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The 50 Best Horror Movies of the 1980s

‘Pumpkinhead,’ ‘Tenebrae,’ ‘Friday the 13th,’ ‘Pet Sematary’… are just some of the films that didn’t make the cut.
S Horror Movies
By  · Published on October 31st, 2020

10. Evil Dead II (1987)

Evil Dead 2 80s horror movies

The Evil Dead introduced a filmmaker capable of transforming planks of wood into blockbuster effects. Sam Raimi rallied his troops, snatched money where he could, and miraculously produced an iconic zap of ’80s horror. Six years later, he molded the confidence matured by his first outing and slathered the sequel with his absurd personality. No other human on the planet could have made Evil Dead II. It’s a madman’s cartoon screamed into grotesque, hilarious reality.

Everyone talks about the genre shift executed between Alien and Aliens, but Raimi pulls off the same kind of heist in his franchise. He even has the guts (rancid as they may be) to remake the first film during the first chunk of the second film. Evil Dead II should not work. No professor could predict or reconstruct its beauty. The film is a goddamn marvel. (Brad Gullickson)


9. Poltergeist (1982)

Steak Scene Poltergeist 80s horror movies

Whether you give more credit to director Tobe Hooper or writer/producer Steven Spielberg, it’s undeniable that Poltergeist would have come together without input and influence from both. From Hooper we get some of the most creative horror films of the decade, from scares that shake the foundations of the Freeling’s cursed suburban home to a two-word utterance made instantly iconic: “They’re here.”

From Spielberg, we get the vested interest in the cracks present in an idyllic suburban setting and the resilience of familial bonds put to the test. It’s a melding of sensibilities that balances different styles with a perfect sense of pace and a complete command of tone. And, if all that isn’t enough, it’s also the reason I will never, ever trust a clown. (Anna Swanson)


8. Near Dark (1987)

Himbo Caleb Near Dark 80s horror movies

After failing to obtain the financial backing to make a western in the late ’80s, director Kathryn Bigelow and her co-writer, Eric Red, decided they needed to mix their western with a more popular genre. The result was Near Dark, a neo-western horror flick about a traveling group of vampires. A young man named Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) gets caught up with the group after meeting one of their members, Mae (Jenny Wright), in a small town.

After turning Caleb into a vampire, the group decides they want his sister next. With the help of his father (Tim Thomerson), Caleb fights back to prevent his sister from turning into a blood-sucking freak. Bill Paxton steals the show as Severen, the most sadistic and out of control, but still undoubtedly charming, of the vampires. It’s finger-lickin’ good! (Chris Coffel)


7. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Nightmare On Elm Street

Wes Craven is not above stalk and slash, but he always uniquely twists the knife whenever he cuts into the teenage bloodbath genre. The Last House on the Left stripped the set dressing off The Virgin Spring and left the festering emotional heartache of parental revenge. The Hills Have Eyes revels in the slaughter of a family perpetrated by their mutated mirror selves. A Nightmare on Elm Street walks where Halloween and Friday the 13th did before, adding a supernatural flavor and a killer unlike any other.

It’s the 1980s. Being basic just won’t do. Freddy Krueger is a walking night terror. Where one can avoid ravenous sharks by skipping the ocean or hockey-masked machete-wielders by ditching the camping trip, you cannot hide from the pedophile slasher who prowls the dreamscape. Sooner or later, your eyes are gonna shut. You will sleep. You will fall under his five fingers of death. Krueger’s threat is devious, perverting the one place every human must return night after night. (Brad Gullickson)


6. The Shining (1980)

The Shining Ending Jack Nicholson 80s horror movies

The Shining rules. I know it rules, you know it rules, everyone and their grandma knows it rules. It’s almost cliché to talk about it as one of the greatest horror movies of the ’80s (or of all time) and yet, how can we not? How can we not look at this twisting and ominous masterwork, this impenetrable and unknowable showstopper, and not gaze in wonder at what Stanley Kubrick accomplished? How can we not be riveted by Jack’s descent into madness, not thrilled and terrified by the Overlook hotel and all the mysteries it contains?

For all the fanfare surrounding it, for all the obsessive theories on what it all means, all of the deep-dives into minute details, it shouldn’t be possible that the film is not overrated. Surely, a film this heralded must be, in some ways at least, overhyped? Nope. It’s just that good. (Anna Swanson)


5. Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins

Whenever I’m asked what my all-time favorite movie is, my mind invariably goes straight to Joe Dante’s Gremlins. Hell, I named my cat after this film. A childhood favorite that equally inspires adolescent amazement and kindertrauma, Gremlins is essentially flawless, and the few flaws and errant plot holes it does feature are gleefully acknowledged in its satirical follow up six years later. This is the self-awareness that is paramount to not only this film but also to Dante’s body of work as a whole.

Steven Spielberg’s touch gave the sleepy, snowy town of Kingston Falls its Amblin feeling and sense of wonder, but Dante uses Gremlins to develop his calling cards, from slap-stick Looney Tunes antics to critiques on consumerism, all told through color and bright lights of our favorite tacky Christmas decorations. From the immaculate special effects work that bring Gizmo and the Gremlins to life to the breathtaking matte paintings used for the film’s gorgeous final shot, Gremlins is a film that, a hundred years from now, will never get old. (Jacob Trussell)


4. Hellraiser (1987)

Hellraiser Frank Julia 80s horror movies

Any mention of the Hellraiser franchise likely calls to mind the visually striking Cenobite lovingly referred to as Pinhead. Clive Barker’s directorial debut, which is based on his novel “The Hellbound Heart,” actually only offers glimpses of the franchise’s unofficial mascot, setting the stage, instead, with a fantastically rendered occult story. Roger Ebert memorably called Hellraiser a “bankruptcy of imagination” in a half-star review, and while the film certainly is built to solicit strong reactions, it also certainly doesn’t suffer from an under-active imagination.

Hellraiser’s mix of magic, bloody appetites, guilt, and youth all call to mind dark fairy tales of centuries past, but in Barker’s hands, it’s edgy and original through and through. Hellraiser is built around a love triangle between a dead man and his brother’s wife, one that’s set into motion by a spooky puzzle box that rips those who solve it into shreds. The sadomasochism-inspired story, which quickly escalates to involve a skinless, attic-dwelling reanimated corpse who steals the essence of the men his lady love picks up from the bar, is drippily disgusting and — yeah, I’ll say it — kinda sexy. (Valerie Ettenhofer)


3. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

80s horror movies An American Werewolf In London Transformation

John Landis’ masterpiece is one of the rare horror-comedies that manages to be both hilarious and genuinely spooky. The movie follows one man’s descent into the abyss as he tries to cope with the curse that is his newfound werewolf-ism. When he’s all furred up he’s a hungry animal. When he’s in human form he’s a mess whose dead best friend reminds him of his animalistic transgressions. These elements make for plenty of tragic and entertaining moments. An American Werewolf in London also features a metamorphosis scene that remains unparalleled, proving that practical effects are always the best way to go when the option is available. (Kieran Fisher)


2. Re-Animator (1985)

Stuart Gordon and Jeffrey Combs Reanimator 80s horror movies

There was absolutely zero chance that Stuart Gordon‘s Re-Animator wasn’t going to land near the top on our list of the best ’80s horror movies. Horror fans come to this masterpiece at different times in their lives — for me, it was as a genre-loving teen watching late-night cable and importing bootleg VHS tapes — but no matter their age at the time it leaves an indelible mark.

The film goes so far beyond the realms of good taste in its bloody black humor, but it never truly crosses over into cruelty or nastiness. Terrible things happen, but the damn thing is a ride we don’t want to get off. It’s gleeful in both its humor and gore, and just when you think you’ve seen its most outrageous display, it smiles and bursts some eyeballs, shoves a bone-saw through the chest of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body double, decapitates a dude with a shovel, smooshes a head, tears someone limb from limb, and more. Intestines fly out and attack! Limbs are lopped! Heads give head! It is a lot, and all of it is awesome. (Rob Hunter)


1. The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter The Thing 80s horror movies

John Carpenter’s whole career can be summed up with that one Marty McFly line from Back to the Future: “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet… but your kids are going to love it.” The Thing had the misfortune of being a colossal bummer released in theaters at a time when people were not in the mood for a colossal bummer. Carpenter delivered a paranoid tone poem, scored by a legend (Ennio Morricone) and shot by a master (Dean Cundey), and the movie-going public said: “no thank you, we’re going to go watch E.T. befriend a child and fly into the moon thank you very much.”

The Thing is a cataclysmic who-is-it. A murder mystery where everyone is “not it” until they begin to vibrate and explode into a special effect showcase orchestrated by a twenty-two-year-old high on candy bars and sheer will (Rob Bottin would check himself into a hospital after the shoot wrapped). Dread-soaked, character-driven, and featuring one of the most audacious hats in cinema, The Thing has no peers, only victims to chew up, spit out, and assimilate. It is the best of the ’80s horror movies. (Meg Shields)

And that’s a wrap on this year’s October shenanigans! Never too late to catch up with some more 31 Days of Horror Lists, though!

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Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.