Thirteen 80's Horror Movies

When I sat down and listed all of the 80’s horror movies I have seen, I had a list of more than 20. I tried to narrow that down to a fun mix of movies. Some of these movies are really good, and some of them are just so horribly bad that they’re entertaining. But each of them has something that makes them worth a look.

No one is allowed to leave a comment if all you’re going to say is “I don’t like those kinds of movies.” That’s not gonna cut it, people!

1. The Lost Boys (1987) – A mother and her two sons move to a town that is overrun with vampires. This is one of my favorite 80’s movies. I was a Corey fan, and this has both of them – Haim and Feldman, plus a young Jason Patric. Not only that, but Keifer Sutherland with awesome 80’s hair is completely perfect as the head of the vampire pack! Love this movie! I saw it three times at the theatre when I was 14!
Best gruesome moment: Death by stereo!

2. Prom Night (1980) – A masked killer seeks revenge on four teens responsible for the death of a child six years earlier. Give me a Jamie Lee Curtis movie any day! This was a tough choice since she also did Terror Train, The Fog, Halloween 2 – she was a busy scream queen in the 80’s. Anyway, I love this movie, because it’s not only a great suspenseful slasher flick, but it’s a good whodunit!
Best gruesome moment: That head rolling out on the dance floor!

3. April Fool’s Day (1986) – Nine teenagers in a deserted mansion start getting killed off one by one. I made my husband watch this one night and he totally does not get why I like it. It’s not a great slasher flick, but it’s got a very fun twist at the end, and that makes it a worthwhile movie for me.
Creepiest moment: Bodies in the well. Eeeewwww!

4. He Knows You’re Alone (1980) – A young bride-to-be is stalked by a serial killer. I saw this movie when I was little and it scared the crap out of me. Then I saw it again as an adult, and I’m not quite sure what I was thinking. The acting is seriously horrible. But it really does have some scary moments.
Most gruesome moment: That head in the fish tank!

5. Happy Birthday To Me (1981) – Before her 18th birthday, Virginia’s friends start turning up dead. Coincidentally, she is suffering from black-outs. Once again, this movie is one that I remember as being much better when I saw it in the 80’s. Oh, but it’s certainly entertaining to watch. And it has an interesting twist at the end that provides some satisfaction. But come on, when anyone from Little House on the Prairie is in a slasher movie, aren’t you curious?
Most gruesome moment: That shish kabob to the back of the throat!

6. Slumber Party Massacre (1982) – An 18-year-old girl who is left home alone decides to have a slumber party. I haven’t seen this movie in years, but I do remember seeing it at a slumber party when I was 11, and it scared the bejeezus out of me. I also remember it being darkly funny. Which means now, it would probably be hilarious.
Most gruesome moment: Would a real killer actually have that much of a need for power tools?

7. Sleepaway Camp (1983) – Bizarre and violent accidents claim the lives of kids at a summer camp. I just can’t believe this movie spawned five sequels!! Many people think this is a better camp slasher movie than Friday the 13th. I don’t know that I would go that far, but it is a good cult classic. It really did have an ending that I did not see coming. Of course, I was 12 at the time, so I wasn’t as good at figuring these things out. But it certainly made me never want to go to summer camp.
Best gruesome moment: The curling iron. That’s all I really need to say about that.

8. Children of the Corn (1984) – A young couple wanders into a town where all the adults are dead and the children perform cult worship and human sacrifices. This gives evil children a whole new meaning. I’ve never been a huge Stephen King fan, but this is one of his short stories turned movies that I thought was pretty damn scary.
Creepiest moment: Pretty much any time Malachai is on screen. I still have trouble watching Courtney Gains in anything today.

9. Child’s Play (1988) – A serial killer transfers his soul into a doll, Chucky, and then resumes his killing spree. Okay, would anyone really get their kid a doll that looks that creepy in the first place? I mean, come on! Either way, it made me want to put all my stuffed animals in storage. But my favorite part is the end when Chucky is fighting with the mom (Catherine Hicks of 7th Heaven). That is classic!
Creepiest Moment: Pretty much every time that damn doll opens its mouth.

10. Friday the 13th (1980) – Many years after two counselors are killed at Camp Crystal Lake, the owner decides to reopen, sparking a series of grisly murders. Oh, what a classic. How many sequels are we up to on this one? 10 or 11? I still watch this movie whenever it’s on. On AMC, they even show it with pop-ups. That’s lots of fun! Even though it’s cheesy, I still get the creeps when Eric comes up behind me and starts going “sh sh sh sh fu fu fu fu.” Eeek!
Best gruesome moment: Oh there are so many. Kevin Bacon getting skewered right through the neck? Or maybe Mrs. Voorhees’ final moments.

11. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – A child murderer stalks the children of the people who killed him. . . in their dreams. This is another one that gave me nightmares. I was scared to go to sleep, and it didn’t help that I had an older brother who went outside and scratched on my window to scare me. The bastard!
Best gruesome moment: Johnny Depp getting sucked up by his bed.

12. Poltergeist (1982) – A family’s home is haunted by ghosts. This is one scary f*cking movie. I got scared of ghosts when I watched Scooby Doo as a kid. After seeing this movie, I couldn’t sleep for weeks! So my tip is – don’t let your kids watch it! It’s sooo good, though. And I still think the special effects are great today.
Scariest Moment: This is a tough one. The tree? The clown? The caskets and bodies in the pool? Oh, I could go so many different directions. But the best line of the movie – “You moved the head stones, but you didn’t move the bodies?!”

13. Chopping Mall (1986) – Eight teenagers are trapped overnight in a mall and pursued by three murderous security robots. Okay, this is like the worst movie ever, but sooooo entertaining! The description really says it all, doesn’t it. It’s especially great because the evil robots look like the robot in Short Circuit. It’s awesome! And they have killer laser beams. They don’t make bad movies this good anymore!
Most gruesome moment: Laser head explosion!

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