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31 Movies of Halloween Challenge – The 1980’s Movie List
31 Movies of Halloween Challenge
There are only 24 days until Halloween! How are you getting along with our 31 Movies of Halloween Challenge? This week we are talking about 1980’s horror movies. So if you are stuck and need some inspiration and even a reminder that a movie exists, be sure to check out the list below.
What Made 1980’s Horror Movies So Good
The 1980’s were an amazing time. Not just because we were born then, but also because more horror icons that we know, love and fear today debuted. Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Ashley J. Williams, Chucky and even Hellraiser all came to life on the big screen.
The 80’s featured a more supernatural and slasher movies than ever before. Creature effects improved tenfold and the practical puppets still look better than many CGI creations of today. You could say that 1980’s horror movies are more upbeat and positive than the brooding, ominous films of the 70’s. This is in part due to the introduction of humour to the genre and the fact that good mostly triumphed over evil. Even if it did return in the sequels to the franchise.
Our Must Watch List of 1980’s Horror Movies
So to help you pick movies to watch during our 31 Movies of Halloween Challenge, here is 31 films from the Eighties we’d recommend you give a try. We have sorted this list alphabetically to try and be as unbiased as possible!
1. An American Werewolf in London
This is THE movie, that everyone refers to for the most realistic werewolf transformation scene ever put on screen.
The plot: “Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.”
2. Bad Taste
Peter Jackson’s first feature-length movie. It’s gory, creepy, full of creature effects and terribly bad in a good way!
The plot: “The population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.”
3. Child’s Play
The movie that introduced us to Chucky and kicked started the ongoing franchise! It was even banned in Ireland at one point.
The plot: “A single mother gives her son a much sought-after doll for his birthday, only to discover that it is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.”
4. Christine
Stephen King’s killer car. The movie was shot in the same neighbourhood as Halloween!
The plot: “A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.”
5. Creepshow
George A. Romero and Stephen King team up to give us a campy horror anthology.
The plot: “An anthology which tells five terrifying tales based on the E.C. horror comic books of the 1950s.”
6. Critters
Small, evil Aliens overrun a small town. It’s a good creature feature. Leonardo Di Caprio even starred in number 3 in this series.
The plot: “A group of small, furry aliens makes lunch out of the locals in a farming town.”
7. Evil Dead 1 & 2
Ok, so we may have cheated here a little and expanded the list beyond the 31 movies. However, Bruce Campbell is a God and the Evil Dead series is a must watch.
Evil Dead plot: “Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.”
Evil Dead 2 plot: “The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.”
8. Friday the 13
Although Jason Voorhees isn’t the killer in this one, we do learn of his origin story. And there’s the theme music of – Ch Ch Ch Ah Ah Ah
The plot: “A group of camp counsellors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp which, years before, was the site of a child’s drowning.”
9. Fright Night
The mix of practical special effects, great villain and humour, make for a great Halloween movie.
The plot: “A horror-obsessed teenager discovers that his next door neighbour is a murderous vampire. He tries to convince the police, his family and friends but to no avail. Now, he must take matters into his own hands.”
10. Ghostbusters 1 & 2
Another cheat moment, but it’s the Ghostbusters! We need these guys as the backup for Halloween Night if something goes wrong!
Ghostbusters plot: “Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.”
Ghostbusters 2 plot: “The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.”
11. Gremlins
This is what happens when you don’t follow the rules. Also Gizmo!
The plot: “A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.”
12. Hellraiser
Clive Barker’s story comes to life. We didn’t want it to. But it did and it’s magnificently horrific!
The plot: “An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld.”
13. Little Shop of Horrors
Your second horror musical in our 31 Days of Halloween Challenge. We especially love the song “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space.”
The plot: “A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.”
14. Maniac Cop
Bruce Campbell makes another bad film watchable, in this cult horror action film.
The plot: “A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.”
15. The Monster Squad
This is like the Goonies, but with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Gill Man and The Wolf Man.
The plot: “A young group of monster fanatics attempt to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.”
16. A Nightmare on Elm Street
1, 2 Freddy’s coming for you… 3, 4 better lock your door. Freddy Kreuger is about to invade your dreams!
The plot: “The monstrous spirit of a slain janitor seeks revenge by invading the dreams of teenagers whose parents were responsible for his untimely death.”
17. Pet Sematary
The plot: “Behind a young family’s home in Maine is a terrible secret that holds the power of life after death. When tragedy strikes, the threat of that power soon becomes undeniable.”
18. Poltergeist
Yeah, this is where our fear of clowns was born. Also, don’t build your house on an ancient burial ground.
The plot: “A family’s home is haunted by a host of ghosts.”
19. Pumpkinhead
Stan Winston creates the awesome Pumpkinhead and also directs this movie featuring Lance Henriksen
The plot: “After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.”
20. Puppetmaster
This is a movie that is much better than it sounds. The puppet effects are class too!
The plot: “Psychics find themselves plotted against by a former colleague, who committed suicide after discovering animated, murderous puppets.”
21. Re-Animator
Based on a H.P Lovecraft story, be sure to watch the Un Cut version of this film.
The plot: “A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.”
22. Return of the Living Dead
This a fun 80’s zombie movie, that brought the idea of zombies craving brains into pop culture. There are lots of excellent gross-out moments too.
The plot: “When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapours cause the dead to rise again as zombies.”
23. The Blob
A remake of the 1950’s sci-fi movie but given 80’s creature effects and humour. Defo worth a look.
The plot: “Remake of the 1958 sci-fi horror classic about a deadly blob from another planet which consumes everything in its path. Teenagers attempt without success to warn the townspeople, who refuse to take them seriously.”
24. The Fly
David Cronenberg. Body horror. Brundlefly!
The plot: “A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.”
25. The Fog
John Carpenter tries his hand at telling an old-time ghost story in a modern setting.
The plot: “An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.”
26. The Gate
Parents. Do not leave your kids home alone while going on holiday. They will summon demons.
The plot: “Kids, left home alone, accidentally unleash a horde of malevolent demons from a mysterious hole in their suburban backyard.”
27. The Hitcher
We love how unsettling this movie is! Probably the reason for no one picking up Hitch Hikers any more.
The plot: “A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitch-hiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.”
28. The Howling
Lots of tension and another great werewolf transformation scene.
The plot: “After a bizarre and near-deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.”
29. The Lost Boys
A twisted take on the Peter Pan story but with Vampires and a great soundtrack.
The plot: “After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.”
30. The Shining
We first saw this movie as a kid. We didn’t really get it, due to the lack of demons and slasher killers. Re-watching this as an adult and holy shit. Jack Nicholson’s slow descent into madness is the stuff of realistic nightmares!
The plot: “A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.”
31. The Thing
One of the best creature features to ever grace the screen. Kurt Russell kills it as part of a scientific team, stuck in Antarctica, trying to figure out which one of them is infected.
The plot: “A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.”
The Challenge
This is the end of our 1980’s horror movie list. Which movies on this list will you be watching? Tell us which ones you love, hate and will flat out refuse to watch! Make sure to tell us why too. Be sure to keep us in the loop on how you are progressing through your 31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge.
