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The Most Underrated Horror Movie Each Year of the 1980s
Many horror aficionados would point to the 1980s as the best decade of them all for the genre. The Thing, Friday the 13th, The Shining, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fog, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Hellraiser, They Live, they all came out within the same ten-year span. It was also pretty solid for lighter horror comedies, e.g. Little Shop of Horrors, Gremlins, Creepshow, Beetlejuice, An American Werewolf in London. Those, too, all came out in the ’80s. But what about the horror movies released between 1980 and 1989 that don’t receive enough love? Those that at most have a small cult following?
Those are the spooky, scary movies that follow. Some aren’t entirely unheard of, but chances are, if you have heard of them, you’re well-versed in the horror genre. Entries are chronological, not ranked.
10) Fade to Black
One of the more character-focused slashers of the 1980s, Fade to Black stars Dennis Christopher (Django Unchained) as Eric Binford, a young film addict who finds great difficulty getting close to those around him. Finally fed up with being tormented by his peers, Binford snaps when he’s stood up on a date. He begins donning different disguises and murdering those he feels have slighted him.
Thanks to strong direction by Vernon Zimmerman and a devoted performance from Christopher, Fade to Black comes across like a psychological thriller as much as it comes across as a slasher. There’s the occasional pacing issue, but overall, it’s a horror movie with haunting themes that flows quite well.
Stream Fade to Black on Shudder.
9) Deadly Blessing
Several Wes Craven movies have gone on to be deemed either stone cold classics or minor classics. On the former end there’s A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, Scream 2, and The Hills Have Eyes and on the latter end there’s The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Deadly Blessing isn’t quite worthy of being in either category, but it comes very close to working its way into the latter.
This is early Craven, when he was still establishing his style. It’s the perfect middle point between the grainy, almost student movie-type style of Hills and the competence seen in Nightmare. Its ambition outweighs its execution, but it coasts on the strength of its spooky ambiance and the performance by Ernest Borgnine
Stream Deadly Blessing on MovieSphere+.
8) Alone in the Dark
A genuinely creepy nail-biter with game performances by Jack Palance, Martin Landau, and Donald Pleasence, Alone in the Dark is labeled a slasher film, but like Fade to Black it’s far more cerebral than that. It also brings a nice character reveal twist to the table.
The story follows the family of a newly hired psychiatrist whose arrival at the hospital has frightened its patients. A quartet of them, all of whom have homicidal tendencies, escape and terrorize the new doctor and his family, thinking that he’s killed their old doctor and taken his place.
7) Of Unknown Origin
Of Unknown Origin is basically a reverse Willard. Or a version of Graveyard Shift that takes place in a nice house instead of in the basement of a textile mill.
RoboCop‘s Peter Weller plays Bart Hughes, an average joe with a job he likes and a family he loves who finds himself on the verge of losing both as he becomes increasingly obsessed with the rat scurrying around his home. He’ll stop at nothing to kill the rat, even if his house ends up a pile of rubble in the process.
6) Razorback
Razorback was Australia’s Jaws. Well, plot-wise, it’s more like Australia’s Orca: The Killer Whale, but it’s far more enjoyable than that dud. And, as far as practical effects creatures go, Razorback‘s massive boar is pretty great.
For those who haven’t seen Orca, Razorback amounts to one man vs. one big beast. With only a rifle and binoculars, Jake Cullen won’t go home until he kills the massive-tusked monster that gored his grandson.
Stream Razorback on Hoopla.
5) Cat’s Eye
When it comes to anthology film adaptations of Stephen King works, Creepshow is the one that pops into people’s minds. And fair enough, because it’s the best that type of thing could be. But Cat’s Eye has its merits, too.
However, it’s only when it’s actually serving as an adaptation of King that it works. Specifically, the first two stories, “Quitters, Inc.” and “The Ledge,” are adaptations of short stories in Night Shift, and they’re very well done. The third story, the original “The General,” which is the one that’s fronted by Drew Barrymore (who is also in the connective tissue segments), is far too silly. But those first two stories are well worth watching.
4) Rawhead Rex
With a goofy but memorable villain and a solid lead performance by David Dukes, Rawhead Rex is a fun adaptation of Clive Barker’s short story. And, while Barker himself has been vocal about his dislike of the film (which he penned), it really is pretty adherent to the text.
Is the movie ludicrous? Sure. But it’s also a pretty straightforward monster movie, so for those who can jump on board a hairy gorilla pig man storming across the Irish countryside, it’s perfect fodder for midnight movie viewing. And, while the design of the creature gets a lot of flack, there is merit in a silly-looking movie creature.
Stream Rawhead Rex on AMC+.
3) Prison
Prison was the first American movie by Die Hard 2 and Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin, and it’s easy to see how it helped get him the A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master gig (which he helmed the following year). Like the Freddy Krueger movies, it amounts to a supernatural slasher where the antagonist has revenge on his mind and the rules of reality are consistently bent.
There’s also a certain bit of pop culture novelty to Prison. For one, four-time Jason Voorhees portrayer Kane Hodder plays the undead executed prisoner picking off inmates (though we really only get one scene of him, still strapped to his electric chair). Two, it features future The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen in one of the two lead roles. Speaking of the two lead roles, Lane Smith excels as the warden of the Wyoming prison the once-dead Charles Forsyth is now tearing to shreds.
2) Scarecrows
Scarecrows is very much low budget, but it makes the most of those few dollars. It’s a production that loves practical effects. Combine that with its And Then There Were None-type story and it’s a midnight movie delight.
We follow a group of paramilitary mercenaries running off with $3 million they just stole from a Marine Corps base. They’ve kidnapped a helicopter pilot and are heading for Mexico, but one of them takes the loot and parachutes out. The remainder land and follow him but find themselves on an expansive property containing only a massive cornfield and a farmhouse. In that cornfield are scarecrows, and they do a lot more than hang around and scare off pesky birds.
Stream Scarecrows on Prime Video.
1) Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
It’s not the best Friday the 13th movie, but Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan may very well be the most rewatchable. When you get past how most of the movie doesn’t take place in Manhattan, you come to embrace the fact that it’s still a Friday the 13th movie on a boat, which is a great hook.
Jason Takes Manhattan earns points for a few things outside its setting(s), too. For one, Kane Hodder was back as Jason. Too, there’s a scene where Jason shoves a lava rock into a man’s stomach. Three, the boxing scene is just sublime so-bad-it’s-good movie stuff. Four, its numerous logic loops are endearing. And, lastly, Peter Mark Richman’s Charles McCulloch is the best non-Jason villain the franchise ever had.
Many point at Jason Takes Manhattan as the worst of the franchise, but its level of self-awareness immediately places it above a few of the other entries. For instance, the scene where Jason looks at a big advertisement with a hockey mask on it and then looks back towards the camera. Or the scene where he kicks a few hoodlums’ boombox, listens to them threaten him, turns around and slides his mask up, and watches them run away. It’s a movie that knew the shark had jumped and just decided to have fun. And fun it is.
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