Decade
1980s Horror
The horror that defined the 1980s — ranked by Crypt Score, from era-defining classics to the deep cuts worth resurrecting.
625 titles
Invitation to Hell
›NR1984 · Horror, TV Movie · 100m · Robert Urich, Joanna Cassidy, Susan Lucci
Family man Matt Winslow accepts a new job in Silicon Valley and quickly finds that his associates are obsessed with a mysterious local country club whose manager, Jessica Jones, holds sway over the community.
The Vindicator
›R1986 · Action, Horror, Science Fiction · 93m · David McIlwraith, Teri Austin, Richard Cox
An employee of a secret company operation becomes the victim of the company's special weapons project. He is transformed into a robotic killing machine that, because of his programming must destroy anything that comes near him.
Hellhole
›R1985 · Horror, Action, Drama · 96m · Ray Sharkey, Judy Landers, Mary Woronov
An unlucky woman’s mother is murdered by a scarf-wielding killer named Silk, leaving the woman injured, traumatised and suffering from amnesia. She’s committed to a mental institution, where Silk follows her, looking for the papers he was trying to get from her mother. And Silk’s only the beginning of her problems, since the asylum is run by a mad doctor, performing experiments in chemical lobotomies!
Cameron's Closet
›R1988 · Horror · 87m · Cotter Smith, Mel Harris, Scott Curtis
A father who experiments with his son's psychokinetic powers is unaware that these experiments have released a demon from hell which lives in his son's closet, preparing to take over the young boy's soul.
Sphinx
›PG1981 · Adventure, Mystery, Thriller · 118m · Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, Maurice Ronet
Egyptologist Erica Baron finds more than she bargained for during her long-planned trip to The Land of the Pharoahs - murder, theft, betrayal, love, and a mummy's curse!
Scared Stiff
›R1987 · Horror · 83m · Andrew Stevens, Mary Page Keller, David Ramsey
Kate's a single mom rock star recovering from a nervous breakdown; David is her psychiatrist turned lover. After David buys an old Charleston mansion and Kate and her son move in with him, strange events occur including the discoveries of a secret hidden attic and the diary of the murderous slave trader who owned the home. Kate hears a piano playing by itself and sees the ghost of the slave trader who once lived there. Their relationship is strained by the bizarre events as Kate's sanity is again questioned as she insists what she's seen is real...but is it?
Windows
›R1980 · Horror, Drama, Thriller · 96m · Talia Shire, Elizabeth Ashley, Joe Cortese
Emily Hollander becomes the subject of a lesbian obsession at the hands of Andrea Glassen, her next-door neighbour.
Rest in Pieces
›1987 · Horror · 90m · Scott Thompson Baker, Lorin Jean Vail, Dorothy Malone
A newlywed couple move into the mansion of the bride's recently dead aunt. Soon strange things begin to happen when the various tenants and servants of the mansion don't want to leave and the bride and groom are in a deadly predicament.
Disconnected
›1984 · Horror · 82m · Frances Sherman, Mark Walker, Carl Koch
Lovely young Alicia starts receiving bizarre and disturbing phone calls after breaking up with her boyfriend Mike who she suspects is cheating on her with her twin sister Barbara Ann. Alicia meets and befriends amiable, but awkward film nerd Franklin, who alas turns out to be a total psycho with a penchant for carving up nubile ladies. But is Franklin the nutter responsible for those distressing phone calls?
Night Visitor
›1989 · Horror, Thriller · 93m · Derek Rydall, Allen Garfield, Kathleen Bailey
A teenager insists he saw a satanist kill the call girl next door, and tries to prove it.
The Wind
›1986 · Horror, Thriller · 92m · Meg Foster, Wings Hauser, David McCallum
Mystery writer Sian Anderson leaves her boyfriend John for three weeks of intense writing in the isolated Greek town of Monemvassia. Upon her arrival in the ancient, deserted, walled-in fortress, she is met by Elias Appleby, the round eccentric landlord who guides her through mysterious underground passageways to the house where she will work. He warns her to stay inside at night because of the killer winds that arrive after dark.
Calendar Girl Murders
›NR1984 · Crime, Mystery, TV Movie · 95m · Tom Skerritt, Sharon Stone, Barbara Bosson
During the launch party of a nude calendar, one of the models is thrown to her death by a black gloved killer. When the killer begins to strike again, going in the order of the calendar itself, a hard nosed cop realizes that he needs to solve the mystery, or risk all of the models ending up in the morgue!
Lady Beware
›R1987 · Romance, Thriller, Horror · 112m · Diane Lane, Michael Woods, Cotter Smith
A department store window dresser starts being stalked by a married man who’s obsessed with her.
Killing Spree
›1987 · Horror · 88m · Asbestos Felt, Courtney Lercara, Raymond Carbone
Newly wed Tom Russo suspects his wife is having sexual encounters with their suburban neighbors, and launches a methodical campaign to murder the lovers.
Return of the Living Dead Part II
›R1988 · Horror, Comedy · 89m · Michael Kenworthy, Thor Van Lingen, Jason Hogan
A group of kids discover one of the drums containing a rotting corpse and release the 2-4-5 Trioxin gas into the air, causing the dead to once again rise from the grave and seek out brains.
Shocker
›R1989 · Horror, Thriller, Comedy · 111m · Michael Murphy, Mitch Pileggi, Peter Berg
About to be electrocuted for a catalog of heinous crimes, the unrepentant Horace Pinker transforms into a terrifying energy source. Only young athlete Jonathan Parker, with an uncanny connection to him through bizarre dreams, can fight the powerful demon.
Once Bitten
›PG-131985 · Comedy, Horror, Fantasy · 94m · Jim Carrey, Lauren Hutton, Karen Kopins
Mark wants to lose his virginity, but his girlfriend wants to wait. Unfortunately for both of them, a 400-year-old vampire Countess needs to turn a virgin into a vampire before Halloween in order to preserve her own youthful appearance, and when she finds Mark, she turns his life upside-down.
Deadly Friend
›R1986 · Horror, Science Fiction · 91m · Matthew Labyorteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett
When tragedy strikes his remarkable robot and the beautiful girl next door, lonely teenage genius Paul tries to save them by pushing technology beyond its known limits into a terrifying new realm.
Silent Rage
›R1982 · Action, Horror, Science Fiction · 103m · Chuck Norris, Ron Silver, Toni Kalem
A mentally ill man in a small Texas town goes on a killing rampage and is fatally wounded by police. When doctors use an experimental serum to bring him back to life, the killer develops superhuman strength and the town sheriff must pursue him.
The Mutilator
›NR1985 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 86m · Matt Mitler, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock
As a child, Ed was cleaning his father’s hunting rifles - a surprise birthday treat for the old man - when one of them went off, hitting and killing his mother. On seeing the bloodshed, his father flew into a murderous rage - Ed just barely escaped with his life. Now in his teens, he returns home; he doesn’t expect to find his father, still there, waiting for a chance to settle the score . . .
Blood Diner
›NR1987 · Horror, Comedy · 88m · Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer
Two cannibalistic brothers kill various young women to make their flesh part of a new special dish at their rundown restaurant while seeking blood sacrifices to awaken a dormant Egyptian goddess.
The Phantom of the Opera
›R1989 · Horror, Romance · 93m · Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, Alex Hyde-White
An aspiring opera singer finds herself transported back to Victorian-era London -- and into the arms of a reclusive, disfigured maestro determined to make her a star.
The Beast Within
›R1982 · Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction · 98m · Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens
A horrified teen mutates into a crazed cannibalistic swamp creature, and must uncover the terrifying secret identity of his father before his nasty natural tendencies force him to make jambalaya out of the locals.
Nightmare
›R1981 · Horror · 99m · Baird Stafford, Sharon Smith, C.J. Cooke
A drug-treated schizophrenic plagued by horrible nightmares is released from the hospital and goes on a killing spree.
