Who does not like serial killers who wear masks and wield machetes? Before the 1990s, the slasher sub-genre of horror was all the rage. Wes Craven’s “Scream,” a satirical take on slasher films, helped reveal the cliches that are frequently abused in the genre. After “Scream,” slasher films shifted away from the mainstream. Innovative slashers began to develop in the 2000s. It not only provided us a darker take on iconic villains like Leatherface and Michael Myers, but it also introduced some new villains that tried to follow in their footsteps.
The various incarnations of Ghostface pursuing Sidney not only exposed the genre’s flaws but also encouraged a critical attitude toward slasher films. The filmmakers were inspired to challenge the audience’s skepticism in the aftermath of Scream. We have put up a list of underappreciated modern slasher villains from the twenty-first century. We will get right into our discussion of the eleven modern slasher villains who demand your attention without further ado.
Leslie Vernon – Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Shot in the style of a documentary film, “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” tells the tale of an aspiring serial killer. With Voorhees, Krueger, and Myers as his inspiration, his goal is to master the art of fear. He hires a crew to document his rise to power as a serial killer. Taylor Gentry interviews Leslie one-on-one and learns about the details and tricks of the trade. Leslie also shares the negative aspects and pitfalls in the career of a serial killer and the unwritten rules a serial killer has to abide by.
Leslie introduces the crew to Eugene, his mentor, and retired serial killer. Eugene gives them an insight into how the industry has evolved over the years and how it’s tougher for the new generation of serial killers in comparison to the old ones. Leslie reveals his plan to Taylor and shows her Kelly Curtis, the girl he is targeting to be his ‘survivor’. He plans to execute all of her peers and hopes that she’ll stand up to him for a final showdown. He asks for Taylor’s assistance in a ‘fly-by’ scare, outside the diner where Kelly is employed. He plans a red herring where he intends to kill someone Kelly knows but isn’t as close, and targets Mrs. Collinwood, the librarian. Just as Leslie is about to kill Mrs. Collinwood, he is interrupted by Dr. Halloran, his former therapist.
Leslie was pleased by the interruption and believed Halloran was his ‘Ahab’; a representation of all the good in the world and someone to counterbalance Leslie’s evil activities. Taylor begins to realize that Leslie was serious about his plans to kill Kelly and her friends and tries to warn Kelly that her life is in danger. Meanwhile, Leslie Vernon had been lying about his real name to blend in with the urban legend surrounding the town. He pretends to be Leslie Vernon, a boy the townspeople had executed after he turned on his father and killed his mother.
It was a tradition amongst young students to spend a night at the Vernon farmhouse, rumored to be haunted by the spirit of Molly Vernon. Leslie surveys the scene before the night of the event and prepares to avert any surprises for him. He even pre-cut the window-side tree limbs to ensure that no one escapes from the windows will survive. The crew follows Leslie to the farmhouse, while Taylor still hopes that Leslie is joking about slaughtering everyone. Once the crew realizes how wrong they were, they flee the scene.
Leslie warns the crew against disrupting his plans and continues to kill. Taylor and the crew go inside to warn Kelly of the danger she is in. Suddenly Taylor grasps that it had always been her who was supposed to be Leslie’s survivor girl and not Kelly. Once again Dr. Halloran arrives at the scene to stop Leslie but it doesn’t end well. In the end, only Taylor and Leslie remain and Taylor finds herself in a final showdown as predicted by Leslie. She puts an end to Leslie’s terrors by crushing his head against an apple grinder. She then escapes after setting the barn on fire.
Billy Murphy – The Final Girls (2015)
“The Final Girls” is the story of a group of friends who find themselves transported into the 1986 fictitious slasher film, Camp Bloodbath. Billy Murphy is the wooden mask-wearing, a machete-wielding villain who goes around killing people moments after they have been intimate. According to the storyline of Camp Bloodbath, Billy was a poor and shy kid who was often bullied by other children.
When some of the bullies set off a bunch of firecrackers to scare him, he ended up with third-degree burns all over his body. The thought of exacting his revenge was the only thing that distracted Billy from his pain. Years later, Billy settled down in a cabin near the campsite and started tormenting the camp goers. Billy wanted to induce the same fear upon everyone as the night he had suffered the tremendous pain.
On her mother’s third anniversary, Max and her friends attend the double feature screening of ‘Camp Bloodbath’ and ‘Camp Bloodbath 2: Cruel Summer’, a franchise her mother starred in. After some of the audience members accidentally set the theatre on fire, Max and her friends somehow get transported into the set of the first film. The group comprehends how they could also end up as victims after Duncan is killed off by Billy Murphy.
They try to prevent the cast members from getting intimate, as one often falls prey to Billy moments after the act in Camp Bloodbath. They alert the cast about the reality of the urban legend of Billy and that their lives were in danger. The group and the cast try to escape from the crutches of Billy. After being decapitated with his own machete by the final girl, the end credits for Camp Bloodbath begin to play. To their dismay, instead of returning to real life, Max and her friends find themselves in the sequel of the slasher thriller.
Satan Man – Satan’s Little Helper (2004)
“Satan’s Little Helper” is a dark horror comedy, revolving around a nine-year-old Dougie, who unintentionally ends up assisting a serial killer into killing his family. Dougie was obsessed with the video game where he plays Satan’s, Little Helper. His sister Jenna visits them on Halloween but Doug doesn’t like the fact that she’s brought her boyfriend Alex. Dougie wanders off after an argument with Jenna and comes across a man who seems to be decorating his lawn with a dead body. Believing the man to be Satan, Dougie asks for his assistance in sending Alex to Hell. Knowing Dougie’s fondness for the game, Alex comes up with the plan to dress up as Satan and bond with the little guy.
After Dougie fails to lure Alex into the basement to Satan, he modifies the plan to have him ambushed, while Alex leaves to shop for his costume. Dougie brings Satan home and everyone assumes him to be Alex in Satan’s costume. His aggressive behavior is interpreted as Alex’s devotion to the costume. Satan not only kills a beggar, Alex’s father, and several strangers but also kills the policemen and sets fire to the station.
When Dougie shares the stories of his adventures with Satan, Jenna begins to think that Alex is taking things too far. Jenna is frightened once she realizes that the person behind the costume isn’t Alex. Satan kills Dougie’s father and abducts their mother. When the kids go after him, they believe the culprit to be Alex’s father. Jenna and Mrs. Whooly accidentally kill Alex and are left behind with Dougie as the movie comes to an abrupt end. A policeman is seen spray painting an additional 6 to their 66 address.
The Mountain Man – Cold Prey (2006)
Cold Prey opens in the 1970s with a boy with a birthmark running through the blizzard. The police interrogate the boy’s parents about his disappearance while an unseen pursuer buries the boy alive in a ditch, covering it with ice. Over the years, many people go missing while passing through the mountain. In the present day, Eirik, Jannicke, Ingunn, Mikal, and Morten are seen driving through the mountain. They leave their car to go snowboarding. Morten ends up taking a bad fall and injuring his leg. With no cellphone coverage to ask for help, the group searches for a place to seek shelter. They end up at a hotel that had been abandoned for years.
The group breaks in to look around for equipment to help Morten. Once darkness dawns, they decide to stay at the hotel overnight. Eirik, Ingunn and Mikal explore the resort and Jannicke stays back with Morten. Eirik finds the generator and begins fixing it. In the meantime, Jannicke comes across a guestbook from the ’70s and reads the message “Never give up hope, we know you’ll find your son.” As the night progresses, they discover that they were in mortal danger and not the only ones crashing at the hotel.
Grier Olav Brath, also known as the Mountain Man, kills anyone trespassing at the mountain lodge. Grier had a rough upbringing, his mother had married a man who continued to abuse him and ended up burying him alive. Grier managed to survive and ended up stabbing his parents to death. Their deaths were written off as victims of an avalanche. He was found and raised by Jon Stølen, who taught him how to hunt animals without getting caught. After the group sought shelter at the mountain lodge, Grier brutally stabbed and murdered Ingunn.
He knocked Eirik unconscious and attempted to kill Mikal. Mikal too gets murdered after coming face to face with the mountain man. When Jannicke goes after Grier with a shotgun, he uses Eirik as his human shield. Afraid to hurt her lover, she pauses for a second but Grier murders Eirik in front of her eyes. He goes after the remaining survivors and kills Morten. Knocking Jannicke unconscious, he leaves her behind believing her to be dead. While Grier prepares to dump the corpses in the ravine, Jannicke regains consciousness and attacks him. Jannicke manages to unmask and stab him with his ice pick. Grier falls back into the ravine, thinking of the day he was buried alive under the ice by his parents.
Ted Radford – Midnight Movie (2008)
Ted Radford suffers from a mental breakdown forty years after directing and starring in the slasher movie “The Dark Beneath”. It revolves around a group of friends being hunted down by a masked killer. While Ted is admitted to the psychiatric ward, his doctor decides to show him the movie, despite Dr. Wayne’s warning. The next morning, Dr. Wayne arrives at a scene of mass slaughter, but there are no bodies to be found. Ted had somehow managed to transport himself into the movie. Five years later, when the local theatre plays “The Dark Beneath”, a small group of audience arrives to watch the movie.
Dr. Wayne reaches with Detective Barrons, trusting Radford to make an appearance. Kenny gets attacked by the killer from the movie, after going to the basement to retrieve stock and is stabbed to death. His death plays for the audience to watch, who conclude it to be a part of the movie. Sully gets jumped by the killer next while returning from the washroom. His friends assume that he’s playing an elaborate prank but Rachel gets skewered to death as well. They begin investigating the case.
While trying to reach out for help, they realize that their phones do not have a signal. Radford makes a sudden appearance and slits Dr. Wayne’s throat. The detective shoots Radford but it has no effect. On the screen, Dr. Wayne is seen getting dragged to a basement. While the group tries to escape through the upstairs window, it slams on Samantha’s finger, leaving them trapped. The detective tries to save Samantha but Radford kills them both. The survivors luckily accomplish in attracting the attention of a police officer nearby, but Radford manages to hide the group from his sight. The group proceeds to try and break the projector after the officer leaves.
Timmy and the others hide in the ventilator and Harley succeeds to break the projector in time to save Josh from Radford’s attack. But the projector self-repairs and Radford returns to chase the group. While Harley, Babe, and Timmy hide from him in the closet, he stabs Harley with a corkscrew and the rest sneak away. Bridget, Josh, and Mario return to the theatre to watch Babe getting pierced dead. Radford electrocutes Mario after he ditches his friends. Bridget and Timmy get stuck on the screen fighting Radford. Before the end credits roll, she sacrifices herself and sends Timmy back to the real world, making him the sole survivor.
Art the Clown – Terrifier (2016)
After leaving a Halloween party, Tara and Dawn notice a strange man in a clown costume lurking nearby, as they walk towards Dawn’s car. The clown follows them to the pizzeria, but he is escorted outside by the owner, for dirtying the bathroom walls. Tara calls her sister Vicky to pick them up after finding Dawn’s tires slashed. Tara enters a building apartment to use the washroom and meets a deluded woman who believes a doll is her child. Art the clown returns to the pizzeria to kill two of their workers and abducts Dawn.
Art pursues Tara through the indoor mechanics’ garage and stabs her with a scalpel. Art drugs her before she can alert Mike, the pest control worker. He saws Dawn in half after Tara regains consciousness. Tara tries to escape but gets shot with a handgun. Upon witnessing the incident, the deluded woman urges Mike to call the police but he doesn’t believe her, thinking she’s insane. Next, Mike gets knocked unconscious by Art’s hammer. The deluded woman asks the clown to return her child upon seeing Art cradling the doll.
Vicky finally arrives at the scene only to get lured into the basement by Art, who’s wearing the mutilated body parts of the deluded woman. Art decapitates Mike’s co-worker and attacks Vicky while she mourns her sister’s death. She is saved by Mike who arrives and knocks Art unconscious. They call 911 and try to get away only for Art to come into sight and kill Mike. He severely injures Vicky and proceeds to eat her face. He shoots himself dead once the police appear. Art comes back to life after being taken to the morgue where he strangles the medical examiner to death.
The Ronald Reagan Killer – The Tripper (2006)
In the early 80s when the hippies were protesting deforestation by hugging trees, it puts a lumberjack in a tricky spot as he was unable to do his job. The lumberjack tells the protester about his sick wife and how he needs to cut the tree to save her life, but the hippie refuses to oblige. Enraged, the lumberjack pulls out his gun, but the police arrive and take him into their cruiser, as his son witnesses the whole ordeal.
The son snaps and slashes the hippie’s neck with a chainsaw. In the present time, a new generation of deviants travels through the town on their way to a festival. The local townsfolk don’t welcome the group with open arms, but they do pull off stunts to terrorize them. Gus is now a full-grown adult; he was institutionalized after an episode but is released by Reagan. He grows up idolizing him and sets out wearing a Ronald Reagan mask to slaughter all the hippies with whom he crosses paths. But his terror must be put to a stop. So, a young hippie joins hands with the local sheriff to stop the Ronald Reagan killings. Part Slasher and part political satire, the presidential mask-wearing serial killer takes you back to the horror classics of the ’70s and ’80s.
The Butcher – The Midnight Meat Train (2006)
Passengers from the midnight train get killed and go missing but no one in New York seems to even bat an eyelid at the situation. Trying to prove himself to his boss and colleagues, and overcome his reputation as a photographer who runs away from risks, Leon decides to document the city’s subway system. He saves a woman from being assaulted on the subway, only to find her missing the very next day. He begins to investigate her disappearance and all of the evidence leads to Mahogany; who he believes is responsible for the death and disappearance of the subway travelers. Despite having photographic evidence, the police refuse to investigate Leon’s claims.
Leon’s investigation turns into his obsession and creates a rift between him and his girlfriend Maya. Leon decides to take the midnight train and witnesses a bloodbath, as the butcher slaughters the passengers and hangs them on a meat hook. He then passes out on the subway and wakes up the next day in a slaughterhouse with strange marks on his chest. Maya and Jurgis examine Leon’s photographs and end up at Mahogany’s apartment. Jurgis gets captured and killed by the butcher and Maya is unable to convince the police to help. Leon enters the midnight train prepared to go after Mahogany but finds him cornering Maya.
He attacks the butcher and the two get into a duel. As the scene unfolds, Leon manages to throw Mahogany out of the train before the train hits its final stop. Monstrous reptilian creatures enter the train and consume the raw meat. The conductor advises Leon and Maya to step away from the meat and reveals the true purpose of the midnight train. Severely injured, Mahogany engages in a death struggle with Leon and is put to permanent sleep. The conductor appears before Leon to tell him about the history of the creatures and the butcher’s job. He rips out Leon’s tongue and kills Maya with the Butcher’s knife. Leon is forced to take the butcher’s place after killing Mahogany.
Jonah – Dark Ride (2006)
Twin sisters get brutally killed after entering the mysterious Dark Ride. A decade after the incident, a group of friends decide to take a detour from their trip and check out the Dark Ride, which is reopening after years. They pick up a hitchhiker at the gas station and decide to spend the night in the Dark Ride. Casey stays back in the car while the others check out the ride. The group isn’t aware that Jonah, a serial killer, has escaped from a mental institution after killing two orderlies. Liz, Steve, Jim, and Jen enjoy the ride and smoke up to have a good time.
Bill narrates the story of the twin girls who were killed in the ride and reveals that they were his cousins. The others hesitate for a moment but decide to believe his story. Jen and Stevie explore the hallway while Jen notices Cathy’s fake corpse sitting in the chair with her throat slashed. Steve was intended to be the target of the elaborate prank. Enraged, he walks off the scene.
The power goes off while the others move along the ride. Jen follows Jim down the basement to fix the power source. After sliding through a hidden entrance, Jonah beheads Jen. Jim knocks himself out by running into a pipe while trying to escape. The rest of the group is frightened after finding Steve’s mutilated corpse. A policeman arrives to help Cathy after she finds Liz’s body, but Jonah uses his machete to slash his head in half. While Jonah attacks Jim with a hook, Cathy uses her van to run him into a spiked building, impaling him. It is revealed that Bill and Jonah were brothers and in the end, Bill appears wearing Jonah’s mask in a spine-chilling scene.
Gags – Gags The Clown (2019)
Gaga the Clown analyses society’s tendency to spin any phenomenon out of control. A mysterious clown roaming around with black balloons late at night causes quite the stir in a small city in Wisconsin. The local news stations break the news by sensationalizing it. Teenagers use the clown’s arrival as the perfect opportunity to pull off pranks. The police fail to control the chaos infecting the city, and one podcaster vows to put an end to the terror of the clown as a means to garner his social media presence. Jon, Ashley, and Cory find their car infested with black balloons.
Gags stand nearby after the balloon pops, covering Jon in white powder causing him to cough up blood. Ashley manages to flee and Jon disappears. Cory gets killed by Gags. A reporter continues to cover the Gags story with her camera crew and is egged on by the viewers. People covered in white powder and dressed as clowns turn up all over town. Teenagers continue to pull pranks dressed like Gags. The police get a call about a girl behaving differently since returning home covered in white powder.
Entranced, she ends up mutilating her face and neck. Another person covered in white powder behaves strangely after breaking into a banquet hall. Unaffected by Gruber’s bullets, he escapes the scene. Reports come in about people disappearing after getting disoriented, and self-mutilating. Charles finds the clown and confronts him in a live stream. Charles hesitates to fire his gun after listening to carnival music. Gags vanishes and Charles’s followers call him a coward for not being able to pull the trigger.
In an unexpected turn of events Wayne shoots Charles, Gruber shoots Wayne and Dale drops his camera and runs away. Heather continues to record as Gags appears onstage. Gruber gets covered in white powder after a balloon pops, and he stumbles to the side of the tent, bringing it down. Chaos ensues and Gags vanishes after killing half the town, while Rebecca continues to live broadcast the chaos with a smile.
Mick Taylor – Wolf Creek (2005)
British tourists Liz and Kristy went on a backpacking tour to Australia with an Australian friend Ben, but they never arrive back in their home country. While touring the continent, they make a stop at Wolf Creek National Park to check out a giant crater formed by a meteorite. While returning to the car, the group discovers that their watches have stopped ticking and their engine won’t start. Estranged in the middle of nowhere, a rural man named Mick Taylor approaches them and offers to help. Hesitant at first, they decide to go to Mick’s place. Mick entertains them with stories of his past while pretending to fix their car. Liz and Kristy grow suspicious of his behavior but Ben seems unbothered.
Mick offers them drugged water and the tourists fall unconscious. Liz wakes up later to find herself tied in a shed. She manages to break free by nightfall. While escaping, Liz witnesses Mick torturing Kristy in the garage. She sets their car on fire to distract Mick and goes to help Kristy. Liz shoots Mick with his own rifle in the neck when he returns, believing that she killed him. They try to flee in Mick’s truck but Mick manages to stumble out of the garage and shoots at them with his double-barreled shotgun, and chases them in another truck. They roll off his truck down a cliff as they try to evade him, and return to the site to get another car.
To their horror, they discover evidence of Mick stalking them through their journey and his ways of luring in other tourists by offering them help. As Liz begins to start another car, Mick shows up in the backseat and stabs her. Angry about his truck getting wrecked, he cuts off three fingers from Liz’s hand and knocks her unconscious. He next proceeds to mutilate her body, rendering her a head on a stick.
Kristy manages to reach the highway and asks a motorist for help but Micks kills him off using his sniper rifle. Kristy takes off in the dead guy’s car as Mick chases her in his own vehicle. He shoots Kristy’s back tire, causing her to flip over. She is shot dead by Mick while attempting to crawl away. Ben was the only one to survive of the three and was held in custody for a while before being cleared of all charges. The bodies of Liz and Kirsty were never found. Mick Taylor’s character was based on the notorious Australian serial killer Ivan Millat. He appears as the antagonist throughout the Wolf Creek film series.