Eric Langberg

Though Stephen King's books are infused with more humanity and optimism than he often gets credit for, no Constant Reader would call his stories lighthearted. He's considered one of the masters of horror, responsible for some of the most famous scary stories of the century, including everything from "The Shining" and "Carrie" to "Cujo" and "It." Some of his work is more fantastical, while some is based in deeply human impulses toward evil; but with very few exceptions, King's work exists on a spectrum from "dark" to "very dark."

Many horror fans are no stranger to the slasher subgenre. There are the popular staple films, but these five forgotten movies still hold up today.

While the 1980s were a Golden Age of slasher movies, horror went in several different directions the following decade. The biggest slasher movies of the 1990s turned out to be satirical — either full-on comedies like "Scream" or winking, teen-centric takes on popular horror like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Urban Legend."

As any horror fan knows, the 1980s were a fantastic decade for the genre. It was, after all, the Golden Age of slasher films; the decade where frightening villains like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger became cultural forces to be reckoned with. There were endless franchises springing up everywhere you looked. There were films that followed trends, while some decided to make their own.

By Eric Langberg Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Video Muted

By Eric Langberg Dan Gorder/Getty Images Video Muted

J.J. Perry's post-apocalyptic movie "Afterburn" was released in 2025, but you wouldn't know it from any lists of the best action movies of the year. In fact, so few critics reviewed the movie that it doesn't yet have an official Rotten Tomatoes rating. That's not too surprising as, worldwide, the movie barely cracked a million dollars, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

By Eric Langberg Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Video Muted In 2009, Susan Boyle stepped out on stage to audition for "Britain's Got Talent."

By Eric Langberg Taylor Hill/Getty Images Video Muted The late '90s and early 2000s were a golden age for high-profile celebrity couples.

The television miniseries used to be a massive cultural event. Something like the finale of "Roots" – one of the best miniseries of all time — was watched by 100 million people, guaranteeing it'd be the only thing anybody talked about at work and school the next day.