The 1980s were, by all accounts, a beautiful decade for cinema. The "me decade" of glitz, glamour, neon and synthesizers produced some of the absolute greatest works in cinematic history across all genres; in artistic cinema, films like Koyaanisqatsi, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and Begotten redefined what one could do with the medium of the moving image. In popular cinema, similarly, nearly every defined genre had an explosion of popularity and talent beyond anything it had previously seen.

Horror cinema is no exception; if anything, horror was one of the genres most positively affected. For horror, the 1980s were the decade of the slasher; Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger dominated cinemas with every new release. With this boom, however, came many excellent movies that, for one reason or another, slipped the mainstream radar and await rediscovery by dedicated horror fans.

10 The Prowler (1981)

A soldier with a knife about to stab a woman in The Prowler (1981)
Image via Blue Underground

Also known as Rosemary's Killer, this slasher film follows a jilted World War II veteran who, in 1945, murders his ex-girlfriend with a pitchfork and leaves behind a red rose. Thirty-five years later, college students throwing a graduation party in the same house find themselves menaced by the veteran, who dispatches them one by one.

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The Prowler is a film defined almost entirely by its gore. Without it, the film would be competent, but nothing special; Tom Savini's effects, however, elevate the film above and beyond its otherwise meager appeal. The bayonet through the skull, one of the most effectively nasty kills in the subgenre's history, would justify this movie's existence even with nothing else.

9 The Mutilator (1984)

Jack Chatham as Big Ed in The Mutilator (1984)
Image via Ocean King Releasing

In this slasher, a group of college students travel to a beachfront clubhouse for fall break. Unbeknownst to them, the father of one of their own is hiding there, ready to slaughter them all with assorted fishing implements.

The Mutilator's tagline alone would justify its existence: "By pick, by axe, by sword... bye bye!" If that isn't enough to sell audiences on this film right off the bat, though, this is a charming regional slasher, with an oddball cast of characters and an almost Full House-esque theme song. The kills are no slouch, either, with one involving a fishing gaff being a particular standout.

8 Phenomena (1985)

Jennifer Connelly in Phenomena
image via New Line Cinema

In this Dario Argento sleeper, originally released to American and British theaters in butchered form as Creepers, a young girl (Jennifer Connelly in an early role) arrives at an academy for girls and discovers serial murders. Also, she can control bugs with her mind. Also, there's a chimpanzee who kills someone with a razor blade.

Argento's films are odd on a good day, and Phenomena is no exception. However, despite being one of the lesser-known and more overtly strange films in his filmography, it's also one of the most accessible. Recently restored in 4K by Synapse Films, it's a fast-paced barrage of wild concepts and gorgeous images that rarely gives the viewer time to even internalize anything, and manages to be as fun as it is full of artistic merit.

7 Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

"Jason Voorhees" (actually Roy) in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Image via Paramount Pictures

Also known as "the one where they replaced Jason with some guy named Roy," this entry in the Friday the 13th franchise follows Tommy Jarvis, survivor of the previous film, as he attempts to grapple with his experience in the face of new hockey-mask-related murders.

While this film has seen some major re-evaluation over the years, A New Beginning is easily the most maligned entry of the original Paramount run, for the simple reason that it doesn't truly have Jason. It has a hockey-mask-wearing killer, who does more or less the same things in the same way, but he's not technically Jason Voorhees, and to fans, this matters. However, once you set that aside, A New Beginning is a fairly well-made (and exceptionally brutal, in parts) slasher that deserves much better than the reputation it's acquired.

6 Intruder (1989)

Burr Steers screams as a cardboard baler descends towards his head in Intruder (1989)
Image via Full Moon Features

In this slasher film directed by Scott Spiegel, otherwise best known for his affiliation with Sam Raimi (who appears in the film in a supporting role and gets a meat hook through his jaw), the night crew of a grocery store on its last night of existence find themselves menaced by an unknown killer.

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It's well known that Evil Dead II toned down the gore from the first film, in an attempt to avoid its censorship headaches; this raises the obvious question of how KNB EFX Group ended up getting it out of their systems. The answer is Intruder. Intruder is one of the most incredibly violent slashers ever made, with kills that still, to this day, have not been topped by any other film, and is worth a watch for that alone.

5 Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

Melissa Sue Anderson, as Ginny Wainwright, serves a cake to her deceased friends in Happy Birthday To Me (1981)
Image via Sony Pictures

In this Canadian slasher, murders surround the birthday of a popular, wealthy high school senior. As she looks into the murders and attempts to verify her own sanity, she discovers dark secrets she could have never predicted.

Happy Birthday to Me is in a rare position of not even being the most popular regional slasher from the area it was filmed (My Bloody Valentine was made by largely the same crew). It's a somewhat low-key film, and gorehounds will be somewhat underwhelmed; however, the film makes up for it with atmosphere and smart writing. It's a genuinely effective horror film, not just a fun slash-em-up.

4 Edge of the Axe (1988)

Barton Faulks and Christina Marie Lane in Edge of the Axe (1988)
Image via Overseas FilmGroup/Arrow Video

In this Spanish slasher, residents of a Northern California town are menaced by an axe-wielding killer. A young woman attempts to investigate, only to find out that she may have a hidden connection to the killings.

On paper, Edge of the Axe is as generic as slashers get: there's a rural town, a killer, and a final girl, and that's the plot (outside the ending twist). However, the devil is, as always, in the details. The film is executed with an incredible amount of flair, with cinematography and effects well above and beyond the genre's standard, and it demands attention.

3 Pumpkinhead (1988)

Tracey faces down the monster in Pumpkinhead (1988)
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

In this backwoods folk-slasher, a man's son is killed in a motorcycle accident, prompting him to summon an ancient demon of vengeance upon the teenagers responsible.

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Pumpkinhead is not an especially gory film, and while its effects are quite good (Stan Winston never misses), they're decidedly not the focus. Pumpkinhead is a film about atmosphere above all else. Every aspect of the film is specifically tuned to create an unsettling folk-tale mood, and it results in one of the scariest slashers ever filmed.

2 StageFright (1987)

The owl-masked killer sits, petting a cat, in StageFright (1987)
Image via Filmirage

In this Italian chiller, actors working on a musical are stalked and offed, one by one, by a killer wearing an owl mask.

Michele Soavi is one of the unsung great voices of Italian horror, and StageFright (also known as Deliria or Aquarius) is arguably his masterpiece. Every single aspect of the film, from its cinematography to its soundtrack to its acting and effects, fires on all cylinders. It's a film that's almost impossible to dislike, from its first few frames, and it's a shame that it's flown under the Anglophone radar for this long due to poor distribution.

1 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Chop-Top (Bill Moseley) laughs as he terrorizes the radio station in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

In this sequel to the iconic 1974 progenitor of the genre, Leatherface and the Sawyer family are back at it again. This time, however, Sheriff "Lefty" Enright (Dennis Hopper) is onto them, and he won't stop until he's taken his own chainsaw to each and every member of the family.

The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most iconic and beloved horror films ever made. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is... decidedly not, being widely derided at the time of release for its massive tonal shift towards goofy comic-book stylings and its extreme level of gore. However, for audiences who can get past the fact that this doesn't resemble the original, this film is just as well-made and a lot more fun. TCM2 has developed a small, but devoted cult following over the years, and it's easy to see why: it's a real hidden gem of a slasher.

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