It's the 80s! It was the era where shoulder pads and leg warmers were an essential fashion statement, the air was thick with the scent of hairspray, and where every weekend kids would ride their bikes to the arcade, pump quarters into the machines, and have Michael Jackson & Madonna on endless rotation.
The 80s may have seemed like it was ushering in a new era of optimism and joy, but this collection of films mirrors the fears, anxieties, and cultural shifts of the era that were just as prevalent.
The 1970s had laid the groundwork for a more visceral and psychologically complex approach to horror, defined by experimentation, exploitation, and a degradation emphasizing the breakdown of societal trust and exploring the horrors that lurked within individuals and communities. Horror was no longer confined solely to abstract monsters. Horror had gotten personal. It was in your neighborhoods and even your homes.
However, as the 80s dawned, there was a palpable shift towards a more commercialized and visually stylized form of horror. The desire for escapism in the face of Cold War tensions, Reaganomics, and the burgeoning consumer culture only turbo-charged this shift. As such, filmmakers combined that personal approach of the 70s with theatrics, franchises, and stylized visuals. It was popcorn horror in its purest sense, resonating with a wide audience while still offering layers of complexity if you looked close enough. It wasn't just about fear anymore, but a strange and maybe sick (to some people) catharsis in response to that paranoia - audiences had started rooting for the villains. You weren't going to a Friday the 13th or Elm Street film to really be frightened anymore, you were going to see how Jason or Freddy slaughtered a hapless group of teens next.
Of course, no era is specifically defined by one brand of film alone. The 80s still offered plenty of originality and fresh ideas to be found, usually by some of the most bold & iconic filmmakers of all time - the likes of John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, Dario Argento, Clive Barker. Directors who plunged the depths of the psychological and intense body horror, twisting the vain 80s on its head in some of the most memorably cruel & disturbing ways possible. They explored themes of desire and pain in ways that were both grotesque and fascinating and yet unlike a lot of perhaps similar films in the past and to come, still quite accessible to the common person.
The 1980s, with its flamboyant fashion and cultural exuberance, encapsulated a dual narrative in its films, a commercialized spectacle on one hand, and an enclave of originality and bold ideas on the other. Arguably no future era of horror ever has ever stricken a balance this perfect again. And that's why I'm excited to be running and hosting a project like this again!
As some of you may know, I have previously hosted lists for 2000s, 2010s, and 1990s horror movies, delving deep into what makes each of those decades special in their own right. It's always amazing how polarizing horror movies can be, in a way I think is quite different from other genres, owed in part to how many different ways you can make and classify what a "horror movie" actually is.
And so I present to you what I think are 30 of the most influential, famous, and culturally resonant horror films of the 80s (barring a few that were already done previously!) I had to make some tough cuts to make this list work *coughCannibalHolocaustcough* (amongst others) but overall I am quite satisfied with it and hope you will be too, even though I'm sure there will be many a polarizing film on this list too.
For now, I'm thinking the due date will be about two months from now
March, 17, 2024 (a Sunday).
Of course I'll consider any needed extensions to accommodate but most of these films are pretty short, breezy affairs.
For those who decide to participate, thank you for joining me once again on yet another journey into celluloid fears and another captivating decade in a long-running horror tapestry.
The Changeling (1980)
Friday the 13th (1980)
The Shining (1980)
Possession (1981)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Creepshow (1982)
Basket Case (1982)
Poltergeist (1982)
The Thing (1982)
Videodrome (1983)
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Christine (1983)
The Dead Zone (1983)
Gremlins (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Phenomena (1985)
Re-Animator (1985)
Fright Night (1985)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
The Fly (1986)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Predator (1987)
The Lost Boys (1987)
Hellraiser (1987)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Childs Play (1988)
Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Pet Sematary (1989)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
If you're gonna scream, scream with me