The 7 Greatest '80s Horror Films???
What are the greatest '80s horror flicks? Cinematical thinks the seven films listed below are the best' movies of that wacko decade. (And while we're at it, why wasn't Boy George ever in a horror movie? Oh, I guess Culture Club was a horror movie.)
Anyway, here's the list. From the creepy glory of Pinhead to The Box, I think Hellraiser was amazingly scary. Same goes for the innovative Creepshow. But I've always thought The Fog and The Blob were overrated. But what do you think?
The Return of the Living Dead
The Lost Boys
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Hellraiser
The Fog
Creepshow
The Blob
I agree with Return of the Living Dead, The Lost Boys, Hellraiser and Creepshow but I think we are missing some great ones in there as well. Where's Day of the Dead? How about perhaps The Toxic Avenger? Nightbreed anyone? Hello is this thing on?
But yeah, I think The Fog and The Blob were both a little overrated.
Hellraiser would almost make my list, but my 7 would be completely different:
Aliens
An American Werewolf In London
The Shining
The Thing
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Poltergeist
Near Dark
Eh, different strokes for different folks I guess.
Great picks so far, here's mine
Lost Boys
Poltergeist
The Howling
Fright Night
Creepshow
American Werewolf in London
Child's Play
Although I would accept others such as:
House, Troll, and Aliens. Just some others that I thought should be mentioned
Well, 1 out of 7 ain't bad Cinematical:
The Shining
The Thing
Evil Dead II
Day of the Dead
Pet Sematary
Return of the Living Dead
Poltergeist
With a special nod to Friday the 13th for 8 films in a decade.
Nothing against Killer Klowns, because I actually love that movie, but...If that made it on the list, then Monster Squad should *definitely* be on there somewhere.
evil dead
evil dead 2
poltergeist
the howling
children of the corn
child's play
the thing
the lost boys
house
day of the dead
wher are all these gems (i know i re-named a few). all the films they listed are good, but 7 is a small amount for all the 80s horror films we had.
The fact that RE-ANIMATOR isn't on the list pretty much invalidates not only the entire list but any claim Cinematical has to knowing anything at all about movies.
Oh please... Re-Animator isn't on my list either. In fact it's not on several people's lists I see below. Different people have different tastes, there's not right or wrong.
guys, many thanks for all these lists! and m., i don't agree that cinematical shouldn't be taken seriously. but i do agree that re-animator should have been on the list. that's a brilliant movie any way you cut it.
That's not so great of a list. Really. I remember liking The Blob when it came out, but haven't seen it since. The Fog is overrated, thought so when I rewatched it recently. What about:
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
Dead Ringers.
The Fly.
Lair of the White Worm.
Maniac.
Fade to Black.
I remember liking The Stepfather a lot back in the day. Wonder if it holds up.
Really, though, after The Thing and Henry, and probably Dead Ringers, that's pretty much it.
Indeed, everyone has different tastes. I see some films on here that I could careless for, but I respect everyone's opinion. But one would have to question how you could put together a best of the 80's horror list and not include one of the best sequels of all-time in Aliens. But hey, maybe Cinematical just overlooked it? My list? I'm sure some will disagree, but it's my list gosh darnit!
Aliens
Day of the Dead
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Monster Squad
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Friday the 13th Part II
Return of the Living Dead
Notice how 5 of the 7 are sequels? Can't help it though, because I love these films. Then again, the 80's were awesome times to be a horror fan...well, unless you're Mr. Kiernan I guess (he's still cool in my book though). 80's films are no challenge, but the 90's would be and especially the 2000's. Thanks for shedding some light on this, Goldberg. And great lists everyone.
ROTLD was definitely one of the best from the 80's... It's Partytime!
Harold,
Thanks for linking to my list at Cinematical. Narrowing it down to just seven was not easy, and there were plenty that almost made the list like Near Dark, The Fly, Evil Dead 2 (how did I skip that one?!), Fright Night, The Thing, Re-animator, Phantasm 2... I could go on and on. None of the Friday the 13th movies made the cut because of my dislike of slasher flicks, and I've always found Freddy Kruegar more annoying than scary or funny, so the Nightmare on Elm Street films were out. Poltergeist was good and scary, but it's so slick and mainstream it lacks the subversive nature I look for in a horror flick. Day of the Dead was for me the real clunker of Romero's Dead films, with story, character, and acting all taking a backseat to Tom Savini's gore effects. As CampBlood pointed out, Aliens is a great film, but I've always thought of it as more of a science fiction action film than a horror movie.
Anyway, thanks again for the link.
Matt Bradshaw
I say hands down Hellraiser is the best horror movie of the 80's. It was soooo far ahead of it's time!!!!!
Just gotta love a good horror movie and gotta love it even more around this time.
The Changeling (really a mystery, but still creeps me out)
Alien
Event Horizon
Prince of Darkness
Halloween (the first one) all though the 2nd one was pretty good, too.
The Thing
An American Haunting
So many that are worthy of the list, and just about any good zombie movie or the evil dead movies. Too many to stick w/ 7 but these are some of the faves.
Oops, just picked fave movies.
Changeling was pre 80's and An American Haunting is of course too new. Event Horizon too.
So to take the place of them gotta be
Return of the Living Dead
Happy Birthday to me(is that 80's)
Clown House
In no particular order here are my top 7 of th'80s
Day of the Dead
American Werewolf in London
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Evil Dead
The Thing
Maniac
Bad Taste
The Shining
The 80's splatter was great and almost any Tom Savini movie, whether the movie was good or bad, is worth the watch for truly realistic gore.. his gore still stands the test of time and is still better than any CGI effect
the hell raiser movies halloween the original and the creepshow movies
As far as great 80's horror movies i've come up with
1. Aliens
2. Nightmare on elm street 3
3. Fright night
4. Dawn of the dead
5. An american werewolf in london
6. Poltergeist
8. The thing
9. Friday the 13th ( the first one )
10.Misery
Here is my top 7
1. Friday the 13th (All)
2. Nightmare on Elm St. (the first one)
3. Halloween (All that are in the 80's
4. Children of the Corn
5. Child's Play (the first one)
6. Hellraiser (all
7. Day of the Dead
HERE ARE MINE...
THE THING
HELLRAISER
PUMPKINHEAD
THE HOWLING
POLTERGEIST
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
ALIENS
HONORABLE MENTIONS ARE...THE SHINING,CREEPSHOW, AND NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.
My favorites
1. Halloween 2 (2nd best in the series)
2. The Thing (John Carpenter strikes again)
3. Childs Play
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Night of the Creeps
The Fly
The Thing
The Howling
The Evil Dead
Poltergeist
Psycho 2
A nightmare on elm st
night of the demons
pumpkinhead
fright night
friday the 13th
the howling
killer klowns for outerspace
gnaw food of the gods 2
I Would Agree With Some Titles On The List, But There Were Others That Stood Out As Far More Better Horror Movies Of The 80s. This Is My List:
1) Friday The 13th
2) Return Of The Living Dead
3) A Nightmare On Elm Street
4) Hellraiser
5) Pumpkinhead
6) Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
7) Poltergeist
Honorable Mentions:
1) The Lost Boys
2) Near Dark
3) John Carpenter's The Thing
4) (TIE) Creepshow & Creepshow 2
5) (TIE) The Fly & The Fly 2
Here is my list:
1. Nightmare on Elm Street
2. The Shining
3. Poltergeist
4. Hellraiser
5. Creepshow
6. Fright Night
7. Child's Play
I know that both Nightmare on Elm Street and Hellraiser gave me nightmares when I was younger, and scared me to pieces even later.
Here is my list:
1. The Shining
2. The Thing
3. The Fog
4. Pet Sematary
5. Poltergeist
6. An American Werewolf in London
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Honorable Mention: Friday the 13th, Fright Night, Aliens, The Lost Boys, Children of the Corn.
The 80s were an okay decade for horror movies, but I think the 70s was the best decade: The Exorcist, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Omen, Phantasm, Jaws, Alien, Dawn of the Dead, Deep Red.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Nightmare on elm street
childs play
pet semetary
children of the corn
Great choices.. My personal favorites are in no order: Nightbreed, Hellraiser, Neon Maniacs(cheezy but great),Killer Klowns From Out Space, Night of the Comet, Near Dark, Fright Night and way to many others to name..
The Blob remake is definitely overrated, but not The Fog--classic Carpenter! My list would be:
1. The Howling
2. Re-Animator
3. Return of the Living Dead
4. The Fog
5. The Thing
6. Nightmare on Elm St.
7. Evil Dead II
Near misses for me would be An American Werewolf in London, Friday the 13th Pt. 2-you gotta love Jason's "mommy" mind trip, and Night of the Creeps. The Lost Boys is one of my top 80's movies, but I don't consider it Horror.
my favorites r the hellraisers except for the last 2
The Shining
Creepshow
Friday the 13th
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Halloween II
The Lost Boys
Child's Play
Poltergeist
Predator (might be considered action, but it does have horror elements, too)
Maniac Cop (not well known, but great little film)
1.Evil Dead II
2.Nightmare on Elm Street
3.Texas chainsaw II
4.Day of the Dead
5.House
6.Return of the living Dead
7.Hellraiser II
8.Nightmare on Elm Street III
9.Monster Squad
10.Poltergeist
By the way the fog is from the 70's
Here some other hard to pick from:
Halloween II
Childs Play
Lost Boys
Children of the corn
The thing
a nightmare on elm street
halloween II
children of the corn
creepshow
fright night
the shining
sleepaway camp
Hellraiser
Creepshow
The Fog
The Lost Boys
The Return of the Living Dead
The Blob
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Although it is lesser known, Robert Englund's "The Phantom of the Opera" was a great horror flick. And what about the first two Evil Dead flicks? Some of the films in the blog list are all about camp, and we all know that Bruce Campbell is THE MAN!
I'll take a stab at this list, since there are a few that don't seem to have made it onto other lists. Here goes:
Sleepaway Camp
My Bloody Valentine
Bay of Blood
Make Them Die Slowly
I Spit On Your Grave
Pieces
The Burning
The Prowler
I'm not 100% sure these are all 80's flicks, but they're all worth a mention anyway.
Here is my Personal List of Horror films of the 80's.
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
2. Friday the 13th
3. The Evil Dead
4. Poltergeist
5. Evil Dead 2
6. Halloween 4
7. Childs Play
8. The Howling
9. Hellraiser
10. Pumpkinhead
Favoite horror films in the 80's r...
Nightmare on Elm st
Fight Night
Hellraiser
Friday the 13th
It
The Lost Boys
Halloween
my list is simple every cheesy slasher from the 80's (i have a problem)
my list is some of the best movies of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!
hellraiser
halloween 2
nightmare on elm street
halloween 4
nightmare on elm street 2
friday the thirtenth 2
friday the 13th 3
the shining
poltergeist
poltergeist 2
but the ALL TIME BEST MOVIE EVER IS HALLOWEEN unfortunaately it's from the 70's
my list is some of the best movies of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!
hellraiser
halloween 2
nightmare on elm street
halloween 4
nightmare on elm street 2
friday the thirtenth 2
the shining
poltergeist
but the ALL TIME BEST MOVIE EVER IS HALLOWEEN unfortunaately it's from the 70's
My favorite Horror movies are:
Night of the Demons 1 and 2
Child's Play
Bride of Chucky
Seed of Chucky
Grim
Jack Frost
Halloween
Dead Body Man
Wedding Slashers
Toolbox murders
Dolly Dearest
Poltegeist
Children of the corn
A nightmare of Elm Street
Blood Camp
my fav horror movies from the 80's are:
1. nightmare on elm street
2. Friday the 13th
3. childs play
4. sleepaway camp
5. the howling
6.lost boys
there are more but i cant think right now lol
A Nightmare on Elm street: 1-5
Hellraiser
Fright night
The Lost boys
Return of the living dead
Christine
Friday the 13th 4-8
Halloween 3
Evil dead
friday the 13th
silver bullet
the shinning
night of the living dead
halloween 5
Favorite 80's horror:
Frigt Night
Lost Boys
Evil Dead
The Thing (John Carpenter)
The Hitcher
there were a lot of films during the 80's!
Bad Dreams
Deadly friend
Fright Night
The stepfather
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Prom night
April fool day
anything with Jeffrey Combs!
just to name a few.
there were a lot of films during the 80's!
Bad Dreams
Deadly friend
Fright Night
The stepfather
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Prom night
April fool day
anything with Jeffrey Combs!
just to name a few.
Sleepaway Camp
Cutting Class
Phantom of the opera (Robert Englund)
Maniac
Friday the 13 Part VII: the new blood
Firestarter
Return of the living dead II
Anything that had Jill Schoelen
My picks:
The Shining(the original with Jack Nicholsen)
Halloween(the original with Jamie Curtis)
Night Of Living Dead
Hellraiser
Alice Sweet Alice
Poltergeist
Carrie
Dracula(with Gary Oldman,Winona Ryder)
Night Flier
Straightjacket(with Joan Crawford)
Christine
Whatever happened to Baby Jane?(with Joan Crawford and Betty Davis)
Suspiria
House On Haunted Hill
I've included a few oldies but goodies here.Check them out.
Ok out of all of them, I will always remember the scene when the Priest comes out of the shadow's in John Carpenter's The Fog. It was the first ever scene in a scary movie to make me jump out of my seat. And that's hard to do :-)
Friday the 13th part 2
Poltergiest
Halloween
The Fog
The Thing
American Werewolf in London
The Shining
I loved the Fog, didn't like the Blob, and My favorite will always be The Shining.
1.The Breakfast Club
2.Pretty in Pink
3.Sixteen Candles...
Oh wait, isn't this the John Hughs poll?
HALLOWEEN II
PROM NIGHT 2: HELLO MARY LOU
Hellraiser, Halloween 2, Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, Lost Boys, The Howling, The Hitcher. Alot of good movies were made in the '80s. I noticed a number of you guys included movies from the 70s, such as I Spit On Your Grave(1978) and quite often Halloween(1978) was listed. I Spit On Your Grave isnt a horror flick anyway, so even if it would have been made in the 80s instead of the 70s, it doesnt belong here.
return of the living dead scared the crap out of me when tarman bit down on that guys head!
1. Nightmare On Elm Street
2. Children of The Corn
3. The Hitcher
4. fRIDAY tHE 13TH
5. Aliens
6. Predator
7. Creepshow
8. Night of The Living Dead
9. IT
10.Halloween
11. Godzilla
12.