Slasher films are a subsection of the horror genre that are based more on the slaughter of young buxom girls than psychological fright. The first slasher film is said to be a movie titled "Black Christmas". The genre has since blossomed into endless fields of sequel producing garbage and the occasional decent film. The slasher boom happened during the late 70s/early 80s and consisted of such classics as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. As time progresses slasher films grow less creative, and more focused on their "hip cast of hot young stars" a la Scream and it's army of clones. Even the old classics aren't producing sequels near the quality of older sequels. Only time will tell where gore and shock will take us.