If nothing else, the 1980s were an age of discovery for the horror genre, as well as a time of weird normalization. Horror movies finally shook off the yolk of the thriller and adventure stories where they originated in the 1970s and had created a line of movies that were uniquely interested in evincing terror of all sorts for the audience. One could argue something likeJawsis still, at its heart, an action-adventure story, but what on earth would you callThe Texas Chainsaw Massacreif not horror? An experimental, Dadaist noir featuring some demented clown with a chainsaw?
It’s easy to see the decade as the era of Jason, Freddy, Chucky, and Leatherface’s continued reign, but the 1980s also laid down the foundation for some of the most crucial stylistic decisions of the genre as it exists now. The best movies from the era transcended the cheapness, the frivolity, and the easy pleasures of the franchises to seek out the true thrill and disturbing nature of murderers and monsters.The Thingtells the story of a group of men being consumed by an alien force that replicates them, but beyond the story,John Carpenterdirected the movie as if it was a lost Antonioni script. For whatever else it might be,The Shiningis a brutal self-excoriation and a frighteningly convincing portrait of a mind becoming untethered from daily life, family, and identity.
That’s where horror has become important, a new genre lined with violent, expressive images that open up all new realms of political, sociological, and cultural discussion. The best horror films of the 1980s might not have all went so far into the ether as Kubrick or Carpenter, but each one clearly came from both a unique point of view and an ambitious, capable artist, surrounded by technical geniuses and other artists who help them out as best they can. And the fact that genuine, mature artists have found not only refuge but glory in this genre suggests that its full power hasn’t even been surmised yet.
Here are the 50 best that were released in the 1980s.
50. C.H.U.D.
This uproarious wonder is something of a local masterwork in New York City. Shot on location amidst the stinking, garbage-strewn streets of the city that never sleeps,C.H.U.D.details the fight between the denizens of NYC and an army of cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. The humans are represented by a youthfulJohn Heardand a seriously lankyDaniel Stern, and the talk is more important for the splashes of outdated lingo, the East Coast accents and the unpredictable groans, sighs, or belches. There’s nothing much in the way of violence but the creatures themselves are gloriously cheap works of desperate invention. I can’t say that you’ll be scared by this movie, or that you won’t spend most of the runtime laughing at the…let’s call it problematic continuity and production design. Still, when I think about the horror geeks who come to New York to make good genre movies for a decent wage, my brain wanders back to this strangely charming oddity more thanThe Panic in Needle Park,Dog Day Afternoon,Midnight Cowboy, orAndy Warhol’sEmpire.- Chris Cabin
49. Basket Case
From the cracked mind ofFrank Henenlotterand boasting a budget that would make even the most capable indie producer cry,Basket Casewas likely never meant to spawn the rabid cult following (or sheer number of loving derivatives that it did), but if any horror comedy of the ‘80s deserved such a hallowed future, it certainly is this one. Following a wide-eyed, naive young man named Duane Bradley and his not-so-friendly sidekick on the murderous hunt for the doctor who separated Duane and his now hideously deformed (telepathic!) Siamese twin,Basket Caseemploys a bit of Cronenbergian grotesque, a dash of Lynchian horror and scads of over-the-top gore for a fearlessly unique blend of gonzo scares. The plot itself is bonkers enough to qualify this film as a notable nasty, but the film’s storyline is largely an excuse for the pop psychology, perversion and piles of gore that lie just beyond a padlocked wicker box. Horror gems don’t come much crazier than this.- Aubrey Page
48. Night of the Comet
What would kids in the 1980s do if the apocalypse blew through the world without them noticing? Hang out at the mall, but of course. That’s the set-up for this very funny, quite dated horror-comedy, which begins when a quartet of adolescents lock themselves inside a projection booth at the mall’s multiplex. This somehow allows them to live through an extinction level event of some sort, which has also left roaming bands of murderous mutants.
Catherine Mary Stewartof the equally inexplicableWeekend at Bernie’sleads the film, but it’s a movie of mood more than substance ultimately. Does the wealth-fueled naiveté of the average white teenager survive in a vacuum? Does it go away when they are being hunted for sustenance? It’s an interesting to watch on these terms and when the zombies show up, directorThom Eberhardtadds menace and a tight feel for suspense to the action sequences. And if we’re being honest, it belongs on this list for its soundtrack alone. The rest of this is just whip cream and cherries.- Chris Cabin
47. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
One of my all-time favorite B-horror movies that became a part of theMidnite Moviescollection, this coulrophobic nightmare is the absolute definition of cult classic. As of this writing, it remains the only writing/directing work for theChiodo Brothers; there’s been talk of a 3D sequel for a while now but we haven’t heard much on that lately. If you haven’t seen it, there’s no better time than the present. (Oh and the protagonist’s name isMike Tobacco, if that helps sway your opinion.)
I’m willing to bet that there’s no other film out there in which a circus tent-shaped spaceship crash lands in a field and unleashes clown-like alien monstrosities upon the countryside. (If there is another one, please let me know.) While this could easily have fallen flat as a one-joke premise, it’s a surprisingly fun and fast-paced watch full of clown gags that are just as creepy as they are clever. As for my favorite part of the Killer Klowns mythology, I’m torn between the cotton candy cocoons and the method of defeating the clown: shooting them in their noses. If that makes you smile, thenKiller Klowns from Outer Spaceis right up your alley.– Dave Trumbore
46. Child’s Play
Chucky, the original nightmare doll, was the creation ofDon Mancini, who’s made quite the career from the creepy character. To date, there are eight films in theChild’s Playfranchise, including a 2019 reboot starringAubrey PlazaandBrian Tyree Henry. But to really get a sense of where the Chucky craze started, you have to go back to the original 1988 filmChild’s Play.
In a stroke of twisted genius, the story follows a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray who is fatally shot by a homicide detective in Chicago. While that would be an okay start for a slasher film, the fact that his soul is transferred into a child’s doll really sets the foundation for the entire franchise. What follows is a tense, at times terrifying thriller in which the newly purchased doll comes to life and starts committing murder and mayhem while ordering around his new owner, Andy. Look, dolls are creepy enough to begin with, so when one of them has the autonomy to run around, cuss a blue streak, and kill anyone who looks at him funny, you know you’ve got a horror classic on your hands. Add to that the fact that this doll is nigh immortal and now you’ve got a franchise. Do yourself a favor and go back to where it all started before Chucky’s secret made its way into the world.– Dave Trumbore
45. Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darknessis one ofJohn Carpenter’s odder outings, but it’s still laced with his untamable weirdness and chilling talent at conveying fear and menace with equal potency. Here, he tangos once again withDonald Pleasance(Halloween’s doomed Dr. Loomis), who plays a priest who convinces a local Los Angeles professor (Big Trouble in Little China’sVictor Wong) to bring his class to an abandoned church where he believes he’s tracked down the essence of Satan. Carpenter is no fan of organized religion and here he seems to really let his secular fury flow. The hiding from and battles against the legions of the possessed allows Carpenter plenty of time to let his natural talent for B-movie action out to play, and though not quite as politically radical as one might hope, the suspicious, atheistic perspective is a breath of fresh air regardless.– Chris Cabin
44. The Blob
There has been a drought of creature feature horror movies in recent years and that’s a crying shame. Luckily, past decades have us well and truly covered with just about every type of critter imaginable. Case in point: 1988’sThe Blob. This remake of the 1958 film of the same name brings an amorphous, acidic, amoeba-like creature to life and lets it crawl across the California countryside consuming everything in its path.
This is just good old-fashioned creature feature fun. The practical effects are a blast as multiple victims are partially or completely digested and dissolved by the blob’s acidic chemistry. And though the creature may have crash-landed onto Earth from outer space, its actual origins provide the necessary narrative twist in this movie that would otherwise be a one-note slog. The gore factor is near the top of the charts in this one so if that bothers you, you might want to skip it entirely. But for those of you who maybe watched this movie at too young an age and then reenacted it with a glob of Silly Putty and toy soldiers, I think you’ll enjoy this little chunk of nostalgia.– Dave Trumbore
43. The Stuff
The Stuffis essentially aBugsy Maloneremake ofInvasion of the Body Snatcherswith advertising and greed being the substitute forSnatchers’Communist pod people and “The Stuff” a substitute for the lethal ice cream that was in the kids’ gangster guns inMalone. What’s “The Stuff”? Some delicious white goop that bubbles up from the ground one day and is discovered to be extremely nutritious and calorie free, despite tasting so good. Because it tastes swell and makes folks feel good, before anyone will ask why is it pumping out of the ground, it’s packaged, marketed and sold. Years later, it’s essentially all that anyone lives off of, but it also starts moving on its own and bodily husks start being found where “The Stuff” now runs amok. You should’ve asked questions!
Larry Cohen’s film is goofier than it is scary. It recreates many iconic horror scenes (such as the bloody bed inNightmare on Elm Street) with a marshmallow-y texture. What’s really at play inThe Stuffis that we shouldn’t just be scared of sharp things that can pierce us, but also seemingly harmless everyday things that we constantly replenish and restock without thought. Don’t become a slave to your “stuff”.~ Brian Formo
42. Hellraiser
This entry previously appeared in theBest Horror Movies on Netflix Right Nowarticle.
Clive Barker’s name has become synonymous with the horror genre, just as his first feature-length filmHellraiserhas become a symbol for leather-wearing, sadomasochistic, pain-worshippers. Both descriptors are fitting, though there’s so much more to Barker’s original 1987 film than mere fetishism. There’s a deep mythology here, a rather original one that started with Barker’s novella “The Hellbound Heart” and was carried on in numerous sequel films, comic books, novels, video games, and more.
And it all started withHellraiser, a film that explores the linked sensations of pain and pleasure on a number of levels. The main players are Larry Cotton and his second wife Julia, who cheated on him with his brother Frank shortly after they were married. This sets up one of the most bizarre yet rich mythologies in cinema history: Julia’s obsession with Frank continues well after his death and is rejuvenated when Frank himself is resurrected. However, Frank needs fresh blood to return to his full health, blood that Julia is happy to supply by luring men back to Frank’s abandoned childhood home and sacrificing them.
And yet, as horrible as this is, it’s mundane compared to the arrival of the Cenobites, beings from another dimension obsessed with carnal experiences elucidating the extremes of pain and pleasure. Their design and presence is fantastic in the truest sense of the word and the practical effects on display here are just as terrifying today as they were in 1987. If you haven’t seen the original or any of the sequels,Hellraiseris the perfect place to start. If you’re not careful, this movie will tear your soul apart. -Dave Trumbore
41. The Funhouse
In a way, no one butTobe Hoopercould have directed this no-frills chiller. Part of what fascinates Hooper is the everyday horrors of the world, how things that we take for granted as familiar images and utilities are also, in origin or myth, horrific. InThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the craziness begins with a hitchhiker not seeing the inherent horror in making headcheese. In the case ofThe Funhouse, it’s as much the cheap designs of the traveling carnival where the central quartet of teens finds themselves rambling around as the damage that’s been done to the equipment and the overall age of it all. There’s also something about the veneer of fear in the simple story, in which a murderous mutant being hunts the aforementioned teens. The man who runs the haunted house and funhouse doesn’t care about the effectiveness of his designs or rides, but his personal life is full of unimaginable burdens and endless terror. Similarly, the inanimate mask that the killer wears hides a, er, unappealing visage, but this killer, under Hooper’s direction, reanimates the horrors of the carnival funhouse after years of these images being dismissed as lame or old-fashioned.– Chris Cabin
