ends with considerable death and disaster.
Maniac
Mon, 20 May 1963
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Frightmare
Tue, 05 Nov 1974
In 1957, Dorothy and Edmund Yates were committed to an institution for the criminally insane, she for acts of murder and cannibalism and he for covering up her crimes. Fifteen years later, they are pronounced fit for society and released. However, in Dorothy's case the doctors may have jumped the gun a bit. Edmund and eldest daughter, Jackie, try to discover just how far Mother's bloodlust has taken her. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Debbie begins to explore the crazy roots of her family tree as fully as possible.
The Comeback
Fri, 16 Jun 1978
A singer holes up at a sinister estate to write new songs for his act. His ex-wife is brutally murdered, and the killer may be stalking him next.