Summary
Spoilers forSlasher: Ripperahead.
Slasher: Ripperfrom Shudder is better thanAmerican Horror Story, admit it. We all knowAmerican Horror Storyfrom TV god Ryan Murphy. Almost every year since 2011, anewAmerican Horror Storyseason comes out, bringing with it some awesome new idea for a classic horror story, whether that be clowns, covens, or Connie Britton. However, nearly every season, I’m inevitably disappointed. Fortunately,there’s an even better horror anthology available on Shudder calledSlasher, and you have to check out season 5,Ripper.
Slasherpremiered in March 2016 on Chiller, then moved to Netflix for two seasons before finding its home on the horror streaming service Shudder.Slashercenters on a masked killer every season, firmly planting itself in the slasher subgenre of horror.Slasher: Ripperis the fifth season of the show and premiered on July 13, 2025. The season follows the hunt for the Widow, a serial killer in 19th-century Toronto who targets the elite. It’s another winning season forSlasherand the one that’s convinced me the show is better thanAHS.
Slasher: Why The Netflix Series Is The Smartest Horror TV Show
Slasher, which moved to Netflix streaming, is one of the smartest and most visceral examples of horror television available today—here’s why.
Slasher: Ripper Values Simplicity & Good Storytelling Over AHS' Shock Value
Slasher Focuses On Classic Scares And Straightforward Storytelling
UnlikeAmerican Horror Story,Slasherkeeps it simple and its stories are better for it.Slasherseasons are only ever about slasher villains. They don’t mix it up with random and “shocking” events ofAHS. I still remember watchingAmerican Horror Story: Asylumand trying to figure out how Nazis, nuns, an asylum, and a modern-day murderer were all supposed to tie together when aliens suddenly showed up for some reason.AHScan’t focus, and it just got too hard for me to watch.
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Shudder
Slasher, on the other hand, keeps a season’s worth of story feeling fresh and frighteningwithout resorting to gross-out violence or twists coming completely out of left field.Ripperin particular is a very tightly written story. This is an old-fashioned horror tale. A killer is loose. Some people are innocent. Some aren’t. Some are caught in between. To me, that simplicity is the mark of a good horror movie.
It’s the characters who are complex, not the horror. Horror is simple.
“Don’t go in the basement,” “Stay out of the woods,” “Don’t walk home alone.” Simple rules are the bread and butter of good horror story-telling. If you want to deviate into something much more complex, your name had better be David Lynch.Ripperintroduces our villain in episode one and the season depicts the search for “him.” It’s the characters who are complex, not the horror. Horror is simple. That’s why a door closing inParanormal Activityis a legit jump scare for me.
Slasher, likeAHS, has actors return season to season as different characters.
Regina Simcoe Is My Favorite Slasher Killer
Simcoe Has Good Reason To Commit Her Crimes
Not only isSlasher: Ripper’s story simple and satisfying, but the killer, Regina Simcoe, is one ofthe coolest slasher villains I’ve seen in years. Calling herself “The Widow”, Regina hides in plain sight the entire season, and I was shocked when she was revealed as the murderer. That’s the right kind of shock. If it turned out the Widow was actually an alien from a completely different storyline with a whole new bunch of characters, I would have said, “Huh?”
Regina’s husband is the first one murdered in the series, and it becomes clear she’s committing these murders as an act of revenge against the upper-class people who destroyed her life and committed a terrible crime against her when she was little. Good horror puts a lens on current societal issues and an “eat the rich” narrative has been very popular in the 2020s, withSaltburnandThe White Lotusbeing huge successes.Slasher: Rippertaps into that in a thoughtful but straightforward way, and I’m excited about what’s next in the series.
Slasher
Cast
Slasher is a horror anthology television series that premiered in 2016 on Chiller. The show’s first season, titled “The Executioner,” follows a young woman who returns to her hometown to uncover the truth behind a series of murders that took place 20 years prior. Each subsequent season features a new storyline and characters, exploring themes of horror and suspense.
