If nothing else, the 1980s were an age of discovery for the horror genre, as well as a time of weird normalization. Horror movies finally shook off the yolk of the thriller and adventure stories where they originated in the 1970s and had created a line of movies that were uniquely interested in evincing terror of all sorts for the audience. One could argue something like Jaws is still, at its heart, an action-adventure story, but what on earth would you call The Texas Chainsaw Massacre if not horror? An experimental, Dadaist noir featuring some demented clown with a chainsaw?

friday-the-13th-part-2
Image via Paramount

That was the time of the genre being created and finding confidence, whereas the 1980s is where genre found itself and the 1990s was when it established itself in the pantheon of other big-studio genres. We first met Ms. Voorhees and her son, Jason, in the 80s and suddenly, you couldn’t go into the movie theater without seeing advertisements for another Friday the 13th movie or buying a ticket for one. These movies were cheap to make and people showed up in droves to see them, if only for the gratuitous nudity and buckets of fake blood. People liked seeing the monsters do their stuff from a distance, and though the money was never in the same abundance as it would be with the comic-book craze, there was still a lucrative fad going on.

It’s easy to see the decade as the era of Jason, Freddy, Chucky, and Leatherface’s continued reign, but the 1980s also laid down the foundation for some of the most crucial stylistic decisions of the genre as it exists now. The best movies from the era transcended the cheapness, the frivolity, and the easy pleasures of the franchises to seek out the true thrill and disturbing nature of murderers and monsters. The Thing tells the story of a group of men being consumed by an alien force that replicates them, but beyond the story, John Carpenter directed the movie as if it was a lost Antonioni script. For whatever else it might be, The Shining is a brutal self-excoriation and a frighteningly convincing portrait of a mind becoming untethered from daily life, family, and identity.

the-thing-kurt-russell-john-carpenter
Image via Universal

That’s where horror has become important, a new genre lined with violent, expressive images that open up all new realms of political, sociological, and cultural discussion. The best horror films of the 1980s might not have all went so far into the ether as Kubrick or Carpenter, but each one clearly came from both a unique point of view and an ambitious, capable artist, surrounded by technical geniuses and other artists who help them out as best they can. And the fact that genuine, mature artists have found not only refuge but glory in this genre suggests that its full power hasn’t even been surmised yet.

Here are the 50 best that were released in the 1980s.

50. C.H.U.D.

chud-image
Image via New World Pictures

This uproarious wonder is something of a local masterwork in New York City. Shot on location amidst the stinking, garbage-strewn streets of the city that never sleeps, C.H.U.D. details the fight between the denizens of NYC and an army of cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. The humans are represented by a youthful John Heard and a seriously lanky Daniel Stern, and the talk is more important for the splashes of outdated lingo, the East Coast accents and the unpredictable groans, sighs, or belches. There’s nothing much in the way of violence but the creatures themselves are gloriously cheap works of desperate invention. I can’t say that you’ll be scared by this movie, or that you won’t spend most of the runtime laughing at the…let’s call it problematic continuity and production design. Still, when I think about the horror geeks who come to New York to make good genre movies for a decent wage, my brain wanders back to this strangely charming oddity more than The Panic in Needle Park, Dog Day Afternoon, Midnight Cowboy, or Andy Warhol’s Empire. - Chris Cabin

49. Basket Case

basket-case

From the cracked mind of Frank Henenlotter and boasting a budget that would make even the most capable indie producer cry, Basket Case was likely never meant to spawn the rabid cult following (or sheer number of loving derivatives that it did), but if any horror comedy of the ‘80s deserved such a hallowed future, it certainly is this one. Following a wide-eyed, naive young man named Duane Bradley and his not-so-friendly sidekick on the murderous hunt for the doctor who separated Duane and his now hideously deformed (telepathic!) Siamese twin, Basket Case employs a bit of Cronenbergian grotesque, a dash of Lynchian horror and scads of over-the-top gore for a fearlessly unique blend of gonzo scares. The plot itself is bonkers enough to qualify this film as a notable nasty, but the film’s storyline is largely an excuse for the pop psychology, perversion and piles of gore that lie just beyond a padlocked wicker box. Horror gems don’t come much crazier than this. - Aubrey Page

48. Night of the Comet

night-of-comet

What would kids in the 1980s do if the apocalypse blew through the world without them noticing? Hang out at the mall, but of course. That’s the set-up for this very funny, quite dated horror-comedy, which begins when a quartet of adolescents lock themselves inside a projection booth at the mall’s multiplex. This somehow allows them to live through an extinction level event of some sort, which has also left roaming bands of murderous mutants.

Catherine Mary Stewart of the equally inexplicable Weekend at Bernie’s leads the film, but it’s a movie of mood more than substance ultimately. Does the wealth-fueled naiveté of the average white teenager survive in a vacuum? Does it go away when they are being hunted for sustenance? It’s an interesting to watch on these terms and when the zombies show up, director Thom Eberhardt adds menace and a tight feel for suspense to the action sequences. And if we’re being honest, it belongs on this list for its soundtrack alone. The rest of this is just whip cream and cherries. - Chris Cabin 

47. Killer Klowns from Outer Space

killer-klowns-outer-space

One of my all-time favorite B-horror movies that became a part of the Midnite Movies collection, this coulrophobic nightmare is the absolute definition of cult classic. As of this writing, it remains the only writing/directing work for the Chiodo Brothers; there’s been talk of a 3D sequel for a while now but we haven’t heard much on that lately. If you haven’t seen it, there’s no better time than the present. (Oh and the protagonist’s name is Mike Tobacco, if that helps sway your opinion.)

I’m willing to bet that there’s no other film out there in which a circus tent-shaped spaceship crash lands in a field and unleashes clown-like alien monstrosities upon the countryside. (If there is another one, please let me know.) While this could easily have fallen flat as a one-joke premise, it’s a surprisingly fun and fast-paced watch full of clown gags that are just as creepy as they are clever. As for my favorite part of the Killer Klowns mythology, I’m torn between the cotton candy cocoons and the method of defeating the clown: shooting them in their noses. If that makes you smile, then Killer Klowns from Outer Space is right up your alley. – Dave Trumbore

46. Child's Play

childs-play-image
Image via MGM

Chucky, the original nightmare doll, was the creation of Don Mancini, who’s made quite the career from the creepy character. To date, there are eight films in the Child's Play franchise, including a 2019 reboot starring Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry. But to really get a sense of where the Chucky craze started, you have to go back to the original 1988 film Child’s Play.

In a stroke of twisted genius, the story follows a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray who is fatally shot by a homicide detective in Chicago. While that would be an okay start for a slasher film, the fact that his soul is transferred into a child’s doll really sets the foundation for the entire franchise. What follows is a tense, at times terrifying thriller in which the newly purchased doll comes to life and starts committing murder and mayhem while ordering around his new owner, Andy. Look, dolls are creepy enough to begin with, so when one of them has the autonomy to run around, cuss a blue streak, and kill anyone who looks at him funny, you know you’ve got a horror classic on your hands. Add to that the fact that this doll is nigh immortal and now you’ve got a franchise. Do yourself a favor and go back to where it all started before Chucky’s secret made its way into the world. – Dave Trumbore

45. Prince of Darkness

Prince of Darkness is one of John Carpenter’s odder outings, but it's still laced with his untamable weirdness and chilling talent at conveying fear and menace with equal potency. Here, he tangos once again with Donald Pleasance (Halloween’s doomed Dr. Loomis), who plays a priest who convinces a local Los Angeles professor (Big Trouble in Little China's Victor Wong) to bring his class to an abandoned church where he believes he’s tracked down the essence of Satan. Carpenter is no fan of organized religion and here he seems to really let his secular fury flow. The hiding from and battles against the legions of the possessed allows Carpenter plenty of time to let his natural talent for B-movie action out to play, and though not quite as politically radical as one might hope, the suspicious, atheistic perspective is a breath of fresh air regardless. – Chris Cabin

44. The Blob

There has been a drought of creature feature horror movies in recent years and that’s a crying shame. Luckily, past decades have us well and truly covered with just about every type of critter imaginable. Case in point: 1988’s The Blob. This remake of the 1958 film of the same name brings an amorphous, acidic, amoeba-like creature to life and lets it crawl across the California countryside consuming everything in its path.

This is just good old-fashioned creature feature fun. The practical effects are a blast as multiple victims are partially or completely digested and dissolved by the blob’s acidic chemistry. And though the creature may have crash-landed onto Earth from outer space, its actual origins provide the necessary narrative twist in this movie that would otherwise be a one-note slog. The gore factor is near the top of the charts in this one so if that bothers you, you might want to skip it entirely. But for those of you who maybe watched this movie at too young an age and then reenacted it with a glob of Silly Putty and toy soldiers, I think you’ll enjoy this little chunk of nostalgia. – Dave Trumbore

43. The Stuff

the-stuff-1985
Image via New World Pictures

The Stuff is essentially a Bugsy Malone remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with advertising and greed being the substitute for Snatchers’ Communist pod people and “The Stuff” a substitute for the lethal ice cream that was in the kids’ gangster guns in Malone. What’s “The Stuff”? Some delicious white goop that bubbles up from the ground one day and is discovered to be extremely nutritious and calorie free, despite tasting so good. Because it tastes swell and makes folks feel good, before anyone will ask why is it pumping out of the ground, it’s packaged, marketed and sold. Years later, it’s essentially all that anyone lives off of, but it also starts moving on its own and bodily husks start being found where “The Stuff” now runs amok. You should’ve asked questions!

Larry Cohen’s film is goofier than it is scary. It recreates many iconic horror scenes (such as the bloody bed in Nightmare on Elm Street) with a marshmallow-y texture. What’s really at play in The Stuff is that we shouldn’t just be scared of sharp things that can pierce us, but also seemingly harmless everyday things that we constantly replenish and restock without thought. Don’t become a slave to your “stuff”. ~ Brian Formo

42. Hellraiser

hellraiser
Image via Entertainment Film Distributors

This entry previously appeared in the Best Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now article.

Clive Barker's name has become synonymous with the horror genre, just as his first feature-length film Hellraiser has become a symbol for leather-wearing, sadomasochistic, pain-worshippers. Both descriptors are fitting, though there's so much more to Barker's original 1987 film than mere fetishism. There's a deep mythology here, a rather original one that started with Barker's novella "The Hellbound Heart" and was carried on in numerous sequel films, comic books, novels, video games, and more.

And it all started with Hellraiser, a film that explores the linked sensations of pain and pleasure on a number of levels. The main players are Larry Cotton and his second wife Julia, who cheated on him with his brother Frank shortly after they were married. This sets up one of the most bizarre yet rich mythologies in cinema history: Julia's obsession with Frank continues well after his death and is rejuvenated when Frank himself is resurrected. However, Frank needs fresh blood to return to his full health, blood that Julia is happy to supply by luring men back to Frank's abandoned childhood home and sacrificing them.

And yet, as horrible as this is, it's mundane compared to the arrival of the Cenobites, beings from another dimension obsessed with carnal experiences elucidating the extremes of pain and pleasure. Their design and presence is fantastic in the truest sense of the word and the practical effects on display here are just as terrifying today as they were in 1987. If you haven't seen the original or any of the sequels, Hellraiser is the perfect place to start. If you're not careful, this movie will tear your soul apart. - Dave Trumbore

41. The Funhouse

the-funhouse-image

In a way, no one but Tobe Hooper could have directed this no-frills chiller. Part of what fascinates Hooper is the everyday horrors of the world, how things that we take for granted as familiar images and utilities are also, in origin or myth, horrific. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the craziness begins with a hitchhiker not seeing the inherent horror in making headcheese. In the case of The Funhouse, it’s as much the cheap designs of the traveling carnival where the central quartet of teens finds themselves rambling around as the damage that’s been done to the equipment and the overall age of it all. There’s also something about the veneer of fear in the simple story, in which a murderous mutant being hunts the aforementioned teens. The man who runs the haunted house and funhouse doesn’t care about the effectiveness of his designs or rides, but his personal life is full of unimaginable burdens and endless terror. Similarly, the inanimate mask that the killer wears hides a, er, unappealing visage, but this killer, under Hooper’s direction, reanimates the horrors of the carnival funhouse after years of these images being dismissed as lame or old-fashioned. – Chris Cabin

40. The Fog

the-fog-hal-holbrook
Image via AVCO Embassy Pictures

John Carpenter's The Fog is a good old-fashioned ghost story and it makes no bones about it. The film opens on John Houseman‘s grizzled Mr. Machen spinning a campfire yarn about the local legend of a wrecked ship, the Elizabeth Dane, which washed up on the rocky shores of Antonio Bay 100 years ago, dragging the ship’s crew to the bottom of the sea. On the town Centennial, the sinister truth about the Elizabeth Dane emerges along with the souls of its crewmen, as a neon blue fog rolls into town with some very pissed off pirate ghosts in tow. Carpenter’s Halloween follow-up feels similar in a lot of ways: a slow-moving, unstoppable force coming to wreak havoc on a quiet town, set to a pulsing synth score, and hey, Jamie Lee Curtis is there too (though in an inconsequential supporting role). It’s a sleepy, atmospheric film that embodies the spirit of a campfire ghost story. -- Haleigh Foutch

39. Phenomena

A young girl (Jennifer Connelly) communicates with insects and they assist her in warding off attacks in an idyllic Swiss landscape where young girls are getting speared and decapitated. This being a Dario Argento film, that means we get to see some action that it’s split into eight eyes and that the human decapitations are especially gruesome, but handsomely shot.

In revealing who/what’s killing the town’s youth and also who can save them, Phenomena has the most bonkers third act of any horror film that I’ve ever seen. It’s the sort of thing that must be seen to be believed. But as absurd as it is, it fits in with Argento’s side narrative about loving all living things and how that energy can assist you in life. Just think of that love of life when he gleefully films the crimson that drains from it during the last pleads for life.

Did I not mention that Donald Pleasence co-stars as a scientist with a pet chimpanzee? See this movie. - Brian Formo

38. Children of the Corn

stephen-king-children-of-the-corn
Image via New World Pictures

Stephen King’s Children of the Corn brings the 1977 short story from Stephen King to life. First published in Penthouse and then included in the “Night Shift” collection, Children of the Corn is centered on a bickering couple on a road trip to California for a vacation. Their journey takes an unfortunate side track into the Nebraska town of Gatlin where a gruesome and bizarre cult of extremely devout children do not take kindly to outsiders, especially adults.

While this movie starts out as a faithful adaptation of King’s work, it quickly turns into a more traditional heroic story than the short story intended; purists of King’s writing will likely find the movie infuriating. However, it remains as a great example of the “creepy children” that King’s work has become known for, and of the cultural touchstones of Malachi, Isaac, and He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Yeah, you’re probably going to laugh when you see a bunch of corn stuffed into a car’s engine block “disabling” it or when the hero plays a game of “How Many 5th Graders Can You Take in a Fight?” but it’s a classic nonetheless. - Dave Trumbore

37. Dolls

dolls

One of three Stuart Gordon movies that adorn this list, Dolls is perhaps the most uniquely frightening of the bunch and also the least audacious in terms of concept and style. The story, which centers on an old couple who house a number of strangers on a stormy night in a home filled with creepy dolls, seems to be a throwback to The Twilight Zone or, more accurately, the beloved B-movie classic Devil Doll. And yet, under Gordon, the entire tale seems revitalized, given a new rampant fury and energy that somehow never outpaces with pulse of suspense and terror. For a director who must use actors much like playing with living, thinking dolls, the movie must have a vicious, self-excoriating purpose for Gordon. For the audience, it's an oddly funny, quite bloody entertainment sans frills. - Chris Cabin

36. The Entity

entity-electric

Where other ghost tales may focus on homes stirred into tumult by specters or human possession, The Entity supposes something a lot more discomfiting: the act of being repeatedly raped by a ghost. That’s what Barbara Hershey’s mother of four must survive on a somewhat regular basis in her home, a status that she calls in Ron Silver’s doctor to give her some insight into. The attacks themselves are brutal even as they feature nothing more than Hershey struggling against an invisible being. That’s the talent of Sidney J. Furie coming out, and it’s the grinding mechanical noise accompaniment as much as the images of Hershey unable to control her own body. The movie takes a turn toward scientific reasoning – amongst the ghost rape – which unfortunately suggests a lack of confidence in the sheer madness and emotional effectiveness of the premise and its execution. Up until the attempts to bring in physics, chemistry, and whatnot into this unnerving nonsense, however, The Entity is uniquely memorable, and not for particularly joyful reasons. – Chris Cabin

35. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Image via Cannon Releasing

Director Tobe Hooper dubbed this unlikely 1986 sequel a “red comedy” in an attempt to explain horror that transcends even the tastes of intellectual cynics. The viscerally bitter point of view of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, its utter disregard for empathizing with the dead, certainly sticks with you but that’s not what’s worth discussing with this film. Instead, it’s worth recalling the demented world-building power that Hooper let flourish in the DADA-esque editing and the spare yet chilling production design of the original, as he continues to explore nonsensical yet deeply effective stylistic excesses. He builds tremendous suspense during the second movement of the film in the radio station, which features some sensational long takes and tight, paranoia-inducing framing in the final moments leading up to the climax. For all these cerebral reasons to let this noble sequel off the hook, it’s still the unshakeable feeling that Hooper’s Massacre films stricken you with that keeps you coming back, as if you had just met personally with the janitorial staff of the sixth circle of hell. – Chris Cabin

34. Motel Hell

motel-hell

Of the innumerable Texas Chainsaw Massacre rip-offs, Motel Hell might be the most enjoyable and distinct of the lot. In the middle of nowhere, farmer Vincent Smith makes his living off of a meager stretch of land, his barbeque, and the few rooms at his Motel Hello. Often enough, it’s the perverts and local lost tourists that stop at the Motel Hello that turn into that state-famous barbeque that brings discerning carnivores back. And then old Vincent tries to make a love slave out of one of his victims and that’s where the problems begin. There’s no great artistry here but there’s plenty of bewitching bizarreness, from the not-so-polished performances on down to the no-budget production design. It’s the proper setting for one of the true disciples of a movie that’s as remarkable for what it shows as for how it shows it. – Chris Cabin

33. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

halloween-3-season-of-the-witch
Image via Universal Pictures

Much maligned because it departed from the track the horror franchise had established with the first two films (and because it was completely insane), Halloween III: Season of the Witch has developed somewhat of a cult following since its 1982 debut. It’s the sole film in the franchise that doesn’t feature the iconic, unkillable serial killer Michael Myers or any of the previously established mythology. The reason behind this was that Halloween creators and producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill envisioned the franchise as going in an anthology direction with the third installment verging into sci-fi/fantasy territory. Things did not go as planned.

For the uninitiated, Season of the Witch follows an investigation into the Silver Shamrock Novelties company and its owner, Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy), which brings prosperity to a small town but also has a significant creepy factor thanks to his besuited businessmen roaming around. While I won’t give away the investigations findings (they’re bonkers) or the reason behind them (even more bonkers), I will say that you’ll never see anything else quite like it. Completionists need to check this one off their list and it’s a must-watch for horror aficionados as well, but for folks with an open mind who can appreciate the movie’s anti-consumerism message and taboo treatment of violence against children, it’s an eye-opening experience. – Dave Trumbore

32. Of Unknown Origin

Director George P. Cosmatos would come to prominence in 1985 with Rambo: First Blood Part II, and would hit the big time again with the notorious Sylvester Stallone actioner Cobra, but Of Unknown Origin remains his sole triumph. Mild-mannered Peter Weller has a huge project at work looming over him when his wife and kids decide to take a vacation, but that’s exactly when our hero starts hearing and seeing rats. Huge ones, as a matter of fact. It’s a true oddity and Cosmatos somehow strikes the perfect tone for this disturbing psychological thriller, but it’s also clearly a cheesy, if inventive cultural comment. The obsession of an unknown infiltrator, whether it be a thief in the night or AIDS, over the stasis of your life on the whole reflects a nattering anxiety over some false sort of purity. It makes all the more sense to symbolize sin and debauchery with a rat, the unofficial symbol of the New York City subway system, a location that’s already long been marked with more than its fair share of scarlet letters. – Chris Cabin

31. Maniac

The effect of William Lustig’s Maniac, in which we follow a demented killer (Joe Spinell) of women who occupies a small room full of mannequins and collects the heads of women he sees on the streets at night. Or does he?

The possibility that this is all some kind of sweat-soaked nightmare doesn’t dull the impact of the murders themselves, which are directed to emphasize the physical exertion of the activity, the exhaustion and messiness of an act that’s often presented as quick and easy with a gun. And the grisly acts that are visited upon these corpses certainly don’t become easier to ignore when the main man is questioning his state of mind. Lustig shot on a humble budget in New York City and much like C.H.U.D. and Basket Case, the movie is remembered partially as a last-ditch document of pre-Giuliani New York. The movie is, after all, Giuliani’s walking, bloody nightmare of the town he’s pimped out for credibility for years.

Maniac is exacting in its depiction of the ugliness of serial killing, but it’s also one of those movies that stands as a giddy affront to good taste and a testament to why you should never, ever, ever try to clean up the five boroughs. – Chris Cabin