There’s no denying that horror film production peaked in the 1980s (well, at least WE feel that way). Others maintain that the 1990s were the golden era of the horror flick. To which we say baloney, because the 1980s saw the creation of almost every major franchise that would go on to become classics, and which continue to dominate the genre through its ideas and iconography.
Since we’re stepping into October, we thought it worthwhile to revisit some of the 1980s best scary movies – and to prove our point.
Keep reading for a list of our favourite, underappreciated 1980s horror films which range from cult masterpieces that have gotten lost in the shuffle, to relatively obscure efforts by some of the genre’s finest auteurs.
Friday The 13th
With 12 slasher flicks under its belt, it’s safe to say Friday The 13th is a renowned series. The first installment of the franchise follows a group of camp counsellors as they attempt to rebuild Crystal Lake summer camp and are confronted by a mysterious killer.
The Beyond
Films by Lucio Fulci are an acquired taste. But once you’ve sunk your teeth in them, nothing else will satisfy you in the same way. The Beyond is the second and greatest film in Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy, about a lady who inherits a run-down hotel in the middle of the Louisiana swamp only to discover it’s cursed with an actual portal to hell in the basement.
Bloody Birthday
Three children born during a total solar eclipse become serial killers ten years later. They continue to get away with their crimes because no one in town believes a couple of 10-year-olds are homicidal maniacs.
Pumpkinhead
Lance Henriksen plays a devastated father who utilizes black magic to seek vengeance after his kid is killed in a dirt riding accident in this fiendishly entertaining 1988 monster film.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Freddy Krueger, a hideous nocturnal mangler who preys on teens in their dreams before killing them in reality, preys on a number of Midwestern teenagers in Wes Craven’s famous slasher movie. After looking into the phenomenon, Nancy comes to believe that a sinister family secret may hold the key to solving the riddle, but will she and her lover Glen be able to do it before it’s too late?
Hellraiser
Hellraiser is based on Clive Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart and focuses on a strange puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration. When the box is opened, it summons the Cenobites, sadomasochistic entities from a dimension of agony and misery who are only too happy to show jaded mortals a good time.
Fright Night
Teenage Charley Brewster is a horror-film junkie, so when a reclusive new neighbour named Jerry Dandridge moves next door, Brewster becomes sure he is a vampire. It’s no surprise that no one believes him. However, when odd events begin to occur, Charlie is forced to resort to the only person who might be able to assist him: washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent.
The Changeling
The Changeling is a smart, grown-up take on the haunted house movie that’s still disturbing, starring George C. Scott as a newly widowed father. After losing his wife and kids in a car accident, he flees to an abandoned, remote Victorian estate full of dark secrets.
The Slumber Party Massacre
The Slumber Party Massacre, directed by Amy Holden Jones, was scripted as a spoof, but producers insisted on Jones filming it as a straight-up slasher film. Its tongue-in-cheek mentality shone through however, with smart visual jokes and a comically huge power drill poking fun at horror tropes.
The Burning
Although it did not result in a successful franchise, The Burning remains one of the best entries in the early ’80s slasher cycle. The Burning is a lean, mean-spirited summer camp horror film boosted by its lively adolescent ensemble.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Years after his parents were brutally murdered by a man dressed as Santa Claus, Billy, then 18, breaks and embarks on a Christmas Eve spree, punishing “naughty” individuals.
Aliens
This terrific sequel to 1979’s extraterrestrial is a must-see for anybody who enjoys extraterrestrial films and badass female leads. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, the solitary survivor from Alien. She’s dispatched on a mission to re-establish contact with a colony decades after that terrifying event. Instead, she is forced to fight an Alien Queen and her spawn.
April Fool’s Day
What begins as a joyful, hedonistic weekend develops into something more sinister when a group of college students choose to spend spring break at the remote island mansion of their affluent classmate, Muffy St. John. Practical jokes are Muffy’s favourite pastime, and she sets up lots of jokes all over her home. But they realise they’re stranded on the remote island with an enigmatic and vicious killer when people start going missing and turning up dead.
Beetlejuice
After Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car accident, they are forced to remain in their rural home and haunt it. The Maitlands make futile attempts to frighten the obnoxious Deetzes and their teen daughter Lydia away after they buy the house. Beetlejuice, a boisterous ghost whose “help” swiftly turns perilous for the Maitlands and helpless Lydia, is drawn to their efforts.
Child’s Play
Charles Lee Ray, a killer who was shot dead by Detective Mike Norris, employs black magic to imprison his soul inside a doll by the name of Chucky, which Karen Barclay then buys for her small son Andy. The youngster discovers the doll is alive when Chucky kills Andy’s babysitter and tries to notify people, but he is institutionalised. Before Andy becomes Chucky’s next victim, Karen must persuade the detective of the deadly doll’s intentions.
Slaughter High
Marty Rantzen spends his life hiding out in his abandoned high school plotting his revenge after a series of abuses from the popular kids leave him burned by acid and horribly scarred. When his bullies return to the abandoned school, he will be waiting for them with extraordinarily inventive ideas for murder.
