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
Hero and the Terror
›R1988 · Drama, Action, Thriller · 96m · Chuck Norris, Brynn Thayer, Steve James
Danny O'Brien is back in action fighting the notorious Simon Moon, also known as The Terror. Three years earlier O'Brien had single-handedly captured The Terror and was called Hero by the people of L.A. Now Simon has escaped and has started killing women again, and O'Brien is the only man who can stop him.
Microwave Massacre
›NR1983 · Comedy, Horror · 76m · Jackie Vernon, Loren Schein, Al Troupe
Construction worker Donald is having a hard time getting anything good to eat since his wife has decided to only cook gourmet foods. That and her constant harping causes him to snap, so he whacks her. Somewhere in the confusion he comes up with a new use for the microwave oven, and begins to eat much better. Soon he's experimenting with different recipes. And different meats.
Splatter University
›R1984 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 77m · Forbes Riley, Ric Randig, Dick Biel
A sociology instructor finds her new teaching duties at a private college interrupted by the presence of a killer.
Humongous
›R1982 · Horror · 94m · Janet Julian, David Wallace, John Wildman
The monstrous offspring of a violent crime grows up in seclusion on a remote island, where a boatful of hapless teens have shipwrecked, unaware of what's lurking in the woods.
The Forest
›R1982 · Horror · 85m · Dean Russell, Gary Kent, Tomi Barrett
A cannibal hermit living in the woods preys on campers and hikers for his food supply.
Scalps
›R1983 · Horror · 84m · Richard Hench, Roger Maycock, Frank McDonald
A silly group of college science students go an dig around in an indian burial ground for artifacts. Unfortunately, one of them becomes possessed by the evil spirit of Black Claw so he must therefore slaughter all of his friends.
The Falling
›R1986 · Drama, Horror, Science Fiction · 90m · Dennis Christopher, Martin Hewitt, Lynn-Holly Johnson
Three young friends who are on vacation in Spain and a NASA scientist must join forces to save themselves and the rest of the world from an alien menace.
Biohazard
›R1985 · Horror, Science Fiction · 79m · Aldo Ray, Angelique Pettyjohn, William Fair
A group of skeptical government officials headed by General Randolph are brought to a remote laboratory for a demonstration in "Psychic Materialization", a successful side effect of an experimental drug. But the project scientists had warned that not enough testing had been completed to access safety concerns. In a freak accident during the demonstration to the politicians, a vicious creature is created! Unable to contain the monster, it unleashes unbelievable havoc & destruction against mankind! Reproducing itself at an alarming rate, and all known weapons seemingly powerless against the creature, the scientists are gravely concerned for the survival of mankind!
Things
›1989 · Horror · 84m · Amber Lynn, Barry J. Gillis, Bruce Roach
An impotent husband with a fanatical desire to father children, forces his wife to undergo a dangerous experiment. This results in the birth of a multitude of monstrous THINGS.
The Demon
›NR1981 · Thriller, Horror, Mystery · 94m · Jennifer Holmes, Cameron Mitchell, Craig Gardner
Random people are terrorized by a malevolent man who brings their worst fears to life.
Witchcraft
›R1988 · Horror · 95m · Anat Topol, Gary Sloan, Mary Shelley
A new mother and her child move into her mother-in-law's dark old mansion. She soon begns to suspect that neither the house nor her mother-in-law are quite what they seem to be.
Poltergeist III
›PG-131988 · Horror, Thriller · 98m · Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Heather O'Rourke
Carol Anne has been sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle in an effort to hide her from the clutches of the ghostly Reverend Kane, but he tracks her down and terrorises her in her relatives' appartment in a tall glass building. Will he finally achieve his target and capture Carol Anne again, or will Tangina be able, yet again, to thwart him?
Troll
›PG-131986 · Fantasy, Horror · 83m · Noah Hathaway, Jenny Beck, Phil Fondacaro
When a family moves into a San Francisco apartment, an opportunistic troll decides to make his move and take possession of little Wendy, thereby paving the way for new troll recruits, the first in his army that will take eventual control of the planet. We soon discover Torok is the ex-husband of Eunice St. Clair, a resident in the building who was married to Torok.
The Horror Show
›R1989 · Horror, Thriller, Fantasy · 95m · Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Rita Taggart
Vowing revenge on the detective who apprehended him, serial killer "Meat Cleaver" Max Jenke returns from beyond the grave to launch a whole new reign of terror.
Cutting Class
›R1989 · Horror, Comedy, Mystery · 91m · Donovan Leitch, Jill Schoelen, Brad Pitt
High school student Paula Carson's affections are being sought after by two of her classmates: Dwight, the "bad boy", and Brian, a disturbed young man who has just been released from a mental hospital where he was committed following the suspicious death of his father. Soon after being released, more murders start happening. Is Brian back to his old tricks, or is Dwight just trying to eliminate the competition?
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud
›R1989 · Horror, Comedy, Science Fiction · 85m · Brian Robbins, Bill Calvert, Tricia Leigh Fisher
A military experiment to create a race of super-warriors goes awry, as legions of murderous zombies are unleashed upon a suburban neighborhood.
The Awakening
›R1980 · Horror · 105m · Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend
When a British archaeologist violates an Egyptian queen's tomb, her evil spirit enters his daughter.
Munchies
›PG1987 · Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction · 87m · Harvey Korman, Charlie Stratton, Nadine Van der Velde
Simon Watterman, a space archaeologist, discovers the "Munchies" in a cave in Peru. Cecil Watterman, Simon's evil twin brother and snack food entrepreneur, kidnaps the creature. What Cecil does not know is that the creature, when chopped up, regenerates into many new creatures and are they mean!
Bates Motel
›1987 · Horror, Drama · 95m · Bud Cort, Lori Petty, Moses Gunn
A mentally disturbed man who roomed with the late Norman Bates at a psychiatric facility inherits the infamous Bates Motel after his death and attempts to fix it up as a respectable business.
The Nail Gun Massacre
›NR1985 · Horror · 85m · Rocky Patterson, Ron Queen, Beau Leland
Following the brutal rape of a young woman by a gang of construction workers, a mysterious figure wearing a motorcycle helmet and driving a gold hearse begins hunting the perpetrators down. The masked avenger's weapon of choice, obviously, is a nail gun, with which he (or could it be she?) takes out the rapists one by one. Just who is this murderous vigilante?
Trick or Treats
›R1982 · Horror · 91m · Jacqueline Giroux, Peter Jason, Chris Graver
A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night who keeps playing vicious pranks on her. To add to her trouble the boy's deranged father has escaped from an asylum and is planning on making a visit.
Nightmare Weekend
›1986 · Horror, Science Fiction · 86m · Debbie Laster, Dale Midkiff, Debra Hunter
A female scientist performs experiments on three college girls that turn them into drooling, murderous mutants.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
›R1985 · Horror, Thriller · 92m · John Shepherd, Tiffany Helm, John Robert Dixon
Homicidal maniac Jason returns from the grave to cause more bloody mayhem. Young Tommy may have escaped from Crystal Lake, but he’s still haunted by the gruesome events that happened there. When gory murders start happening at the secluded halfway house for troubled teens where he now lives, it seems like his nightmarish nemesis, Jason, is back for more sadistic slaughters.
The Toxic Avenger Part II
›R1989 · Action, Comedy, Horror · 95m · Ron Fazio, John Altamura, Phoebe Legere
Melvin Junko was a nerdy weakling until he fell into a vat of toxic waste, turning him into the first ever superhuman creature from New Jersey. This time, he takes on Tokyo.
