I Was a Teenage Slasher

The first slasher films served as critiques of class comfort and security. With the rise of the upper-middle class in the wake of World War II, the suburbs emerged as a convenient hub for respite and community engagement, allowing businessmen who worked in the city and their families to engage within their social class. Living in the suburbs became a popular aspirational symbol throughout the United States, expediting its spread through mass-produced housing and the development of nearby malls and shopping centers.

Consequently, the year 1978 saw the arrival of the first true slasher movie in John Carpenter’s Halloween. Carpenter’s film poked a hole in the bubble of comfort that the suburbs offered, allowing his iconic slasher Michael Myers to roam from house to house with relative ease. Halloween was followed by the success of Fred Walton’s When a Stranger Calls the following year, where the slasher stalks a babysitter from inside the house. Tangentially, both of these movies also resonated with the emerging social phenomenon of serial killings, such as those committed by Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper throughout the decade. During this time, the FBI began to profile their behavior, turning American households more cautious, protective, and suspicious of one another.