Ranking the villains from Slasher series

Step aside Jason, Michael, and Chucky. There are some new killers in town and judging by their respective body counts, they mean business. Over four seasons, the killers of the Canadian horror anthology series Slasher rightfully earned their spots in the expansive pantheon of horror icons by delivering plenty of frights and gruesome kills that would make even the most hardcore of gore fanatics squeamish. The series, created by Aaron Martin, follows a new killer each season as they stalk and murder a group of characters at the center of a dark secret.

With a fifth season on the horizon and the heightened interest in the horror genre with the recent releases of Scream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and Chucky, I thought it was a perfect time to revisit the series and rank all four of the major killers. While they vary in design, backstory and motivations, the killers of Slasher are some of the most bloodthirsty in all of horror. Each is memorable in their own way, but one killer stands above the rest. I ranked the killers based on their costumes, motivations, kills, and fear factor. Since I’ll discuss minor spoilers from each of the show’s four seasons, consider this your official spoiler warning.

#4. The Camp Motega Killer- Guilty Party

Slasher’s second season paid tribute to the camp slashers which helped make the genre so iconic but took the trope and added new twists to it, the most notable being the parka-wearing killer who graphically murders their victims in the snow. The season, titled Guilty Party, follows a group of counselors who return to their old campground to ensure the murder they participated in stays buried in the past. One by one they’re hunted by the Camp Motega Killer who has no qualms about also murdering the residents who’ve made the campsite their permanent home.

The Camp Motega Killer delivers some truly graphic kills in Season 2, and serves as a genuinely fun call-back to the slasher villains of the early 80s, complete with a fun twist to the character’s identity that would make Jason Voorhees proud. I’m ranking the Camp Motega Killer in fourth place because while the kills are extremely brutal–definitely more so than in the first season–the ultimate reveal of the killer’s identity and why they targeted people who weren’t members of the Guilty Party raises lots of questions that weren’t all satisfyingly answered. I was still shocked and enjoyed the twist, and overall I loved Season 2 and how it took everything from the first season and amplified it to a ten. The Camp Motega Killer is insane, and unleashes hell upon the hapless victims who drew their ire. Pay attention to little hints throughout the season that reveal the killer’s identity.

#3. The Executioner- The Executioner

There are two Executioners in Slasher‘s freshman season: Tom Winston, who murders protagonist Sarah’s parents after they shame and blackmail him, and a copycat killer who unleashes his dark visions of justice on the people of Waterbury 28 years after Winston’s killings. Winston spends most of the season in jail, toying with Sarah as she attempts to learn more about her flawed parents and how she’s connected to this new killing spree. The second Executioner is the one the audience spends most of the season with, and he is a terrifying villain, though he does feel relatively tame compared to future killers the series would throw at audiences. With only a few graphic kills, the Executioner is mostly memorable for the fear he illicit in his victims.

With his priest cassock and medieval outfit, the Executioner makes for one of the more fearsome and physically intimidating killers on this list. His murders are acts of brutality and are a response to the cycle of sin and secrets he sees around him. The Executioner follows a strict law of “righteousness” and visits bloody vengeance on those who harbor dark secrets. Out of all the villains from the series, the Executioner is the most menacing and not overly exaggerated, but compared to the other killers who would follow in his footsteps, he seemed rather bland.

Season of Slasher introduced a killer with the best costume design

#2. The Druid Killer- Solstice

The Druid Killer appears in the third season Solstice which revolves around the stabbing of a party boy Kit Jennings while his neighbors in his apartment complex stood by and did nothing to help. Solstice has a lot going for the it—the season is fast-paced, the characters are complex, and the Druid Killer has one of the coolest costumes of all the Slasher villains. The season has a lot to say about victim-blaming, online mob mentality, and what values people are willing to set aside in the name of convenience. While the Executioner is intimidating and the Camp Motega Killer is insane, the Druid Killer is agile and quick and driven by vengeance. The Druid Killer’s rage means the kills are some of the most graphic of the series.

Out of all the villains from the series, the Druid Killer’s motive feels like the one audiences can relate to the most, and the reveal of their identity is the most narratively sound of the series.

#1. The Gentleman- Flesh and Blood

Taking the top spot is the Gentleman from Slasher‘s fourth season Flesh and Blood. This exquisitely dressed and ironically named killer targets the selfish, ambitious, and dysfunctional Galloway family as they’re forced to participate in lethal games to win the family fortune. The Gentleman comes calling for the loser of each game the family competes in. Depending on how well you pay attention, the reveal of the Gentleman’s identity is either obvious from the start of the season, or the most ludicrous thanks to the process of elimination. However, out all the four main killers from the series, the Gentleman is the most fun to root for as they pick off the scheming family on by one. Sometimes the greatest appeal of horror icons is how much they engage with the audience while tormenting their victims, and the Gentleman seems the happiest to deliver with over-the-top kills.

Slasher‘s first three seasons are available to stream on Netflix, and Season 4 is currently streaming on Shudder. Production on a fifth season, Ripper, starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), is underway.

Are you a Slasher fan? Which season is your favorite? Tell us all about it in the comments section.