Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
We could sit here all day and debate which era produced the best films, but it’s difficult to deny just how many classic horror flicks were born in the 1980s. From thrillers to creature features and slasher favorites, it’s pretty much impossible to imagine the genre without the entertainment of the 80s. Before there were teens plagued by hook-wielding murderers or multiple final destinations to travel to, there was Freddy Krueger, Jack Torrance, and some seriously unfriendly ghosts (and poltergeists). Thanks to reboot culture, we likely would have half as many as we do today if these ’80s flicks hadn’t existed to be remade over, and over, and over again.
The 1980s gave us the gifts of John Carpenter, John Landis, David Cronenberg, and more, and inspired the work of countless others. With horror icons like these, how can the ’80s influence even be up for debate? We wouldn’t have series like Stranger Things or horror homages like It Follows or The Void if all these titles hadn’t come before. Some of the greatest horror franchises of all-time kicked off in the 80s; Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, Hellraiser, and The Evil Dead remain genre tentpoles. It’s near-impossible to pick the “best” because there are just so many genre-bending classics that come from this decade -the 1980s were something of a Golden Age of Horror, one that gave us the icons we know and love today.
Don’t let me blabber on about this forever – see for yourself. Here are some of the best ’80s horror titles available to stream:
SCARIEST
It’s difficult to overstate the impact of The Shining. Stanley Kubrick‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s classic novel hit theaters in 1980 and perhaps changed the cinema landscape forever. The film’s deliberately slow pacing as Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) loses his sanity and turns on his own family ensures that its hypnotic quality keeps you hooked until the very end. It may not have gotten the critical love it deserved when it was first released, but the reevaluation it underwent in the years that followed fairly sums up its impact and enduring influence. There’s something about the claustrophobic nature of the film – one that makes you feel as though you’re inhabiting the same space and perhaps confined to the same horrors as the Torrances – that makes The Shining a totally unique experience every time. It’s a flick that holds up, too; people are still booking holidays at the Overlook Hotel and dressing up like the Grady girls, and references to the chilling film are pretty much inescapable (“Heeeere’s Johnny!”) across genres.
The ’80s also gifted us with classic villain Freddy Krueger, who still haunts our dreams. Released in 1984, Wes Craven‘s A Nightmare on Elm Street left an impact on the horror genre that forever changed the way these kinds of movies are made. Craven essentially birthed the horror franchise with this seriously scary slasher flick and managed to tell a story imaginative, intelligent, and hair-raising; the struggle to discern between dreams and reality is a totally chilling and innovative premise. The definitive Bogeyman in Krueger – one that can scare even the more fearless of moviegoers – continues to haunt something inside us all these years later, ensuring that even a midday rewatch sends a shiver down your spine.
[Where to Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street]
CLASSIC THAT HOLDS UP
An American Werewolf in London is one of those flicks oft-referenced by filmmakers when describing a perfect marriage of genres (and a classic soundtrack). Things begin pretty innocuously; two American college students on a tour of the English countryside seem to be having a ball, but that all goes to hell when they’re attacked by a werewolf. One is killed, but the other returns to London with some seriously strange symptoms. It’s a film that’s equal parts shocking and silly, clever and gruesome, the kind of movie that surprises you in the best way. In addition to its memorable soundtrack and astounding special effects makeup, John Landis’ Werewolf threw the horror genre a curveball and proved that genre-crossing can be done – and done well.
[Where to Stream An American Werewolf in London]
If you still want to scratch the itch where horror and comedy meet, make your next watch The Evil Dead (and its killer, possibly superior sequel, Evil Dead II). The Evil Dead sees five college students take a trip to a remote cabin in the woods and accidentally release something of an army of legions and spirits via an audiotape. Evidently, totally gory chaos ensues, and the visceral style combined with perfectly-timed black humor makes this franchise one both frightening and funny to this day.
[Where to Stream The Evil Dead]
WORTH DISCOVERING
In a decade full of monsters and the supernatural, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer was something of an anomaly. This psychological horror flick follows Henry (Michael Rooker), a nomadic serial killer who evades capture and murders without much discrimination as he travels through the United States. Rather than playing up the murders with slasher flair, Henry instead takes an honest approach, creating a psychopathic character difficult to watch and subject matter that can turn even the strongest stomach.
[Where to Stream Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer]
If you need a palate cleanser after something so realistic, allow me to introduce you to Stage Fright, an off-the-wall slasher film with highly-stylized visuals and an opening musical number (!). The flick follows a group of stage actors and a crew preparing to perform a musical who lock themselves in the theater to rehearse. Little do they know, however, that they’ve locked themselves in with an escaped psychopath who also happens to be an actor on a killing spree. Still not sold?! A killer in a giant owl mask literally cuts down a bunch of community theater performers with a chainsaw. Thank me later.
[Where to Stream Stage Fright]
BEST AVAILABLE TO STREAM FOR FREE
The Thing is one of those movies that is a must-see for any lover of the genre. John Carpenter’s classic takes you away from typical horror settings and instead tells his terrifying tale in Antarctica, where an alien force has murdered a research camp’s former inhabitants and is now taking the shape of whatever it touches. No one is safe in this gruesome, often-repulsive thriller, one that builds tension to a breaking point and then slices through it with a jagged knife. Like The Shining, The Thing is the kind of film that only gets better with age and further speaks to the masterful skills of its creator.
Previously:
Why The 1960s Were the Best Decade For Horror Movies
Why The 1970s Were the Best Decade For Horror Movies
Why The 1980s Were the Best Decade For Horror Movies
Why The 1990s Were the Best Decade For Horror Movies
Why the 2000s Were the Best Decade For Horror Movies
