The Crypt Charts
The Top 13 Horror Movies of 1986
The thirteen horror films of 1986 that the crypt judged worthiest, ranked by the Crypt Score.
Ranked by Crypt Score · Updated weekly · captured Jul 20, 2026
Eligibility: a title needs at least 2 rating sources and 1,000+ votes to chart — no thin-data entries.
The Fly
R1986 · Horror, Science Fiction · 96m · Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
When brilliant, eccentric scientist Seth Brundle makes a huge technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.
Manhunter
R1986 · Crime, Horror, Thriller · 120m · William L. Petersen, Tom Noonan, Dennis Farina, Brian Cox
FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecter, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecter to capture a new killer.
Little Shop of Horrors
PG-131986 · Horror, Comedy · 94m · Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Levi Stubbs
Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's; a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker, Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day, Seymour finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for it’s supper.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
NR1986 · Crime, Horror, Thriller · 83m · Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
The Deliberate Stranger
NR1986 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · 185m · Mark Harmon, Frederic Forrest, George Grizzard, Ben Masters
Based on a true story, this film depicts the life of Ted Bundy, the serial killer. In 1974, after having murdered several young women, he leaves Seattle for Utah, where he is a law student and where other girls disappear. It takes the cooperation of a number of police forces to work efficiently on this case. Soon, but not soon enough, the police eliminate endless possibilities and close in on him. Bundy is tried in the media and his good-boy attitude brings him sympathy but also the hatred of many.
The Hitcher
R1986 · Horror, Action, Thriller · 98m · Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
Night of the Creeps
R1986 · Horror, Comedy, Science Fiction · 88m · Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins
In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.
From Beyond
R1986 · Horror, Science Fiction · 85m · Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel
The Resonator, a powerful machine that can control the sixth sense, has killed its creator and sent his associate into an insane asylum. When a psychiatrist becomes determined to continue the experiment, she unwittingly opens the door to a hostile parallel universe.
The Boys Next Door
R1986 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 91m · Maxwell Caulfield, Charlie Sheen, Patti D'Arbanville, Christopher McDonald
Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.
Combat Shock
R1986 · War, Drama, Horror · 97m · Rick Giovinazzo, Veronica Stork, Mitch Maglio, Asaph Livni
A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.
Critters
PG-131986 · Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction · 86m · Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes
Carnivorous aliens arrive unannounced at a Kansas family farm; two intergalactic bounty hunters soon follow, determined to blow them off the planet.
Dead End Drive-In
R1986 · Horror, Science Fiction, Action · 87m · Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wilde
In the future, a health nut and his tag-along girlfriend become trapped in a drive-in theater that has become a concentration camp for outcast youths.
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