Warner Bros.From Poltergeist and The Shining to Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing, these are the best horror movies from the 1980s.
The 1980s were an amazing decade for horror movies. New Visual effects and makeup techniques meant directors could create more gruesome imagery than had ever been seen onscreen before.
While the introduction of the PG-13 certificate meant that studios started making horror for – and marketing it directly to – children. Resulting in family films became severely messed up.
We’re still watching sequels and remakes tethered to countless films from the era, so below you’ll find a celebration of the originals, via out list of the 15 best scary movies from the decade.
15. Child’s Play
MGM- Director: Tom Holland
- Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent
- Release date: November 9, 1988
What it’s about: A young boy receives a doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer, at which point everyone around him starts dropping dead.
Why we like it: Child’s Play might be the silliest film on this list, but it’s also one of the most entertaining, thanks to Chucky’s irrepressible personality and irredeemable mean streak. Brad Dourif’s insane voice work – coupled with some fine practical puppetry – heralded the arrival of a new horror icon, and nearly 40 years on, that very bad Good Guy Doll is still scaring up a storm.
14. The Terminator
Orion Pictures- Director: James Cameron
- Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
- Release date: October 26, 1984
What it’s about: A cyborg assassin is sent back from the future to kill a waitress whose unborn son will lead a rebellion against the machines.
Why we like it: The Terminator was followed by more action-packed sequels, but the original is pure horror. Arnold Schwarzenegger is utterly chilling as the seemingly unstoppable title character, the bond that develops between Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) gives the movie unexpected emotional depth, while James Cameron’s direction is as muscular and relentless as the Terminator itself.
13. Near Dark
De Laurentiis- Director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Cast: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
- Release date: October 2, 1987
What it’s about: A young man is offered the chance to join a roaming gang of vampires, and finds himself forced to choose between their violent and sexually charged existence, and his own humanity.
Why we like it: Near Dark blends Western grit with atmospheric horror to create something utterly stylish and unique. Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is fierce, while Bill Paxton delivers one of the great vampire performances, most notably when the twisted bloodsuckers eat and drink the patrons of a honky-tonk bar.
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12. Aliens
Disney- Director: James Cameron
- Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
- Release date: July 18, 1986
What it’s about: Alien heroine Ellen Ripley joins a squad of marines investigating a colony overrun by xenomorphs.
Why we like it: Alien was one of the best horror movies of the 1970s. With Aliens, James Cameron took what Ridley Scott did with that premise to the next level, adding action to the mix, but retaining the scares, resulting in an all-out scream-fest. As what’s scarier than one alien? A whole bunch of them.
11. Fright Night
Columbia Pictures- Director: Tom Holland
- Cast: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall
- Release date: August 2, 1985
What it’s about: A horror-loving teen becomes certain his suave neighbour is a vampire and recruits a struggling TV star for help.
Why we like it: No vampire movie is more fun than Fright Night, and no movie vampire is sexier than the film’s antagonist, Jerry Dandridge. As played by Chris Sarandon, Jerry is cool, calm, collected, and utterly ruthless, and it’s a blast watching him do battle with a gang of goofy teens, as well as Roddy McDowall’s hilarious horror host.
10. Gremlins
Warner Bros.- Director: Joe Dante
- Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton
- Release date: June 8, 1984
What it’s about: A dad gifts his son an exotic pet, that quickly multiplies, spawning creatures that transform into monsters who wreak havoc throughout their small town.
Why we like it: Gremlins’ creature feature brilliance makes it one of the most influential horror movies on this list, inspiring the likes of Critters, Ghoulies, Munchies, and more. Joe Dante directs from a Chris Columbus script, but producer Steven Spielberg’s fingerprints are all over this darkly comic tale of a mischievous pet that comes with three very specific rules – don’t get it wet, don’t expose to sunlight, and never feed after midnight. They’re quickly broken, and carnage with a wickedly cruel streak ensues.
9. The Lost Boys
Warner Bros.- Director: Joel Schumacher
- Cast: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland
- Release date: July 31, 1987
What it’s about: Two brothers move to a California town overrun by dead cool vampires. One becomes attracted to the gang, while the other endeavours to save him.
Why we like it: The Lost Boys director Joel Schumacher clearly values style as much as substance in this blast of bloodsucking fun. Jason Patric makes a pretty bland lead as the human tempted by the undead, but Kiefer Sutherland makes up for that void as lead Lost Boy David, while the Coreys are on scene-stealing form as a pair of teenage vampire-hunters.
8. An American Werewolf in London
Universal Pictures- Director: John Landis
- Cast: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne
- Release date: August 21, 1981
What it’s about: Having been attacked by something on the Yorkshire moors, an American tourist makes it to London, where he starts transforming into a wolf.
Why we like it: There are two reasons for American Werewolf’s success and enduring appeal. The first is those special and make-up effects, with Rick Baker’s work leaps and bounds ahead of what was happening at the time. The second is the way writer-director John Landis deftly combines comedy and horror, with the laughs big and the scares terrifying, making it the blueprint for crossing those genres ever since.
7. Hellraiser
Entertainment Film Distributors- Director: Clive Barker
- Cast: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Doug Bradley
- Release date: September 18, 1987
What it’s about: A mysterious puzzle box opens a gateway to sadistic beings known as Cenobites, dragging a fractured family into a world of pain and forbidden desire.
Why we like it: Legend has it that when author Clive Barker convinced producers to let him helm an adaptation of his Hellbound Heart novella, he ran out and bought a book about directing to learn the trade. The resulting Hellraiser is definitely rough round the edges, and features the odd dodgy performance. But it’s so sick, twisted, and visually inventive that those shortcomings don’t matter, while Doug Bradley’s ‘Pinhead’ is a horror villain for the ages.
6. Evil Dead 2
Rosebud Releasing- Director: Sam Raimi
- Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks
- Release date: March 13, 1987
What it’s about: While staying in a remote cabin in the woods, a group of friends recite lines from the ‘Book of the Dead,’ and accidentally unleash hell.
Why we like it: The original Evil Dead has just as much right to be on this list, being the film that announced the arrival of writer-director Sam Raimi and his unique and kinetic visual style. But Evil Dead II takes what Raimi does and powers it to the next level, in terms of both gags and gore. Essentially a remake of its predecessor, ‘Dead by Dawn’ is pretty much 90 minutes of Bruce Campbell being toyed with and tortured, and horror doesn’t get more entertaining than that.
5. Poltergeist
MGM- Director: Tobe Hooper
- Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke
- Release date: June 4, 1982
What it’s about: A suburban family is terrorised by malevolent spirits that eventually abduct their young daughter, forcing them to confront terrifying supernatural forces.
Why we like it: Poltergeist comes courtesy of horror legend Tobe Hooper, whose Texas Chain Saw Massacre casts a bloody shadow over the genre. This was his first studio feature, and through iconic set pieces, and imaginative special effects – as well as all-important emotional stakes – it remains one of the defining haunted house films. Plus, who can forget that clown?
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
New Line Cinema- Director: Wes Craven
- Cast: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
- Release date: November 16, 1984
What it’s about: A group of teens are hunted by serial killer Freddy Krueger in their dreams, and those violent attacks spill over into their waking lives.
Why we like it: Wes Craven gave us extreme horror in the 1970s though Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, while he re-invented and reinvigorated the slasher genre in the 1990s via Scream. But he’s probably best remembered for writing and directing A Nightmare on Elm Street, thereby giving us ultimate boogeyman Fred Krueger. As played by the brilliant Robert Englund, Freddy is one of the great horror villains, while the fact that he can push the bounds to logic through those dream kills make Nightmare the ultimate high-concept horror.
3. The Thing
Universal Pictures- Director: John Carpenter
- Cast: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley
- Release date: June 25, 1982
What it’s about: An Antarctic research team battles a shape-shifting alien that perfectly imitates its victims, crafting fear and distrust as it picks the humans off one-by-one.
Why we like it: A remake of sci-fi classic The Thing From Another World, John Carpenter’s take on that story is all atmosphere, paranoia, and suffocating tension. Kurt Russell is a likeable lead, but the real star of the movie is Rob Bottin’s messy makeup and creature effects, while those ambiguous final moments will have you talking about the ending long after the credits have rolled.
2. The Fly
Universal Pictures- Director: David Cronenberg
- Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
- Release date: August 15, 1986
What it’s about: A teleportation experiment goes horribly wrong, triggering a horrifying physical and psychological transformation.
Why we like it: David Cronenberg’s The Fly is body horror made devastating by its heady mixture of romance and scares. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis play the ill-fated couple in question with a passion that reflected their real-life relationship, and while the gore effects are breathtaking as scientist turns into fly, you finish the film grieving for their doomed love.
1. The Shining
Warner Bros.- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall, Danny Lloyd
- Release date: May 23, 1980
What it’s about: While working as winter caretaker for the empty and isolated Overlook Hotel, a writer succumbs to supernatural forces, and turns against his own family.
Why we like it: Loosely based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel, The Shining is a towering achievement in psychological horror, thanks to director Stanley Kubrick’s icy precision, Jack Nicholson’s deranged performance, and the Overlook’s eerie design that throws everything off-kilter. Deeply unsettling and endlessly influential, it’s also quite possibly the scariest film of all time.
For more scary stuff, check out our list of the best horror movies of all-time, and the best horror movies of 2025 so far.