7 best ’80s horror movies ever, ranked

2 weeks ago

The 1980s were a very bully clip to beryllium a scary fan. The genre wasn’t invented during nan ’80s, but it was refined by immoderate of nan masters of scary including John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Clive Barker, and more. This was besides nan property of nan slashers for illustration Friday nan 13th‘s Jason Voorhees, A Nightmare connected Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger, and Halloween’s Michael Myers. These cinematic villains were container agency golden successful that decade, and they besides helped toggle shape scary flicks into mainstream blockbusters.

But erstwhile it came clip to find nan champion ’80s scary movies, only 1 of nan slasher movies made nan cut. That’s because location was an embarrassment of riches to take from. Some of these films are complete 40 years old, and yet still successful precocious capable request that they’re readily disposable to stream. So for this Halloween season, these are nan scary flicks that you should beryllium bingeing.

7. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

You whitethorn spell huffy trying to reconcile nan continuity betwixt The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn. It’s easier to conscionable deliberation of it arsenic a remake of nan first film. Before nan 3rd movie, Army of Darkness, hilariously embraced farce, Evil Dead 2 worked highly good arsenic a scary movie pinch immoderate touches of slapstick.

Bruce Campbell reprises his domiciled arsenic Ash Williams from nan first movie. In this one, he takes his girlfriend, Linda (Denise Bixler), connected an ill-timed picnic to nan woods. After unwittingly awakening nan Deadites, Ash and Linda are astatine consequence of losing their lives and their souls. The ending is off-the-wall bonkers, and foreshadows nan alteration successful mounting for Army of Darkness, moreover though nan films don’t perfectly lucifer up. Still, it’s difficult to contradict that this is 1 of nan classics of nan genre.

Watch Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn connected Hoopla.

6. Re-Animator (1985)

Jeffrey Combs and nan severed caput of David Gale successful Re-Animator.

Re-Animator reinvents nan original communicative by H. P. Lovecraft pinch a batch much humor, and plentifulness of dormant bodies coming backmost from nan grave. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is really his ain worst force successful this flick. His reanimation fluid really tin bring group backmost to life, but not precisely arsenic they were before. Herbert besides ropes his unwitting roommate, Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbott), into getting progressive pinch nan experiments …which quickly go disastrous.

But nan existent villain of nan movie is Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), a assemblage professor pinch an unhealthy fixation connected Daniel’s girlfriend, Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton). Herbert’s effort to soundlessness and reanimate Hill backfires and creates an adversary who wants nan powerfulness of resurrection for himself … moreover if he’s conscionable a head.

Watch Re-Animator on Cineverse.

5. The Fly (1986)

Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis successful The Fly.

Director David Cronenberg takes assemblage scary really acold successful The Fly, particularly by nan standards of 1986. Jeff Goldblum stars arsenic Seth Brundle, a superb inventor who is adjacent to unlocking nan cardinal to teleportation. The literal alert successful Seth’s ointment is nan insect that merges pinch him erstwhile he performs a trial of his teleport machine. At first, Seth doesn’t recognize what’s happened and he thinks he’s simply been enhanced by nan machine. But soon enough, he originates mutating into a human/fly hybrid.

Seth’s lover, Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife (Geena Davis), does her champion to guidelines by him aft it becomes evident that his humanity is slipping away. Yet, not moreover their emotion is capable erstwhile Seth’s translator reaches its last stage.

Watch The Fly connected Hulu.

4. A Nightmare connected Elm Street (1984)

Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund successful A Nightmare connected Elm Street.

Almost each Nightmare connected Elm Street instrumentality will show you that nan 3rd film, A Nightmare connected Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, is nan champion successful nan series. It’s great, but it’s not nan champion horror movie of nan series. By nan clip Dream Warriors arrived, Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger was already becoming a darkly comedic figure. He’d dream execution immoderate teenagers and unleash immoderate hilariously atrocious puns. But Freddy was ne'er scarier than he was successful nan original A Nightmare connected Elm Street.

Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss), and nan remainder of nan teenagers surviving connected Elm thoroughfare are being stalked successful their dreams by Freddy contempt his decease years earlier. Freddy picks them disconnected 1 by 1 whenever they autumn dormant and participate his domain. And if nan children dice successful their dreams, past they dice successful nan existent world arsenic well.

Watch A Nightmare connected Elm Street on Max.

3. Hellraiser (1987)

There person been a ridiculous number of Hellraiser movies — including a lackluster 2022 reboot connected Hulu — but nary person been scarier than nan original. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser wisely keeps Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and nan Cenobites mostly offscreen, which makes them a batch much terrifying erstwhile they transverse complete from Hell looking for souls to claim.

Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) is nan young female who finds herself successful nan mediate of Hell’s declare connected her uncle, Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman), who murders his ain brother, Larry (Andrew Robinson), pinch nan thief of Larry’s wife, Julia (Clare Higgins). In bid to flight pinch her life and her psyche intact, Kirsty needs to make a woody pinch a devil … and nary 1 should ever spot a Cenobite to support their word.

Watch Hellraiser on Prime Video.

2. The Shining (1980)

Stephen King has fto it beryllium known that he didn’t attraction for head Stanley Kubrick’s return connected his caller The Shining. There are definite changes from nan book that King astir apt objected to, but arsenic a scary film, The Shining is simply a masterpiece. In Kubrick’s vision, nan Overlook Hotel takes connected sinister properties, and it’s easy to understand why Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is driven to madness.

The ghosts of nan edifice are each excessively real, particularly for Jack’s son, Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd), who is talented pinch psychic powers. And erstwhile Jack inevitably goes connected a rampage, his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and Danny are forced to tally for their lives arsenic nan Overlook attempts to declare them arsenic well.

Watch The Shining on Max.

1. The Thing (1982)

Kurt Russell points a weapon successful "The Thing."

John Carpenter‘s The Thing was derided by critics upon its merchandise successful 1982, but it has since go beloved by generations of sci-fi and scary fans. Carpenter’s predominant collaborator Kurt Russell headlines nan movie arsenic R.J. MacReady, a chopper aviator attached to an arctic investigation base. The men surviving location connected duty unwittingly travel crossed an alien being that tin mimic immoderate lifeform perfectly, and infect some humans and animals pinch its self-replicating DNA.

By nan clip MacReady, Childs (Keith David), Blair (Wilford Brimley), and remainder of nan group recognize what’s happening, nan Thing has already infiltrated galore of them. The suspense is intense, arsenic are nan grotesque sequences erstwhile nan monster reveals itself. This movie has withstood nan trial of clip and earned its title arsenic nan champion scary movie from nan ’80s.

Watch The Thing on Prime Video.